I've never wired interconnected smokes before. I read the instruction leaflet that comes in the box ;-o
If you really want to make him cry, tell him my 8 year old daughter's science project (free choice) was a 2-way lighting circuit on plywood made with drawing pins for contacts, plumbing copper u-strap for the "rocker", 2 AAs and an LED+resistor.
And she understood how it worked and could draw the schematic unaided with switches in all 4 combinations (once I showed her the symbol for an LED and a resistor - school only did battery, switch and lamp to date).
To be fair, we only did the classic version (in one switch, out the other). I told her there was a clever "single ended" version and drew it once, but as it is a bit a fiddle to think through, I didn't see any value in confusing the other kids needlessly..
Apparantly it was quite popular - always have a bright blue LED :)
That's not as uncommon as I once thought. I had a customer once who kept asking me to 'explain' directions to her - it was only after she handed me the booklet upside down, while pointing at the bit she wanted explained, that I realised she couldn't read at all. Some folk are functionally illiterate - they know the alphabet and can make out words, but have trouble with sentences and paragraphs.
My Dad was like that with us - carpentry, electronics, dark room work - much more fun than the typical kids' toys.
Even though I'm not a time served sparky, I've done loads of wiring stuff.
My knowledge is self taught over 27 years, and even sparkies comment I do a better job than they themselves do and that I have an eye for detail... grommets on metal boxes, sleeving all my earths and even earthing the back pattress boxes and the metal trunking.
just recently:
12 interlinked smoke and heat detectors using triple core and earth, both 1st fix and 2nd fix
13 PIR detectors to replace 4 old ones and 9 new locations, wired back using 6 core alarm cable to alarm panel
changed a one way switch in bedrooms to two way wall switch and a ceiling mounted two way pull cord.
Installed CT100 cables and ethernet and telephone to every room in house back to loft, two multiswitches and 48 port ethernet switch in loft.
Wired house for multi room audio loudspeakers.
In my last house I added outside PIRs and floodlights with a three position switch, permanently off, permanently on and automatic..
One of my particular skills is using old cable to pull through new cable to minimise the amount of making good....
my skills also extended to ripping out 12 old rads, all the old copper tube, the old cylinder, removing the old boiler from utility room, putting in 14 new rads set up as two heating zones, and running new pipework to a new boiler location in kitchen which included CH flow & return, cold an hot water, leaving a gas safe engineer to hang new boiler and make final connections. I also had to do two new programmable room thermostats, wire in two new zone valves and run 5 core cable to combi boiler. I also had to do the earth bonding for both the gas and water pipes using 10mm2 earth cable. (none existed before)
ARWadworth, any chance of a job with you? You'll get no 5h1t off me. :-)
Have you, by any chance, been trained in supervision? That is exactly how I was trained to approach such situations, except that unfair dismissal was much less of a problem in those days.
Once upon a time, almost 50 years ago now, I spent six months as part of my college course in the (wet) analytical lab of a precious-metals refining company.
Bring green, I initially got the boring, routine stuff to do, such as the morning boiler-water analysis. One day, I got some funny readings which meant they had to shut the boilers down, at horrendous cost. When an experienced chap rechecked the work, I was proved right...
Then I moved up to analysing nickel for sulphur content, which had to be in the ppm level to meet the contract. After a couple of weeks...I got some unusual results, which meant production had to stop. An experienced chap redid the work, and my findings were proved correct. The factory was knee-deep in rejected Nickel anodes...
Then came the day that all four juniors were away, either through day-release of illness. Because by now I'd rotated through their jobs and knew what to do, I got all their work done as well as my own....
The lab were so pleased with my performance, that when they took on a college trainee the following year, they paid him the full rate for the job, a massive £15pw instead of the £10 I got.
Just yesterday I was feeling happy that I'd not put the last floorboard down in the roof space as I needed to thread some new cables through there. Today I started on the wiring and discovered the existing cable is in the /second/ void along, not the first void. Bugger!
Anyway, got the vacuum cleaner, reel of cotton, roll of string, drilled two holes in line with each other through the two joists, and 30 minutes of grunting and swearing and I'd got the cable through ;)
Learnt this trick from Dad's Army :)
If my knees didn't screm at me every time I kneeled down I'd be asking myself ;)
If my knees didn't screm at me every time I kneeled down
Is that just because floor boards are hard or because of knackered knees? Work trousers with built in knee pads are good(*) or a 1m square of thick cushion flooring.
(*) Got a pair of the =A316.92 work trousers(*) from Toolstation and the knee pads. Great but the pads keep shifting in the pockets and you end up kneeling on the edge or the floor. B-( Must get SWMBO'd to adjust the pockets so the pad can't slip sideways.
(*) The =A312.98 ones have a *really* weird cut, I don't think it takes any account for hips. Straight down from the waistband.
But then I can't use my hands for the job I'm trying to do.
Both. Knackered knees (inherited problem) plus hard floors, even with my 4" thick cushion. Plus, related to the above point, too many years of kneeling down in small spaces leaning forwards and trying to hold tools, etc. in my hands, so having no way of supporting my body weight other than holding my entire weight with my back muscles.
Plus too many years of delivering leaflets to d*****ts who have letterboxes at toe height.
I know why I do not try that route. Today we went back to a job where we could not second fix upstairs as it was not plastered when we second fixed the downstairs. He asked what needed doing and I said "You know what needs doing, you were there" and replied "I have slept since then so I have no idea what needs doing".
I kicked off at that point. We were last there on Wednesday.
Yes I have, but as with most things, I was doing it long before I got the training!
For anyone who suddenly finds themselves in a supervision role without explicit training, think back over your career up to that point, during which you have likely had many supervisors. Typically you will have had some good ones, and some bad ones, and if you're really lucky, you might have had an execptionally good one at some point (I was lucky). You can learn from all of these, good and bad - what did they do right, what did they do wrong? Use this to decide how you will lead and motivate the staff working for you. Formal training is useful for dealing with the exceptions you probably won't have come across such as unfair dismissal claims and other legal issues, and identifying and dealing with personal problems, but for the basic leadership and motivation, you should hopefully be able to draw on your past experience.
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