People are stepping up to the giants

[Patch]

Diagnostic software isn't a bad tool to have and learn to use, but, it can be an issue when used without experience.

Why is it that the term mechanic has faded and is more today referred to as a technician? Well remember the days of saying he's a good mechanic or he's just a part''s changer?

Part changers have won the race! Today we troubleshoot by that realities of being told what to do by hardware and software combined. We change parts until the diagnostic library is satisfied and a print out justifying the costs is provided to the end user/owner/sucker.

 

Some years back in a support forum I had the chance to demonstrate via keyboard to a fellow somewhere in the states that I could if he followed my instructions, diagnose his trouble by using a vacuum gauge and multi meter without the 38 pin diagnostic port and any software. The vesicle had more than one issue effecting it. The fellow followed the instructions at night (I recall) and wrote back saying how well it worked out for him.

My point being that there is no replacing the hard earned hands on experience of theory for, cause and effect! This was a sophisticated German car which was experiencing a meltdown all the way to the cats.

 

So what is to gain by taking out the word mechanic replacing it with technician? Cost of course, it is more profiting towards the dealers and MFG's from assembly floor to the service bay.

 

True reliability is much better today except for sensors, when they fail you stop cold and that sets the money meter in motion; from the side of the road thru the dealer Q to back home again! In my personal hobby car I keep a set of factory sensors in the trunk with the required tools to change them out as I tend to wonder quite far from home in her.

[BlueSky]

Lately I've been watching a lot of South Main Garage and Pine Hollow Diagnostics videos. They do some complex troubleshooting using their scanners. I'm learning a lot.

[camos]

On another note My father used to say that the old Farmer he worked for back in 52 when he emigrated here from Holland always maintained that Canada had all the resources to be self sufficient but if we continued down the path we were going we would be nothing more than a warehouse and exporter of raw materials for the rest of the world and that only the wealthy would benefit.

Has that farmer been proven right??

Unfortunately the answer is yes, thanks to short sighted politicians and the socialist yearnings of too many. When I was in high school I was aware of the long term folly of exporting raw materials then buying back finished products. That was a long time ago and nothing much has changed since then.

 

I hope my American friends will take note of the dangerous proposals of AOC and the radical Left. Their popularity is very disturbing.

 

Regarding GM moving their plants to Mexico and China... Perhaps Trump will take note and put a an import tax on all US companies who move to China to help them build their economy to dominate the world. That is their 100 year plan.

 

Canadians are doing a similar thing, as well as allowing the Chinese to buy up resource companies who will be sending their products directly to their homeland. Canadian politicians are unable to formulate a 5 year plan never mind a 100 year plan.

[Patch]

In 16 I got involved with a project that was pending suit, in some ways it reminded me of the 08 Americas Cup but on a smaller scale. Don't ask me why but I read every challenge and every public filing I had access to, quite frankly I found very interesting.

After excepting the contract I faced dealing with the tenant complaints in this high traffic commercial building. The money behind the suit was a very skilled negotiator and he kept the fire burning under the kettle.

During our first general meeting I watched how he badgered a young inexperienced manager who had unfortunately been the face of the project and had been representing the owner group. Nearing the end of the walk thru and the 2 hour long demonstration of complaints and, by this time his focus had shifted to who I was, why I was there, and what he must have expected would be answered by me with hollow weak promises - I answered by opening a letter describing clearly my mandate. I then asked in the open this one question " do you want to resolve these issues or just keep shouting insults" now remember there is a suit on, his answer mattered and, we two new that, so he moved to castle and I set a followup meeting one on one with each of the tenants.

There were other tenants listed in the suit (not all were) so I then met with each and asked each to make a list of what they felt management had promised and not delivered on. I then made the opportunity to meet with a stakeholder of the money side of this suit (end run) and demonstrated that their size, demands and resulting traffic was as much a concern to the other tenants as was the failed promised renovations.

 

Now that I had divided all the complaints into equals 2 of the complainants dropped out of the suit and the larger wealthier tenant did not wish to appear bullyi-sh they accepted my construction schedules and my crew set out to accomplish. (suit still pending)

 

It all took time but step by step we met each schedule.

