My apprentice called me out on something last month and I still think about it

We were pulling wire through a 3-inch conduit in a commercial building downtown, about 30 feet of it, and I told him to just yank harder. He stopped and asked me if I had checked the pull box spacing first. I hadn't. We went back and found a junction box that was almost completely blocked by a stud. That kid saved us 45 minutes of frustration. I've been doing this 22 years and I guess I got lazy about the basics. Has anyone else had a younger guy teach them something simple like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

sagew509d ago

Had a buddy in HVAC tell me a similar thing last year, his new helper noticed he was about to braze a line without purging the nitrogen first. He told me it was the first time in 15 years someone caught him skipping that step and it made him feel like a rookie again.

robert_anderson691mo ago

Man that's exactly what happened to me a few years back. Had a kid fresh out of trade school notice I was about to run MC cable over a drop ceiling grid without leaving enough slack for the final connections. He just pointed at the box and said "you gonna have enough to get the connectors on?" I was so used to doing it fast I forgot the simple stuff. Now I tell every new guy to call me out if they see me skip a step. It keeps everyone honest and the work comes out better.

gavina731mo ago

Not everything needs a full intervention though. Sometimes you just trim the loose end and move on.