speed question

[iwire]

Now, compare even half of those 8 hours to a single crew getting 30 minutes less work done each day.

I am not following you.

 

[LarryFine]

I am not following you.

I am not following you.

I meant compare the time going back for troubleshooting 'fast' work takes to the time that extra half hour takes if it means no callbacks.

A single job's extra half hour is better than having to make another trip to the job, even if you could find and fix the problem in that half hour.

What I mean is that not everyone works for large companies.

 

[LarryFine]

Oops! I quoted instead of editing.

 

[petersonra]

Just getting a guy dedicated to running errands can save you the equivalent of a whole person pretty quick. And the guy chasing parts, sweeping up, and moving tools and parts around does not need to be a highly skilled/paid person.

 

[220/221]

Time = money and efficiency = speed

You can be "fast" without doing shoddy work. Learn to avoid the little things that eat up time.

Have you ever over tightened a lug or stripped a specific screw and spent hours trying to line up a replacement part? I did....once. Have you ever cut a rigid riser only to find that the threads are mangled and it won't thread into the hub? I have....once. The list is a mile long. Learn from your mistakes. Better yet, learn from other peoples mistakes.

I learned the term "work methods" back in the 80's from a journeyman with far more experience than I had. He said he enjoyed working with me because of my work methods. Learn to do things in a specific order and your installation will go smoothly.


I is still an adjustment I have to make when working with my guys in the field. I used to be much more of a hard ass whip cracker until I realized that people are just different.

I spent most of my life working for myself and by myself so every minute I saved translated into money in my pocket. That experience made me very production oriented. If you spend your life working for someone else, every minute you save can be translated into money taken out of your pocket. If you have a good employer, they will recognize and reward your performance and that won't be the case.

 

[ce2two]

When i roped homes, condo's in the 80's .i would trim out condo's like 7 per day , meaning plug/switch w/covers @ $6.50 an hour ...I was killing my self the contractor ate it up , this was stupid on my behalf ,i learned to slow down ,quality over quanity , if you get hurt going toooo fast , the contractor will simply kick you to the curb and hire some one else to p/up where you left offffffff ,you and i are so expendable....(replaceable )! be safe not sorry

 

[PCN]

I used to work for this guy in San Diego in the early 90's, his main gig was installing ceiling fans. The two of us could install one in 30 minutes tops w/ switch. He would be sceaming at me the whole time I was in the attic to find a source of power!, nail on the 2x4 for support! etc.....If I needed anything in the van he'd scream "you betta run you little #%*^# !!!!" Man I hated that guy. It was demoralizing. What a hack, I quit after two weeks and went to work for real contractor.
My point is- quality first, it's not worth rushing if you make mistakes. Mistakes = $. Be proud to put your name it.

 

[stickboy1375]

I used to work for this guy in San Diego in the early 90's, his main gig was installing ceiling fans. The two of us could install one in 30 minutes tops w/ switch. He would be sceaming at me the whole time I was in the attic to find a source of power!, nail on the 2x4 for support! etc.....If I needed anything in the van he'd scream "you betta run you little #%*^# !!!!" Man I hated that guy. It was demoralizing. What a hack, I quit after two weeks and went to work for real contractor.
My point is- quality first, it's not worth rushing if you make mistakes. Mistakes = $. Be proud to put your name it.

Damn, I though my first contractor was rough. Although I really did learn how to work fast, but now I just work smart!

 

[LarryFine]

I used to work for this guy ... installing ceiling fans. The two of us could install one in 30 minutes tops w/ switch.

I quit after two weeks and went to work for real contractor.

And now, it takes you two hours like it's supposed to.

 

[peter d]

. The two of us could install one in 30 minutes tops w/ switch.

Yeah, but did it actually work?

 

[stickboy1375]

Yeah, but did it actually work?

I was wondering the same, figured they gave it a quick hard spin by hand and collected the check and out the door.

 

[celtic]

Yeah, but did it actually work?

Sure they did...with a "brake light warranty" tossed in for free

 

[peter d]

I was wondering the same, figured they gave it a quick hard spin by hand and collected the check and out the door.

It was one of those "stealth fans" that's mounted to a box with no wires in it.

 

[PCN]

Yea, that's why bailed on that guy. Bad kharma. Ya know come to think of it, I don't think I ever saw him test any of them, I was to busy running the tools back to van the get to the next job so I wouldn't get screamed at. It also really taught me a valuable lesson on how to treat your helper. You can get alot more production out a person if they feel appreciated and treated with respect.

 

[Fulthrotl]

is being fast part of being a good electrician? i dont really know if im fast or average. i tend to take pride in my work and try to do a good job at what i do. if i try to go fast things start to get missed or screwed up. i dont drag my feet around all day i try to do the best i can and work as hard as i can without killing myself

my first superintendent told me "son, we don't get paid for pretty, we get
paid for done". that's how he looked at it.

what i've learned is that if you learn your craft well, speed will take care of
itself. work is a balance between boredom and exhaustion. some days i fly,
some days i can do the world a favor by staying in the backyard and
swimming in the pool. as you work with different people from different areas
of the country, you will find that they apply a different ethos to what they
are doing, and to their means and methods.

if you watch a craftsman whose work is excellent, you will find that he is
following no one set path to accomplishing a goal. the work at hand
determines his thoughts, and his thoughts determine the work at hand,
until he is at peace at the same instant the work is complete.

i absolutely cannot stand doing stuff hard and stupid. the whole thing for
me is doing something with as elegant a solution as i can devise. and making
a fair piece of change in the process.