 

Here's what happened towards the end of this project:. I was invited to a coffee and lets call them group ABC offered me a buyout resulting in I only answer their phone calls which could be anywhere in the country or one other, there home base. They were heavily invested in Canadian commercial real estate They needed someone that would handle their construction needs (construction manager) interesting yes but not the first such I received. Now I know what and who I am and that includes my limits, I have a roughness that does not always blend well with white color!

 

Their close on the deal was to say at least very interesting/ They read me well enough to know that I knew I could ride out what we then knew of the economy; what I didn't know was they had better information because one of the group was involved in asset liquidation for the oil industry and, they were quite frank with me even tho the deal would not directly offer benefit to our little company and therefore my son and partner I had pause to consider! Hmm?

 

In short I declined but every forecast they brought to my attention thus far has been bang on and, the cause of many restless nights. What was the cause of this spiral? Like what started this endless slide? 2 elections that's all it took. Rex says we Canadians have lost our respect and understanding for our natural resources and therefore, our reasons for wealth and prosperity so have become reliant on government and social equality. Rex I've noticed gets Alberta and SK. even tho he has been a centralist (my opinion) most of his life, I would say a basic requirement for a career at CBC.

 

A one thing about Canada is that we can challenge the reasons for supporting this Dominion; sometimes the country as a whole grows from such a challenge, yet as in 95 we only stayed together by the skin of our teeth. The causes remain the same: an imbalance in representation for all. The right and the responsibility to promote and sell our goods and skill sets without interference from a central government that views such behavior as an injustice to others.!?

So recently our Premier has started advertising that AB. is going to begin refining our resources right here at home.!? Is this a rebellion? I don't know but I'm sure Rex will comment soon on it, but, one thing I can bet on is that for now maybe Central won't squawk but wait sometime down the road we'll be told that this would be better for (name a province) to refine?

 

Now for those of us that get Canadian politics and knowing I am Que. born and raised; over 300 years my moms family raised children won and lost fortunes there. Its not hard to guess that I was raised to be a Federalist or a Canadian first but now - the central thinking is not hindering me at this age, it is however working contrary to its mandate and not in the best interest of my children and their children. Perhaps an Upper Canada and a Lower Canada is a better choice? One business minded and one social minded as it was once?

We are not to old to forget the good sense our grandparents taught us then it may be time to bring our house into the 21st century and remodel our central government? Their incompetence is bewildering. Well just my opinion

[camos]

So recently our Premier has started advertising that AB. is going to begin refining our resources right here at home.!? Is this a rebellion?

It's about time and I hope so. When it comes to the Tar Sands it's very expensive and transporting that evil muck in a pipeline to the US Gulf coast is an environmental disaster of epic proportion just waiting to happen. Why take the chance and export jobs along with it? Refine it close to home then transport the finished products to market.

 

Remember when there was a huge issue with Mad Cow disease and the US would not allow importing Canadian cattle to their feed lots? The cattle industry almost shut down for years and lost multi millions of dollars. The guvmint spent millions in subsidizing ranchers just to keep them afloat, sort of. Canada has everything it needs to fatten cattle but it doesn't have enough capacity to slaughter them. Would have been a good time to build that infrastructure instead of pissing the subsidy money against a wall. So the industry recovered but we still don't have any more jobs.

 

Exporting raw logs instead of lumber and plywood is just short sighted stupidity.

 

Gaak...I think I just had a rant. Whoo Hoo!!!

[Patch]

I'm guessing Clive a bit of a rant is where many citizens across the world are displaying and are somewhat on the standing on the edge of frustration with our political leadership (s).

 

Look at what recently transpired in France.

 

I might note tho, pipelines will remain a necessity. Risk we can measure and, we can also invest in, this is new industry thinking and, provides additional 24/7 high paying jobs.

 

We won't succeed running from risk, rather we need to face it head on and we need to win. We could do this two fold, gov department and private industry.

 

Lets also not forget we are promised a country from sea to shining sea and that includes all sea ports. What is going on now is stall tactics and the lack of proper industry education.

 

Ask where is the stall money coming from and who is funding the bad publicity? Where does east cost get there oil from and how does that influence their position? What has the Mayor of MTL to do with the pipe line?

