Tedium
Tedium
(OP)
As a fairly new engineer my boss feels its necessary to have my do all of my own drafing for my projects. I understand the importance of drafting and detailing so I'm not complaining. I actually used to like drafting now and again. The more I do the more I get really, really, bored. I've tried listening to my iPod, which really helped keep my mind busy while my hands were occupied with circles, lines and hatches, but I've gotten more than a few dirty looks from the PE's. Now I find myself browsing the internet (around quality sites like this of course) and getting up just to walk around, stretch the legs and clear the mind. This doesn't happen when I'm engaged in designing/crunching numbers or anything else, just drafting. Is there any way to combat the tedium of drafting while staying productive?





RE: Tedium
Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)
RE: Tedium
Then again, maybe it's rose tinted glasses 'cause anything has to be better than checking other peoples stuff, thankless task if ever there was one.
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Tedium
At the end of the day, when you have job duties you don't like either suck it up and do them to the best of your abilities, or find a new job. No point just whineing about it, not that it stops me of course
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Tedium
I agree with the idea if it needs to be done, might as well do it well. I've started doing 3D models and creating isometric details for a few limited situations. I've also gone though and found the shortcut keys for all the commands I use to try to speed up and make me more efficient.
I suppose it is what it is, the fact that its been raining all week (and the weekend doesn't look good) doesn't help my disposition much either.
RE: Tedium
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Tedium
Of course this was somewhere that for the first year or 2 I was there I always wore a tie & I'd put my suit jacket on before leaving the office. In some ways I miss that, though my current uniform of button shirt and Jeans/Chinos is a bit more comfortable.
However, here it's common place, I still don't do it much though as it just doesn't feel right.
When in Rome...
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Tedium
The notion that one should always be prepared to overhear is one of the charming aspects of cubeland we're supposed to think is an asset; instead, for many people it reduces productivity. Workers with their own offices aren't necessarily going to overhear the right conversations either.
I guess it comes down to style. The old guys think having a couple wires coming out of your ears makes you look like a teenybopper, and besides, they wouldn't do it, so it must be bad. I bet classical music playing softly on the stereo in someone's private office wouldn't be considered "unprofessional" by nearly as many, and yet what's really the difference?
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Tedium
RE: Tedium
Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)
RE: Tedium
On the other hand, I realize I do not have a reasonable expectation and there's really nothing wrong with it, especially if you're stuck in a cubicle. So basically I try to get over it and keep my mouth shut.
Still bothers me though, and I'm only 33. Hate to see what these little pet peeves are going to turn me into in a couple decades when everyone's a cyborg :)
RE: Tedium
With the more administrative tasks (which are ever increasing), I find it to be a hindrance and don't listen to it as much as I used to.
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. - Thomas Jefferson
RE: Tedium
though for those times when a favorite song comes on and I want to turn it up a little, I usually pop one earphone out to keep aware of my surroundings.
RE: Tedium
Now they've no way to know what you are actually listening to if you have the volume adjusted appropriately and media player minimised. (Can you playback Ipod through the PC? I'd guess so.)
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Tedium
Unfortunately you need iTunes to play your iPod on the computer, and to get iTunes I have to get my suppervisor's permission for the IT guy to install it... bummer.
RE: Tedium
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Tedium
I suspect your boss wants more from your drafting than just techniclly correct drawings.
RE: Tedium
- Steve
RE: Tedium
I WIN
Noise cancelling headphones.
Brandenberg concertoes in the morning, Talking Heads in the afternoon. Dark Side of the Moon if I really need to think. There are a couple of people's voices that do cut through the electronics, that is what the volume control is for.
Coming next year... a big sign that says "If I've got my headphones on then I'm not ignoring you, it's just that I can't tell that you even exist".
I agree, it looks unprofessional, and it works directly against the idea of sitting us together in little clumps of mutual misery. Sadly large parts of my job do require intense sustained concentration, and after a two minute interruption it can take me half an hour to re-sync.
Cheers
Greg Locock
SIG:Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: Tedium
And here I was worried that it was just me.
