Spare Time at Work

[ykee]

Our projects at work are sporadic, sometimes crazy busy, and other times twiddling our thimbs. It's public service, so I can't spend my down time marketing. I try to keep busy regardless -- try to examine processes, do technical reading. I've thought about doing some on-line course, just not sure if sporadic workloads will allow for it.

Wondering how other people deal with sporadic workloads.

 

[GregLocock]

If I had a job that could be improved by AutoHotkey then I would be replaced by robots.

http://www.despair.com/motivation.html

Or, to be more positive, the person who can design themselves out of a job will always have another job.



Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[Gymmeh]

I found this good for eng-tips

http://www.despair.com/inspiration.html

 

[GonzaloEE]

LOL, great!

 

[graybeach]

Looking at all those anguished parents in China, I wish there could be some sort of lay persons guide posted on the internet to help parents determine if their children's school is vulnerable to collapse in a seismic event. It is not my area of expertise and I do not know if such a lay persons guide would even be possible But maybe I would try if I had some spare time at work.

 

[IRstuff]

Unless you invested in running the FEA, assuming you got enough design information, wouldn't it be a gross guess, at best? And that's assuming that it's built as designed.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[graybeach]

I am thinking more like, is the building unreinforced masonry or not? And, if reinforced, is it developed. Even that would be pretty tough for the average person to determine. Probably, the plans would be hard to get too. People would really need to just hire a structural engineer. Anyway this is something I might think about to occupy myself if I had spare time.

 

[IRstuff]

I don't think China has gotten to the level where structural engineers for hire even exist.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[Pressed]

GonzaloEE and kevindurette have it right. I experienced those type of ideas to create automation and eliminate lengthy design tasks. But I have also seen people create massively formatted spread-sheets and wonder how many hours were squandered.

===================================
Forging

http://mech.e.tripod.com

-------------------------------------------------
Ddraig Breuddwydia....

http://www.tailofthedragon.com

 

[KENAT]

Depends, if management are impressed by all the formatting then none of it's wasted right;-)

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[salmon2]

I did those automation and developed small tools for myself in the past as well. Then I had more spare time. So somehow I quit doing that any more - basically downspeeding myself.

 

[GonzaloEE]

Well, the thread's title says 'Spare Time at Work'. That's the rule. If you're spending so much time on making your desk that 'automatic', you are again getting away from the max point of the curve.

 

[GonzaloEE]

BTW, tried AutoHotkey and it was great...til someone at the office sneaked into my desk while I was out, and found all the tricks.
Now half the office is using it, while I got twice as much the paperwork I used to do, and far less cheers for jobs done on time

 

[tys90]

I have to somewhat disagree with telling your boss you have no work. It varies with the company. I'm in HVAC design and we are measured by the percentage of time we spend working on an actual project. Filling in time with misc. work isn't such a good thing here. Even if it isn't in your field, someone has something for you to do related to a project. It's your job, to an extent, to find that work. It might just be data entry or some research on a piece of equipment but it's directly related to a project. I'm not sure I agree with our method as a way of judging individual performance but it does give a quick sense of company performance.

 

[HVAC68]

Spare time ? Start making standard formats for some of the work that you do - you will end up having more and more spare time !!! You can start working more intelligently. When the busy time comes, some of these formats/standardisation would help. It's like the ant trying to save for the winter during summer.

Start writing technical articles. Browse the internet, if you have access. It has unlimited wealth of information, if used properly. Start writing courses / articles, the list can go on and on.

Time is the most precious commodity today. Be glad you have "spare time " !!!



HVAC68

 

[ruggedscot]

Spare time at your job Huh, can I get a job there ?

Never ever let it be known that you are having down time be creative and ensure that you get all your own work done and keep upto date with things. There is always things that need doing and if you cant see them then you aint looking hard enough!

Rugged

 

[plasgears]

Spare time is the invitation to organize your specialty. I used to create aids to allow quick analysis of repetitive processes. Even though it creates more free time, I feel more justified in the end.

My more respected mentors were noted for creating design charts. I suspect that engineers at GE created the psych chart to speed up HVAC calcs. That created free time for an army of engineers over the years.