 

Alberta and the pipeline is only one of several issues facing this country. Here in AB we have to invest ourselves as the smart money left after the elections. AB. and SK. have been betrayed by the feds again elected by the other half of the country (unequal representation) and as I mentioned we are being denied our right to sea ports except by rail which has shown to be unsafe and, not cost effective! So count on change in our life time, its coming what choice is there.

[Sailor]

Big corporations do not care about their employees. They will quite happily shaft everyone and everything they can to make an extra buck which will go to management. I once read a report about an analysis of corporation policies and practices. The profile of the management style exactly matched that of a psychopath. There is a large marine operation here that I have been involved in. I think it is typical of many corporations. They were/are badly over managed. They were told to get rid of 50 managers. They fired 50 managers and hired 50 directors. The only change was the title on the door. In 1990 there were 150 managers, by 1992 there were 300, with no change in staff. When I retired in 2002 there were about 700 in management with the same number of employees as in 1990. The operation is subsidized by federal and provincial money. The last figures I saw showed that all the millions of subsidy dollars went to pay management salaries and bonuses. Normal management/employee ratio is considered to be 1-50. In Japan it is 1-75 which is considered under managed. In the US it is 1-25 which is considered over managed. In the corporation I worked for the ratio was 1-4. Over managed to the point of absurdity. Management will never take responsibility for their actions unless forced to.

[Patch]

Hi Sailor, I don't in full agree with this opinion nor can I fully disagree as we here in Canada too often see the slap back form big corps that have ridden the tax payer gravy trains, when in fact they should be corpses. Our central gov wouldn't know what to do with its self if it couldn't write these ridiculous subsidy cheques.

Remember the GM and I think City Bank bonuses after the bail outs?

Has the tap finally closed for Bombardier? Has any of the welfare made a difference? Will they ever pay tax payers back with any interest?

In AB. we have an example of a stand up corporate citizen in Suncor, you may not like their product but from an earners prospective they are a solid corporation and their employees are well trained and very well looked after. There are others as well.

The fat management you mention of the 90s was typical, much of it had to do with collective bargaining. 1-4 is still typical from a field prospective.

 

CBC and others speak often on the Canada's unity issue except now the focus is on us west of Manitoba. Our social media is rampant with thoughts of stepping out of confederation.

What Ottawa can't seem to understand is that the majority of Albertans chose Alberta and want to keep federal meddling out of our economy while they keep preaching how we can not do without them. They ignore who we are and how we able build as much as we did in such a short span. Much of Canada's strong came to settle here our demographics are very different, and we will not be pushed into Trueau's corrupted fairy tale.

 

Leadership here in Canada is self serving wishing to be in perpetual power; so the mature Canadian's need to put our combined years of experience together and take the reins away from the reigns of this central rule, after all they work for us as public servants not our superiors.

I'm willing to listen to reform but I'm fed up of the same old potato head pie.

 

A CBC conversation:

[uncledj]

Big corporations do not care about their employees. They will quite happily shaft everyone and everything they can to make an extra buck which will go to management. I once read a report about an analysis of corporation policies and practices. The profile of the management style exactly matched that of a psychopath. There is a large marine operation here that I have been involved in. I think it is typical of many corporations. They were/are badly over managed. They were told to get rid of 50 managers. They fired 50 managers and hired 50 directors. The only change was the title on the door. In 1990 there were 150 managers, by 1992 there were 300, with no change in staff. When I retired in 2002 there were about 700 in management with the same number of employees as in 1990. The operation is subsidized by federal and provincial money. The last figures I saw showed that all the millions of subsidy dollars went to pay management salaries and bonuses. Normal management/employee ratio is considered to be 1-50. In Japan it is 1-75 which is considered under managed. In the US it is 1-25 which is considered over managed. In the corporation I worked for the ratio was 1-4. Over managed to the point of absurdity. Management will never take responsibility for their actions unless forced to.

 

Lol...sounds like where I work.

Things went well for quite a while. About a year ago, they got rid of the 2 key people who directed 40 some techs and in an attempt to streamline and make things run more efficiently, they hired 9 people to replace the 2 they got rid of.

What a mess.

