First World problems of the 21st Century

D Walker

Member
Messages
9,827
I abhor the email warriors, generally sent out by managers who don’t have the balls to delegate in meetings or eye to eye, they have serious problems with leadership at our place, I’ve tried to help and point out their failings, however as I’m a contractor and chaos = cash, I’ve stopped trying to interfere, and just make sure I’m doing my job correctly...
 
Messages
6,001
After a 3 week field break from offshore I returned to the platform with over 1000 emails waiting for me, there may have been a dozen worthwhile ones!
So I sympathise with you chaps
 

GeoffCapes

Member
Messages
14,000
First thing I do in the morning is delete about 30-50 emails.

I actually think this GDPR thing is good, as if I don't respond to the "lets keep in touch" emails, it will mean less **** hits my inbox!
 

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,220
I spent nearly two days going back through my inboxes earlier this year and deleted all the dross emails that had ballooned my inbox to > 12gb!!! Got it down to 3gb still outrageous but so much for the paperless office dream...
 

RSM Masser

Member
Messages
2,437
Filling in pointless forms and other rubbish for the paperless and digital age.
I have to print off, in colour and fill in by hand a mound of paper forms on a weekly and daily basis, these include permits for step ladders, a weekly fire check, access permits and permits to access, For example the 'Company Approved' daily fire check document, which i cant change has to be downloaded, filled in and signed - even though the information contained is INCORRECT.

Then I have a weekly check list to check my checks, all of which are downloaded, printed, filled in scanned and emailed so the office can file another copy for nobody to look at.

At the end of each project I have a ream of scribbled permits stuffed in an A4 folder that no one wants - so it gets binned.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,543
Filling in pointless forms and other rubbish for the paperless and digital age.
I have to print off, in colour and fill in by hand a mound of paper forms on a weekly and daily basis, these include permits for step ladders, a weekly fire check, access permits and permits to access, For example the 'Company Approved' daily fire check document, which i cant change has to be downloaded, filled in and signed - even though the information contained is INCORRECT.

Then I have a weekly check list to check my checks, all of which are downloaded, printed, filled in scanned and emailed so the office can file another copy for nobody to look at.

At the end of each project I have a ream of scribbled permits stuffed in an A4 folder that no one wants - so it gets binned.

Happy days! :D

C
 

midlifecrisis

Member
Messages
16,102
People complaining about the train timetable changes.

i knew about them and I don't use the train. Do your research on your trip, google is a good start. It's your fault that you live so far from work/depend on the train/didn't learn to drive/have to work in London.

No sympathy..can you tell...
 

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,220
Filling in pointless forms and other rubbish for the paperless and digital age.
I have to print off, in colour and fill in by hand a mound of paper forms on a weekly and daily basis, these include permits for step ladders, a weekly fire check, access permits and permits to access, For example the 'Company Approved' daily fire check document, which i cant change has to be downloaded, filled in and signed - even though the information contained is INCORRECT.

Then I have a weekly check list to check my checks, all of which are downloaded, printed, filled in scanned and emailed so the office can file another copy for nobody to look at.

At the end of each project I have a ream of scribbled permits stuffed in an A4 folder that no one wants - so it gets binned.


I feel your pain, I did a 10 minute maintenance check in an East London skool (sorry Academy) a couple of weeks ago, took me an hour to get into the building despite it being a timed visit after school hours, I had to have my enhanced DBS with me and photo I D despite being escorted around the site, I had to move my vehicle into a ‘contractors compound at the other end of the site to the job, I had to have a full induction because it was more than six months since my last visit to the site. The had insisted on full RAMS in advance which I had to sign for them in their office at the top of the school. Many forms in the induction including Asbestos despite the whole building being less than three years old and none being on the site. Yep you know... the gym was outside anyway!
 

GeoffCapes

Member
Messages
14,000
I feel your pain, I did a 10 minute maintenance check in an East London skool (sorry Academy) a couple of weeks ago, took me an hour to get into the building despite it being a timed visit after school hours, I had to have my enhanced DBS with me and photo I D despite being escorted around the site, I had to move my vehicle into a ‘contractors compound at the other end of the site to the job, I had to have a full induction because it was more than six months since my last visit to the site. The had insisted on full RAMS in advance which I had to sign for them in their office at the top of the school. Many forms in the induction including Asbestos despite the whole building being less than three years old and none being on the site. Yep you know... the gym was outside anyway!


