Crash course for learning electrical construction materials and practices?

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krist003

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Hey there group,

Does anyone have a resource for a crash course in electrical construction materials and practices? We run a decent size commercial electrical shop and although our field crews attend apprenticeship courses, it is hard to get our warehouse crew up to speed on electrical materials, equipment and general electrical practices. The warehouse space has a higher turnover than the field crew and I would like to find a faster way of getting them educated rather than just explaining everything to them as it comes.

Our warehouse crew is responsible for gathering materials, delivering electrical equipment (like wire tuggers, power tools, benders, etc). They often start out with little to no electrical experience. It is obviously very daunting for a newbie to look at the amount of electrical materials and what they are all used for. Especially since they are not exposed to the installation process in the field.

How can we quickly get them to understand the difference between a steel compression connector and a diecast set-screw coupling? Stranded vs solid THHN copper wire? A beam clamp vs a strut strap? All thread and running thread, etc, etc, etc... I understand these are simple things, but it is hard to even scratch the surface in a couple days let alone get them to retain 50% of it. I have thought about making some sort of in-house training course, but certainly there are better resources. A video series with different modules that they could refer to would be very helpful. I am kind of amazed that I have not found anything like this yet. Maybe I am not looking in the right places. Any ideas?
 
I knew this response was coming. I somewhat agree, but I don’t think it is unreasonable to fast track some general knowledge on material and tools. The guys we hire are more than capable, it is just finding the time for another more experienced person to show them.
If there was a resource out there, I bet a new guy could get a pretty good handle on it in a month vs years. Just materials and tools, not electrical theory, code or anything like that.
 
I have seen training materials used at wholesale houses for employees, so perhaps look fir materials from steel city, T&B, eaton, etc.
 
Good suggestions. I was going to call some of our supply houses and ask what they do as well. Manufacturers are a good idea too as well as the wall charts.
We do have a master tool book that has all of our tools sorted by type with pictures and the name of each item. Maybe we should do that with materials too.
 
Every starting apprentice should spend some time in the warehouse, use that time to aid your warehouse staff; have the apprentice take pictures down load and set up file staff can access. Have jw or you add the slang.
 
As a 1st-job computer programmer, I spent several months in the warehouse picking items for orders to be shipped. By the time I got back into the office and actually programming, I could rattle off part numbers for our most commonly shipped items. I still remember the 3065JCS1 and what it was!
 
krist003 said:
Good suggestions. I was going to call some of our supply houses and ask what they do as well. Manufacturers are a good idea too as well as the wall charts.
Click to expand...

When I worked at a supply house, I never thought of most of the training by the manufacturers as being good for counter/warehouse personnel. It is normally geared toward selling their product line not how to use it. I don't ever remember a discussion comparing die-cast to steel or why to use 3M 33+ vs Super 88. We had an agreement with a large electrical contractor where we would send them one of our warehouse/counter person, to be a helper, so they could see how the products were actually used.

I like the wall charts.
 
tom baker said:
So what is the 3065JCS1?
Click to expand...
IIRC, 3065JCS1 is a Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph drafting pen, type 3065 (I believe that was the model usable with etching inks). J meant it has a jewel tip-- a teensy, donut-shaped ring (?sapphire?ruby?) that was inset into the tip of the pen and made a more consistent line over time. CS1 was a 'set' of pens, in this case a set of 1 pen. There was also a suffix to the part number that indicated the size of the tip.
 
Besides the above suggestions, do what they do at the big box stores for the screws. Attach the actual part with the item description to the shelf they are on. Being able to see the actual part attached to the shelf is great for comparison and they will link the name for the thing very quickly. Can't do this with the bigger stuff, but maybe just a picture for those items. The charts and master parts books work too
 
Maybe you're looking at this from the wrong end. Maybe you should do something to reduce turnover.
I like the idea of sending warehouse people out onto jobsites. Seeing the bigger picture never hurts.

Paul: What on Earth is a "drafting pen"?
(just kidding; born 1959)
 
drcampbell said:
Maybe you're looking at this from the wrong end. Maybe you should do something to reduce turnover.
I like the idea of sending warehouse people out onto jobsites. Seeing the bigger picture never hurts.

Paul: What on Earth is a "drafting pen"?
(just kidding; born 1959)
Click to expand...

The thing sitting next to the slide rule.
 
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sameguy said:
The thing sitting next to the slide rule.
Click to expand...
drcampbell said:
Maybe you're looking at this from the wrong end. Maybe you should do something to reduce turnover.
I like the idea of sending warehouse people out onto jobsites. Seeing the bigger picture never hurts.

Paul: What on Earth is a "drafting pen"?
(just kidding; born 1959)
Click to expand...
Something (old) draftsmen used to use- like a T-square, French curves (Ooh! La! La!), triangle rulers, etc. The Rapidograph drafting pens had a cylindrical tip, designed so if you held the pen perpendicular to the drafting film no matter which direction you moved it, it left a line the same width. A jewel tip lasted almost forever. But the jewel cost extra!
 
I have always been a fan of google, NFPA 70, my coworkers and the professionals around me. I’ve never seen any fast track to knowledge. The ability to learn and understand, depends on the individual and the desire to learn. I’d rather have employees say “I don’t know but I can find out.” As opposed to, “sorry you failed your inspection because I told you the wrong thing.” There is too much info that changes at least every 3 years.
 
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