Equipment World

April 2016

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I had the opportunity in the past few weeks to interview several different work- ers, ranging from operators to foremen, about their jobs. It occurred to me: Maybe we should start dealing bluntly with what's "bad" about construction when we try to recruit young people…or anyone, really… into our ranks. As it turns out, it's all a matter of perspective. So here is the typical litany of construction's oft-cited negatives, as seen through these work- ers' eyes: You're out in all sorts of weather. It's a downer when when you can see your breath, can't feel your fingers and the ground is frozen beneath your feet. Or when the heat presses down on your shoulders, soaking through the sweat band on your hard hat and creating a thirst even water seems ill-equipped to quench. Mother Nature has an upside, though, and one that the guys I talked to cited repeatedly. Combine a good weather day with production that hums, and the end-of-day satisfaction is off the charts. When I asked the weather question, it was met with a collective shrug by those with whom I spoke. So what? It is what it is. Beyond that, there's definitely an attitude of "bring it on. We'll deal with it." It's hard physical labor. Guys from a farming background frown at you when you mention that construction's hard work. Huh? "There's nothing that is that hard," one told me, "espe- cially if you have the right equipment. It does all the work for you." While there will always be shovel and muscle involved, it's a lower percentage of the overall job than outsiders may think. You're working with uneducated low lifes. If your view of "educated" means a college degree then, yes, you'd probably see the typical construction crew as uneducated. This would in turn mean that you, yourself, are uneducated. Because it's not in my wheelhouse, I totally respect the spatial-relation brain power it takes to envision reshaping a hill into a highway, or to create an invisible-on-the-surface bore path directly to a designated exit. These guys and gals know what's required each step along the way to reach the engineered result, sometimes in spite of what the blueprint reads. It takes just as much – perhaps even more – brain power to install the fiber that's fueling our technology- rich world, than it does to use it. Beyond that, the workers I talked to almost unanimously cited their appreciation for their fellow crew members. When you're depending on each other to achieve production, you get to know who you can rely on. I sensed a world of self-governance, and it sure doesn't take the boss man to identify a slacker. Negatives? Depends on to whom you talk. EquipmentWorld.com | April 2016 7 on record | by Marcia Gruver Doyle MGruver@randallreilly.com Construction's negatives…maybe

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