An interesting topic.  Production is the realm of industry and education
is the realm of the classroom.  I have experienced both and it is not
the place of education to teach production.  You can never teach
production, one can only learn production on the job.  Education can not
teach attitude.  Education programs can be used to screen for attitude.
When a young person has attitude and education the reality of keeping up
with the journeyman or looking for another job will teach him the value
of production.
On Friday, October 18, 2002, at 07:24 AM, Leland Torrence wrote:

> John and Ken,
>         It is all about production or you will not be doing the work.
> Once the specifications are made the task is to devise the best
> production methods.  Most of the work I am involved with has a
> tradeskill/hour estimate.  Once you quantify the task then budgets and
> estimates are based on how many persons at what skill level will be
> required.  If the job is bid and the bidder does not allocate suitable
> skilled labor where required then the bidder is disqualified.
>         There is a time for thinking and a time for working.  If there
> are a few days of electrical work to be done do I need three men at the
> rate of an E1?  Probably not.  If I have a wall to repoint how many
> thinkers do I need on site?  When the work commences, I want skilled,
> production workers.  They can be philosophers and be cell phone addicts,
> during breaks and after work. The great majority of craftsman I admire,
> rarely talk while they work.  (And what's with the youngest, greenest
> worker getting to choose the radio station?)
>         A good budget includes cost estimates for items that may not be
> seen, but due to experience can be anticipated.  I call these
> predictable contingencies and they can be quantified as alternates.  A
> example of same is in the roofing industry it is standard to set a SF
> rate for deck replacement.  An educated guesstimate of cost and time can
> be made based on experience.  If you have done one or two sill
> replacements on a 1750's farm house in Vermont you might have a hard
> time giving a price and you would have "The fear of naming a number".
> If you've done twenty five you can confidently say:  "  I've done a
> bunch of these and they usually run about this much. Would you like me
> to take off a few boards, then I can give you a better idea?"
>         Good craftsmen/business owners are always working to improve
> production.  We often talk about the lack of apprenticeship programs and
> accreditation, but even in the education that is available I don't
> remember seeing anything on production.  I do know that in Ken's and my
> case the cost of our labor pool is fixed and often higher than our
> competition (and more skilled) and it is how we determine to skin the
> cat that determines if we get the job.  If we can find a better way to
> access the site or work a full day uninterrupted by weather or find
> better protective head gear or quantify work prior to getting to the
> site better, we improve production.
>          I think every good craftsman would admit that he does a lot of
> thinking off the job, that is why he is good:  Anticipation.  How do I
> load my truck?  What is every conceivable tool and material I will need
> today so that I do not need to leave the site?  I need to grind and
> sharpen my 2" chisel.  I have talked to many craftsman that look at the
> job after clean-up at the end of the day and can't rest until they have
> been able to build the solution in their heads.
> As with a great athlete, all the talent and training does not make up
> for game time.
> Research and Restore!
> Leland
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The "listen to the silence" listserv ....
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John
> Leeke
> Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2002 11:06 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: So what's the deal on the expansion joints...
>
>
> Ken writes:
>>> Not fair to compare the mind-set of production masons
> with those who tinker in histo presto or really fine work. Histo presto
> masons usually get booted off production jobs because they think....
> thinking slows down the process of setting brick. Thinking causes a
> commotion and delays production. <<
>
> Ken:
> May I quote you on this? Early on I noticed this. Back in the 1970s as a
> tradesperson I was alternately accused and praised for "working
> delibrately." I now can see that part of the deliberation was thinking
> about what I was doing. It was so true that I eventually adopted a
> policy of telling clients  that work will slow down when I arrive,
> because I usually have to get the tradespeople to think about what they
> are doing. We can sometimes set an objective for the work to speed back
> up again, occasionally to a higher rate than before, as a result of
> solutions, training, etc.
>
> John
>
> --
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--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
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