Pace of Work

[GT1]

This is going to sound a bit odd and i may regret this... however..!

Because I only ever work by myself, I'm concerned that I dont work at the same pace as others..??

Just a very quick bit of background..
I'm part-time spark, full time "other" occupation.
NAPIT registered - "GT Electrical" (if you wanna check lol). 2391 qualified, regs etc etc etc
back on the tools for 4 years.
Run my own van, and get plenty of work, nearly all through referrals. May well go full time soon.
Came back to electrical work after many, many years away, but have been doing house renovations and been in general engineering otherwise..

Anyway..
Here was my day today
Arrive on job - domestic refurb - 9.30am - cuppa tea, chat, get tools/gear out the van.. make a start..
First task - properly wire an outside light that is currently on a plug top fitted to some 1.5 t/e..
Lift a few floorboards upstairs, and hunt for lighting neutral. Located it. Remove downstairs light switches and back boxes and try and find a route for my neutral. Drill hole in top of stud wall from above to get in the void between, cable rod through, neutral in, wire new 2 gang sw and back box. Wagobox upstairs where i splice into neutral loop..
Cut more holes in stud wall and get a route for light cable then wire to 2 gang sw.
Remove the old spur that the light plugged into which was 2/3rds up the wall, and wired from another nearby spur.
That lot probably took me 2 hours - cup of tea time and a (very) quick bite.

second task.
Change 3 single sockets for doubles. Extend existing holes in stud wall for 2 of them - wire.
Third one was in brick.. owner chopped out for extra box, but badly, had to sort, fix back box, then wire..

third task.
Downstairs.
Wire one FCU for a garage supply (also was on plug top).
Change single socket next to it for double, again had to pi$$ about with poor chopping out. Wire it.
Change 2 more singles to doubles.. similar problems where bad chopping out had to be sorted (SDS with wide chisel used by me)
Wire another double socket, back box already fitted by me yesterday, wired into existing ring.

Fourth task.
Upstairs again, same lifted floorboards, locate old immersion heater cct in void, chop that switch "drop" into the kitchen, rejoin in the void. (going to be used as supply for new combi boiler). Then fit FCU in the airing cupboard where the neon sw used to be. Remove old sw in the kitchen and chop cable ends ready for owner chasing out old cable.

During the day I lost an hour on the job to pop out and get up some steel channel, then i lost another half hour or more when i ran out of FCUs and pop round the corner to CEF for more..

Packed away tools at 6.30pm.....

Thankfully I havent priced this job on a fixed price. Im pretty much on an hourly rate.
I know its difficult to judge, but im just wondering if anyone can pass an opinion as to whether or not im not at a pace whereby, some other spark is going to come and say ive been stringing it out.!

My only "down time" was the occasional bog stop and 2 cups of tea. But i do have those "stop and think moments" where I just check myself that im not causing myself more work or if theres not a better way or progressing, before i pick up a hammer and chisel..!!

anyway.. there you go.. comments appreciated.

 

[sparkdog]

I sometimes wonder about that as well but don't bother too much about it.Looks allright to me.Sometimes a simple job takes ages because of unforseen snags.

 

[bigbaddave]

Mmmm.. You been on the beer? Lol

 

[bigbaddave]

I'm with the above. Some little jobs which you've quoted for takes ages and on the other hand rewires sometimes take less time than you thought. When you start losing jobs because your too slow then start worrying

 

[GT1]

I have had a swift John Smiff's has it happens. Mainly cos its been a pig of a week..!
Anyway.
Yes it just occurred to me to ask how much other guys are getting thru in a day, because yesterday's job ran over too, and I couldn't put my hand on where I was slowed down. And that was priced..!

 

[Geordie Spark]

That reads like the sort of day I used to have.

No matter what anybody says or thinks, you can only do one hours work in one hour, and the job takes as long as it takes.

 

[Richard Burns]

Jobs take that long, no matter that it is only a couple of wires and should only take five minutes!
I took 1.5 days to earth a lighting circuit because I could not get past some odd joists or remove furniture from the room for taking up floorboards.
Some people are quicker than others for sure.

I wish I knew the correct answer!

 

[Geordie Spark]

Jobs take that long, no matter that it is only a couple of wires and should only take five minutes!
I took 1.5 days to earth a lighting circuit because I could not get past some odd joists or remove furniture from the room for taking up floorboards.
Some people are quicker than others for sure.

I wish I knew the correct answer!

I'm not sure if there is a correct answer Richard.

Some jobs will take longer than you expect and others will take less time.

Some jobs you will lose money on and others you will make a nice profit.

As long as you have some decent profit at your year end and you're happy doing what you're doing you're ok.

 

[JulianC]

You need to increase your tea intake. 2 per day is nowhere near enough. Needs to be double that at least. A hydrated worker is a productive worker.

 

[telectrix]

i'd be quite happy to have done all that in a day.

 

[wade88]

Took me an entire day to bond incoming supplies in a house as only way to pipe work was through the kitchen from the CU, the previous owner i believe must of had some sort of flooring fetish as it was chip board straight onto the joist, covered in 3, yes 3 layers of different tiles......... the kitchen was at a slightly lower level to the rest of the house, i think he had either over tiled the house in order to raise the floor level... or was just a total odd ball.

At any rate, it was possibly the most impressive cable rodding you would have ever seen in the end. As has already been said, on the days schedule, its often the jobs you have already mentally considered to be the least time consuming, that end up being the total pigs that eat through your day.

And yea two cups of tea just isnt going to cut it. Because if your not sweating, your not working hard enough.

 

[imago]

How quickly other people work is completely irellavent. Firstly they're not doing the job, you are. Secondly you can only make a comparison if you and someone else are doing exaclty the same job in the same conditions with the same tools, materials and obstacles. Never going to happen.

