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Posted By: renosteinke Texting? Watch Those Assumptions! - 03/04/16 01:10 AM
Job was visited by some 'upper management' types today, who grumbled to the general contractor about some of the electricians spending their time texting.

Only problem is, they were NOT texting. Nope. Rather, they had used their phones to photograph the prints, and were consulting the prints as they worked. Looks like a win-in all around .... until you introduce some troglodite looking for something to kvetch about.
Posted By: JoeTestingEngr Re: Texting? Watch Those Assumptions! - 03/04/16 02:51 AM
Many will accuse before questioning. Did anyone get an apology?
Joe
Posted By: renosteinke Re: Texting? Watch Those Assumptions! - 03/05/16 05:05 AM
Well, Joe ... I guess you have just proven that engineers CAN have a sense of humor!

I'm still in 'damage control' mode, trying to make sure the real story makes it up the chain before bad news comes DOWN the chain.

On the plus side .... well, the crew is quite happy to learn that we've stood up for them, rather than simply accusing them, assuming the complaint had merit. Lord knows, I was on the receiving end of many of those kangaroo courts during my time at "Azkaban."

I shall not make an institution of injustice.
Posted By: JoeTestingEngr Re: Texting? Watch Those Assumptions! - 03/06/16 05:43 AM
They'll never get it unless they see that it saves them money. I got a call from a substation electrician foreman yesterday, about a pumping battery charger. It's a LaMarche that we never got complete schematics for. (I HATE THAT!) I was tied up on other things so I talked to the electrician, who happens to be a good friend and is extremely sharp. He sent me a couple phone pics and I called him up with a game plan. I checked in with him when I got back from the field to learn that all went well and that the charger output was rock stable. I called him back at the end of the day and the min/max was still a 0.1V difference. Without him and his phone pics, and high tech skills, they would've had to swap in a spare charger. Now granted, I wouldn't have trusted him working on the guts of the charger, if I hadn't worked beside him enough to know how good he is. Electricians like him, with their phones, are fantastic force multipliers.
Joe
Posted By: ghost307 Re: Texting? Watch Those Assumptions! - 03/06/16 04:59 PM
A few years ago I never would have believed how many trips and callbacks get prevented by simply being able to take a photo of the layout, the wiring, the nameplate, etc.

Although nonstop texting during the workday is a time-waster the real advantage of using the smartphone as a tool is undeniable.
Posted By: renosteinke Re: Texting? Watch Those Assumptions! - 03/06/16 06:56 PM
And yet ....

I was working on one industrial site, tracing data lines. The boss was in the computer room, while I ran about the shop floor with my half of the toner. Separated by acres of noisy machinery and brick walls, communication was an issue. Even conversation was difficult with the ambient noise. Still, our use of texting to communicate ruffled many feathers in this "no cell phone" facility.

Another industrial establishment got absolutely livid when they learned we had pictures of equipment nameplates in their 'no photos' facility. That was rather interesting, as we were supposed to replace / repair their equipment.

With attitudes like these, it's no wonder that certain third-world hellholes are surpassing us in technology.
Posted By: HotLine1 Re: Texting? Watch Those Assumptions! - 03/06/16 08:38 PM
In some instances, the smartphone is also am inspectors friend.

Pics of nameplates, instead of writing, for one.

Apps with useful tools/info are great also.
Posted By: ghost307 Re: Texting? Watch Those Assumptions! - 03/06/16 11:00 PM
We have a "no pictures" policy also; but I always make it clear that pictures are okay if they are directly related to the work. I also reserve the right to delete any of the photos that are too general or show something that shouldn't be photographed.
So far the big guys haven't had any objections to date.
Posted By: Potseal Re: Texting? Watch Those Assumptions! - 03/19/16 07:58 PM
When used correctly at work, a cellphone is a priceless tool. On the other hand, recently I sat with a parent on a bus for our kid's school ski trip who works at SaskPower. We got on the subject of smartphones at work and he admitted it's getting to be a real concern because too many workers are getting distracted with texting when they should be focusing on the task at hand. I envision this being a hot topic for electrical worker safety meetings in the future, if not already in some locations.
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