We supply trucks to all of our Foreman. Every guys truck is setup for everday work and everyday maintenance and minor repairs on our equipment. One of our foreman will not keep his work truck clean and organized. The other 3 keep their trucks organized and they take them through the car wash twice a month. I have been warning this guy for the last 2 months that he better get his act together and organize his truck. He is so disorganized that he keeps losing tools and I make him replace them on his own dime. I went to the big boss this morning and told him about the problem. Unfortunatly, this problem is way down on his to do list. I dont want to get rid of this guy because he shows up everday, he is always on time and he does great work. I was thinking about taking his truck away and making it the responsibility of another member of his crew to keep it clean. Does this sound like a good idea? Anyone have any good ideas? Thanks
Pay another employee to clean it and deduct it from the foreman's pay.
Now this just might work.
Yeah, I like Rino's solution too. But I would still do something about taking the truck away for a period of time. Maybe let the employee that cleaned it, drive the truck around the site and let the Foreman walk.
Give the guy a break I use to get hasseled about the state of my LUX. Working in 6" slurry. Find it difficult to keep things clean. Get a labour to clean the dam truck. Ross
X2 I keep my stuff clean and organized but not all people do if he is pay for the tools he looses your not out anything. You didn't say how it works but you shouldn't expect a guy to pay to wash his company truck out of his pocket, I wouldn't. Once a month on Friday have him come into the yard and clean his truck or drop it off and have it cleaned. Maybe that inconvenience will be enough for him to do it himself, but I can grantee that it won't last.
And if he does a good job at it give him the truck. IMO there is no excuse for not taking care of company equipment. I have always treated company equipment as well if not better than my own. Companys are not required to furnish vehicles to employees in most cases so therefore it's a previlage. The best way I know of to loose a previlage is to abuse it. Sure it'll get dirty,muddy and nasty and so do we but I take a bath at days end as most folks do. It is the company that suffers from a filthy truck with their name on it not the driver. So yes by all means give the guy a break along with a bucket, sponge and a little soapy water. I still like rino's suggestion .
From your statement I would suggest that cleaning of the truck and his organizing skills would be small potatos. You have him replacing the tools that are lost with his own coin, so that by itself should be an eye opener for him to tighten up in that area. Sometimes its six of one and a half a dozen of another. You obviously have a good foreman, so I'm in agreement with Ross...have a labour clean the truck. :my2c
all my guys who have a truck or operators who have a piece of equipment know to keep it clean, when theirs a little down time. Some of my labours ride up together so the one witht he truck has them clean the truck because hes saving them probably $200 a week in gas.
This would only be FAIR if it's the same for ALL the foremen. Rules are Rules and if this is company policy either change the policy or have the foreman pay his dues. It's very simple if you cut him slack you as a leader look weak. But on the other hand if you change the way of life so to speak. Have labours wash and clean all the foremens trucks once a week or every two weeks. It would be fair for all concerned and the other foremen would probly like this as well.
I dont mind so much if the exterior has a little mud on it and the interior is a little dusty. That is bound to happen on any construction site. I am just sick and tired of the foreman and his crew wasting time looking for tools that they eventually have to run back into town to get or trying to untangle compressor hoses. I told him today that his truck had better be organized by Monday or I was taking it away. We are supposed to get a couple new trucks next month and he was scheduled to get one. We will see on Monday if he gets the new truck or if he continues to drive his current beater. I actually give each foreman $20 a month for the car washes. Although they usually give it back and tell me that they make their kids wash it or they do it themselves at home.
Wrenchbender...relax a bit old buddy! Yes, I agree with you about the fairness,what is good for one is good for another...The only point I was trying to make is don't make life miserable for a good foreman because he is weak in this area. We have many foreman that are excellent at what they do..some have their employees clean and maintain there trucks, while some clean them on their own. Some have poor organizing skills when it comes to tools etc. while some are very meticulous(sp) with organizing their tools etc. Regardless of which catergory our foreman fall into, we would never consider taking any disciplinary action for something like this, other than communication. But you are right about the fairness issue, as in this case there are only four foreman, so a compromise needs to be negotiated, so that everyone is on the same page so to speak. I'm sure that something can be worked out in this case, so that you and your company are satisfied. Communication goes a long way in solving problems on the job. My point again is don't sweat the small stuff as you obviously(from your statement) have a good employee. This is only my two cents worth, and if it ticks some off, well so be it. Let the peaceful debate continue...
I worked for a company that wouldn't hand over your paycheck on Friday until your truck was washed. I was let in on the "secret" that the owner walked the yard on the weekends looking at/in every truck to see who kept theirs clean. Most of the guys sprayed their truck with the power washer for 2 minutes and called it clean, I started hand washing mine and keeping the interior nice too. When a new truck rolled into the yard it was mine even thought I had less seniority.:cool2 Maybe you can delay him getting a new truck until he starts taking care of the old one?
