same boat here, i used to do 5-7 jobs a day (not all installs, but i could easily knock out 4 and be home by 7pm if i left the office by 10 even if i ran into a shitshow, and i managed the network and handled tech support one id get connected at each customers house) now im happy if our guys gets 2 installs or 3 upgrades in a day (not happy, but happy)
expectation is always higher from people who take ownership in their job, even if they arent owners, im cursed with that affliction, most guys dont, its just a job, it is what it is those of us who can "see" an install before they finish the survey tend to have minds that are always busy, we are usually the guys who cant sleep at night because as we are closing our eyes we wonder if that crimp we made two years ago on the job before we found out our crimper blade was dull is going to fail, and we consider for a minute maybe we should drive over real quick tonite and put a new end, then realize its stupid, but it doesnt matter because by this point we are thinking about something else, and the pillow is getting so hot. alot of guys just hit and install one step at a time. i also did stuff that was questionably safe like climbing a rusty 40 foot tower with a laptop and a small battery backup in a backpack because cellphones werent as useful and the battery market wasnt awesome. regular guys expect if any issue whatsoever with the install tools happens they will just call in i went out with the current guy, hes just slow, and he talks too much, has the problem where if his mouth is moving his hands arent. get onsite, greet customer, always moving, get the restrictions, give them a rough idea of intent, always moving to the inside, find where they want it, figure out the exit, and you have your inside plan. I made the guys some good test cables, each 70 foot long with clear markings every ten foot. run from the inverter, mount, peak, if its warm you already terminated the top of the outdoor cable and brought that end up with you, secure it on the way down to the point of entry, cut and terminate it, mount the SS and plug it in. if its cold, you know your footage from the cable markers, hop in the van pull out the right amount of cable terminate both ends in the toasty van, run up, plug it in, secure it on the way down, boom, youre ready to put your ladder and outside stuff back in the van. grab the indoor cable, drill your hole, push the cable in, go inside, drill any holes, grab your cable, get it to the end point, terminate it, do any stapling or whatever you need to do. go outside, terminate, plug it in the SS, seal any holes with mastic, bam. go inside, drop the power supply and router, add everything to the system. train the customer for 20 minutes, move on. nope.. not at all, Ive seen this guy on roof with a box of outdoor cable in his hand, ive seen him take a cable up, wrap it around a radio come down cut it to length, climb up to get it off, climb down terminate the top, climb down terminate the bottom, climb up and secure the cable. and thats an efficient day On Sun, Apr 23, 2017 at 11:32 PM, Adam Moffett <dmmoff...@gmail.com> wrote: > It's not too much to ask for a person to do an internet install in 2-3 > hours. > They ought to be able to hit that goal in 90 days or less. If they > couldn't I would try someone new. > > If their full time mission is doing new installations, then the goal > should be to give them 3 per day IMO. Drive time is a big wild card here > of course. If you had the luxury of installing people who are all within 5 > minute drive of each other, then you could do 4 or even 5 per day**. I > know because I've done it, and I'm not a super man. I'm motivated, but > I've seen people more motivated than me. > > My preference would actually be 2 per day. It's achievable. The > installer has time to do a really nice job and make sure the customer is > happy. It's not overly stressful. He's likely to have some extra time > which can be used for a last minute service call, or to reorganize the van, > or whatever. > > **I'll grant you I could not get up tomorrow and do 5 installs. I'm older > and fatter and out of practice. Just saying it can be done. > > > ------ Original Message ------ > From: "Brandon Yuchasz" <li...@gogebicrange.net> > To: af@afmug.com > Sent: 4/23/2017 7:37:11 PM > Subject: [AFMUG] installer hire / training process. > > I was going to type a long PC type post about this (which I did anyway > sorry) . But instead I am going to just ask how you guys go about trying to > teach / train a new installer to work faster? > > > > We have a guy right now that was hired to be an installer with other > duties as assigned. He is good at the other duties and has a good > understanding of networking, computers and even RF. The problem is that he > is very slow on installs and the primary job he was hired to do. > > > > I spent quite a bit of time with him last week trying to figure out where > the speed issues were coming from. So I took him on site surveys ahead