[Stuart]

Without knowing the exact circumstances above, another reason you may see several people who look like they are just standing around a hole is for safety - you need to have an observer for the the people working down in the hole, in case there is a problem.

[arbys]

[QUOTE=limejudge69;4254604]Hey arby, How many storm drains, water mains, sewer mains, water services, sewer services, or pump stations have you repaired? The old analogy of "1 guy working and 5 standing around watching" is total BS. When you dig a hole, you only dig it big enough to be safe and allow enough room to make the repair. Otherwise the work zone is bigger than it has to be, and that means more cleanup/repair/asphalt/cement and more man hours doing the cleanup. Especially if it's in the middle of the road. In most cases it's one guy in the hole, or maybe 2 at the most. They do what they can until they get tired, or until a gung-ho type wants to jump in. You have equipment operators, truck drivers, flaggers, supervisors, all around a work area. Most utilities workers want to be involved so they know what the problem is that got them out of bed, or kept them working late. One of the reasons for night/evening work is not to milk overtime, but because of less traffic, or working in a commercial area with fewer customers affected by shutting off water. A lot of problems are caused by antique utilities that we continually patch. Towns and cities don't want to spend the money to repair it, because it's out of sight. They would rather spend the money elsewhere. And NO we are not union.[/QUOTE

I worked for the electric utilty business for 38 years overseeing construction. I think that safety around energized lines is paramount.

[limejudge69]

I worked for the electric utilty business for 38 years overseeing construction. I think that safety around energized lines is paramount.[/QUOTE]

Not trying to pick a fight, but did it make you feel good when people said "Oh there's one guy in the bucket and 5 on the ground watching? You know as well as anyone that everyone in a work zone is there for a reason. I'm sure you ran into some water/sewer guys in your day. They do the crappy (literally) work that nobody likes to do. It's a muddy, dirty thankless job.

[boltbuster]

[QUOTE
Just heard Tues about a local teacher that is an alcholic and drinks on the job. He CAN'T be let go or fired because he has tenure.QUOTE]

I think that, if you check out the tenure law in Wisconsin, a teacher who drinks on the job, or does illegal drugs, is not protected from dismissal. If what you "heard" is true and nothing is being done, it's an administrative problem. If what you "heard" is a rumor, the tenure law was created to keep teachers from being dismissed when someone has an axe to grind.

[Simple Man]

Originally Posted by limejudge69

Hey arby, How many storm drains, water mains, sewer mains, water services, sewer services, or pump stations have you repaired? The old analogy of "1 guy working and 5 standing around watching" is total BS. When you dig a hole, you only dig it big enough to be safe and allow enough room to make the repair. Otherwise the work zone is bigger than it has to be, and that means more cleanup/repair/asphalt/cement and more man hours doing the cleanup. Especially if it's in the middle of the road. In most cases it's one guy in the hole, or maybe 2 at the most. They do what they can until they get tired, or until a gung-ho type wants to jump in. You have equipment operators, truck drivers, flaggers, supervisors, all around a work area. Most utilities workers want to be involved so they know what the problem is that got them out of bed, or kept them working late. One of the reasons for night/evening work is not to milk overtime, but because of less traffic, or working in a commercial area with fewer customers affected by shutting off water. A lot of problems are caused by antique utilities that we continually patch. Towns and cities don't want to spend the money to repair it, because it's out of sight. They would rather spend the money elsewhere. And NO we are not union.

I've seen it takes 7 Indiana State DOT workers to cut grass along the highways. 2 running tractors, 5 riding in trucks. But when a private contractor does the same job on the same highway, they use 3 people. 2 running those same tractors, and one in a truck who uses the weedwacker.

why the difference?

[PonchoV8]

My company does some state contracting. The reason we got one contract is because the state workers weren't doing their jobs and people started getting hurt. So we have a 5 yr contract to double check 10% of the state work load so the state can compare the findings to determine if their workers are doing their jobs.

When I've worked some functions for the major university here, the state workers come in like vultures afterwards, grabbing up cases of Cokes and food to take home instead of restocking it.

Originally Posted by Stuart

Without knowing the exact circumstances above, another reason you may see several people who look like they are just standing around a hole is for safety - you need to have an observer for the the people working down in the hole, in case there is a problem.

And when a guy is in the bucket of a bucket truck the spotter on the ground is supposed to keep him from backing his boom into obstructions.
Our local utility has contracts with other electric companies for a few crews so they don't have to hire permanent employees to pay benefits to. When revenue gets tight, they sit them out of the game. If one of them is standing around, he's spotting for someone or it's because he's training and a manager is showing him how to work.

[limejudge69]

Originally Posted by Simple Man

I've seen it takes 7 Indiana State DOT workers to cut grass along the highways. 2 running tractors, 5 riding in trucks. But when a private contractor does the same job on the same highway, they use 3 people. 2 running those same tractors, and one in a truck who uses the weedwacker.

why the difference?

Don't know about the DOT. At my job, a town utilities dept, we don't cut grass along highways. We do have a 2 man crew to maintain our facilities, right-of-ways, water tanks, and easements.

[77 TRASHCAN]

Originally Posted by Simple Man

I've seen it takes 7 Indiana State DOT workers to cut grass along the highways. 2 running tractors, 5 riding in trucks. But when a private contractor does the same job on the same highway, they use 3 people. 2 running those same tractors, and one in a truck who uses the weedwacker.

why the difference?

A wonderful person, I used to work for, worked for the WPA, as a young man. He said it took 8 guys to mow someones yard, 2 a com'in, 2 a go'in, 2 a sh**'in, 2 a mow'n....a government entity...way back...

not knocking ANY body...