Does a job site radio help or hurt production? What rules on radios do you have on your job sites?
I work alone alot of the time and I find it helps me stay alert, but I know that on some jobs radios are not allowed.
This is a continuation of: http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=37593.1
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Replies
I agree, having a radio helps me keep focased- I have no idea why. I usually listen to a classic rock station, as do most of the guys I end up working with. Most carps I know are about my age (50) plus or minus a few years. I don't think I could work to rap. The other advantage to having a radio is that I'm less likely to be talking to myself all day long- that scares the customers!
My crew are band members and we don't listen to a radio because it interferes with our communication to each other, you are yelling out lengths and yelling over a radio doesn't make sense. We do remodeling and most of the customers are retirees and I don't like imposing my tastes upon them.
ANDYSZ2
I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.
I agree. I also think construction is noisy enough without adding top 40.Smile. It could be worse. You could be me working for you.
"Job site Radio. Good or Bad?"
Depends on who dials in the station.
Listen to NPR. It will make the customers think you're honest and intelligent.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
>> It will make the customers think you're honest and intelligent.
Well, yeah, some of them will think that.
My vote is no radio. I don't mind having anything on for an hour or two but 8-9 hours of the same top 40 over and over and over again was driving me crazy on a recent job. Even if the guys liked jazz (my favorite) I wouldn't want it on continuously. That said, I most often work alone so it's usually not a problem.
Chip
this was a long discussion here about two years ago when I started my house. working alone without a radio was peaceful but after awhile I was happier with a radio but then if somebody started playing rap I would be homicdal. If you can get everybody on the same channel. Like at the shop they will not let me have my talk radio so i work alone alot.
The best employee you can have but you wouldn't want him as a neighbor " He the shifty type"
I like classic rock, but I HATE classic rock radio! It's the same 14 songs, all day wrong, every day, every week!! How many times can I hear Bad Company 'Bad Company'?? Creative lyrics, too! I just appalls me, that with the gazillion songs out there, that we hear the same drivel endlessly. I just can't take it all day long.
We found a local hig school radio station one day. They actually played classic rock, but cool 'deep cuts'. It was great! A couple of days later, we tuned them in again, but at a different time...and again, cool deep stuff. Then, after school, Buffy and her friends cam on and things went downhill fast! But hey, 6 hours is cool with me, and best of all, NO commercials!
So, the next day, I turned it on, and after an hour or so, we looked at each other and said, "Didn't we hear this yesterday?". Seems they play the same songs every day, just like the big guys! Aaarrgggg!! Too bad, it was cool while it lasted! Maybe next week will be a new tape...crossed fingers!Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
Being an ex professional musician, I gotta have some music, even if its just in my head. I always have a radio on the jobsite. Being the boss, I decide what we listen to. Classic rock is always on the radio, but sometimes we will pull out the CDs. Then everybody gets a chance, but no rap. That aint music.
I have checked productivity, and I always get a lot more done when there is music. Guess I just get going with the beat.
I hired a kid once who asked the first day if he could bring in his radio. He showed up the next day with a three piece stereo and a record player. He spent too much time changing albums. A Deadhead in more ways than one...........When all else fails, use duct tape!
"What rules on radios do you have on your job sites?"
> When there are more than one radio, they need to be on the same station or I turn one of them off.
> When it is too loud to talk over, I turn it off
> When some jerk things that tuning in the tunes is more important than covering the roof when rain is on the way, I throw it on the ground.
> When the customer is present, I turn it off.
> When the sounds are heavy metal or rap, I turn it off.
>> When it happens the second time, I drive over the radio.
In short, I like some tunes or talk and not that partoicular if somebody wants something different, but if it interferes with business or customer relations, it is off.
Excellence is its own reward!
I think it helps in one way. It lets me get into a groove, especially in mundane tasks such as doing cut in when painting. I hate doing it, and talk radio or music give my mind something else to focus on instead of how much I hate what I'm doing.
also it cuts down on BS'ing when 2 people are in a room or close by, no reason to try to talk over the radio.
when I paint I use headphones and a small tuner to tune out the rest of the world and avoid focusing on how much I'd rather be doing something else.
I won't use the radio anytime a customer could hear it and I won't play anything a customer could in any find offensive if they did here it, usually this voids any of the morning shows I like minus NPR. Just like everything else, if you use a little common sense and courtesy it shouldn't be a problem.
Now when the new guy last week was listening to a radio show last week and they had midget lesbian pornstars on, I had to go tell him to change the station or turn it off.
I agree with piffen on all counts.
I like the tunes playing as background but not over powering.
Must be able to hold a conversation without having to turn off the radio,but when talking with higher-ups, the radio gets turned off.
I work mostly new construction on large projects,and unless the general says no radio, there is always someone with a radio on.
Alot of guys ,in all trades,have the DeWalt radios because they charge batteries for their cordless tools,so it's hard to get away from not hearing some kind of tunes on the job.
Now when the new guy last week was listening to a radio show last week and they had midget lesbian pornstars on, I had to go tell him to change the station or turn it off.
Howard..right? Bridgett The Midget? Adil and me were laughing our azzes off....too funny! I told Adil to crank it up.....I was working here though so.
Be a Stern boss
andy
My life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
no local show on 98.9 the rock
couple of "actress's" that are performing at a local "club"
i had to laugh when i read about the midget,i heard that too.can you imagine how fast some customers would tell you to pack your tools if they heard that!!!larry
radio .. yes.
rules ... simple ... as with everything else .......common courtesy.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
That is too true Jeff. My lead carpenter has about $5,000.00 wrapped up in the stereo in his truck. During the week he has one day where we have to put up with his questionable taste in music, then he has the others guys choose what they want to listen to. One of my long term employees is from Mexico and we all feel our Spanish has improved greatly after listening to a Latin station for 8 hours every week. What a crew.
