A single, smallish electrical job can require using a lot of equipment and generate a lot of scrap. For example, you’ve got to install a 50kVA transformer and the breaker panel it supplies. You have the T-square, a couple of tape rules, a laser leveler, a box of markers, a 4-ft level, a torpedo level, the conduit bender (and the portable cord for it), an impact drill to make the anchor holes in the masonry, some lights, cable strippers, wire strippers, crimpers, a wrench set, a socket set, and so on.
As you progress through the job, tools pile up here, and parts pile up there. By the time you finish, you’ve got at least a dozen tripping hazards to dance around.
But what if you had thought of this job as consisting of discreet stages? The first stage is to mark the masonry holes. Drilling them is the second stage. You need only a few tools to perform the marking task. You can probably do it with a tape rule, 4-ft level, and a marker. These are the only tools you get out. After you double-check your work, you put these tools away.
For the second stage, you need the impact drill, pilot hole bit, hole bit (or bits, if the holes are different sizes), a broom, and a dustpan. After you make all the holes and double-check your work, you clean up any dust that the dust collector of your impact drill didn’t collect. You put these away, then get out the tapping hammer and whatever else you need to set the anchors.
The staging method assumes you have all the needed tools and materials nearby, where they are easy to get out and easy to put away. Maybe you use a gangbox or a system of buckets, but you have a place for everything that you’re not immediately using.
Four reasons staging is much safer than bulldozing:
- You eliminate a common cause of tripping hazards, foot punctures, and hand injuries.
- You eliminate the visual clutter that interferes with concentration.
- Your safety awareness and field of view aren’t obscured by a mess.
- You are more likely to check each tool before use and less likely to damage it afterward.
For many people, the staging approach seems inefficient. But breaking down the job into discrete stages, getting out only exactly what you need for that stage, and putting everything away when it’s complete is more efficient than bulldozing your way through the job. Why?
- The item you need will be where you expect it to be, rather than on the floor somewhere or in a pile to fish through.
- Tools and materials don’t hide in plain sight among other tools and materials.
- You are far less likely to damage the tools or materials you are working with.
- This sort of discipline supports a methodical approach to work, which means fewer errors and less rework.
This is really about the old adage, “Don’t work on top of yourself.” Imagine if you were trying to work on a task and someone in another crew started tossing tools and materials right where you’re working. That would impede your work and reduce your safety. Don’t do the same thing to yourself.
