Plumbing Connection Spring 2016

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PLUMBING CONNECTION SPRING 2016 79
at the end of the video a selection of similar recommended
clips appear that seem even funnier. So you think to yourself,
‘I’ll just watch one more’. A dozen videos later, you’ve just
wasted forty minutes of the day when you were meant to be
working.
As a plumbing estimator, one of the main aspects
of pricing a project is calculating the amount of labour
hours required within a project. We have developed a
comprehensive library of standard rates that cover the
preparation and physical installation of the works. We have
also created allowances that cover working at heights and in
difficult site conditions. I just have difficulty accepting that
I may need to start making an allowance for the impact of
social media on the productivity of a worker.
I’ve done some research and found some very interesting
stats on social media that I was a bit surprised by. There
are over 11.5 million Aussie’s with a Facebook page
accounting for 9 million visits each day (that’s over a third
of our population). The average user spends 27 minutes on
Facebook each visit. Males account for 47% of all users and
the largest age segment is 25-34.
The most concerning statistic however, was the fact it
takes an average of 23 minutes for a worker to resume
working after checking their Facebook account. That’s a
significant amount of wasted time.
With all of this in mind, I think it’s vital to find a happy
medium between making a ‘reasonable’ allowance and
implementing a measured management system to control
the amount of time spent accessing social media while at
work, after all, Facebook is here to stay, as are plenty oth
other social media platforms, hence we need to accept the
fact that distractions do occur on all work sites and take a
measured approach to managing their use.
4 TIPS TO HELP REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF LOST PRODUCTIVITY ON A
JOB SITE DUE TO SOCIAL MEDIA
1. Implement policies on the use of social media restricting use to
lunch breaks only.
2. Avoid low morale by completely banning the use of social media
and find a happy medium.
3. Try to quantify the amount of lost productivity (if any) for
allowance in future projects.
4. Ensure open and free communication between yourself and the
employee about the expectations around the use of their smart
phones.
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Contact:
Andy Farrell has put a lot of a lot of work into developing
an estimating and management system to make running
a plumbing business as simple as possible. He’s also made
himself available to answer any questions readers might
have on estimating. For a free copy of a Tender Letter
Template - visit