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"the line"

D

desert_er

Being a "jack of all trades" seems to go with the territory in the field of Broadcast Engineering. I have to admit, it's part of what I like so much about this job... You can be writing real-estate leases one day, and be removing bee-hives from transmitter buildings the next.

It never ceases to amaze though, how many people will become dumbfounded as to the intricacies of changing a light bulb or setting a thermostat when there's an engineer in the building. I had one of those experiences this morning, when I was greeted with an email from our new GM asking if I could "please attend to the leaky faucet in the ladies room". Luckily the situation ended with an explanation that I did not fancy myself much of a plumber, and further explaining that our receptionist has a list of various contractors to perform such tasks. I'm no stranger to beating up my knuckles with wrenches, and I've cleaned out my fair share of mouse-nests, but we all have to draw "the line" somewhere. Where do you draw yours?
 
You make a very good point.

Where do I draw the line? Often it comes down to a matter of time. I'm lucky enough to have several very talented engineers working under me in the department who don't mind doing some of the "handyman-type" chores so manpower isn't often an issue. To me, it makes no sense to call in an outside firm to replace a wall mounted outside light bulb, or to send a remote vehicle to the mechanic to replace a burned out turn signal. At the same time, I do use an electrician for major new wiring and other things that involve the National Electrical Code since doing that kind of thing in house carries with it a liability. Likewise, my guys time is much better spend doing the various IT, studio and RF projects that they are trained for than say doing a tune up the remote vehicle so I farm out that kind of vehicle maintenance as well.

I also have an arrangement a local guy who is an insured "handyman". His rates are about 1/3 those of regular tradesmen so we use him for time to time for minor plumbing and mechanical repairs, and for such things as moving furniture, painting and repairing broken glass.
 
Using a master electrician to do all ac wiring and connections is a good idea. For example, even those with a BSEE, MSEE, MSE or other accredited certification does not allow you to do any primary wiring. Sure we work with high voltage all of the time and most of us view primary AC as trivial matters. Once company I work for was able to convince their insurance company to pay for high quality TVSS at all of their sites. I had a master electrician install the devices in case any liability would ever occur involving such devices. In most states you need an electrician’s license to do any primary wiring unless you are working in your own house. This debate always opens up an intense conversation. I never find myself offended when a station owner or manager asks me to fix something. I've done leaky faucet valves (easy once you learn how) and plenty changing light bulbs. I have a master's degree but it doesn't bother me to do such tasks. I draw the line when I know I cannot accomplish the task or it is simply not a maintenance issue. I have been asked to install floor tile or even to install a concrete sidewalk. Those are beyond maintenance and beyond my education and training. The station where I fixed a leaky kitchen faucet and changed a bunch of light bulbs was very kind to me with a whopper of a Christmas bonus. Most of the time it is just a convenience issue for the managers because my hourly rate is extremely more than a plumber or handy man. It is just the fact that I'm there and can fix it on the spot.

rcs said:
You make a very good point.

Where do I draw the line? Often it comes down to a matter of time. I'm lucky enough to have several very talented engineers working under me in the department who don't mind doing some of the "handyman-type" chores so manpower isn't often an issue. To me, it makes no sense to call in an outside firm to replace a wall mounted outside light bulb, or to send a remote vehicle to the mechanic to replace a burned out turn signal. At the same time, I do use an electrician for major new wiring and other things that involve the National Electrical Code since doing that kind of thing in house carries with it a liability. Likewise, my guys time is much better spend doing the various IT, studio and RF projects that they are trained for than say doing a tune up the remote vehicle so I farm out that kind of vehicle maintenance as well.

I also have an arrangement a local guy who is an insured "handyman". His rates are about 1/3 those of regular tradesmen so we use him for time to time for minor plumbing and mechanical repairs, and for such things as moving furniture, painting and repairing broken glass.
Click to expand...
 
Since I'm the only employee here, if I CAN do it and DON'T.. it won't get done.

But hey, then the only person I can blame is myself ;=)
 
I have to agree with fm-engineer that it really does come down to a matter of time. I've got 5 AMs, 4 FMs, 2 Translators, and one FM Auxiliary on my plate, many of which have little or no redundancy. I've got an assistant working with me, but his current skill set keeps him pretty studio bound.

Needless to say, just keeping everything put together is a major exercise in time-management. Cranking away on leaky pipes or screwing together office furniture just pushes my work week further into the weekend (or at least the evenings).
 
Sometimes it comes down to educating management. If you're on salary, they WILL take advantage of you if you allow them. You'll end up working lots of free overtime. Your deal needs to cap your hours, with compensatory time off when you exceed the cap.

Secondly, you sometimes need to explain that "Yes, I can fix the faucet, but if I spend time on that, I won't have time to __________". Fill in the blank with things that are a lot more important and/or specialized than fixing the faucet, and/or may mean fines if the FCC walks through the door, and/or lost revenue when spots don't run or programming is interrupted. If you offer them an alterative solution - i.e. "I know a handyman/part-timer/intern/gofer who can do that quick and cheap", or "I really don't know anything about plumbing, but I know a guy who does...", you might avoid those 60-70 hour weeks messing around with minutiae.
 
My employer has purchased my time for the day. When I was contracting, whomever contracted me had my time for the day (I don't split time below one day). Until the day is over, I'll do whatever the employer wants for that day. He's quite aware, my time ain't cheeeep. Consequently, he doesn't waste it on things we can get done for less by someoone who is more conversant with the problem.
If one of them is off the air, the day begins at 0001 and goes till the emergency is fixed. If we've expended over eight hours fixing it, we screw off any way we please. I don't put in extra time unstopping the pissoir.
 
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