The Construction Thread

[rosco rathbone]

I got a question for you.

Our fabrication foreman is about to take his first vacation since he took over and he’s nervous. He’s young and this is his first time in a supervisory position.

He has confided that he is worried that his people will perform well in his absence. He thinks it will show he is not needed and can be replaced by anyone.

I told him that if his people do well in his absence it shows that he is a good supervisor that trains his people well.

What would you think? Should he be nervous or not?

I think everyone ought to be nervous in this economy.

But it really depends on conditions in your shop. If there is, in fact, someone who can replace him, then he def. ought to worry.

 

[Saint Peter]

Reshuffling the shop to get rid of a spot or two is never tough. Plus, if they fall behind, the can get a new guy at half the wage.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Really, what's so hard about fabrication?

It's just inches, half-inches, throw some shit in a jig, whack it with a beater and have a Mexican squirt some wire in there.

 

[thør]

Yeah? I thought they just rigged a highline.

That's the easiest, if it works for the terrain.

 

[thør]

I got a question for you.

Our fabrication foreman is about to take his first vacation since he took over and he’s nervous. He’s young and this is his first time in a supervisory position.

He has confided that he is worried that his people will perform well in his absence. He thinks it will show he is not needed and can be replaced by anyone.

I told him that if his people do well in his absence it shows that he is a good supervisor that trains his people well.

What would you think? Should he be nervous or not?

If he's been doing his job right, there will be no problems. A good foreman in the fab shop is typically the guy that spends the most time pushing the broom.

Reshuffling the shop to get rid of a spot or two is never tough. Plus, if they fall behind, the can get a new guy at half the wage.

Sometimes, when you get rid of a person in the shop, the place never skips a beat.

Really, what's so hard about fabrication?

It's just inches, half-inches, throw some shit in a jig, whack it with a beater and have a Mexican squirt some wire in there.

You don't even need a tape for field assembly. Just remember that the nuts turn to the right on the bolts.

 

[Saint Peter]

Really, what's so hard about fabrication?

It's just inches, half-inches, throw some shit in a jig, whack it with a beater and have a Mexican squirt some wire in there.

squirt


nice

 

[rosco rathbone]

squirt


nice

That is the structural welder's contempt for people who spend all day "welding" in a comfortable position near the porta jon and the pop machine and not on a float 40 stories up or upside down with a face full of that gnarly fireproofing insulation.

 

[TikkaT3]

Really, what's so hard about fabrication?

It's just inches, half-inches, throw some shit in a jig, whack it with a beater and have a Mexican squirt some wire in there.

Now thats good.

I have been telling the re-bar guys that they got it easy. Just did a hole, dump some steel in it and cover with concrete.

Man do they get mad.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Now thats good.

I have been telling the re-bar guys that they got it easy. Just did a hole, dump some steel in it and cover with concrete.

Man do they get mad.

Don't get me started on rebar guys.

Winding wire around rebar all day


They get all excited when they get to use the crane now and then.

 

[where]

don't mind me. I'm just getting a testosterone high.

 

[TikkaT3]

Don't get me started on rebar guys.

Winding wire around rebar all day


They get all excited when they get to use the crane now and then.

You let them play with the big toys? Are you fucking nuts? We don't even let them use the microwave, let alone heave equipment.

 

[TikkaT3]

If he's been doing his job right, there will be no problems. A good foreman in the fab shop is typically the guy that spends the most time pushing the broom.



Sometimes, when you get rid of a person in the shop, the place never skips a beat.



You don't even need a tape for field assembly. Just remember that the nuts turn to the right on the bolts.

I guess I framed my question wrong. This guy is young and eager, but a good guy and his job is in no danger.

What his problem is, is that he is on that fine line of teaching his crew everything he can or not. He is worried that if he leaves and his people keep on churning out steel in his absence it will look like he is not needed.

My argument to him was that the more he teaches them and lets them learn, the easier his job will be and the better his shop will look. And that will all look good for him in the owners eyes. He will be a leader and a teacher and that is more valuable than a plain old fabricator. I wanted to know if others thought like me or like him.

