Arun Ramarathnam (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} arunram) wrote,@ 2007-10-07 21:08:00 |
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Getting repairs done at home is a nightmare...
Ever got repairs / plumbing done at home? This weekend has been a nightmare... Had to get the tiles replaced in one of the bathrooms and the work was to start at 7 AM Saturday morning. It started at 8:30 AM on Sunday! And it is still going on as a write this entry (10 PM Sunday evening).
The workmanship is poor. Thought the expectations on quality and timeliness were well set in advance. Everything possible went wrong....
The delayed start. There are 5 people working on it! Wonder why? And there is no control or clue on when they will finish. Guess they are not used to estimating and sticking to a schedule.
The tiles were placed unevenly and with gaps in between, some tiles were cut with crude equipment to accommodate for pipes and the like. No one seems to be worried about the quality of the work done except me! No wonder there is a bunch of professionals in other industries who make money on "quality assurance". Never felt the need for it as much till today!
There is more... The workers did not initially tile the whole wall. The did it only for 6 feet instead of 7, though it was agreed with the contractor (Scope issue). The contractor had forgotten to inform the workers though he had bought (Procurement) all the required parts for them (Communication).
All of these activities are essentially elements of any Project! Why don't people run repairs and home improvements in a "Projectized" mode? Work habits in these sectors needs to improve? Is it the relatively low wages they receive or the attitude? Not sure. I am inclined to believe that it is low sensitivity to quality, poor training, lack of appropriate tool usage in the workers and poor planning by the contractor. The similarities are quite scary since these are these same problems that are the root cause for any IT project hiccups / failure!
We need a tools revolution in the country. We still use stone age tools (well almost). And common refrain is tools are expensive and we don't have the principal to plough in. I am not convinced. It is the attitude to tools. We are plagued by a lets-manage-with-what-we-have attitude. Reminded of Stephen Covey... "Sharpen the saw", he said.
Makes me wonder... Why can't we regulate these sectors... Get people to be trained and certified plumbers, electricians and contractors.
It would make a world of a difference to a lot of us. For me for sure. And I wouldn't mind pay more for better quality and predictability. Who wouldn't?
Ever got repairs / plumbing done at home? This weekend has been a nightmare... Had to get the tiles replaced in one of the bathrooms and the work was to start at 7 AM Saturday morning. It started at 8:30 AM on Sunday! And it is still going on as a write this entry (10 PM Sunday evening).
The workmanship is poor. Thought the expectations on quality and timeliness were well set in advance. Everything possible went wrong....
The delayed start. There are 5 people working on it! Wonder why? And there is no control or clue on when they will finish. Guess they are not used to estimating and sticking to a schedule.
The tiles were placed unevenly and with gaps in between, some tiles were cut with crude equipment to accommodate for pipes and the like. No one seems to be worried about the quality of the work done except me! No wonder there is a bunch of professionals in other industries who make money on "quality assurance". Never felt the need for it as much till today!
There is more... The workers did not initially tile the whole wall. The did it only for 6 feet instead of 7, though it was agreed with the contractor (Scope issue). The contractor had forgotten to inform the workers though he had bought (Procurement) all the required parts for them (Communication).
All of these activities are essentially elements of any Project! Why don't people run repairs and home improvements in a "Projectized" mode? Work habits in these sectors needs to improve? Is it the relatively low wages they receive or the attitude? Not sure. I am inclined to believe that it is low sensitivity to quality, poor training, lack of appropriate tool usage in the workers and poor planning by the contractor. The similarities are quite scary since these are these same problems that are the root cause for any IT project hiccups / failure!
We need a tools revolution in the country. We still use stone age tools (well almost). And common refrain is tools are expensive and we don't have the principal to plough in. I am not convinced. It is the attitude to tools. We are plagued by a lets-manage-with-what-we-have attitude. Reminded of Stephen Covey... "Sharpen the saw", he said.
Makes me wonder... Why can't we regulate these sectors... Get people to be trained and certified plumbers, electricians and contractors.
It would make a world of a difference to a lot of us. For me for sure. And I wouldn't mind pay more for better quality and predictability. Who wouldn't?
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