Slow helpers

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acrwc10

Master Code Professional
Location
CA
Occupation
Building inspector
As far as Cell phones go I would rather leave mine in the truck because if it is a personal call it probably involves a teenage child of mine wanting money and a ride somewhere. If it is work it is related it always seems to ring 2 seconds after I have got both hands into something 14 feet in the air off an 8 foot ladder.

On the 4 year guy You might consider lowering the AC , it sounds like he is frozen solid.
 

augie47

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee
Occupation
State Electrical Inspector (Retired)
hardworkingstiff said:
I believe some of these observations are symptoms of the "dumbing down of America".

I'm afraid you are correct, but I also attribute that attuide on part to the fact that I'm an "ole fart"
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
acrwc10 said:
If it is work it is related it always seems to ring 2 seconds after I have got both hands into something 14 feet in the air off an 8 foot ladder.
I didn't care for the Borg look in the beginning, but my BlueTooth earpiece has proven itself worth ten times its weight in gold.
 

Jim W in Tampa

Senior Member
Location
Tampa Florida
I look at my cell this way.Yes a few minutes out of my day are personal.I am noted as always a few minutes early,last guy to leave.Do paper work for time sheets on my own time and fax them in.I almost always put in more than my 40 hours.I call it a trade off for free phone and i dont miss that few minutes of pay,have a good boss that keeps me getting my 40
 

MAK

Senior Member
I had a helper that would always text message me. It was always stuff like I will be late and here is my long reason why, blah blah blah. I would call him yell at him for text messaging me, tell him to meet me at the place we were working and when he showed up I would send him home. Before he would leave I would say no more text messages. It would work for a week or two and then back to the same old sxxx. He did not last. I do not put up with that crap.
 

peter

Senior Member
Location
San Diego
Somewhere it is mentioned that the apprentice worked for 30 minutes with the boss and then spent the rest of the day making up the ten receptacle covers.
They way the mind of the employee works that he has been given one task to do and must stretch it out to fill the remaining 7 1/2 hours of the day. It does not look beseeching to be caught doing nothing! Therefore, the time required for each assembly would be 45 minutes.
This would include measuring each stripped wire with dial calipers; stripping the wire v e r y s l o w ly so as not to raise any unwelcome electrostatic forces; filing the ends of each cut wire [assuming solid] to eliminate those crude, non-orthogonal cut marks; torqueing each screw with a torque screwdriver; grinding and honing the ends of the yoke where the eyelets were severed; and, of course, wrapping the whole thing with black phase tape to protect our friends -- the painters and drywallers. [However, in this case, leaving one bronze screw and one cadium screw extended is actually a time saving and wire nut saving move. This fella is thinking ahead!]

Or maybe, you might have said, "When you get finished with that, then you can go out and help dig that trench."
~Peter
 

360Youth

Senior Member
Location
Newport, NC
peter said:
[However, in this case, leaving one bronze screw and one cadium screw extended is actually a time saving and wire nut saving move. This fella is thinking ahead!]


How is it time saving if pigtails are involved? There should be nothing left to go an open screw. Unless the pigtails mentioned are just from device to device and not for the pulled runs.
 

Jim W in Tampa

Senior Member
Location
Tampa Florida
Roughly it took him 6 1/2 hours.Figure in 15 minute break and he was ready for pick up and lock building by 3.I believe he was affraid i send him home early if he finished in reasonable time.
 

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
On slow helpers and I have had a few, you should be able to figure out quickly if it is a slacker issue or a mental/physical issue. In either case you are doing the helper and future employers a favor by taking him aside and asking what he really wants to do. I have actual had several helpers quit the trade after an in depth friendly talk realizing they were waisting their time in something they did not like or enjoy.

You are not helping yourself or your employer keeping a SLOW incompetent worker. You end up doing extra work and getting frustrated which is not beneficial for your work attitude.
 

360Youth

Senior Member
Location
Newport, NC
brian john said:
On slow helpers and I have had a few, you should be able to figure out quickly if it is a slacker issue or a mental/physical issue. In either case you are doing the helper and future employers a favor by taking him aside and asking what he really wants to do. I have actual had several helpers quit the trade after an in depth friendly talk realizing they were waisting their time in something they did not like or enjoy.

You are not helping yourself or your employer keeping a SLOW incompetent worker. You end up doing extra work and getting frustrated which is not beneficial for your work attitude.


I would tell them, whether its this field or another, it's time to find a carreer, not a job.
 

tallguy

Senior Member
360Youth said:
For the record a 4 year helper should pre-fab 10 quads in about 45 minutes to an hour. It depends on if it is stranded wire with crimps or solid pigtails.

I read the original post and pondered it in the bathroom (where I do my best thinking), and was pleased to see how I fared vs. other estimates. I consider myself painfully slow, and estimated that I could do it in 60 minutes or so, assuming solid wire, all materials right at hand, and a desire to prove something. Otherwise it would take 75-90 minutes.

Having these helps:
k1412.jpg


Does the helper in question have a subpar stripper and/or is looping w/ needlenose pliers or such?!?

If only you had video of this, it would make great YouTube fodder (played at 100x speed).
 

inspector23

Senior Member
Location
Temecula, CA
Jim W in Tampa said:
Roughly it took him 6 1/2 hours.Figure in 15 minute break and he was ready for pick up and lock building by 3.I believe he was affraid i send him home early if he finished in reasonable time.

Just wondering.... Do you or your comapny have a history of sending people home early if workers finish in a reasonable time??

Maybe the helper is smarter than you give him credit. Maybe he is thinking - "why should I be penalized a portion of my days pay just because I do this work in a reasonable amount of time?" He has bills also, and if he has a reason to suspect he would get sent home for doing his job in a reasonable time (especially in the summer, when construction is traditionally at its peak) because the company or the foreman has of history of doing it, then it makes the whole situation look different to him.

Not saying that did happen, just offering another possibility.........
 

celtic

Senior Member
Location
NJ
inspector23 said:
J
Maybe the helper is smarter than you give him credit. Maybe he is thinking - "why should I be penalized a portion of my days pay just because I do this work in a reasonable amount of time?"


Not saying that did happen, just offering another possibility.........


Maybe he's not that smart. A smart helper might ask "Can I knock off when I am done?" He's gets the days pay PLUS a quick exit with the boss's blessings.

Not saying that did happen, just offering another possibility.........:grin:
 

inspector23

Senior Member
Location
Temecula, CA
celtic said:
Maybe he's not that smart. A smart helper might ask "Can I knock off when I am done?" He's gets the days pay PLUS a quick exit with the boss's blessings.

Maybe he is smart enough to have tried that approach before and got sent home WITHOUT pay!:cool:

Not saying that did happen, just offering another possibility.........:grin:

SOMEBODY slap me - can't be this happy!!! I'm on a roll !:rolleyes:
 
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