Knuckles 904 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Been a stranger for a bit....Today is the first day off since New Years The deadline for the big project we are doing was originally June 1st and they changed that in late January to April 1st. Because of the date it took about an hour for my boss to convince me he wasn't pranking me. The funny thing was the date change was for record keeping only...they got some new accounting software so all existing Purchase Orders had to be closed by that date so they can go to the new software. This unfortunately put a huge strain on us...we had scheduled the whole thing based on June 1st. And being a small company it meant some very long days and weeks away from family and friends. Last week I hit 118 hours, a record for me, and being the 6th week of 100+ hours we were all walking zombies. Sometimes even the simplest tasks took forever because we keep making stupid mistakes. But we made the deadline and I actually have 2 days off...we still have a lot to do to finish the project...a lot of drawings and system manuals still have to be made and some final training for their techs before we can hand the system over. But the worst is over. And since we've done such a great job on this huge project (we started in 2008) they are now thinking of expanding it to include 2 more districts in New York ( Long Island and Syracuse) I guess the old saying is too true here "No good deed goes unpunished" But I should be around again for at least the next few months...maybe I can actually get some playing done Link to comment
Flooxim 50 Share Posted March 30, 2013 It's good to hear from you again! I was wondering where you'd been. That's some crazy weeks you've been through, I'm sure I would never be able to work that much in the same week. Link to comment
Dragon Brother 620 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Great to hear that you are still alive after all that. You really sound like you need a nice long tropical vacation... Link to comment
Omnicide 27 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Been a stranger for a bit....Today is the first day off since New Years The deadline for the big project we are doing was originally June 1st and they changed that in late January to April 1st. Because of the date it took about an hour for my boss to convince me he wasn't pranking me. The funny thing was the date change was for record keeping only...they got some new accounting software so all existing Purchase Orders had to be closed by that date so they can go to the new software. This unfortunately put a huge strain on us...we had scheduled the whole thing based on June 1st. And being a small company it meant some very long days and weeks away from family and friends. Last week I hit 118 hours, a record for me, and being the 6th week of 100+ hours we were all walking zombies. Sometimes even the simplest tasks took forever because we keep making stupid mistakes. But we made the deadline and I actually have 2 days off...we still have a lot to do to finish the project...a lot of drawings and system manuals still have to be made and some final training for their techs before we can hand the system over. But the worst is over. And since we've done such a great job on this huge project (we started in 2008) they are now thinking of expanding it to include 2 more districts in New York ( Long Island and Syracuse) I guess the old saying is too true here "No good deed goes unpunished" But I should be around again for at least the next few months...maybe I can actually get some playing done Kudos to you, Knuckles. I would of seriously jumped off a cliff instead of working those many hours. My games would have been lonely without me... I'm wondering if you spent your first 24 hours off doing nothing but sleeping? Link to comment
Etherian 76 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Welcome home once again Knuck! What you have been through reminds me of an old pirate saying. "The beatings will continue until moral improves." Have a few on me... I remain, 1 Link to comment
Knuckles 904 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 Good one Eth....got a chuckle out of that....I actually asked the owner if I could buy a day off I really wanted to sleep in, but after weeks of waking up at 4am, I couldn't get past 5am either day What I did over the weekend might sound like torture to some. I watched all the movies in the Twilight series with my daughter. Something we've been trying to do for a couple months now. I just saw it as finally being able to spend some quality time with the kiddo, glittering vampires was the cost of doing that lol Link to comment
Knuckles 904 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 Well no more weekend work Well no more weekend work Had to write it twice because it looks soooo awesome to say lol. The project we started back in 2008 is finally drawing to a close. Still have a lot to do but the big stuff is all done and the system is up and operational. All vehicles (over 4500) now have new radio systems and all 48 tower sites are completed. Phew Now all that home improvement stuff I've been blowing off for years will finally get some attention. Haven't had 2 consecutive 2 day weekends off in probably 12-18 months. Going to feel pretty weird to actually have time off again 1 Link to comment
gogoblender 3,338 Share Posted April 27, 2013 YOu must be so happy, and excited...weekends! Can't love 'em enuff gogo Link to comment
Dragon Brother 620 Share Posted April 27, 2013 Thats awesome knuckles! I bet you find yourself bored with all the time on your hands... Link to comment
Knuckles 904 Author Share Posted July 8, 2013 Well I knew it couldn't last Just bid and probably won a project to simulcast the entire National Guard New England division Not sure what it all entails but will be another big project. Simulcasting can be very difficult when you have more than 3 tower sites. After that phasing, synchronizing and adjusting for lag between sites needs a Bachelor's in Mathematics (well almost) Least it's easier to do in a digital format. Just heard a little about it this morning when the boss stepped in as I was headed out to a job. Least I got a lot done on my house this last week during my time off . With my luck, we'll being doing the tower sites (a.k.a mountain tops) in the winter like we always seem to do 1 Link to comment
