January 4, 2013 - J (sort of) and me

[7:02 ; I arrive]
+7:02 ; J already in, and is eating in dept. until 7:15-ish

Today, I did slow running jobs on two different machines, so I couldnt really watch J with any kind of accuracy. I can tell you that he was gone from 1:30-2:30, with a pass-thru at 2:00. Wherever he went after 2:00, he returned with a shake or something like it. He also disappeared for a half-hour or so around 3:00-3:20-ish, but probably didnt go anywhere in his car*. I can also say that with a ratio on the order of 3:4 or better, every time that I looked over at J, he would most likely be sitting down and not working.

I, on the other hand, did 57 v-cut pieces from 5 different files, plus 20 large and 720 small fabric pieces, so bully for me.

[4:06 ; I leave, J still "working"]




* Management was saying that J needed to go home on time, and I commented that "you'd have to find him first", which got a big laugh, largest of all from management. And yet, though he apparently is aware of the lack of work (or even presence sometimes) of J, they do nothing about him.

September 15, 2012 - J

Today was a Saturday in a week without a holiday, and therefore was overtime, although J was probably well into overtime by today, anyway. Today both J and I worked on the same job, using the same type of machine.

[7:05 ; I arrive]
[7:25-ish ; I start working on The Job]
8:54 ; J arrives, see NOTE 1
[9:45-ish ; see NOTE 2]
10:00-10:19 ; wandering, see NOTE 3
11:20-11:31 ; wandering, see NOTE 4
[11:40-12:03 ; I go to lunch, I am not in the department to observe]
(12:50-12:53 ; management comes through, see NOTE 5)
12:54 ; see NOTE 6
1:20-2:04 ; wandering, does a pass-though at 1:34
[2:50 ; have finished another 132 pieces, 182 total]
3:20-3:26 ; wandering
3:55- ? ; wandering
[4:05 ; I finish working, total pieces: 215.] J's est. total: 60-ish.
[4:09 ; I go home, see NOTE 7]


If the terms used seem confusing, you might read this.


NOTE 1: Management says that J called saying he'd be late because of bus-related reasons. Which was odd, since J had been driving a car for the last couple of days. The same car he finally arrived in today. He later said something to me about being hungover.

NOTE 2: about this time I finished my fiftieth piece. J has finished one. He has spent an inordinate amount of time doing set-up, considering that the person who worked before him worked on the same job. He finishes his second board at about 10:00.

NOTE 3: J takes his Break, even though he only arrived an hour earlier. He obviously goes somewhere in his car, since he returns carrying fast food, which he then eats at his station as he works.

NOTE 4: J goes to the bathroom. Since each item in the The Job takes seven minutes to finish (and requires no actual supervision during this time), logically, he should have started a board, then left for the restroom. He does not.

NOTE5: Company VP chastises J on mess around his machine, compares it to my clean area. It should be noted that I clean the mess as I go, something no one else does, preferring, as they apparently do, to instead sit (and goof off) the entire time their machine runs.

NOTE 6: J spends about 25 minutes cleaning the mess he made around his machine.

NOTE 7: When I leave, J is sitting out in his car in the parking lot. Has he been there the whole time? Who knows.

March 23, 2012 - me (and J)

7:20 ; arrive, putter
7:48 ; start order #1
8:13 ; start order #2
8:30 ; start order #3
9:15 ; resume order #1
(9:40-9:44 ; phone)
(9:44 ; HP)
9:45 ; start order #4
(10:00-? ; wandering)
10:02 ; prepare for order #5
10:09-10:18 ; bathroom, not in the department to observe
10:25 ; start order #5
10:35 ; start order #6
11:10-11:50 ; lunch, not in the department to observe
11:51 ; resume order #6
(12:10-12:24 ; wandering)
(1:11-1:20 ; wandering)
1:28 ; resume order #3
1:34 ; start order #7
(1:47-2:15 ; wandering)
1:47-1:50 ; bathroom, nothing to observe, since J left
1:51 ; start order #8
2:10 ; start order #9
2:18 ; start order #10
2:25 ; consult with S about technique
2:40 ; start order #11
3:15 ; start order #12
(3:20 ; leaves)
3:20 ; start order #13
3:30 ; start order #14
3:51 ; leave work


J's notations are in parenthesis, all others are mine.


If the terms used seem confusing, you might read this.