In defense of the foreman,what is his work schedule like ? Is his crew and him working longer hours? Are you giving him and his crew time to clean and orginize tool on company time? Compare his time to the other foremans.If your demaning more out of him,he just might not have the time. Something to consider in your decsion. He must be good help or someone wouldn't have made him foreman. I would think????? Like Paul Harvey says "The rest of the Story "
Some people no matter how much pressure is put on them just don't orginize very well. But it would seem to me that it is more a labour problem than a foremen problem. What I mean is; who is the one getting and putting tools away? Most likely not the foremen. Low man would be the one getting and putting most things away. Yes it's his truck but more than likely he's not the one making the mess. Poor training. 20 dollars to was truck is all well and fine, but all it really covers is the wash, not the time. Maybe he works his ass off all week and does not feel like spending his off duty time washing orginizing a truck.:beatsme
I feel that being privelaged enough to be given a company truck is merit enough to keep it clean. His lack of organization has lead to his 3 man crew also being disorganized. Even though it is the low man getting the tools and putting them away, the foreman should tell him where it goes. Ultimately he is the one responsible for the truck. I dont see why it is so difficult for a tool to have a specific location where it stays until it is used. Thats they way I had my truck setup and my crew knew where everything was and where it needed to go after we were done using it. As far as washing the truck goes, they are given time on Fridays to get it done. We try to work 10 hour days Monday - Thursday and they work until noon on Fridays. The laborers can either go home or pick up an extra hour or two by helping washing the trucks (most go home, even the foreman). Clean work trucks and clean machinery, I feel, can only promote a companies image to its customers. Although our equipment is not brand new, it looks that way (except our crappy Kobelco, it goes to the sale in the next few months). I take care of ALL the machinery myself. We have 2 loaders, 3 excavators, 2 dozers and a few pieces of rental equipment. When I am not in the office working on a bid, I hook up the pressure washer, grab a case of spray paint and head out to one of the job sites to give the equipment a once over. Last week I was handed a non-bid job cutting roads because the GC liked the appearence of the trucks and equipment. We were given the job over a larger company that has newer equipment and more employees but everything looks trashy. I feel that for a company our size (12-15 employees total) we need to do more to stand out to our customers. If future customers see trashy trucks and equipment rolling down the road, they might not even recognize us when I turn in a bid. But if they see clean trucks and clean equipment on sites, we might have a better chance at the job even though the numbers may be a little higher. I dont even want to know what they are thinking when one of our guys is searching the truck for 10 minutes just to find a grease gun in the morning. A place for everything and everything in its place. Thats all I want out of this guy. Heck, I would even wash his truck for him. I am just tired of us losing a couple of hours per week while they are searching for tools or running to town to get something. Over the course of a year, that can really add up. Maybe I should sit him down and go over the numbers with him and show him what 30 minutes per day of lost productivity can do to a company over the course of a year. Sorry for the long post, I finally got my thoughts straight. Thanks for the vent session!!:drinkup
Grader4me wrote:"Wrenchbender...relax a bit old buddy!" Sorry if it sounded like I was ill with you I'm not. Ive just seen a lot of speacial treatment given to some employees and others ignored for doing thier job better. I myself make a better employee than a Boss. I expect my help to do any and everything I do but never more than I would. When being the low man on the totem pole I always tried to do more than the guys around me. The trouble with being like this is I expect my help to be the same way. But I guess times or people have changed maybe both and I'm not ready to except it yet. So as I said I wasn't ticked at you, but it just burns my butt when folks don't/wont do thier duties. I guess what I'm saying is most people today want to dodge responsibilty and I feel each should take responsibilty and the results that come with it. Copenhagen, Seams like you may very well have a plan of action going into play soon. Good luck and I hope it all works out for the good of all concerned.
Thanks Wrenchbender...thought I might have sparked you a bit with my opinion. You have very valid points in your posts. Great thing about this forum...perfect place to vent . There ya go! Your getting it together now:yup Good luck!!
This is how I have always been myself. But I know several people (wife and 2 kids) that no matter what just wont/don't get it. I guess after 15 years of living with a women that doesn't get it and now 2 girls who also don't get it I have learned to live with it ointhead
I started a decent size job last week that I was happy to get. When I asked the customer what made him contact me he said " I drove past you truck and noticed how nice it was kept so I thought you would do the same for the work you do." This surprised me because I have never heard this before. I just happen to have a 06' truck so in a few years it won't look so nice, but it worked with this customer. Because it is new I wash it more than I did my 03’ truck.
:lmao I missed this one! Welcome to life my friend! Lol ( I can relate to that, but I have to speak softly for fear of being overheard!)
Now this is 100% different then a dirty truck there is no reason a foremen should be spending a few hrs holding up the crew a week. If the foremens running around doesn't stop the production of the rest of the crew that would be the way it should be IMO. No way he should get a new truck if he can't take care of his current one.
Update!!! I could have eaten off of his truck today!! He got together with another foreman over the weekend and they organized their trucks. Tools are put in the identical spots on both trucks. He washed it AND vacuumed the interior! I told him that he was scheduled for a new truck and that he would get it if he kept his current one organized for 90 days. I also told him that he was to make his crew responsible for tool placement and they need to help him keep it clean. I reminded him that he was in charge of that truck! Lets see what happens.
If you give himt iem to wash it and he doesnt, either take it away, or tell him this is your priortiy, dont do anythingn else until this gets done, and if he doesnt tell him to find his own ride.