The Value of Experience
I'm still thinking about last Thursday. That's the day I worked with Jeff Egly and his team to install the 10 foot dish at Bald Mesa.
In the morning Dan and I were talking and getting ready. We put on some gloves in preparation and I noticed that Dan's hands were swollen. I asked why. He laughed and told me an interesting story.
It seems that one of the subtle pieces of working on towers is the need to haul every tool and item of hardware up and down the tower on ropes. The process is something along the lines of the worker in the tower yelling down that a tool is needed. Then the ground support person ties or tapes the tool onto a rope. The tower guy pulls hand-over-hand on the rope until the tool arrives.
Sending the tool back is a reverse operations (the obvious usefulness of gravity is ignored). The tool is lowered hand-over-hand to the ground. Everyone on the tower and below wears a hardhat. So the swelling in Dan's hands was attributed to the many times he had to bring tools and such up and down the ropes.
Dan's laugh was also attributable to some previous discussions with members of the Field Ops staff. One person in Field Ops had been talking to him about a battery operated lift that automates the process of going up and down the ropes. This lift is powerful enough to move a person up and down the tower. Dan admitted that he hasn't taken this request seriously. His past reaction? Just haul the tools up the rope by hand.
With only a small bit of playfulness he told me that shortly I could expect a request for a battery powered lift. He no longer views this request as a frivolous expenditure. After his experience he understands the value of this tool and what a difference it would make while working on a tower.
The broad point is that experience is a great teacher.
The finer point?
It is essential for those of us who manage to regularly work with our teams. Essential.........
10:04:38 AM 
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