TODAY'S RANT - LISTENING

[Justin T. Wittwer]

Please forgive my silence as I have been out and about on the pretty scaffold circuit (event staging) and have not had enough time to process a proper subject for individuals as classy as yourselves. Since I can't come up with a proper rant this will just have to do. Today's topic is following directions. If you can't follow directions please become an artist or other free thinker that does not have to deal with directions in your day to day life. If you can find work doing that and be successful have at it. For the rest of us, we all need to take a lesson from the ants on how to follow directions. If someone asks you to do something, process the request (either silently in your head, or go ahead and repeat that sucker out loud) and then execute. IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND DO NOT AGREE, NOD YOUR HEAD, SAY YOU DO OR MAKE ANY GESTURE TO THE REQUESTER THAT YOU UNDERSTAND. Ask them to repeat the request and go back to step one. If you are scared of the person asking, suck it up, put on your big boy pants and ask 'em to repeat that sucker. It's well worth the ridicule of being called slow, stupid or whatever than indicating you understand and failing to execute as directed.  As a pretty major heckler, I will give you a little crap but if you ask me to repeat the request,  i may even slow it down enough to be heard in English instead of whatever language it is I find myself speaking. I understand my brain works about three times faster than my mouth and it takes a lot of non-sensical short cuts along the way so I may shorten and merge a few words i shouldn't but if you ask me to repeat it, I surely will. If you indicate you understand, I will expect you to execute the task i have delegated to you. Should you not execute it, or execute it incorrectly you will face the wrath of my sarcasm and run the risk of getting a nick name that you may, or may not like. (Authors note - If you have ever worked with me I am actually joking about 90% of the time and in case you didn't notice, I never miss an opportunity to insult myself either:)) If you think I'm serious just ask Alice, Tinkerbell and Charlie Brown. They will probably agree with me. While some people may find me abrasive, which I may agree with from time to time, but if you say you can, just freaking do it. If you can't do it, admit it so we can figure it out and get it D-U-N, done. If you are a professional, pick up a trade publication once in awhile, read a book about your profession, join a stellar online community such as this one:) If you are a scaffold builder, which I believe it is safe to assume if you are a member of this site. Read the OSHA regulations. Granted they are basic and boring but guess what if you read them you can call BS when the job site know it all, usually someone with my personality type, tells you something is a regulations and it's not. . Do not expect someone to take you by the hand and show you every facet of your profession. Find a teacher, that would be the older guy, or gal, with the wisdom to know when to use their hand and when to go find a hammer. If you find yourself in the aforementioned situation, they guy with the bleeding hand is usually not a good person to learn from at that particular time. Ask questions. People love to talk about what they do. Find out what they read, what they do in their spare time. FYI - Going to the bar is not the educational type experience I am talking about. In summation of this rant, and boy is it a dozie, If you don't understand ask questions, don't say you do and then go screw it all up and expect not to feel some type of consequences either real or imagined. :)

[Justin T. Wittwer]

Rick,

I'm in the Midwest and have never worked in a shipyard. always wanted to but there isn't one for about 1000 miles in any direction from me. Can anyone else help Rick out? 

[Rick Ellis]

Hello Justin, I'm Rick Ellis. I started out in the Portland ship repair yard in Oregon in 1990 and was curious what projects you guys are working on in the naval yard there. Nice rant btw.

[Justin T. Wittwer]

FYI this is not about ScaffoldBuilders, per say but we can all learn a bit from it. Myself included:)