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#29991 - 22/04/08 11:35 AM
Re: How do you record your time?
[Re: D.O.A]
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Geoff Hannis
Hero
Registered: 12/02/04
Posts: 3026
Loc: the path less trodden
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This is an old chestnut (as I've already said) which probably stretches back to the dawn of time, when one man first employed another. It's basically a matter of trust, and there are far more (shall be say) enlightened ways of monitoring productivity than logging how much time is spent on the crapper! 
Hint to Management:- ever heard of "management by results"?
Edited by Geoff Hannis (22/04/08 11:37 AM)
Edit Reason: MBR
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#29993 - 22/04/08 12:35 PM
Re: How do you record your time?
[Re: D.O.A]
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Lee S
Master
Registered: 17/09/06
Posts: 205
Loc: Hereford
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Geoff "Word" as in the word processor which has the ability to check spellings and diction to some extent.
The problem with the database is the normal one (a wally decided the department did not need the system they asked for and purchased a cheap substandard replacement). I do know of experts such as yourself designing and setting up your own, how ever I don't have the time to get to deeply involved and from previous experience I know I would get no in house support.
Lee
_________________________
Don't forget "we've never had it so good".
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#29995 - 22/04/08 12:52 PM
Re: How do you record your time?
[Re: Lee S]
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Darth Welder
Scholar
Registered: 19/09/06
Posts: 62
Loc: Germany
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 This is how I account for time: I found the simplest way to do it was awaiting spares / awaiting labour / awaiting facilities / secondary tasks / travelling time and my favorite "Wasted Time"
An example of this is "If you put the footswitch in the correct position on the dental unit the drill would work" 2 production hours wasted plus the transport costs to get there and back.
DW - People wonder why i am bitter and twisted
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#29996 - 22/04/08 01:04 PM
Re: How do you record your time?
[Re: D.O.A]
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Graham Roberts
Expert
Registered: 17/12/03
Posts: 128
Loc: Borders General Hospital
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"Trust" You said it Geoff! I would like to think that all my staff can be trusted to provide a reasonable return for their pay. Once you ask somebody to justify their 37.5 hours, all sorts of cheating comes in i.e. a job that took 2 hours, now becomes 2.5 so that the 37.5 hours can be fully justified. Yes the phone gets answered, advice is provided, we get stopped in the corridor etc. etc. I'd much rather be known as a helpful dept than one that spends more time justifying their existence than actually working. Unless Managers realise that a proportion of the day must be allocated to interuptions and discussions I'd stay well away from any "Justification of Hours".
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#30000 - 22/04/08 02:03 PM
Re: How do you record your time?
[Re: Graham Roberts]
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Geoff Hannis
Hero
Registered: 12/02/04
Posts: 3026
Loc: the path less trodden
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In a word (as I've probably said before), it all comes down to leadership (or lack of).
Management is (should be) about leadership, but when that leadership is poor or lacking, management often retreat into the "jobsworth" mentality (if you can call it that). I've seen it happen a zillion times!
Wasn't there some theory somewhere about people in organisations rising the level of their own incompetence?
PS: in case anyone is still in doubt, it's known as the Peter Principle!
PPS: Graham's mention of "filling up the 37.5 hours" should also remind us, of course, of the great Cyril Northcote Parkinson, and his famous "law"!
Edited by Geoff Hannis (22/04/08 02:18 PM)
Edit Reason: Peter Parkinson?
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#30005 - 22/04/08 02:59 PM
Re: How do you record your time?
[Re: Geoff Hannis]
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Moira
Technologist
Registered: 21/10/02
Posts: 43
Loc: Leicester Royal Infirmary
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We kept 'activity records' a few years ago, for the positive reason of proving to management that we were overstretched and needed another tech. It was very hard, since a job started often has to be interrupted for something more urgent, plus answering 'quick questions' and 'could you have a quick look at - ' and another still more urgent job, etc. I felt I was spending nearly as much time working out and recording what I did, as doing it!
Here' s a nice comment on the Peter Principle:
http://www.davidalbeck.com/writings/peterp2.html
Are you challenged by your job? What would you find easy?
I sometimes wonder about running a bar on a nice tropical island somewhere...
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#30007 - 22/04/08 03:13 PM
Re: How do you record your time?
[Re: Moira]
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Geoff Hannis
Hero
Registered: 12/02/04
Posts: 3026
Loc: the path less trodden
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Thanks for that link, Moira (I'll have a closer look when I get the time)! 
Yes, every biomed that I ever met (anywhere) is acutely aware of the aspects (of the job) that you mention. So ... how come "management" isn't? 
"The most ineffective workers are systematically moved to where they can do the least damage:- management"!
Edited by Geoff Hannis (22/04/08 03:20 PM)
Edit Reason: Don't forget Dilbert!
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#30008 - 22/04/08 04:10 PM
Re: How do you record your time?
[Re: TheWoo]
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Geoff Hannis
Hero
Registered: 12/02/04
Posts: 3026
Loc: the path less trodden
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On a slightly different tack, and in order to answer Adam's question "how do you record your time?" more directly, one method that I have used (being essentially the same one mentioned by others above, and one that I would expect could be easily replicated in almost any situation), is to open a Job Report (Work Order) at the beginning of each week for "Miscellaneous and Minor" jobs (or whatever), and simply enter the hours spent on all those "other tasks" right there. Close the job at the end of the week, and there you have it!
Taking this a step further, what I have done (in the past) is to have a part stock number for each "time waster", and simply add it to the open job as and when is necessary. In the type of systems I (have) used, part prices are included at the Job Reports form ("screen"), so (in such cases as those I'm referring to) Qty 1 of each line item could count as one hour of time (and can be priced accordingly). I hope I've explained that reasonably well (it's pretty simple stuff once you've seen it).
In such a manner, all "time waster" quantities, and costs thereof, get analyzed along with everything else (ie, just as parts used, and costs involved can, and usually, do).
If you are a contractor, the idea that you "charge for everything" (time, in this case) is so ingrained that it becomes second nature! Another reason, perhaps, to support my oft-repeated argument that the contracting out of biomed technical services is the "answer" to many, if not most, of the management topics raised on this forum!
Edited by Geoff Hannis (22/04/08 05:08 PM)
Edit Reason: More clarity required!
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