Working from home
Working from home
(OP)
Considering how topical it is with the current global landscape, what's everyone's opinions on working from home in our industry?
Does anyone's employer successfully offer a work from home option?
How does it work?
I have heard in the past that it is very difficult for our profession to work from home... However, with all that has happened in the last few weeks, many big engineering firms have begun setting up staff to work from home
Does anyone's employer successfully offer a work from home option?
How does it work?
I have heard in the past that it is very difficult for our profession to work from home... However, with all that has happened in the last few weeks, many big engineering firms have begun setting up staff to work from home
RE: Working from home
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Working from home
RE: Working from home
WFH is augmented by monthly visits to clients and home office. Tech doesn't fully replace personal connection to people and projects.
RE: Working from home
RE: Working from home
Now I work at an industrial site. 98% of the employees here are not capable of working remotely, so the blanket rule is not working remotely. There are a few members of middle management willing to stand up for the handful of professional employees and let it go for the same reasons as my last firm (we all have laptops and a VPN for business travel). But again, you'd better be on site if you can get yourself here safely.
RE: Working from home
We're lucky as we have a really good internet service (Cox Communications). I ran a speed test a few days ago and with my MacBook Pro hardwired to the cable modem, the download speed was 223 Mbps and upload was 11 Mbps. Even just hooked-up via WiFi, the download speed was 127 Mbps (upload speed was unchanged).
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
I have some projects I can work on from home. Most of those are projects I am behind on because I get so sidetracked by the day-to-day plant stuff everyday. This might be my chance to make some progress on those. If the work-from-home option becomes long term, I foresee running out of stuff I can do from home pretty quickly.
Andrew H.
www.MotoTribology.com
RE: Working from home
I don't have an 11x17 printer either and I too prefer hard copies. A drawback for me is that our office network is usually slow and working remotely amplifies the problem. Most likely I'll be working home for the next few weeks, my better half has some respiratory problems, so I'll lug 20 pounds of drawings home tonight. On the positive side, there aren't any fixed working hours. If there's some nice weather I can powerwash the house and do some exterior painting during the day and do my regular work early morning and in the evening. As long as it adds up to 40 hours.
RE: Working from home
Here's one on sale: Link
RE: Working from home
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
First thing I did was buy an 11x17 printer/scanner.... next thing I did was buy two monitors (I am running a 15" laptop with 2-29" monitors.... I wanted 3, but my laptop can't handle that..... stupid intel integrated graphics card). It has work well over the past 8 years. Only drawbacks to working from home is not being able to readily bounce ideas off someone, or having all technical references readily available.... well that is, if nobody is home with you. If others are in the house the same time you are that can be a huge distraction, one the company may not want you dealing with.
My old boss worked from home 2-3 days/ week for the 12 years I studied off of him. He would buy 3 copies of everything (1 for me, 1 for his office and 1 for his home office). He didn't care because he wasn't paying for it. He loved getting his hair cut at 10:30 am on some random weekday (would drive me nuts).
Companies better get used to the idea real fast. The problems we all face are not going away anytime soon.
RE: Working from home
With the current pandemic, most of our 1000+ person company is going to be working remotely sooner rather than later. I'm 100% remote until everything calms down.
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Andrew H.
www.MotoTribology.com
RE: Working from home
So right now, what about all the guys pulling wrenches , drilling holes for explosives , hammering nails etc etc, and all their engineering type supervisors ?? Sure the technology is being developed , especially in large organizations , but in the medium term for mid sized organizations , somebody still has to get his hands dirty 10 hours a day.
And dont get me started on the logistics of operating in remote mining or O+G camps where 200-5000 men are living in very close proximity to each other.
RE: Working from home
RE: Working from home
I'm between the two worlds. I'm doing design and project management on an industrial site. So I have enough work to keep me busy at home, but eventually I'll have to come back here to where the other several hundred folks are "getting their hands dirty" as you say. If our site has to shut down, 90% of our employees can't do their work from home and never will be able to.
RE: Working from home
I'm "sheltering in place" starting tomorrow.
