On Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:46:23 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

snip

It is in a union's interests - ie the interests of its members - to have
high efficiency in any workplace.

Sure, within reason and dependant on the organisation.

Surely efficiency is a catch all word?

I'm not sure it was at that time. This wasn't an independent Co, it
was 'The Post Office' and therefore little in the way of direct
commercial competition for most of it's services. If it took 2 weeks
to fix a phone line, what are you gonna do?

Provided those workers also benefit from
working at high productivity.

Quite, and we didn't, other than the potential of losing our jobs (or
being moved to a different role) if we couldn't keep up.

Hence why the union would (indirectly maybe) 'set' the maximum pace to
protect it's 'less active' members.

I'd not expect any pace to be set so the very slowest person ever could do
it.

No, not the 'very slowest' or even the slowest.

Any more than setting it for some whizz kid mainlining coffee.

Quite.

You'd
select people for the job who were broadly similar.

Sure, and they were, however, different people have / had different
skills and therefore some jobs could favour say speed over detail etc.

Was this some form of production line with lots doing exactly the same
task?


Not really. It was called the 'Datel Shop' and we did batch repairs to
component level on a wide range of (generally) datacomms and
transmission kit. Everything from an autodialer, to a 300 Baud modem
(with separate PSU, filter, control unit, modulator and de-modulator
modules) to PCM / TDM cards etc.

So, you would be allocated a 'batch' of modules and the kit to test
them in and any specialised test kit (over and above your standard Avo
8, Scope, siggy gen and hand tools etc).

They would have to be repaired to 3 (I think), different standards.
Grade A had to be 'as new', Grade 2 was like seconds (fully functional
but not 'like new') and Grade 3 was for service exchange spares.

We would generally repair (or replace) all the metalwork (we had a
full metalwork shop on site), repair broken PCB's (Plessey were the
worst as they were paper, STC, GEC and Marconi kit was fibreglass)
open up filter cans (blowlamp) and replace caps and re-tune coils and
std discreet and IC type diagnosis and repair.

The last modules I was working on were TDM signaling cards.

When you joined as a trainee you typically went round all the 'shops',
spending a few months in each (along with going to the remote sites
that did other stuff like phones or holes / poles etc). So that would
be metalwork, woodwork, drawing office, polishing, stores, paint and
Datel (electronics). I only spent a week in each of the 'other' shops
and then went straight into Datel.

We first had to make our own specialized tools (for stroking relay
springs / contacts etc), then built an 'automatic' battery charger
(metal case, PCB, electronics and wiring etc) then had to make a loom
and re-wire a small PBX. Once you had completed those to their
satisfaction (there were two layers of test after you) you were
trained up on each item then given a small batch to complete in a
'target time' to the relevant standard.

If it was modem modules you might get 20 modules with a spattering of
the different types, most of which needed physical repair (metalwork,
PCB, paintwork) plus faultfinding, calibration and testing
(temperature / vibration etc).

Once you completed the batch they went off for testing and once tested
you got the next batch of things to do (they were often something
'different' just to spread the work around).

There were about 20 of us on the floor with a couple in the office.

If you got there early enough you could park on-site and there was a
pretty good 'restaurant for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea break.

Cheers, T i m