It takes exactly the amount of time required to complete the job, no more, no less. As other have pointed out though, two brews? That's way too few.

The rewards for this kind of work aren't great at the moment, so at least part of it has to be a level of enjoyment and satisfaction with what you're doing. A 'nose down 4rse up' approach is only suitable for the **** industry.

 

[GT1]

Hehe.
Good replies fellas.
I do agree about the tea intake being waaaay too low.
I would usually have at least one an hour + biccies..!!

 

[wade88]

Oh ok were going there are we..... what biccies.... this is important.

Calorie intake/trans fat ratio is crucial....

Can't get better then a chocolate hob-nobs. good fibre, good slow release energy, high sugar to keep you going, robust in built and can withstand a little moisture from the tea.

 

[imago]

Biscuits are inadequate for any serious tradesman IMHO. What you need for a trade such as ours which combines physical graft along with technical knowledge is cake.

Start the day with the only French thing worth talking about, croissants. Mid morning something simple like madiera, then for some mid-afternoon energy nothing will hit the spot like lardy cake.

 

[telectrix]

Biscuits are inadequate for any serious tradesman IMHO. What you need for a trade such as ours which combines physical graft along with technical knowledge is cake.

Start the day with the only French thing worth talking about, croissants. Mid morning something simple like madiera, then for some mid-afternoon energy nothing will hit the spot like lardy cake.

croiisants, my arse. bacon, eggs, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast . aka a full english.

 

[Silly Sausage]

What's with all this biscuits and cake nonsense.
A rack of beef dripping butties is what you need, and if you're lucky, you'll get some with the brown jelly in there!

 

[imago]

bacon, eggs, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast . aka a full english.

Don't you read the news? All that processed meat will kill you. What you need is to replace it with fat and sugar for a balanced diet.

croiisants, my arse.

Kinky!

 

[imago]

What's with all this biscuits and cake nonsense.
A rack of beef dripping butties is what you need, and if you're lucky, you'll get some with the brown jelly in there!

Dripping on toast. I'm almost salivating at the thought. I may have to send the lad out on a mission to find some dripping.

 

[telectrix]

Don't you read the news? All that processed meat will kill you. What you need is to replace it with fat and sugar for a balanced diet.

well, it's been trying for 66 years, ain't done me in yet.
​

 

[imago]

well, it's been trying for 66 years, ain't done me in yet.

Makes you laugh doesn't it, all these stories about what everyone should or shouldn't be eating.

I'm off to the IOM for the TT in May/June and top of the 'must do' list is a full Irish breakfast. Eggs, bacon, suasage, white pudding, black pudding, soda bread, potatoe cakes, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, bread & butter and a big mug of tea. The first time I ordered one I wasn't sure if I was supposed to eat it or climb it! Have to give it a few hours before I get on the bike afterwards though.

 

[Silly Sausage]

Don't you read the news? All that processed meat will kill you. What you need is to replace it with fat and sugar for a balanced diet.

well, it's been trying for 66 years, ain't done me in yet.
​

There's one those veggie/organic stores near me, and you've never seen so many miserable, scrawny, pasty faced people in your life.
Meat for me!

 

[GT1]

My breakfast of choice at the moment (well not quite a breakfast) is a subway breakfast sub.
£2 for a 6" bacon sub and coffee.

That said this morning I've had a full monty cooked breakfast for £2.50..!

 

[kingeri]

I sometimes think I'm quite slow, but I am also very careful...a bit of a perfectionist. After all, I'm putting my name to my work, and I'd rather take a little longer and know I didn't miss anything and that everything's 100%. Also, there are times when working alone that a simple cable routing can take longer than if you have help. I'd say enjoy yourself and take your time. Rushing just leads to mistakes!

 

[wade88]

Sorry mate we've mugged off the original post topic and moved on to far superior conversations. It's all about food now.

You're all soft. The only mid morning snack for me is a halal chicken breast with %10 pork...... who saw that in the news. I almost died laughing.

 

[imago]

Sorry mate we've mugged off the original post topic and moved on to far superior conversations. It's all about food now.

You're all soft. The only mid morning snack for me is a halal chicken breast with %10 pork...... who saw that in the news. I almost died laughing.

You couldn't make it up.

 

[wade88]

I shouldn't laugh because i know its a really big deal for a lot of people and they have been seriously let down by it, but i mean jesus, of all the things to cross contaminate their halal chicken with! would have been less controversial for them if it was human meat rather than pork! lol

 

[Mr.Si]

I certainly felt I was slow today - 2 hours to run a 45mtr speaker cable run, clipped direct! It was all the ups and downs of ladders and clipping in. It's amazing how time flies on such a menial task. 2 hours for the next one too, about 35 mtrs. Again, up and down ladders and clipping in. However, the next 3 were done in less than an hour. It's amazing how much extra time is taken just due to a couple of obstacles!

 

[Geordie Spark]

There's one those veggie/organic stores near me, and you've never seen so many miserable, scrawny, pasty faced people in your life.
Meat for me!

Lindisfarne - Meet me on the Corner - YouTube

 

[Kamikaze]

On Thursday it took me four hours to get a draw wire across a 15m boxed in purling in a warehouse because there was leads of stuff in the way. In the end it just popped out on the other side by itself while I was having a cup of coffee. Sometime you just got to take the rough with the smooth.

 

[High Tower]

Some jobs fly, some don't. Wednesday we had to fit a wireless intercom to a brand new building, took us a hour to pass the control cable into the building.

Last night was replacing a 80m run of fire alarm through a school inside ceiling voids, above class rooms, into the sports hall and around service ducts. Surprisingly we were in the van on the way home within 3 hours.