RE: Working from home
RE: Working from home
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
Peter Stockhausen
Designer / Checker
RE: Working from home
Peter Stockhausen
Designer / Checker
RE: Working from home
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
I'm finding it's about the same, except that I'm making more progress on things that require big chunks of uninterrupted time. I do have a quiet space at home and no distractions (except eng-tips of course, helps warm up my brain in the morning.)
My commute was less than 10 minutes, and now I'm missing out on the free coffee, so no strong preference either way.
RE: Working from home
Our free coffee isn't anything to write home about. At least at home I can enjoy Café Bustelo.
RE: Working from home
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Working from home
Stress level also goes down.
Hours go up.
I feel like most of the stuff that I analyze I can do by spreadsheet (that I have developed over the years) or by hand. Very little of our stuff requires model analysis. If it did, I would anticipate needing licensing accommodations.
I love it, to be honest. Way better than leaving the house at 7am, driving for an hour, and then heading home at 4pm to drive another hour back.
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I already banned all paper, so that is easy for me.
As for printing on paper to review plans: why not get a large 43" 4K monitor or two? That is better for working anyway and pays back in no time for less time and material used for printing. The only time I print is for field-crews or if an JHA wants hardcopies. But that is ArchD, this isn't something I can have at home anyway.
I sometimes meet field-crews on job sites. for This week I have cancelled that to isolate. Protecting myself, but also others. I assume as this continues I will have to find a solution. Seeing the development in Europe (curfews etc.) I assume this decision will be made for us.
The silver lining is, this finally propels employers into the 21st century.
RE: Working from home
This is something I've been thinking of a bit this week. Will that adaptation define, at least partially, who survives and who goes under? And how will the workplace be altered long term by this, at least for knowledge and professional workers like us? A formal place for meetings, etc. will always be needed, but I wonder how many firms will invest now in expanding telework infrastructure and then downsize in terms of physical real estate later.
RE: Working from home
Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA, HI)
RE: Working from home
It seems kinda strange at first, but I could get used to it. Most of my work its done through a computer anyway, but the office social aspect its missed (I have a good work environment I guess).
Home working does seems to be better for coding.
But the greatest con for me, its that I do not have a proper home set-up (there was no time to prepare or foresee anything), I miss my office chair a lot!!
RE: Working from home
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
1. Being able to walk into my boss's office, that of another designer, or that of staffers in other departments. This was all with no effort to initiate the visit and without the limitations of having to write my question down or of not being able to sketch or put drawings in front of us (I did half my talking with a pencil).
My work was design while a college classmate on the other side of the building supervised a construction force. In 5 minutes I could not only get feasibility and cost guess for an idea, I would end up with a mini lesson in construction practicalities that I never knew to ask about. Early on I learned that a fellow in our equipment contracts group had worked in a transformer factory, chatting with our supplier's designers was restricted by having to go through a sales rep to a factory on a another continent that spoke another language. No "20 questions" back and forth learning exchange there.
2. Dropping by someone's desk for a social chat and then noticing the project on their desk usually helped one or both of us.
3. Someone overhearing me and saying "oh I ran in to that last year" was another aid.
I feel more than half my experience was obtained through these casual interactions rather than formal ones.
It's not an overpowering argument but it's another case of the computer age making things easier but losing 10% of the quality along the way.
Bill
RE: Working from home
And before anyone asks, since I'm right-handed, how did I use my computer with my right-arm in a sling for eight weeks? Well, that's when I discovered the 'Trackball':
All I had to do was place my hand on the device and I could control the cursor movement and mouse buttons without having to move my arm at all.
The only real problem I had then was learning how to sleep sitting-up in a chair for six of those eight weeks
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
I'm guessing I'm going to have to get used to it, government is asking everyone who can work from home to do so as of yesterday. In another week everyone is expecting further lock-down measures to be in place in these parts.
RE: Working from home
It's strange, now that I'm retired, while I'm still getting up around 6:00am or so, I now take my shower immediately, grab breakfast and then finally get around to logging in and checking my mail. Of course, now it's not stuff from customers/coworkers that I'm reading, but old friends and tons of adverts and political crap (make one donation to a campaign and before the next election cycle, you're on a dozen or more mailing lists).
