The concrete foreman who told me to stop focusing on speed changed how I run jobs now

I was on a commercial site in Phoenix last month, pushing my guys hard to get the slab down before the afternoon heat hit. Old foreman, probably 60 years in the game, pulls me aside and says 'you keep rushing and you'll be tearing this out in 6 months.' I thought he was just being dramatic, but then he showed me how our form work was already shifting from the vibration. He was right. I was so worried about beating the clock I missed the basics. Now I schedule an extra 30 minutes into every pour for double checks. Has anyone else had a veteran worker call them out on something obvious?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah3202d ago

46 years in and I still find myself checking forms twice because of one old-timer in El Paso who caught a 1/4 inch gap I walked right past three times. Did he give you any other tricks for catching those little shifts before they become big problems, or was it just the slowed down pace that did it for you?

kim_ramirez32d ago

Did he ever mention the lighting trick or was it purely about going slower?

corap212d ago

Damn that is WILD. @hannah320 I can't believe you walked past a 1/4 inch gap THREE TIMES and an old timer had to catch it for you. Makes you wonder how many little things we all miss when we're in a hurry.

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