Message text written by "BP - \"Infarct a Laptop Daily\""
>I suppose this is where the managment and engineering perspective differ?
From my view as a manager the mechanics/craftspeople are the only thing
that
is important. The materials are secondary. Yes, we can have everyone
running
controlled heats, but the reality of the construction task is much more
complicated with a larger set of variables, many of which we have no idea
what they are until the project is over. I agree, in theory, that if you
have
a few parts well measured and predictable that it helps the end cause of
quality control, but the game in the field is played as a whole. Can it be
argued that more bridges have fallen down due to human error?<
I suppose you can look at it that way, but I would argue that a
well-engineered product takes its end-users into consideration. For
formulators this is a real challenge, because at some point you have to
stop looking at lab data only and try to measure that immeasurable property
that is broadly called "constructability". We do have a program in-house
which brings in mechanics to evaluate varied forms of a proposed new
product so that we can get their feedback as to preferences based on
workability. The human factor is also a consideration that has more often
than not pushed us toward latex-modified formulation, because surface
preparation is a little less critical (poor or marginal prep is the most
common cause of product failure for the industry), and wet curing is
generally eliminated. On the other hand you have guys doing repair work who
only know how to use one tool - -a sponge float-- and they panic when we
tell them to throw it away.
If we were to say that the human factor is the ONLY important one, what
would that leave us to work with? It could become a real messy "flavor of
the day" situation, where what is done and how it is done have less to do
with what is really important and more to do with what kind of mood
somebody is in.
When I studied management (6 years, nights, to earn an MBA) we spent an
awful lot of time talking about behavior modification, on the assumption
that human beings are imperfectly formed, less than completely altruistic,
but generally inclined to give and take if dealt with fairly. Clearly we
will always need to modify employee behavior or we will have to throw out
any aspirations for improving the quality of what we all do.
>Stepping back, I believe the market need for manufactured composite patch
materials for masonry arises from the difficulty of quality control of
field
mixed and applied materials. Which goes to the limited resource of skilled
and experienced preservation craftspeople. I've seen field mixed composite
patch material last 10 years, look real good, and without arguments or
theory. Can I expect it to occur again tomorrow? No.
My primary interest in purchasing a ready made product is if it reduces the
complications of project management. The first criteria, for me, is that a
product reduce communications overhead. This may sound like a lousy way to
select products, but it works for me. An incredibly excellent preservation
product, or service, can exist in a foreign market, but due to the
difficulty
of cross-cultural translation it can be next to impossible to deal with --
let alone to hassle with the process of communicating to the field and/or
the
design team and the property owner.<
I have seen patches much older than 10 years, field-mixed, still in good
condition, but who knows what was in it and how sure are you that your
mixing man is going to be consistent? Also, 10 years isn't really "long"
any more, by today's expectations. I am surprised by how much pre-packaged
repointing mortar we have been asked to supply in the past few years, for
just the same reasons. Low man on the totem pole mixes. Man has other
things on his mind, and some mixes are oversanded, some undersanded, colors
vary all over the place. Mortar fails in 5 years or so, owners sue
architect, engineer and contractor. Contractor is already in business under
a new name. Specifiers realize their finances and reputation rest with the
low man on the totem pole, and remove his discretion by specifying
prepackaged mortar. Complications reduced all around at a small premium for
materials in a labor-intensive work item.
As for communication, I don't envy anyone the challenges we have seen
contractors trying to manage. America is a multi-ethnic society, many
mechanics are foreign-born, and even an American manufacturer faces
communication challenges when everything is being filtered through an
interpreter. On a recent site training session in Texas, our trainer had
someone simultaneously translating in Spanish for the workers. He admitted
to being a little nervous when the translator stopped talking for 4 or 5
minutes, even though the trainer was going on to explain important points.
On the other hand, most of our country was built this way, and some of our
foreign born mechanics reflect a level of tradition and skill that we
should hope to emulate. Nobody has yet developed products that install
themselves.
Mike E.
|
