When the older guys retire

John and Gary, I get this funny feeling that none of the expertise is passed down to the new guys comming in. Our T1 line went down that we use for our DSL here at work. It's been a real pain with all the finger pointing but the bottom line is it did turn out to be a Ameritech line issue somewhere outside. It took all the "experts" almost 3 days to figure it out!

The one thing that I really discovered is how dependent this world has become on the Internet!!

8122pbrainard wrote: The one thing that I really discovered is how dependent this world has become on the Internet!!

Ya got that right Peter!
Burns my ass, running an engineering dept. the computers go down and everyone sits back - can't do any work. No one knows how to run a pencil anymore!

I think, no matter what bussiness your in, the older "commen-sense, work around the problem" guys are fading away. The young bucks rely on technolgy to do it for them.

My view is that the computer is a tool. No different than a hammer. You run the tool the tool doesn't run you.

The art of a good pencil drawing has become pretty much just an art with the newer cad programs, the lower to midrange programs like solidworks are so easy to learn and use it is usually easier for me as an engineering manager to solid model something and give it to designer to be detailed than it is for me to make a sketch and get someone to model then draw it up. If you can't beat em... join em.

I have a computer in my grungy barn basement shop, and can't wait to get the internet on it. I often find myself running the mile to the house to look something up when working on a truck or boat project, even if its just parts availability or pricing. Hate to spend hours sand blasting welding and machining to save a part that I then find I could have gotten down the street brand new for 15 bucks.

I do agree with your assessment of what happens when people retire, I have spent my career in engineering departments recovering from massive buyouts during the 90s when anyone that could put together a power point presentation could become a CEO and get paid big bucks going from company to company raising profits by buying out all the people with experience, slashing pension benefits, and cutting R and D costs. Most of these guys got a new and better paying job doing the same thing long before the chickens came home to roost a few years later when the companies had no new products to bring to market and no people who knew how to get new products to market. Slow process to recover that lost knowledge.

Pete: I am not sure abourt Gary but I bet he'll agree....if a T1 in our area was down certain of us guys did not go home till it was back up. Worked many a all nighter. I just never felt that i had a "9 to 5" job. Whatever it took to get the customer back up well thats what it took. Missed a few Holidays and lots of dinners and bowling nights. Thats why I loverd the partner I had...he never wanted to go home at 5 either. Some of the guys now...well they are cleaning up at 3:30.

Bet if I worked with Tim that wouldn't be a problem. He strikes me as a "old" young guy. Or a guy like JEFF KOSTIS. Man I loved working with guys like that.

john

Hey John you'll shake your head at this.We have a manager who tells her guy's if they can't fix it in 90 min to give it back to dispatch.Then when one of us gets it we call our boss to let him know and the fireworks begin.I had one yesterday,snowing so hard you can't see,my good buddy who's a cable repairman in her crew was told to return one for a bucket.So much snow a bucket truck can't even get close to the pole anyway. Called my boss,he takes it away from me, puts my buddy back on it and sends me to help.As you know a much better way to do it at least were not running around in circles doing something that had already been done.

John and Gary, The first day the finger pointing was at a equipment failure and not a actual line fault. After all the managers were done talking to the "techs" on that first day then the cable guys got involved. I guess no one thought about just sticking the tone generator on one end of the line and checking!! Of coarse from my end, I'll never get the full or true story!!

They are really watching the duration time for us to fix or prove trouble out of our offices on T1's and above out here in Ca. I'm sure it's probably the same for your NTechs out there. The company is really watching these outages.
Kurt

How's this for stupidity?
The outside guys are behind because of the storms. Management is sending maintainence splicers on regular repair tickets. They are told that if the trouble is in the cable, they have to refer it to cable maintainence and then go on another regular repair ticket. They're playing a numbers game that's going to catch up with them someday.

Conversation between a tech and a customer:

Tech: "I'm sorry, the trouble is in the cable, we'll have to send a splicer out to fix it."

Cust: "How will I know he's a splicer?"

Tech: "He'll be driving a bucket truck."

Cust: "But you're driving a bucket truck."

Tech: "I know. I'm a splicer."

Cust: "Then why don't YOU fix it?"

Too bad business can't charge back for loss of revenue when the service goes out. The providers probably have CYA language in the contract against that. As long as they don't have to be accountable for their performance, not much will change.

LOL at your "conversation".....'cause it is just what happens.

My last couple a years....when I wasn't underground...I was the cronic guy in our area. Loved 'em. The boss didn't mind because I was by far the slowest guy in the garage. But when I finally did get done...they stayed fixed. Had a thick folder of letters that I would have to pull out at the end of the year if I had a new boss when we talked about "results".

john

Think about visiting your Dad in the Keys and stopping at your new buddy's house in Lake Wales.

5...you are killin' me....even tho I know it is doubletime for you all week. Was 53 here this am and I was cold. But me and Eddie did foot yesterday.....well he footed...I tried....still can't get bacerds.

john

Well maybe next time...

john