As long as the adults on the crew are running it. I'm a big fan of alternative rock and gangster rap, but they have their places. Not blasting at a job site. I hate classic rock stations more then nails on a chalk board and most country stations wouldn't know good country if it bit them on the nose. NPR and classical are good or light jazz, but then everyone starts treating you like your from another dimension so I usualy don't bother with it.
Most of my radio time is spent driving by myself. A lot of weeks I log a thousand miles driving from job to job, so I have a whole selection of c.d's to keep me awake, It ranges from Don Edwards to the last Mr. Bigg it's all good especially when your trying to stay awake. Wait a minute this is job site radio talk, not driving music. Sorry.
Who Dares Wins.
I'm a musician in real life. Only a carpenter for pretend. The guy I work with (my boss) hates radios on jobs. The radio/cd player in my car died (over a year ago and it's my work vehicle so I really can't justify replacing it..... 242,000 miles and going strong!).
I am now officially crazy. That's probably how I came to the unanimously half-witted decision to build my own house.
Rob Kress
Which is worse...A guy or gal singing with or without the ability to carry a tune in a bucket with or with out a radio for accompany-ment?
My drywaller's hanging crew were all Mexican/Central American. They blasted the Mexican music all day long and worked their butts off.
I dug the music too, but after 2 days I realized (even though I don't know Spanish) that they were playing the same dozen or so tunes over and over. Even so, it was a nice culturally enlightening week and just to show how "in touch" I was, I sprung for a case of Corona on their last day :) (Thanksgiving Eve)
C
Yeah, I find that I work faster and more efficiently when I have a radio going. Usually doesn't matter too much what it is (not classical or light jazz, somehow that just doesn't seem to find it's place on the job). I've worked on landscaping crews with a bunch of Mexican guys, and we listened to the Spanish stations...It was great, kept us all going 10-11 hours a day. I also usually have classic rock stations going on a less cultured crew (i.e. racists), and the local station here prides themselves on never playing a song more than once a day.
However, if people keep dropping their tasks to tweak the dial, that's a whole different story.
I need a radio,95% of the time i work by myself, and the radio is my companion. keeps me company. npr or college radio blues ,jazz(spanish music is just to frantic for my taste). at a level to converse with the customer or myself for that matter(LOL)."expectations are premeditated resentments"
When I work larger commercial jobs it is always classic rock that is on someone's Dewalt radio, I usually like the stuff they are playing if it is Doors, Hendrix, Dylan, Skynryd but tend to not appreciate the Journey/Foreigner/80s stuff. I got a portable mp3/radio for my birthday so I usually listen to Howard Stern in the morning and classical music the rest of the day, occasionally classic rock as well. I've yet to come across a customer who minded a radio playing at a low level but I often use my headphones regardless as I'm sure some would be offended by Stern and if I am on a jobsite with many other trades they find it impossible to comprehend someone listening to classical or jazz. I've only worked one job in the past couple years that had top 40 stuff on.
-Ray
While installing a Pipe Organ in Mobile Al. yrs. ago, we arrived at the new church at 08:30. We always had some tunes on our jobs and in the shop. One of us fired up the boombox, but in such a big room it was dwarfed with "bounceback " which is GOOD for an Organ lousy for a 3" speaker. I went wanderin around the church and lo and behold, there before my eyes I saw THE monster sound system. Graphic eq. VOX voice of the theater speakers..the whole 9. So, I innocently popped in SRV "The sky is cryin" tape..cranked it up for my buddies to hear and went about building my part of the organ. Not 3 mins. into the song the Preacher comes runing into the chancel with a wierd look on his face. I figure he dont like Stevie Ray..he says "what the hell do you think you are doing?" I said gotta have some tunes to build an ORGAN..ya know. HE says "Yeah, BUT it is playing through the whole SCHOOL.!!" Seems they have a school connected to the church..K thru 7 . OOPS. The kids loved it.
bear
wearing my WFUV hat as I type!
Catch ya soon bro
andyMy life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
No soap.
Radio.
Live, Love, Forgive and Forget
quittintime
went to see prairie home companion in N.Y.C last nite with my wife and he was commenting on the complex construction of a joke and the diffrent type's of follow through. and he specifically commented on the fray of minimalist structure of jokes. and used the "no soap pass the radio" example and he took that ball and rambled for 5 minutes on other example. had a great time......be well
bear
."expectations are premeditated resentments"
The radio for me is basically background sound- its not really cranked up too loud, except for a few favorites. Besides, I'd rather listen to the voices on the radio than the voices in my head.
When I'm doing mind deadening or low forehead tasks like roofing, or sheetrock, digging, or painting, I am more productive with driving tunes like Fleetwood Mac or the theme from Rocky or Eye of the Tiger.
But when I am doing complicated layouts, the noise is a distraction that destroys my focus.
It all depends how much I need to use my head tool that day..
Excellence is its own reward!
good point.....the volume just moves down quite a bit, but stay at a respectable nuance......
."expectations are premeditated resentments"
some days I see 25 to 30 jobsites, in that period most of them have some dang radio blaring away trying to be heard over the noise of the saw and nail gun.. they crank it up untill the destortion ruins any sound coming out..
As for me,
when working I mostly listen to NPR, BBC, or some English language short wave stations..
Occasionally if I'm doing quiet work I might indulge myself with a book on tape.
i listen to whatever the guys are listening to... but talk radio is bad.. too much actually listening... try to keep it to musicMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore