Ramp work punishes sloppy habits fast

Ramp work taught me quickly that the small habits are not small. A loose strap, a rushed walk-around, a headset not seated right, one piece of FOD near the wrong place — that stuff matters when the whole turn is already tight. The hardest shifts were bad weather nights when the cut-off time did not move. Bags and cargo still had to be built, cans still had to be moved, and everyone was wet and ti…