Why do some schools (mainly) insist on RAMS before you've actually been to site?
What. Are you supposed to guess?
Stoopid!
 

RSM Masser

Member
Messages
2,437
I feel your pain, I did a 10 minute maintenance check in an East London skool (sorry Academy) a couple of weeks ago, took me an hour to get into the building despite it being a timed visit after school hours, I had to have my enhanced DBS with me and photo I D despite being escorted around the site, I had to move my vehicle into a ‘contractors compound at the other end of the site to the job, I had to have a full induction because it was more than six months since my last visit to the site. The had insisted on full RAMS in advance which I had to sign for them in their office at the top of the school. Many forms in the induction including Asbestos despite the whole building being less than three years old and none being on the site. Yep you know... the gym was outside anyway!

"Health and Safety" means organised by idiots who have no idea what they are talking about.
Last year I was told of a 'health and safety issue' which needed urgent attention - it was gone 5pm on a Friday, apparently their was a scaffold tube about to cause a serious injury unless it was removed, I hurried to the site, fortunately not too far from home. The offending 'tube' was over 10 feet in the air and was in fact a short brace to alleviate the bounce on an long access ladder which had been removed (for safety)

The female precinct manager took great pride in telling me how she would report this as a 'near miss' as it "Could have injured someone if it fell off" - I was just about to call her a stupid daft bat, that was too kind, I couldn't lift the 21 foot steel ladder on my own so I had to climb up the scaffold and remove the tube myself with an adjustable spanner whilst wrapping myself around the rest of the scaffold so i didn't fall out!

Satisfied of her good deed for the day the manager went home, the fitting i removed was so tight it had dented the scaffold tube, I couldn't carry it and climb down so I dropped it and collected it afterwards.

On Monday the two chippies working on the scaffold wouldn't go up the ladder as it was too bouncy!
 

RSM Masser

Member
Messages
2,437
Posting something you think is funny on an open social media forum (like this one!) and then either having to explain yourself, backtrack or delete the post because everyone else thought you was serious and pointed out the error in your thought process.
 

Doohickey

Velociraptor
Messages
2,496
"Health and Safety" means organised by idiots who have no idea what they are talking about.
Last year I was told of a 'health and safety issue' which needed urgent attention - it was gone 5pm on a Friday, apparently their was a scaffold tube about to cause a serious injury unless it was removed, I hurried to the site, fortunately not too far from home. The offending 'tube' was over 10 feet in the air and was in fact a short brace to alleviate the bounce on an long access ladder which had been removed (for safety)

The female precinct manager took great pride in telling me how she would report this as a 'near miss' as it "Could have injured someone if it fell off" - I was just about to call her a stupid daft bat, that was too kind, I couldn't lift the 21 foot steel ladder on my own so I had to climb up the scaffold and remove the tube myself with an adjustable spanner whilst wrapping myself around the rest of the scaffold so i didn't fall out!

Satisfied of her good deed for the day the manager went home, the fitting i removed was so tight it had dented the scaffold tube, I couldn't carry it and climb down so I dropped it and collected it afterwards.

On Monday the two chippies working on the scaffold wouldn't go up the ladder as it was too bouncy!

We had a pretty scary talk on H&S the other week about the ramping up of HSE investigations which has been provoked by the fact that they can now charge for investigations. If they decide to investigate a RIDDOR then there's a 25% chance they will prosecute (quite possibly on something other than they were called to site for) and if they do prosecute then there's a 95% chance they will be successful. What they usually do though is prosecute on a long list of things and then negotiate down so they get success on one or two.

Having said that, the improvement in H&S in the building industry is enormous and the number of people killed or injured had reduced significantly so it's doing something right.
 

midlifecrisis

Member
Messages
16,102
If my understanding is right this is a protest against tech companies, using on demand electric scooters (think Boris bikes) to blockade busses taking people to work. They are accusing the tech companies of gentrified an area of SF, or making a horrible area becoming nice again...

San Francisco scooter protesters block Silicon Valley buses - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44325760
 

GeoffCapes

Member
Messages
14,000
Having to take two sets of car keys to work as the entrance security fob is on the Merc keyring, and you can't be bothered to take it off when you take the Maser to work.