How do I speed up on site?

[Mr Curnow]

I am really slow when it comes to practical, if I try to go fast I make more mistakes but if I go at my normal pace I'm behind everyone else.

I have an the 2330 level 2 practical exam soon, they said that slow people will might not finish in time. I really don't want to resit a very expensive exam (I heard it cost around £100 to resit).

So can anyone give me some tips to speed up, Half the time I don't know what I'm doing, I have to ask my friends. Also the teacher isn't very helpful, whenever I do something wrong he just rolls back his eyes like I'm a dinlo. I am quite clever at theory though.

 

[Southern Spark]

I had bill when I passed a few years ago, nice guy, but I can honestly say I can't remember him teaching me a single thing. It sounds to me like you are in the same boat as I was, fine with theory, but slow on the tools. I have done site work for three years and the speed does come eventually. As has been said on here already, it is organisation and confidence that will speed you up. Confidence will come with practice, organisation will come with a tool belt!!! Get down screw fix and get one. I live in southbourne, if you need me to run over a few things with you, pm me. I can't promise anything but if I have the time I will show you anything you are not sure of, or practice making off armour etc. Out of interest, who do you have for theory?? I had Marcus and alan touselle (sp???)

 

[gutterball]

take time at the start to look at the job. then you can see a plan of action. it helps if you can see the flow ie a leads to, b leads to c etc.

 

[topquark]

How do you go about making up your board? Do you divide the work up into first fix/second fix or do you do each circuit at a time. Generally I would layout all of the accessories on the board, then cable and clip. That stage you should be able to do fairly quickly, you can then take your time being neat and tidy with the terminations and take your time to inspect/test. That's also the way you'll tend to work on site later.

 

[Adam W]

I think it was Simon (who from what I've heard has now retired) who used to say if you've ever worked on site you'll probably know more than Bill; nice guy but I remember someone asking him if there was a cut and dried method of doing steel conduit to which he said something about it not being a very precise art, which seemed to be his excuse for messing up all his demos. Chances are he rolls his eyes when you ask for help because he doesn't know how to do it himself, never mind teach it.
If you've got any concerns about the practical side of things it might be best to speak to your course tutor (Andy?) - that's what he's there for, or Brian in the workshop might be able to give you some extra guidance.

 

[slelectricalhud]

definately get yourself a tool belt, and organise it properly and always keep things in the same place so you can always grab what you need without looking.

 

[ian]

Your speed will increase with experience and confidence, beingmethodical and tidy helps too.

 

[mart8235]

sounds daft, but do one thing at a time.
I work with a guy who tries to do and think about everything in one go - can't see the woods for the trees!
do the easy stuff first, don't think about the harder stuff until your ready to do them and you'll find your steadily plodding along at a better rate.
always try to keep doing something. the more time you spend thinking about something your not ready to do, the slower you work.
it's a middle ground between crashing through like a loon, and standing looking and thinking..... how am I going to do this? neither of which are advisable!!!!!

but don't stress cos your still learning and speed with quality takes time, knowledge and experience......

 

[robsparky1975]

You may think your slow but i bet you are still quicker than when i done my rig several years ago,its all in the mind,and theres no one better at winding yourself up then well...yourself,i know this out of experience,remember that it can be done,and you will do it,take as much time as you need,you have the beauty of this site and all the good sparks handing out great advice,back then i didnt,i nearly threw in the towel,but had some good blokes around me pursuading me otherwise,dont think your the only one who gets a bit of a panick on,lifes a big challange,rise to the challange,you CAN do it,just stop putting yourself down,i didnt give up,as the going says,slowly,slowly catchy monkey,if i can do it so can YOU.good luck

 

[rocker]

Nothing wrong with being slow, rather see someone working slow but doing things right, nice neat cabling and clipping, nice sexy bends and straight straight bits.
Come on fella you said it yourself the fastest in the class ended up blowing the fuse because he is too coc -sure, do you think he will pass the exam if he does that?

If you aren't sure what you are doing without help then you aren't going to get through the exam. The good news is, you probably know EXACTLY what you're doing if you think about it, but you're getting yourself flustered worrying about it and it's always so easy to ask someone else. So try and concentrate on doing things for yourself from now on, not asking others for help.