RE: Tedium
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Tedium
Cheers
Greg Locock
SIG:Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: Tedium
Joking aside, I'm getting the picture that so little of engineering actually has to do with "engineering." I must have slept through that lecture. Hmm... anyways after talking to my supervisor we are having a drafting competition in the department. Now its no longer about being productive its about getting a week paid vacation! Problem solved.
RE: Tedium
HR and higher management have a "better" incentive scheme... no prizes for the winner but the worst performer gets to help them with their restructuring/rationalisation program... i.e. a lifetimes unpaid holiday starting today.
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Tedium
I don't understand that statement. Why not attach your headphone directly to the iPod? Also, you can charge your iPod with your computer without installing iTunes.
Another solution is to burn MP3 files onto a CD or DVD. You can fit a LOT of music on a disc that way.
If I'm busy I listen to instrumental music. If I'm not, then maybe a podcast.
RE: Tedium
Fortunatly I have a good relationship with my supervisor, he was an adjunct professor for my steel design class as well as involved in extracurriculars. Also work for a small enough firm that we don't have an HR department!
RE: Tedium
You weren't singing along with the Ipod were you?
Slightly off track, it reminds me of a joke -
An elderly couple is attending Mass. About halfway through, the wife leans over and says to her husband,
'I just let out a silent fart; what do you think I should do?'
He replies, 'Put a new battery in your hearing aid'.
Regards,
Bill
RE: Tedium
If you spend your days looking bored and unmotivated, don't be surprised if that's how you're labelled. Wait until you are well established before taking liberties. Don't play reindeer games until you are sure you are one of the reindeer.
RE: Tedium
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Tedium
It's important to remember that as Engineers the only form of communication we have with the outside world is what's on that drawing. Many of the people who see your drawings will never meet you so it's the only thing they know about you. A few missed dimensions or a drawing that is hard to read and interpret is a real black eye to yourself and the company.
Detailing drawings should get the same focus and attention as an other aspect of your job/responsibilities. I realize many don't think that making drawings is real "Engineering" but the days of the dedicated drafter, especially in smaller companies, are over and now being an Engineer means making drawings.
I'm a PE and I do wear headphones while I work, sometimes. I don't wear them to keep my mind busy, since my mind is always busy no matter what I'm doing. I mostly wear them to drown out the grumblings from the other cubicles from the people who don't think Engineers should need to detail their own work.
On a side note I have always believed that the guys who don't like to detail drawings dislike it because it's a lot harder than it looks. You then add in that they are not very good at it and the complaints about "It's not really Engineering", or "I don't have time to do this" and of course my favorite "The guys at that shop are a bunch of morons that they didn't understand what I wanted" start to fly.
RE: Tedium
One thought, even if Engineers shouldn't be doing their own drafting surely they need to know enough about drawings (or MBD if applicable) to know if the Drafter/Designer has actually detailed what the Engineer believes is needed. I'd have thought this was even more the case in industries where you have to 'stamp' the design for approval and have some legal liability.
Given the above assumption, and my belief that the best way to learn how to read a drawing is probably to spend time creating them under suitable supervision (ideally in addition to some more formal training), then as a relative newbie doing a lot of drafting doesn't sound a bad idea.
Of course the OP more or less acknowledges this and is just looking for ideas to help overcome the fact he finds it tedious. Sounds like they may have found one.
dgillie, how's the contest going?
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Tedium
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. - Thomas Jefferson
RE: Tedium
In hind sight, I think the competition was exactly what I needed. We get 30min of one-on-one training a week and 2 hours available per week devoted to practice. I've gotten a lot faster in my drawings and I'd like to say there is also an improvement in the quality. I'm starting to agree with JamesBarlow that its not so much to keep my mind busy but to keep everything else out of my mind. I'm quickly understanding that drawings can't just be drawn, there is a lot of foresight, understanding and planning that needs to go into the detail. Thanks for the replies!
RE: Tedium
V
RE: Tedium
thread730-221206: I Hate Drawings!!!
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...