max808•1mo ago

Overheard a foreman at the union hall say something that stuck with me

I was sitting in the union hall last Tuesday waiting for a dispatch, and this old foreman named Jerry was talking to a younger guy. He said, "A good boilermaker fixes the problem. A great one fixes it so nobody even knows there was a problem." That got me thinking about my own work, especially on a tube repair job I did in Gary last month where I spent extra time grinding down my weld to match the surrounding metal. It took me 20 more minutes, but the inspector didn't say a word. Has anyone else had a piece of advice from an old-timer that changed how you approach a job?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.robin1mo ago

Used to be the kind of guy who thought good enough was good enough. Jerry's got a point though. That extra 20 minutes of cleanup is the difference between a job and a work of art. I had a similar thing happen with a pipe fitter in Ohio. He told me if you can see the weld from across the room, you missed the point of the job. It's stuck with me ever since.

eric_wright771mo ago

Caught myself last week trying to take the easy way out on a repair and remembered Jerry's words, spent the extra time cleaning up and sure enough the inspector walked right past without a second look. Guess I'm still working on becoming great instead of just good, but at least I'm getting slower at it.