How many of you work alone?

[totoro]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.  I spend the vast majority of my days working unaccompanied and i'm generally ok with that but recently there have been a few jobs where i would very much appreciate another pair of hands, or someone to go off and get materials etc.  It makes sense to me to have installers working in pairs, my boss doesn't seem to see it the same way for obvious reasons.  I'm thinking about bringing this up with my boss and it's got me wondering how many other engineers work like this.  

Putting two competent engineers on a job might cost twice as much in wages but in my experience the job is done in probably a third of the time it would take for one engineer and with less mistakes!

Edited April 12, 2016 by totoro

[PeterJames]

From an employers point of view:

It depends on the size of the job, If a job is supposed to take 8 hours, sending one man it will take 8 hours, but sending two men it will take 6 hours taking into account travel time ect

An engineer costs £37.50 per hour so two engineers cost £65.00 per hour, so sending two chaps to do an 8 hour job would cost £90.00 more, if I was to quote my jobs with an additional £90.00 chances are I would not get it.

Whilst sending two chaps to the same job will get the job done slightly quicker it wont necessarily be more efficient either. I could send two chaps to do two jobs that take 8 hours and get two jobs done, but if I send two blokes to one 8 hour job they wont finish it in time to get to the second 8 hour job.

Sometimes there are jobs where two men are essential, the ladder needs footing, or on  a maintenance where the fire alarm needs resetting while the other chap is testing the smokes. For this we have apprentices, apprentices cost less, but they do less, in most cases they can slow the engineer down as he has to keep stopping to show the apprentice how to screw stuff on the wall. I still think these little chaps can be handy to go and get the tea or the special adjusting tool from the van. On top of this good ones do learn and eventually save time, but they are expensive to begin with, especially when they nail your expensive C&K screw driver under the floorboards and re lay the carpet before you have noticed. This is what I would recommend over sending two skilled chaps to the same job.

 

If the job is a few weeks worth of work then I tend to use a group of subbies on price work and just use my chaps to commission

 

[jammin31]

I don't know many companies that have more than one engineer working on a job except for if and when it's absolutely nessacary, the cost implication I assume is the biggest factor plus the fact there are not too many jobs in the scheme of things that definitively require two separate engineers.

if two engineers are required full stop then it would be nice to think the company has priced it accordingly and allows the correct amount of man power to that specific job (I did mean in an ideal world)

if your undertaking a job that would put you in any kind of risk by doing it alone then as far as I'm concerned you don't do it until help has arrived

thats my two pence worth.

[al-yeti]

I hate working where possible get someone else to do some for me while I dunk tea 

[WDT]

6 hours ago, al-yeti said:

I hate working where possible get someone else to do some for me while I dunk tea 

I like your plan,

[Amps]

6 hours ago, al-yeti said:

I hate working where possible get someone else to do some for me while I dunk tea 

 

32 minutes ago, WDT said:

I like your plan,

Do i know you guys? 

[jammin31]

Someone mention tea ?!

[WDT]

1 hour ago, Amps said:

 

Do i know you guys? 

Not yet, but I make a good cup of tea,

1 hour ago, jammin31 said:

Someone mention tea ?!

Phone customer on route gives them chance to pop the kettle on

[J&D Security]

I thought lone working was a no no when working at heights. Anything up a ladder or steps is working at heights.

[Amps]

3 minutes ago, J&D Security said:

I thought lone working was a no no when working at heights. Anything up a ladder or steps is working at heights.

Working next to a pot hole is working at height.