40 hours in a work week

Tom Dunlap

Tom Dunlap

Here from the beginning
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Retired in Minneapolis
When I was at the TxISA conference a couple of weeks ago I talked with an arborist that I've known since he was in college. Over the years we've crossed paths but never had the opportunities to spend a long time together. At the barbecue a few of us stayed late...wasting Shiner Bock is a crime you know :)

He came up with a great idea for his workweek. One night he was thinking about the long work days and overtime that he was paying. Getting the hay in while the sun shines is a natural response of anyone who makes their living in a weather dependent environment. No matter how he tried the crews would work more ten hour days than eight. They weren't milking jobs, it was a case of logistics.

Then...the AH HA! moment...have them work 4-10 hour days. Well, that isn't even the best idea. Instead of M-Th each week he staggers the work week. The first week is M-Th. The next is T-Fr. Then, M-th...which leads to every other weekend being four days long and the alternate is the 'normal' two day.

This is brilliant I think! Ten hour days weren't hard for his crew...they were already working them. It was the natural rhythm...now, they have more weekend time.

What do you think?
 
Brilliant. A four day weekend twice monthly! I usually try to work 4-10's (crew works 4-10's, me, well, does it ever stop when you own your own?).
 
We work 4 ten hour days. I love it. If it rains then we make up the difference on Friday.

As for staggering the schedule, if it rained one of those days it would throw everything into a funk (if my thinking is correct)

I'll have to ponder this thought a little more with the staggering but as far as the ten hour work days go I absolutely love it
 
I get paid salary 50hrs. I work rain or shine. If it rains then i do office stuff, fix things around the shop, work on saws and i do sales calls

I do not get any commission on sales calls because of my salary position and man do i like it that way. The only folks who make out on commission is the owner (who loves to cherry pick the good jobs and dump the crap on me which results in me making nothing for my extra time put in)
 
Very interesting... I like it. The staggering idea is awesome. If, you are an employee.

As a business owner, I'd prefer to bring in income every day I could. Since I don't have robots, I feel like I'd be more than fair to give the guys a half day Friday and let them have a normal weekend. So, I only bring in money 5 days per week. Ideally, I'd like to bring in work 6 days per week. (But, I'll move on).

Here is why I (as a business onwer) don't like the idea: Let's say the business brings in income Mon-Thurs only. That means that there are 52 days in the year that we'd be leaving out (if we did the 4/10 hour work weeks). Lets say the business only brings in $600 dollars every Friday (half a day). That's $31,200 dollars in extra gross sales that could be lost, if there were only 4 days of production.

My guys are getting 40-45 hours per week. Sure, I get hit with paying overtime, but it is worth the extra money.

But, I'm realitively new at this (compared to some of the vets). If my thinking is flawed on this, let me know...
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Crazy Jimmy, I agree with you. We tried the 4-10s a couple years ago and it lasted 1 week. I think it was the wrong time to try it but we wound up falling behind and the next week we worked 5 10s and 1 8. Not normal tree work though, christmas lights on a dead line. I find us in the same situation now we have had 4 days of terential rain last week and 2 rain days this week. I have already asked the crew the work late. Bye bye side work, bye bye family life, bye bye bye.
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WE have traditionally worked around 50 hours a week all year. This is what the field crews prefer. If we get slow we will then will do 4-10's. Half the crews will be off on friday the other half on monday. We still need to operate as a company and having the set day off gives the employee an opportunity to gain some extra income somehow.
 
Some people would say that people produce more in 4 ten hour days than 5 eight hour days. It will depend on what you are doing as well. High stress, or heavy labor, the mind and body can do better with a rest sometimes.

If you are doing light pruning, then imagine saving travel time one day a week each way, and packing and unpacking gear, warm-up time in the mornings, vehicle checks, etc.

Making your jobs/ shop work come out out to 10 hours per day is a challenge. Business by business basis.

Sometimes I'll try to work 4 ten's with the crew, then bid on one of the "weekend" days, especially in the winter. I will also do onsite or shop work or office work or all three on the "weekend".
 
[ QUOTE ]
When I was at the TxISA conference a couple of weeks ago I talked with an arborist that I've known since he was in college. Over the years we've crossed paths but never had the opportunities to spend a long time together. At the barbecue a few of us stayed late...wasting Shiner Bock is a crime you know :)

He came up with a great idea for his workweek. One night he was thinking about the long work days and overtime that he was paying. Getting the hay in while the sun shines is a natural response of anyone who makes their living in a weather dependent environment. No matter how he tried the crews would work more ten hour days than eight. They weren't milking jobs, it was a case of logistics.

Then...the AH HA! moment...have them work 4-10 hour days. Well, that isn't even the best idea. Instead of M-Th each week he staggers the work week. The first week is M-Th. The next is T-Fr. Then, M-th...which leads to every other weekend being four days long and the alternate is the 'normal' two day.

This is brilliant I think! Ten hour days weren't hard for his crew...they were already working them. It was the natural rhythm...now, they have more weekend time.

What do you think?

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't had time to get on the buzz and read things, so, I'm not reading the other responses right now but... just the first poster.

how the hell do you pick what days and what jobs end in a 10 hour day?

we work every hour of daylight till the job is done or weather lets us get it done.

how can you say work Mon-Thurs 10 hr days? This isn't office work, not every job ends at 8 or 10 hours.

what about full rain days? what about a key man needing off because he has to go on a fieldtrip with his kid?

What about rain solid for Monday and Tuesday, what do you do then?

what about... what about...?

I'll tell ya what we do, work every available decent weather day until it gets close to 40 hours for that week. That's what we do. Brilliant! We work outside, weather is always changing. yes, if we have jobs that can be done in the rain, we do them; but there is not too many of those.
 
Guys...this isn't mandated policy...just a concept that works for one company. He came up with the plan after giving out 8 hours of work and finding that the days became 10 hours. NOt that the crew was milking or production rates weren't being maintained at the proper hourly rate. He's been doing it for a while and it works for him.

Also, this is in College Station, TX. Try dealing with the heat for 'every possible work day'.
 
Yeah i wouldnt know about the heat any.The heat is really never a factor for us,but its nice to do the removals in the morning if possible.But im with x on this one we work till the jobs are finished for that particular day.In the heat,cold and even rain and snow-having a company is like having a really large pet dragon it needs to be fed daily,so theres isnt a whole lot of time for leisure.Plus my employees really like overtime so that wouldnt fly.But if I worked for someone and was on salary this work week sounds like a great idea.
 
X. We keep working through he schedule. If we get done the days work (money wise) then we push on to a smaller job that can be done in the alotted time or we start the next days jobs.

If a guy needs off. He takes off and we call in one of our subs (with unemployment the way it is we have a list of friends and relatives looking to make a few extra bucks)

If it rains, we work til we can't then we go home or we as a crew call it a day (the boss used to tell us to push through, doesn't fly if you're not the one getting wet)
 
man, I didn;t know weather was such a factor in MD. I usually just watch the doppler 4cast and try to figure it out. I usually try to gauge the hours a job will take when i am submitting a bid as in 2 hrs is xxx and so forth. boy am I glad I don't live in MD.
 
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