i have a little picture on the wall in my house, and it's one of the main
reasons i am self employed... it looks like this:

if you find someone who actually cares about what they are doing, they
are usually attentive and occupied, and work quality and output are not
even a question.

i had a journeyman when i was an apprentice, and this jw had a habit of
eating black beauties, and running on them for 3 or 4 days at a time.
(it was the 1970's, what can i say?)

we were pulling out a tilt up, the lighting home runs, and i had conduits
going thru the pour strip, and up the wall to the glue lam, and across the
glue lam, thru 5sd boxes, and was using a pull string, and this jw stood
on the floor and screamed at me (i was 20' up on a scissor lift)

"I WANT YOU TO PULL THAT WIRE, AND I DON'T WANT IT TO STOP
MOVING UNTIL IT'S ALL THE WAY IN. IT STOPS MOVING, AND YOU ARE
FIRED!!!!"

ok. so he gets to the wire cart, and screams "GO!!!" and i take a turn
around the handrail of the scissor lift with the string, and drive off....
he did pretty good at first, but the lift had a high speed that kicked in
after 3 seconds....

the spools started coming off the cart, and spinning around his feet,
and bless his heart, he kept feeding, and never said a word.... just
dancing there with half a dozen spools twirling.....

i drove all the way across the building, out the door, down the ramp,
and over to my van on the far side of the parking lot... about
1000', pulling all the wire with me. lowering the lift as i went,
threw my tools in the van, and drove off.

it was a short day.


randy

 

[LarryFine]

I try to only look like I'm in a hurry to leave if the customer needs me gone quickly.

 

[peter d]

"I WANT YOU TO PULL THAT WIRE, AND I DON'T WANT IT TO STOP
MOVING UNTIL IT'S ALL THE WAY IN. IT STOPS MOVING, AND YOU ARE
FIRED!!!!"

ok. so he gets to the wire cart, and screams "GO!!!" and i take a turn
around the handrail of the scissor lift with the string, and drive off....
he did pretty good at first, but the lift had a high speed that kicked in
after 3 seconds....

the spools started coming off the cart, and spinning around his feet,
and bless his heart, he kept feeding, and never said a word.... just
dancing there with half a dozen spools twirling.....

i drove all the way across the building, out the door, down the ramp,
and over to my van on the far side of the parking lot... about
1000', pulling all the wire with me. lowering the lift as i went,
threw my tools in the van, and drove off.

it was a short day.


randy

When are the "Memoirs of Randy" going to be published?

 

[LarryFine]

if you watch a craftsman whose work is excellent, you will find that he is
following no one set path to accomplishing a goal. the work at hand
determines his thoughts, and his thoughts determine the work at hand,
until he is at peace at the same instant the work is complete.

Now, that's quite poetic! :smile:


The rest of it is a riot! :grin:

 

[PCN]

"i drove all the way across the building, out the door, down the ramp,
and over to my van on the far side of the parking lot... about
1000', pulling all the wire with me. lowering the lift as i went,
threw my tools in the van, and drove off."

it was a short day.


Guess that's why they call you fulthrotl
I'd have paid good money to see that one.

 

[electricalperson]

my first superintendent told me "son, we don't get paid for pretty, we get
paid for done". that's how he looked at it.

what i've learned is that if you learn your craft well, speed will take care of
itself. work is a balance between boredom and exhaustion. some days i fly,
some days i can do the world a favor by staying in the backyard and
swimming in the pool. as you work with different people from different areas
of the country, you will find that they apply a different ethos to what they
are doing, and to their means and methods.

if you watch a craftsman whose work is excellent, you will find that he is
following no one set path to accomplishing a goal. the work at hand
determines his thoughts, and his thoughts determine the work at hand,
until he is at peace at the same instant the work is complete.

i absolutely cannot stand doing stuff hard and stupid. the whole thing for
me is doing something with as elegant a solution as i can devise. and making
a fair piece of change in the process.

i have a little picture on the wall in my house, and it's one of the main
reasons i am self employed... it looks like this:

if you find someone who actually cares about what they are doing, they
are usually attentive and occupied, and work quality and output are not
even a question.

i had a journeyman when i was an apprentice, and this jw had a habit of
eating black beauties, and running on them for 3 or 4 days at a time.
(it was the 1970's, what can i say?)

we were pulling out a tilt up, the lighting home runs, and i had conduits
going thru the pour strip, and up the wall to the glue lam, and across the
glue lam, thru 5sd boxes, and was using a pull string, and this jw stood
on the floor and screamed at me (i was 20' up on a scissor lift)

"I WANT YOU TO PULL THAT WIRE, AND I DON'T WANT IT TO STOP
MOVING UNTIL IT'S ALL THE WAY IN. IT STOPS MOVING, AND YOU ARE
FIRED!!!!"

ok. so he gets to the wire cart, and screams "GO!!!" and i take a turn
around the handrail of the scissor lift with the string, and drive off....
he did pretty good at first, but the lift had a high speed that kicked in
after 3 seconds....

the spools started coming off the cart, and spinning around his feet,
and bless his heart, he kept feeding, and never said a word.... just
dancing there with half a dozen spools twirling.....

i drove all the way across the building, out the door, down the ramp,
and over to my van on the far side of the parking lot... about
1000', pulling all the wire with me. lowering the lift as i went,
threw my tools in the van, and drove off.

it was a short day.


randy

that was pretty funny. i bet that guy was pretty mad