March 22, 2012 - me (and J)

7:28 ; arrive
7:38 ; start order #1
8:00-8:20 ; something involving pallets
8:25 ; start order #2
8:50 ; computer failure, reboot
8:55 ; start order #3
9:02 ; start order #4
9:11 ; start order #5
9:20 ; resume order #2
9:25 ; start order #6
9:40-9:55 ; break, not in department to observe
10:00 ; resume order #6
(10:00-10:20 ; wandering)
10:40 ; start order #7, to no avail
10:57 ; start order #8
11:05 ; start order #9
11:06-11:18 ; bathroom
(11:38-11:47 ; wandering)
11:48-12:22 ; lunch, not in department to observe
(12:15-12:25 ; wandering*)
12:40 ; resume order #9
(12:40-1:07 ; wandering)
12:55 ; start order #10
(1:14-1:17 ; phone)
(1:36-1:40 ; wandering)
(1:44-1:49 ; phone)
1:55 ; start order #11
2:15-2:30 ; break, not in department to observe
(2:36 ; rapping? maybe?)
2:37 ; start order #12
(2:39-? ; wandering)
3:00 ; start order #13
(3:04 ; phone)
3:49 ; go home


Notations in parenthesis are J's, the rest are mine


If the terms used seem confusing, you might read this.



* presumably I knew this because J came into the lunchroom.

March 21, 2012 - me (and J)

7:21 ; arrive, putter
7:55 ; start order #1
(8:30-8:34 ; wandering)
9:00 ; preparing for order #3
9:15 ; resume order #1
9:40 ; start order #2 - job failed
(10:00-10:15? ; wandering
10:04-10:12 ; bathroom
10:15 ; start order #3
(10:22 ; phone)
(10:41 ; wandering)
(10:45-10:48 ; wandering - bathroom)
(10:53-11:03 ; wandering)
(11:03-12:30 ; lunch)
11:12-11:55 ; lunch
12:12 ; start order #4
12:15 ; resume order #3
12:41-12:43 ; bathroom
(12:50-12:53 ; wandering)
(1:19-1:23 ; wandering)
1:32 ; start order #5
(1:48-1:50 ; wandering)
1:50 ; resume order #3
(1:52-2:11 ; wandering)
(2:15 ; phone)
(3:20-3:29 ; wandering)
(3:37-? wandering - return, if any, time unknown, since I left)



J's activities are in parenthesis, mine are not.


If the terms used seem confusing, you might read this.

March 20, 2012 - me (and J)

7:12 ; Arrive at work, putter
(7:30ish ; working!)
7:50 ; start order #1
8:09 ; start order #2 - test: set-up and 2 failed cuts
9:55 - 10:15 ; garbage
(10:10 ; phone)
(10:15-10:26 ; phone)
10:25 ; start order #3
10:35 ; start order #4
10:41-10:44 ; bathroom break
10:47 ; start order #5
11:15 ; start order #6
(11:26 ; gratuitous cleaning)
11:30 ; start order #7
(11:45 ; wandering)
12:15 ; start order #8
(12:35-12:47 ; wandering)
12:35 ; start order #9
12:45 ; start order #10
12:55 ; start order #11
12:57 ; start orders #12 and #13
(1:01-1:35 maybe? ; wandering)
1:10-1:48 ; lunch, not in area to observe
1:50 ; start internal job
(2:31-2:58 ; wandering)
2:31 ; start order #13 - again
2:40 ; start order #14
2:50 ; start order #15
(3:01-3:06 ; wandering)
(3:07-3:22 ; wandering)
3:15 ; start order #16 - unfinished
3:48 ; clock out, go home
(4:00 ; Jr reports J leaves)


J's activities are in parenthesis, mine are not.


If the terms used seem confusing, you might read this.

March 19, 2012 - me (and J)

