How do you handle interuptions

[bloodclot]

I tell you what, this is my 4th Monday this week. Everytime I get working on something I have to drop it 10 minutes later to address some issue that was just dropped in my lap. I have been working on a model that should have taken 1-1.5 days to complete and I started it on the 1st Monday of this week. Not only do the interuptions take time out of the modeling process but it leads to errors because you have to drop, pick-up, drop, pick-up, etc...I am curious how others handle interuptions. I only have a cube area with 3 walls so I do not have a door to close & LOCK.

Thanks

***** Fear not those who argue but those who dodge *****

Dell Precision 670
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[ctopher]

I use to get that everyday. I finally got to the point where I would put on earphones I pretend I don't hear them, or tell them I will come see them at a certain time.(depending who they were).

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[MadMango]

First problem to solve is scheduling. Over estimate your time. If you think a job will take 2 days to complete (16hrs), schedule for 4 days (32hrs). If you study your time, you'll soon discover that you only get about 4hrs of real work completed in a day. The other 4hrs are wasted in meetings, visitors dropping by to chit-chat, walking hither and yonder, etc.

People refer to me as Firewalker at work for all the fires I get tasked to stomp out.

[green]"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."[/green]
Steven K. Roberts, Technomad
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[Theophilus]

Are you working for a subsidiary of Dilbert Company? I used to. ..let's see, that was about nine years ago and I had the same problem.

We had two "mechanical guys"--another guy and myself. And we were constantly bombarded with demands for help in production, parts problems, and everything else. At first, we got some toy fireman hats and put those on to fight the "fires". They didn't get the hint, and it only got much worse.

After a while, we actually had to go to our supervisor--the engineering manager with suspenders--and he began to act as a shield to enforce scheduled interruptions. This way, we were able to set up blocks of non-interrupted time--and the manager would enforce that time by not allowing people past his corner office into the cube farm, except at the allotted interruption times. It worked great. We'd have about 1.5 hours of work time with 15 minutes of scheduled firefighting--and then back to uninterrupted work.

Consider setting up something like that, and if you have a worthy manager (or a decent front desk person, or armed guard), you'll have someone to run interference for you while you get work done.

After a few weeks with this system in place, everyone in the company got much more disciplined and settled down--so we ended up phasing out the forced scheduling when it was no longer needed.

These days, I just don't answer email or my phone until I'm ready to deal with an interruption.

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[bloodclot]

We have tried the controlled interruptions in past and it actually worked for a few days. Then it became a bi*ching session. Basicly it went like this, "So now production is supposed to stop what they are doing because you don't wan't to be interupted"? After that, the process went right back to the start again. I think part of the problem is that the door to the production floor is about 4 feet to my right, and without a door on my cube, I am the 1st person they see.

The other part of it is that we (engineering) are so overloaded that we:

1. Rush through everything on project 1 because everything is a week late.

2. It's late because half the time is spent with the fireman hat on addressing issues of project 2.

3. Now we have finished project 1 and fixing project 2, rest assured mistakes have been made on project 1 because it was rushed through.

4. Rush through everything on project 3 because everything is a week late from fixing fires on project 2.

Here we go again.

***** Fear not those who argue but those who dodge *****

Dell Precision 670
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[Theophilus]

That's EXACTLY how it was for me--right down to the production floor proximity. That's why you need someone with either pointy hair or suspenders to run interference for you--the whining stops with them and you don't have to deal with it (see, they CAN be useful for something).

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[Heckler]

Do you have a manufacturing engineer?

Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 5.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
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o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.

 

[ctopher]

I had a technician/engineer interrupt me all the time, even in front of customers.
Finally I told him that I'm not a baby sitter, stop interrupting me and will get back to him when I can.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[MadMango]

We have this problem a lot where I work as well. I manage 6 people, and they get tasked from various directions all the time. I have to continually remind them that they do not work for other departments. I tell them to listen to the request, be polite, but tell the others they need to check with me first. It works some of the time, but I have a few folks that can't say "No" or have a problem about being non-comittal in their replies.

[green]"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."[/green]
Steven K. Roberts, Technomad
Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[Finethread]

At one place I worked, one of my designers used to hang a sign across the opening of his cube when something needed dedicated attention saying "DO NOT DISTURB..MODELING IN PROGRESS". People knew when the sign was up, it was best to leave him be. Direct but effective.

 

[bloodclot]

Heckler - We do not have a manufacturing engineer, maybe we should.

Finethread - I like the idea of a sign across the doorway, I may give that a try.

In any case, it is comforting to know that I do not walk this road alone.

Bloodclot

***** Fear not those who argue but those who dodge *****

Dell Precision 670
3.0 Ghz Xeon Processor
Nvidia FX3450
3 gig of RAM
Dual 19" Viewsonics

 

[ctopher]

I think it's time for management to use their management skills. Have a meeting and remind everyone they are professionals.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[Theophilus]

Brings Office Space to mind:

Eight, Bob. So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.

--Peter Gibbons

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[ctopher]

Great movie! I would like to see a sequel.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[Theophilus]

Yeah, no kidding. Reminds me of my last job. Had to quit before I ended up like Milton:

And I said, I don't care if they lay me off either, because I told, I told Bill that if they move my desk one more time, then, then I'm, I'm quitting, I'm going to quit. And, and I told Don too, because they've moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were married, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler then I'll set the building on fire...

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.

 

[Rocko1]

Perhaps you should request to be moved to a different location in the building. I think the proximity is your problem. I remember one time at a Chrysler facility, the CAD room was kept dark for 2 reason one, it was easier on the eyes and two other depts were intimidated by it being so dark and having to try and find the Cad Operator or Engineer.

 

[bloodclot]

Rocko1 - Good point and I have seen that as well. My last employer had one design engineer and he kept his cube dark and I mean black (full height walls) with the exception of an under cabinet light that he would only turn on he he needed. You could see this "glow" at the end of the hall, kind of looked like something out of E.T. Everybody thought he was a shroom. Unfortunatly our engineering office is poorly situated between manufacturing on the right and acct/front office to the left. High traffic area to say the least. One thing I did was to get rid of the extra chair in my cube. When people see an emply chair, it's like an open invitation. I have suggested in the past to darken our area but I was promtly shot down because this is such a high traffic area.

***** Fear not those who argue but those who dodge *****

Dell Precision 670
3.0 Ghz Xeon Processor
Nvidia FX3450
3 gig of RAM
Dual 19" Viewsonics

 

[ctopher]

I need you to go ahead and ... move your office to the back ... against the wall ...

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

 

[Rocko1]

Bloodclot, I would post on the outside of your cubicle a little dry erase board. On this you could list the projects you are working on and state, that due to time constraints and managements insistence that you meet your deadlines, that interruptions must be cleared through (your boss).

 

[Theophilus]

And also maybe post specific times you'd be available to handle the firefighting. If you stay consistent with this, most people will be trained after two weeks, and you'll start hitting deadlines immediately.

If not, you may start entertaining thoughts of setting the building on fire. ..

Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe trumps reason.