Out in the Field

I'll be out in the field all day today. Going to hit three job sites. One cool thing is that I'll be bringing a couple of the newbies with me - Kwan Kangaroo and Matt Muskrat. Kwan in a 30 year old intern and Matt is a recent hire from Clarkson University. Matt's the one that I got the $1,500 finder's fee for. Both of them are pretty green in their knowledge about mechanical engineering so going out in the field is a great learning tool. It's also great because I can make them lug around all of my drawings!

Besides checking the things that I need to check, I'll take the opportunity to turn the job site into a "classroom". We might spend a while in the boiler and chiller room so I can explain how everything works. It's also a good opportunity to point out the short cuts and the dirty little tricks that Contractors sometimes take. It's a challenge and almost even game to inspect their work and to try and find something wrong. It's also good to do QA/QC on your own design. There's nothing like looking at a ductwork or piping layout and saying, "Well that looks like crap! WTF?!?!" and then looking at your drawings and seeing that the Contractor installed it just like you showed him. That's when you mutter under your breath, "Aww FUCK!"

I don't know why I have this "need" to teach and be a mentor to these young kids. I honestly don't feel like I'm trying to "show off my knowledge". I feel altruistic when I do it and almost feel obligated as a veteran to teach the rookies and "show them the ropes".

Of course, the best part of going out in the field is lunch and the fact that it is free!