7:20 ; arrive (late!)
7:22 ; assess the work
7:30 ; orders #1 and #2
7:35 ; order #3
(7:45 ; HK)
8:03 ; order #4
(8:10 ; "p" (bathroom?)
8:30 ; "design" (must have been editing some file?)
(8:32-8:37 ; wandering)
8:38 ; order #5
(8:45-10:30 ; "bgrn", whatever that is)
(8:48 ; HP)
(9:15-9:29 ; with L, training?)
9:15 more order #5
(9:34-? ; training)
9:55-10:10 ; break: I am not in the area to observe
(?-10:15 ; wandering)
(10:16-10:26 ; wandering)
10:21 ; more order #5
(10:00-10:50 ; "ANGFIX" - I have no idea)
(10:52-10:56 ; wandering)
(11:03 ; sitting)
(11:11-11:16 ; HK, MW)
11:38 ; order #6 (run while at lunch)
11:39-12:13 ; lunch: I am not in the area to observe
(12:29-1:39 ; wandering)
1:25-2:00 ; orders #7, #8, #9
(1:47 ; HP)
(1:55-2:00 ; wandering)
2:01-2:40 ; order #10
2:40-2:55 ; order #11
(2:47-? ; wandering)
(2:55-2:59 ; phone)
2:55-3:48 ; order #5 again
(3:00-3:13 ; wandering)
(3:30-3:38 ; phone)
(3:38-3:53 ; wandering)
4:08 ; clock out and go home


If the terms used seem confusing, you might read this.

an explanation of the j-lists

J is a coworker. I use the term "worker" loosely here, because he doesnt actually do a lot of work. He's capable of it, but has chosen to augment his pay through attrition of his productivity. Of course, he doesnt actually make more money this way, but I'm sure he goes home far less tired than I do. Over the months of his employment, I, and most of my co-workers, have gotten tired of watching him goof off, so I decided to document it. Not in order to hand it over to management, since that kind of thing tends to backfire, but rather just to satisfy my curiosity. And who knows, maybe if management asks nicely, I might share. A little. Maybe*.

These lists are not very detailed, and it should be understood that I myself was working while making them. All day long, I would look over at J to see what he was doing. If I looked over and he was on the phone, I'd make a note of the time, then make another when I looked over and he was no longer on the phone. I could only do this when I myself was actually in the department, so if I was gone there is no record of what he was doing. I also make no claim as to whether he was on legitimate company business or not; it is possible that his many forays away from his station were to consult someone on company-related business. Possible. Not probable, though.

Here are the terms used, and they are necessarily broad so as to facilitate brevity of the recording notes and time spent doing them (since I am, after all, at work and doing a job). Generally:

• "internet": means what it sounds like. Surfing on the workstation computer.
• "wandering": not in the department's area. Could be pursuing some answer, or on break, or he could be at lunch. Could be yakking outside while smoking. Definitely not manning his post.
• "phone": could be on his cell, texting, surfing or talking (frequently seems to be watching videos, judging by the intensity with which he stares at the thing). Could be on the work phone, legitimately or otherwise. Not manning his station, though.
• "sitting": not at his post, but still in the department, sitting in a chair. Might possibly be doing company-related paper work, but there isnt a lot of that (although strangely, for the person in the department who does the least amount of work, he does appear to spend the most amount of time doing paperwork). Often writing something, or possibly on the phone, or sometimes just staring at nothing.
• "yakking": in the department, but talking rather than working. Possibly at his post, possibly not.
• "gratuitous cleaning": cleaning the work area in unnecessary ways, apparently to avoid work. Should mention that J may be a germaphobe, and the plant VP is former electronics engineer who likes sterility and square corners. I usually only cite this if J is using a spray cleaner outside his general area or has gotten out the air hose (yes, I said air hose).
• "rapping": just what it sounds like. seriously.
• "working": occasionally,  J will buckle down and actually work. Sometimes, I am so amazed that I actually make note of this fact (this is why "working" will often be accompanied by an exclamation point, thusly: "working!").
• "MW", "HK", "HP", "RS": Bosses. Except for MW and RS on weekends, their presence is fairly rare. Note the change in J's behavior when they do show up, though. Sometimes.
• "Training": J does actually know his stuff, so occasionally he's in charge of training new people to run the machine he runs. It's not like he's all that productive, anyway, so he might as well be training. When training, J gets a break from my note-taking, because there's a lot of time spent standing around and personal productivity isnt really an issue.
• "Jr": occasional volunteer note-taker from after my shift. J tends to ride the clock, Jr sometimes makes notes.

I should point out here that while I record all these things when I see them, I only record them if the machine he is supposed to be operating is not running. If the machine is running, I dont really care what he's doing. Talking, texting, surfing, whatever. The Bosses might, but that's their problem*. Granted, his activities when the machine isnt running arent mine at that time either, but at those times he just really bugs the hell out of me, so I write it down.



* Management gets paid big bucks for two things: 1) facilitation of the production, i.e., giving workers the resources and direction they need to complete their jobs, and 2) being the cop on the beat and keeping workers in line. I'm not paid enough to do their job for them.