suddenly, i'm the bad guy at work.

[vash]

arrghh! saturday morning..i'm sitting here at work. fuming.

thought i would check in with my brother and sisters here on the OT.

my contractor is about to hang electrical JET-FANS in our tunnel. Jet fans are the latest and greatest in new technology for tunnel venting. they weigh alot!

our contract is crystal clear. here is what we want the fan system to look like, go and build it and design the support system. he also has to GIVE US 45 days to review his calcs, make sure his hardware meets our specs, etc.

i give him our blessings, and we are instantly in the fan hanging business. i got a portion of his submittal last week, and i instantly said.."huh, all the hardware needs to be stainless steel". that was just after a 30 second cursory peek! i broke protocol, and gave him a quick hit list of deficienceis. i rejected it.. first jet fan delivery is MONDAY, and i dont have a document. typical BS. i have been asking for the documents for about a year. i told them to find a storage area..hell the docs for the actual fans have not been completed and approved..i may have to send them back!! i told them fan installation will not happen..and they blew a gasket. i cant let 1700 lbs equipment, to be installed over a future highway lane without proper checks..he is trying to push my back up against the wall with talks of expensive delays.

i came in this morning to push things along..and i still dont have any updates as promised.

i hate my contractor project manager. he hates me. i told him once, that he argued like a 6 year old (he threw a mini tantrum) in front of his entire staff. not my most shining moment of taking the high road.

[masraum]

Maybe you need to pop a few caps in his laptop.

Jus sayin'.



Don't worry, be happy.

At the end of the day, you know you're doing your job right, and that means you should sleep fine.

Keep up the good work!

[speeder]

Doesn't sound like you are the bad guy to me. Keep doing your job well. You're fine.

[stomachmonkey]

Sounds like you are doing your job but they are not doing theirs.

Stick to your guns.

[UconnTim97]

You did the right thing. Hold your position.

[Brando]

Good job taking the high road... I hear there's less traffic up there.

[Zeke]

Make people understand your position by putting them there. IOW, after explaining what you know about the situation, ask him what he would do. If he says just screw it and forge ahead, ask him to send a signed memo.

You need a paperwork trail in your business for everything beyond taking a crap.

Always keep people on the defensive. But be subtle.

[dennis in se pa]

Sometimes it is necessary to be the bad guy.

[Seahawk]

The only thing I ever argued is the contract and the CDRLs, never the person.

What does the contract require? Tough Shiite if they aren't delivering to the contract.

[schamp]

Agree with above. Also, make sure your boss and his/her boss know whats going on. This has the potential to go to higher places in a hurry.

[Neilk]

Sounds like you're doing the right thing. No one needs another Big Dig type accident (falling ceiling "tiles") because they didn't do things by the book.

[fintstone]

You are right...after one of these falls and kills someone...the witch hunt begins. I remember far too well when I maintained jets the first time (of many) being called in for urinalysis and deposition about an hour after one crashed (all maintenace and training records were seized). It is good to know you did everything right. That one turned out to be pilot error.

[Superman]

I've dealt with a lot of construction contractors over the years (for example, I spent six years on a $3.7 billion construction program involving thousands of contracts and contractors). This story is indeed typical. It's not a question of whether the contractor will be allowed to get away with some BS. It's a question of how far they are allowed to push that envelope. It is your role to put your foot down on certain BS. In this instance, I suspect the contract is clear, and you have a record of communications where you have pointed out the contract requirements. If this contractor failed to provide the required design and fabrication information, and if this leads to expensive re-design, then the contractor is on the hook for those costs. His error, not yours.

[HardDrive]

You doing your job. Who cares what some contrator thinks in the short term? Your obligation is to the citizens who will use the tunnel.

Big Dig ceiling collapse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[URY914]

If the contractor is going ahead without approved shop drawings he is taking on the entire risk. He is sticking his neck way out there.

[968rz]

This stuff happens everywhere and certainly has consequences. Stay on track Vash.

O'Donnell slab differs from plan - JSOnline

[9dreizig]

you're not the bad guy,, in fact you've got everything documented, you're the good guy!

[vash]

that boston big-dig thing changed EVERYTHING.

the contractor is an idiot. hope they dont shoot the messenger

i'm outta here..weekend starts!!

[fintstone]

I was often the bad guy at work...until my "badness" kept the boss (and most everyone else) out of jail a few times. The I was the "go to" guy. If I gave it the nod...it was so.

[Superman]

A large portion of the upper decks at Husky Stadium (University of Washington) collapsed one day. Mercifully, nobody was killed. This stadium was/is/was bigger than the King Dome. Holds something like 75,000 fans. As it turns out, the contractor used an impermissible grade of concrete. The spec called for one kind, and the contractor used a cheaper grade. This was the cause of the collapse. Shame on the contractor and shame on the project engineer who was apparently asleep at the wheel. There should have been sufficient testing to reveal the problems, both before and after the pours.

Vash, this headache of yours.....would be worse if you permitted the substandard design and and the unit(s) failed. Contractors are responsible to their shareholders. You are responsible to the taxpaying and the motoring public.