I try to give the guy the benefit of the doubt because he was trained (if you can call it that ) by a guy that told him not to train others because they will try to take your job. Thus he was never properly trained and when his boss got fired for assaulting one of the welders he was tossed into a position he was not ready to handle. He is learning and is trying hard but he can't seem to shake this one old habit.

 

[thør]

I guess I framed my question wrong. This guy is young and eager, but a good guy and his job is in no danger.

What his problem is, is that he is on that fine line of teaching his crew everything he can or not. He is worried that if he leaves and his people keep on churning out steel in his absence it will look like he is not needed.

My argument to him was that the more he teaches them and lets them learn, the easier his job will be and the better his shop will look. And that will all look good for him in the owners eyes. He will be a leader and a teacher and that is more valuable than a plain old fabricator. I wanted to know if others thought like me or like him.

I try to give the guy the benefit of the doubt because he was trained (if you can call it that ) by a guy that told him not to train others because they will try to take your job. Thus he was never properly trained and when his boss got fired for assaulting one of the welders he was tossed into a position he was not ready to handle. He is learning and is trying hard but he can't seem to shake this one old habit.

He should go on vacation. If the company chooses to let him go because they think they don't need him, they can hire him back next month for more money when the crew starts to waste time and make mistakes. Few good shop owners are that short sighted.

 

[Saint Peter]

and that is more valuable than a plain old fabricator.

You lost me right here.

 

[rosco rathbone]

oi, thor

wtf are these?

Outside a fab shop by my house.

Pilings? Something that gets augured into watery soil and filled with concrete?

They are hollow, one end is chamfered or cambered or beveled or whatever you call it and then sealed off, other end open. Open end has what looks like bolt holes on both sides. Then there's that weird auger-looking round thing like a big lock-washer at the beveled end.

I've never seen anything like that.

 

[thør]

wtf are these?

Outside a fab shop by my house.

Pilings? Something that gets augured into watery soil and filled with concrete?

They are hollow, one end is chamfered or cambered or beveled or whatever you call it and then sealed off, other end open. Open end has what looks like bolt holes on both sides. Then there's that weird auger-looking round thing like a big lock-washer at the beveled end.

I've never seen anything like that.

Those are helical piers or they could be some stout helical anchors. Normally, they are hot dip galvanized, but I suppose, no one really gives a shit in NYC on how long they last. I love the red shop coating. You can almost watch them start to rust when your applying it. One company that sells them is the A. B. Chance Company. If installed according to Chance's recommendations, many engineers say you are "taking a chance." It looks like your local fab guys are beating Chance's cost. Now, these things could be used for tie-backs in an excavation and then they wouldn't need any coating because they'd have a short service life.

 

[rosco rathbone]

I could make those things on a couple of sawhorses on the sidewalk here.

Probably beat both their prices.

Thanks thor.

 

[thør]

I could make those things on a couple of sawhorses on the sidewalk here.

Probably beat both their prices.

Thanks thor.

Pulling the donut into the helix shape is a pain in the ass unless you you have a press on the sidewalk. Most of those units aren't built closed on the bottom. They cut better with an open lead.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Pulling the donut into the helix shape is a pain in the ass unless you you have a press on the sidewalk. Most of those units aren't built closed on the bottom. They cut better with an open lead.

I was just going to heat it up when no inspectors were looking and then crank on it with a 3 ton comealong (that I took in lieu of unpaid OT) hanging from this tree branch out front here.

 

[Saint Peter]

I was just going to heat it up when no inspectors were looking and then crank on it with a 3 ton comealong (that I took in lieu of unpaid OT) hanging from this tree branch out front here.

What holds the other end?

 

[rosco rathbone]

What holds the other end?

One end goes around the branch, the other end goes to a lug or dog on the helical plate.

Ok, it might not end up a perfect spirol.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Oh, I see what you mean.

Anchor blots in the sidewalk. SOmething like that.

 

[thør]

What holds the other end?

12.5 ton skyhook

 

[Saint Peter]

12.5 ton skyhook

Google is my friend.
http://enr.construction.com/images2/2008/07/080723-19.jpg

 

[thør]

Google is my friend.
http://enr.construction.com/images2/2008/07/080723-19.jpg

That's one way to keep the IBEW out of the tower building business......