Fechino Files: Differences

Words: Steven Fechino

I recently traveled to a city where I met with several contractors. After we talked a bit, several of the folks showed me around their places, and I saw two different ways of thinking based on the employees' personalities. I am sure you are wondering where I am going. I am an equipment neat and organized freak. For instance, in one of the places I went to, the trucks were a mess with trash and paper everywhere, ropes tangled, and tools out of the racks—you get the picture. I asked if it bothered the managers I was walking with, and they said, of course, it does, but some of their most productive employees are the messiest. That is a game changer. If a particular mechanic makes more money than another mechanic, do you put up with the mess? The contractor said to me that if this is how they keep a truck, they most likely keep their house the same, and they do not see an issue.

This is a common condition for many work trucks. If this is the method that works best for the mechanic, will Friday afternoon cleaning be worth the expense and losing a short amount of production? I doubt it, as much as it hurts to say.

Sometimes you need to accept the folks that handle the workload for who they are and not who you want them to be. This was a learned thing for me. As I age out of the workforce, I realize that today’s workforce is tasked with more complex materials, processes, and regulations than I ever saw as a young person in the trades. Estimated productions, however, may not be what they were in the 1990s, but they are still high enough that a full day of hard work is what it takes to achieve them, even with the added paperwork, safety meetings, and longer-than-desired job-site meetings. The person who works hard in this day and age is a special employee.

I have been to companies where everything is spotless, trash is dumped every evening, tools are put away properly, and the truck is fueled the evening before. Both companies make money, both companies have good employees, and both companies do great work, so how much pressure do you put on the mechanic to keep an organized truck? In my opinion, you don’t. You train the helpers to keep up with the trash, tools, cords, and ropes right from the start once they are hired. If they begin the trade this way, they will likely continue in the trade this way, and this will eliminate conflict with the mechanic, keeping the mechanic producing what they were hired for.

I know my thinking may not be of the general opinion. Just based on experience, folks can be taught the trade, but I do not believe you can teach an artist to be neat and organized, nor can you teach an engineer to work from a messy desk.

I will also say that I personally do spend a lot of time wrapping and tying cords, blowing the dust out of tools, and organizing and cleaning my old work truck. If I needed to pay for this, the investment might not be worth the expense, but to drive down the road to do a day of work knowing everything is in place reduces stress and makes start-up much easier for me personally.

Last week I needed to use a quickie saw, one that had not been started in a while. Pull, pull, pull… well, I got it started but felt like I needed a shoulder replacement… oh, come on, you have been there too… Anyway, now is a good time to check for good fuel, clean filters, new spark plugs, good blades, and tight belts. Oh, yeah, at my age, it is good to remember the tricks to starting some of the older equipment. Like a Stihl needs to have the choke switch all the way down; never use either on anything because a heat gun can do the same thing. Some tools choke up, such as Husqvarna, and some choke down, like an Echo. Sometimes you just need to take a second and think it out; some of you have been there too.

I also had to make it a rule that with four-stroke or larger equipment, if you start it, check the oil and antifreeze first, especially if the equipment has sat through the winter months without starting. If you know, you know. No, it did not happen to me. Well, maybe it did. Okay, it did. Checking the oil and antifreeze is critical to starting equipment that has been sitting idle. Fuel and a battery, yes, this matters too, but you always check those. It is the oil and antifreeze that take the extra two minutes but are so very worth the effort. I would bet at least one person reading this has experienced the engine problems that are created from not checking first.

The industry has lost two of its great partners recently, Fred Mason Jr. and Brian Carney. Both great men made a difference to many lives that continue to mold and build our industry. They will both be missed dearly. I have no good enough, big enough, or powerful enough words to express how special these men were, but I hope this begins to express the impact both men made on our industry. When I would see either Fred or Brian, I was always excited to feel the energy that they would bring to every encounter I would have with them. They were each a perfect example of how to be a good person in this world, teaching many of us to be better by their example.

The sun is out, Go lay some brick!

Fechino Files: Differences

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