Management is now trying to figure out why we're not making money anymore.....

It'd be funny if it wasn't so sad....and dangerous.

Thank God I'm in the Trades and can get work pretty easily even if the company tanks.

[Chaharly]

Unfortunately the answer is yes, thanks to short sighted politicians and the socialist yearnings of too many. When I was in high school I was aware of the long term folly of exporting raw materials then buying back finished products. That was a long time ago and nothing much has changed since then.

 

I hope my American friends will take note of the dangerous proposals of AOC and the radical Left. Their popularity is very disturbing.

 

Regarding GM moving their plants to Mexico and China... Perhaps Trump will take note and put a an import tax on all US companies who move to China to help them build their economy to dominate the world. That is their 100 year plan.

 

Canadians are doing a similar thing, as well as allowing the Chinese to buy up resource companies who will be sending their products directly to their homeland. Canadian politicians are unable to formulate a 5 year plan never mind a 100 year plan.

 

 

I'm proud to build Semi Trailers here in America, but i think we only build them here is because its not very cost effective to ship semi trailers overseas. Either way American Manufacturing seems to be a thing of the past, and these kids (and I call them kids but I'm only 25) come in and cant read a tape measure and dont know how to pop an air hose onto a drill! I almost wouldn't blame my company for uprooting and building them overseas!

[saddlebum]

What I find interesting is the fact that most lumber is harvested from crown land, Which in my limited knowledge means land owned by the people of Canada. When a company is given the Thumbs up to Harvest this land It should be done under the stipulation that the logs not be shipped out so as to benefit only a few wealthy at the top of the food chain but that it be processed her at home providing jobs for every wrung on the ladder. Lets face it, it's not entirely that our politicians are dumb but just that their heads are so far up certain butts that they can no longer think straight, nor do they care about the country as whole. Add to that a few snotty nosed children who get to play house in Ottawa because they were born with a silver spoon in their mouth and we all pay the price.

[Patch]

They have strived to earn our disrespect so they may now with permission bask in the glory of what they sowed. my opinion

 

Listen to the nonsense over justice and the statements around snc. "I did not - it wasn't me" really like their track record can't be verified.

 

I can hardly wait for the vote, time to shelve to the halls of history this liberal party.

[Patch]

I'm proud to build Semi Trailers here in America, but i think we only build them here is because its not very cost effective to ship semi trailers overseas. Either way American Manufacturing seems to be a thing of the past, and these kids (and I call them kids but I'm only 25) come in and cant read a tape measure and dont know how to pop an air hose onto a drill! I almost wouldn't blame my company for uprooting and building them overseas!

 

You know Cha I had over the years many young men that struggled reading a tape, many journeymen would loose patients with them but not me. I would start with explaining why we use it and what it actually means as a language then I would explain using even numbers and ask them to say the tables out load; I'd leave it there for a bit then when they demonstrated confidence I cover the odd. Then I could teach them the framing square secrets and how to use elevations.

 

Remember Cha a good journeyman can easily accomplish alone, but a great journeyman teaches, a good journeyman time forgets but great journeyman inspires confidence and his teachings live on.

 

I had a great journeyman and he had a beautiful daughter named Carol;) I was a very fortunate apprentice still smiling

[Freebird]

Folks, this entire thread has become almost completely political in nature. I understand that people feel strongly about such things but politics have always been strictly forbidden on this site. I see this one going away pretty soon.

[Patch]

No problem Boss I get your point.

[saddlebum]

Oops

[Red Ryder]

It is very Sad seeing these Closings. Most of these large companies have No American Pride!

GM, Harley-Davidson, GE etc, have sold there soul for $$$.

I think GM Executives would sell there own Mother!

[Patch]

Oops

 

 

Do you mean " quick put that out open the windows, Dad's home"

 

It is very Sad seeing these Closings. Most of these large companies have No American Pride!

GM, Harley-Davidson, GE etc, have sold there soul for $$$.

I think GM Executives would sell there own Mother!

 

 

It seems to be always around the same excuses North Americans cost too much.

What about for those of us old enough to remember, a family man got the job opening first over a man/woman that did not have a family to support. Industry respected the family way of life and the loyalty that came with it.