SO look at what you have to do, have a deep breath, relax your shoulders aned make a little plan in your head. Then do it one step at a time. It's all logical, it's only a few wires after all! What you need to do is have a system, a routine that you go through, as has been mentioned already. And also the tool belt thing is a must, the last thing you want are vanishing tools which is what happens to tools on the floor or in a box when you're stressed.

I'm quite slow even now, but it's a very rare day that I'm called back out to a job because of faults.

 

[Geordie Spark]

take time at the start to look at the job. then you can see a plan of action. it helps if you can see the flow ie a leads to, b leads to c etc.

I used to work for a builder & he was always "having a go" at me because I liked to stand & look at a job thoroughly before I opened the tool box. He'd make comments such as "Why is it every time I see you you're staring into space?"

The interesting thing was that I could usually do my work right first time. He on the other hand would jump straight in & often had to have 2 or 3 attempts before he got his job right.

 

[Adam W]

I used to work for a builder & he was always "having a go" at me because I liked to stand & look at a job thoroughly before I opened the tool box. He'd make comments such as "Why is it every time I see you you're staring into space?"

The interesting thing was that I could usually do my work right first time. He on the other hand would jump straight in & often had to have 2 or 3 attempts before he got his job right.

That's how I prefer to work - have a good look at the job first and size up any obstacles, then if they look to be too much of a problem you can find another way around without wasting materials and/or having to make too many compromises.
Unfortunately a lot of people would rather see movement than rational thinking, which at first glance looks like "standing around and staring into space".

 

[SMB]

I used to work for a builder & he was always "having a go" at me because I liked to stand & look at a job thoroughly before I opened the tool box. He'd make comments such as "Why is it every time I see you you're staring into space?"

The interesting thing was that I could usually do my work right first time. He on the other hand would jump straight in & often had to have 2 or 3 attempts before he got his job right.

That sounds familiar.......

Were the builders hands covered in blood-blisters and his nails all black?

Did he use screwdrivers as chistles?



Speed comes with experience. Plod along mate.
You should never be in a position where you don't know what your doing. What I mean by this is you are still learning and you should have support in what your doing. Hopefully you will end up working with someone who will take the time to explain things when you need help. As an apprentice you are only as good as the people who are teaching you. Confidence will come with time.

Your college tutor sounds like he would be better suited to flipping burgers as a job. What an uninterested fool he must be. You should write down your experiences about him and send your observations to the people that matter....ie....his line manager.

I wish you well.

 

[KFH]

As everyone has said speed comes with practice and confidence.

For your exam and pratical work, read and understand the task, work out what you have to put up/do, lay out the items you need to erect on the board, use a level to make sure the connections from the equipment will line up, draw in the connections using the level and a pencil, start fitting conduit/wiring using the level. Your tutor should be able to give you an idea of what you are going to be asked to do to enable you to plan the sort of things you will need to do. Practice developing a mental plan for different types of installation and draw up the wiring for the most common ones so you will not have to think too much during the exam.

Don't stop to talk, don't allow yourself to be distracted, make sure you are doing something all the time, after fitting each item stand back for a FEW seconds and check that it meets the requirements of the task, is fitted properlyand then start on the next item.

You will soon have finished.

Follow the advice about a tool belt and try to make sure you have a chair/platform nearby to put your notes / papers on so you can stay by the board.

Good luck

 

[simpson93]

hiya mate i would say dont worry about it at all you wont fail easily, you get like 9 hours to do 2 circuits and abit of swa?
just set your time out for each bit and 1-2hours just incase of mistakes
+i think you get the 1st resit free.
good luck

 

[Paul.M]

I am not just slow I am the slowest, it's horrible. It's not a good thing to be too fast either, a kid is very fast in my class, he is also very cocky, the only bad thing is he makes bad mistakes like he didn't even test the equipment - he blew the fuse.

I know who I would choose out of you two to work with or rewire my house,,,,, YOU!

Loads of brilliant advise that all students doing their practical exams should read. The only thing I can add that hasn't already been said is to take a pen and paper with you. At the beginning take a few minutes and write down in order what tasks they want you to do and tick them off one by one. This way you have a clean plan, you can make sure that you haven't missed anything and you also get a bit of confidance in yourself knowing that you've completed each stage.