of > time with me and we laid out the entire installs during the survey. Install > here, wire down here, across here in through wall here and terminate. You > could see the tower from these sites so hanging and tuning the radio was a > breeze. > > > > I sent him out on two installs the day after that. First one I considered > a hard install. The second one easy. They took him over 10 hours not > counting drive time. > > > > I spent the next morning doing site checks on them with the customers > permission. Both customers were happy with him and his install and not a > single thing on the install was done incorrectly I took another installer > with me and asked him to run the time frame in his head. He came up to 3 > hours for each install. So had I but we are both experienced. > > > > So I talked really briefly with the new guy about getting faster and then > took him to an install I had surveyed myself. Ran him through the entire > install. Radio here, wire down here….. in and terminate. Install router. I > left the more experienced guy with him to answer questions but told him to > not physically help and explained to the new guy that if he had questions > to ask because the other guy is there to help him figure out a faster > process and would be talking with me after the install about ways to speed > up the process so we can help him. I should mention the experienced guy is > a supervisor so no hard feelings should be had here. I left him at 9:00 > > > > I was thinking that maybe I was being unrealistic in my time frames on > installs since normally I have a helper on my installs and we knock out > three to four a day. I felt like I got my installs done in 3 hours max when > I was alone but never really timed them. So when I left the new guy I drove > a half hour to what I considered a hard install and did it alone. Was done > at 12:30 and driving back to check on the new guy. When I got there he was > just about done with the install but the truck was spread around the > driveway ( not throwing stones I have been known to do this). So he was > going past hour 4 at this point with paperwork and packing the truck he was > going to be at 5 for sure. I stepped in did the paperwork and quietly > asked the other guy to pack up the truck some. This was done for selfish > reasons ( its Friday and I have a family) and also because we had a > between 1 and 3 to hit for the final install of the day. > > > > Grabbed subway. Scoffed it down. I bought and we headed to the last job. > > > > I had the supervisor guy in my truck and we have worked together a lot > 100s of installs together. So on the way to the install which he had never > seen I prep him on it. Big ladder ( 32”) up on the gable on the back of the > house. Take the little giant around to the deck so I can access the roof. > And it’s a tripod install. So when we pull into the drive I point to the > back of the house “that’s the back” he says okay and I go to ring the > doorbell and say hello. He has the new guy with him so he told him to help > with the ladder and then instructed him to start an rj45 on a wire. When I > walked out the ladder was up and the supervisor was at the top screwing > down the tripod. I grabbed the mast, mounted the antenna and put the > wireless unit on it to tune and scurried up the small ladder and up the > roof. Ill make this short. We hung the gear and tuned and marked the tripod > and I went down and he had just finished the RJ45. In his defense he had > put one on a 3 foot scrap piece that he had confused with the rest of the > wire in the box( I don’t know) so this was his second end. Anyway we just > ran the job and he stayed out of the way. This was a hard roof, tall and > not LOS and we were done in the truck heading home in just under two hours. > But that was two guys and we ran. > > > > Ok so this is getting long sorry about that but I just am at a loss with > this guy. I did realize on that last job I run on job sites. I always run > to the truck back from the truck and I think ahead. This guy defiantly does > not run and nothing is done with any sense of urgency. He is certainly > smart and I hate to let him go because he has other values but I don’t know > what I can do to help him. He was hired to take the load off of me and I > realize at the beginning new guys are work but its been over two months now > he just recently took on jobs alone and he is not taking the load off. He > is adding to it. > > > > Thoughts? > > > > Is to wrong to say, your slow I don’t know why but I am going to fire you > if you don’t get fast. I wish I could tell you how to get fast but Its lots > of little things. Start with running everywhere you go and see if that > helps? > > > > Seriously…. I do want to know from those of you that have hired lots of > guys what are your thoughts? Should I not be running one man crews with the > expectation of two installs in an 8 hour day with an hour of drive time in > there? > > > > Thanks, > > Brandon > > > > > > > > > > > >
