dealership failure

[Wahoo]

Big G
you are 100% correct, i have had a GUT full of trying to employ aussi workers ( bricklayer)
the thing is they are getting paid top $$$$$ and only work when they want to work, pay them on a Friday and you wont see them till tuesday or wednesday, they dont give a rats ass on the contract, if i dont finish on a certain date im the one that cops a fine


a good mate of mine has just started employing Asian workers, he has 3 ATM and getting another 8 more, and i for one am going to do the same thing i dont care what PPL say on this matter the only ones that will have a dig is the ones that have never had to run / own a bussiness and have no idea on how to run one

Daz

[blaze]

work ethics must be different in the big smoke compared to tassie, I know we havee some really good tradies coming up through the ranks
cheers
blaze

[nigelr]

Interesting point, Big G.
Is it true that motor mechanics' award pay rates are very low?
Is it a case of paying peanuts and attracting monkeys?
When I was a wage earner many years ago, my boss would pay above award to dedicated workers. Basically, he paid more, he expected more, and he got more!
As a self-employed contractor, I find some people prefer a low cost job, others prefer to pay for quality, if I want their money I must be able to satisfy both types of clients.
Totally agree with comments re cars and boats, when putting them in for work, its' a lottery! A good mechanic is (almost) as priceless as a good doctor, but thats another can of worms!
Wahoo, as a small business operator, I can understand your comment entirely.
There is no way on earth I would ever bother taking on another employee, I have learnt to appreciate the idea of total responsibilty/control over my business. When I reach the point of having more work than the business can handle, I turn the excess away.
You have my sympathy mate for what thats worth, it's a sad commentary of todays' Australia.
Cheers.

[Big G]

Blaze,
I'm sure your are right, I've been to Tassie and it reminded me of the mainland about 20 years ago, people are very polite and helpful and that could only reflect back through your children......then the apprentice.... then the tradesman.

I'm afraid I don't agree with employing people from overseas unless they walk through the door and demonstrate the high skill level I expect.....
I have been approached to sponsor them but have refused.
Yes the award wage is quite low for mechanics and reconditioners... a reflection as to what the public are willing to pay for repairs and reconditioning.
Some good mechanics I work with are paid up to 50 to 80% more than the award and worth every penny of it.
To manage a business in Australia a manager has to have a lot of extra checks and balances in place as I have. The problem with leaving engines or transmissions over full/ under full and leaking from drain bungs can only be addressed by having one of your super tradesman recheck all the services.... this costs time and money and has to be borne by the business.(rightly so as customers should not be penalised because some workers are slack)
After forty years in the same trade you have seen just about all the pitfalls so good management attempts to cover all bases with checks and cross checks.( it's called QA)
A good manager is not in the office 100% of the time. He should be in the workshop with spanners doing checks and developing better work practices to eliminate any failures. The manager has to also be able to teach by example, both theory and practice.
Well that"s how I have come to eliminate the drama of working with Australian "she will be right mate" attitudes. With a few good people like Blaze we get the job done right the first time.

Many thanks Blaze,
Big G.

[Mad-One]

All comes back to the so called do gooders who say you can't smack your kids and the teachers can't cane you and so on. Bring back the bif and teach the young ones some respect. Good hiding never hurt anyone

Mad

[wessel]

I work in an industry where a small mistake can end you up on CNN where the picture will basically be of a big smoking hole in the ground.

This week again we had to conduct a full investigation into a near miss event.

Basically, we are in the process of starting up a really big piece of machinery. (5 story high compressor turbine - the world largest at the moment until the competition bring theirs online in 2 years time.) During startup they noticed a very slow rise in pressure in the one return line. Something is not tight in that line and we have to check to find the leak before we can continue. Now to get to the control valves in that line involves a scaffold company erecting an access tower for you, a confined space procedure, lots of educated and experienced manpower bla bla bla bla. This is big money, and we are loosing money because the machine is standing still. You get the idea I hope.

Now to get a better idea of the type of trades people that are employed in this and other similar organisations. You are not even looked at if you do not at least have a mechanical engineering degree as a minimum. The department managers hold at least engineering degrees and an MBA as a minimum. Well educated, very experienced.

With all that, we lost pressure in the line becase when the control valve was re-instated originally - the person who installed the valve did not bother to tighten the hard to reach bolts at the back of the valve. On investigation, it was possible to undo by hand 4 of the 12 bolts Mechanical engineering qualified, well educated, very experienced gitt could have blown us up because he was just too lazy to tighten 4 bolts that were hard to reach.

He should have been locked up in jail in my opinion, but no physical harm was done and he only got a warning letter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now if that can happen in a highly regulated industry with educated people making those kinds of mistakes, then yes I can believe that the mehcanical industry is in trouble and we as the end users will just have to cough up for the mistakes of others.

Wessel

[Bob H]

big g you aren,t a pommy by any chance are you,just curious. bob h

[Big G]

tru blue mate... born on a farm at 8 mile plains 1951..guess u r 1 of the "workers" who get paid to tighten up bungs but leave them loose..... I guess it's hard to concentrate cause you have one think to think about......the rule is leave it out, or if you screw it in it must be tightened.
now that's not hard to remember.

Big G.

[Bob H]

no i am not one of those workers ,who dont tighten up the bungs,nor do i only have one think to think about, or could it be one thing to think about, brings me back to the days of when i was an apprentice, spent the first 6 months sweeping the floor, and being constantly told by the tradies, who were mostly pommies how lazy the australians were, thats why i asked if you were one,because you remind me of them,no wonder the kids of today have no self esteem, getting shitbagged by the likes of people like yourself,called druggies( cant go back to find actual words or will loose it again) and for a one finger typer thats a bitch,most of the time the kids are just cheap labour,treated like shit,what would expect. give them a fair go and they might surprise you . bob h

[Bob H]

no i am not one of those workers,i retired 5 days ago after 45 years of hard work.
bob h

[Big G]

Bob I'm living in the real world.... I love teaching kids, most of my apprentices have ended up good tradesman and are leading successful and rewarding lives. ..... but to day I'm struggling to get kids that have a licence as 50% get caught for dd or road rage offences and are disqualified from driving. Drug use is a fact and you don't have to be an expert typist to know that most young boys drink under age and smoke dope. Almost every young man we employ we have to teach him personal hygine and good manners..... knocking on a closed door even has to be addressed and explained in detail... fair go, you have your head in the sand if you think I'm wrong.

Had 4 boys of my own, two that I trained as engine reconditioners and one that is close to completing a chef apprenticeship....sadly my other boy was killed at 13years old. The first two worked with me for over 15years each.

I train and support kids who are said to be adhd and the like. I know that selfworth is the most important aspect of a young persons growth. I'm excited about teaching young people the trade for good parents who bring up children with good personal habbits, respect for the law, respect for rules, respect for others.

I'm sorry if the facts as I experience them make you loose it, but that does not change anything. I appreciate your point of view. Just for your information a 17 year old working as "cheap labour" as you describe it costs a business over $500 a week for the privilage of teaching them. These kids and parents have to start taking their role in society seriously and we would all be better off.
....... especially the customer who pays good money for the drain plug to be
re- washered and tightened correctly. ( unless you want to just teach them how to sweep.)

over and out,
thanks,

Big G.