Dragon Brother 620 Share Posted July 9, 2013 You're a sucker for punishment aren't you? Tower sites on mountain tops hey? Sounds pretty chilly... Link to comment
gogoblender 3,338 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Well I knew it couldn't last Just bid and probably won a project to simulcast the entire National Guard New England division Not sure what it all entails but will be another big project. Simulcasting can be very difficult when you have more than 3 tower sites. After that phasing, synchronizing and adjusting for lag between sites needs a Bachelor's in Mathematics (well almost) Least it's easier to do in a digital format. Just heard a little about it this morning when the boss stepped in as I was headed out to a job. Least I got a lot done on my house this last week during my time off . With my luck, we'll being doing the tower sites (a.k.a mountain tops) in the winter like we always seem to do Just caught this news! lol, is it good or bad though Don't lose your summer friend. I loved reading through what you did for your house. gogo Link to comment
Knuckles 904 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Well it's good and bad..... Good in that we're going to be busy. Hopefully not to the extreme like the previous project. It's such a niche profession (which is good and bad too). Not many companies do what we do but also with the infusion of cell phones many of the smaller 'mom and pop' companies have migrated to them. So there is less of a market place for us. So competition for projects can be a little cutthroat. Funny thing is we have no inside or outside sales. We disseminate no flyers or brochures. Don't take out any advertisements. Though many projects are via state or federal bids, even many of those jobs are awarded to us simply by 'word of mouth'. Typically they have to award to lowest bidder but there is a proviso to select the 'best qualified' vendor also. And we have an excellent reputation. Some companies will under-engineer the project (to get low bid) and then hit the customer with build changes. End result is a more expensive project than quoted. And usually exceeds all the original bids. It's kind of shady doing it that way and once burned by that method the customer rarely will ever consider that company again. We on the other hand build with contingencies, provide detailed geographic coverage maps for several options. And if our selected option does not cover or work to their expectations we will build out to the next higher option at our cost. It's a scary way to do business and potentially a good way to go out of business. In all the time I have been there we have only had to do it once. Luckily we are pretty good at designing systems. We have access to pretty much all tower sites and can build a temp radio system and then do coverage tests before quoting job. It means a few days of driving around with some coverage software. Finding the dead spots or buildings where portable coverage is poor (very important for police/fire). And then adjusting build before the customer ever sees a quote. A lot more work, but easier to fix before building system than after. That big project we just finished, which took over 5 years, I must have driven around for 35-40 days and put 500 miles per day. It's basically the old '6P' adage....Proper Planning Prevents piff Poor Performance It does mean I don't have a lot of time to work on house. I hate it and enjoy it at the same time if that makes any sense. I had never done windows before and tried to read up as much as I could but that first window was a nightmare. I pretty much made a new window frame. It took me the better part of the day to repair. But after that, the rest went a lot more smoothly. First window basically fell out since I removed all exterior trim at once----bad move lol. But I do love learning and improving and doing the job right. There is soooo much to do on the house and I could probably hire a lot of it out to a contractor but it feels like cheating to me and I get no sense of satisfaction. Other then the obvious benefit of saving a lot of money on labor, I love stepping back and realizing I did it, did it right and it looks good. My dad was a stickler for perfection and that rubbed off on me. Heck I might be worse than him, at least my co-workers think so. He had a saying. "Do it once, do it right and do it on-time". Kind of live by that. It's tough to work on the house though. Hard to do anything when you have a few hours here and there. I prefer have several days off so I don't feel rushed or under pressure. I had 9 days off to do all the trim and tbh not done yet. Still have a few boards that could use another coat of paint and one window I'm not happy with. You can't see anything wrong with it but I know I can make it a little sturdier and better fitting. And I'll be re-doing it as soon as I have a few days off. Bunch of stuff I want to do. Living room and daughter's room are done. But that leaves the bathroom, my room, the family/play room, kitchen and basement and the staircase. Little leery of doing that one. The stairs may be the one thing I contract out. What I want to do is fairly unique and complicated. And of course I want to re-do a lot of the stonework (front steps, pathways and retaining wall). that and replace a lot of the dirt that was washed out of driveway. It's all beach sand and the thought of an asphalt driveway doesn't work. I'll probably hit some friends up for clam shells. Crush them and compact them into dirt. Common solution around here and maintains the feel of a beachside house. Jeez writing another book...Don't usually write that much or often on forums but every once in awhile I kind of get in a zone talking about work or home Link to comment