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
I disagree that its not an overpowering argument, I believe its a very strong one. Every one of my (medium-large corp) employers has saw real value in putting junior engineers to work hands-on in the shop/plant through rotational development programs for exactly that reason - bc humans learn a lot by casual observation and conversation. IME the lack of interaction with production personnel is the missing link that makes many contract design firms' work mediocre, particularly smaller ones. The other example supporting the value of casual interactions is the power of the personal network, hence the old saying about life not being what but whom you know.
RE: Working from home
RE: Working from home
RE: Working from home
It was once a chore- reconciling documents with the one on the server, downloading and uploading stuff the next day and making sure you didn't nuke other people's work. Having to give my home phone number to people I didn't want to have it. But with VPN and VoIP phones, all those problems have gone away.
Am I more productive, or less? There are some tasks which became impossible for me in cube-land, but an office with a door and a DND sign would have solved that. That office with a door is not on offer though.
Relationship building and maintenance suffers, for sure. Tough to really know what's going on if you aren't "there" physically.
The biggest problem with working from home by far is management. The real problem is setting goals, judging progress and productivity etc., which are admittedly tough things to accomplish. Some managers don't do any active management, and then think people will just start to goof off if they are left to work in a place where the manager can't just drop in and talk to them whenever they feel like it- even if they rarely or almost never do that anyway when people are in the office. They use the "fear" of being dropped in on in person as a proxy for setting goals, checking progress and holding people accountable. Works with some people, and not with others.
Working from home saves me over 2.5 hours of time spent in the car, wear and tear on the car and on my frayed nerves dealing with traffic, toxic and GHG emissions from the car etc. If I could do it full time, I would in a heartbeat.
RE: Working from home
That being said, the first cursor interface that I ever used with computer graphics display was back in 1977 when we used 'thumb wheels' on a Tektronix DVST:
Now Tektronix did offer a 'Joystick', but I actually like the thumb wheels better:
Ah, the good old days
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
Peter Stockhausen
Designer / Checker
RE: Working from home
Peter Stockhausen
Designer / Checker
RE: Working from home
RE: Working from home
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Link
RE: Working from home
Luckily I've found a nice comfy chair and thus I've eliminated the worst part of my improvised workplace.
I'm started to notice what Bill posted above:
I miss all the interaction with other areas and projects, that (now I realize) widened my knowledge... and also fed my curiosity
RE: Working from home
I just retired that exact same logitech trackball, after many many miles of scrolling. About 10 years of daily use.
Note that the trackball did not adapt to growing screen size as well a mouse will. The targeting resolution is "fixed" with a trackball, but the distance that has to be rolled grows as screen sizes increase from 1024 to 1280, 1600, and now 2560. It took several rolls to get the cursor all the way across the screen.
I now have a Logi MX mouse. Very happy.
www.sparweb.ca
RE: Working from home
No issues with VPN or tying into servers, as all of my required program licenses are docked into my company provided laptop, and all engineering documentation lives on the laptop as well.
I ditched paper a long time ago, so Bluebeam does everything I need, though I rarely need it, as I do all of my own drafting as well.
My work space is a bit less than ideal, simply due to not having a separate room for my desk/office. My wife is home at random hours of the day due to the nature of owning her own business, so this can be distracting at times. However, I can put headphones on and lock down when needed.
I feel more productive than when I was in an office, but I do miss the personal connection with other engineers and people in the office. I use Engtips to get my 'daily fill' of engineering topics to keep my knowledge base and experience wider than it would be without it.
My bosses really enjoy my workstyle. I prioritize always answering the phone when they call and always answering emails (or at least confirming the receipt and updating them with a timeline for a response) as fast as possible, to help them feel like I am staying focused and making work my main priority, even though I may swap over laundry, take out the trash, or cook up a quick meal while stewing on a problem in my mind.
I am beginning to miss the social aspect of an office though, and I am working on a way to work that back into my life. I live in a small town, so commuting is very easy and does not affect my thought process.
RE: Working from home
Now, I am allowed to work and make more money. I have set up my own office for thirty-five years and there is no work. I am still an EIT. My sister says I should quit but there is nothing better to do than a structural engineer. My degree is in civil engineering and I am in the structural discipline. So I keep on going, keep on expanding my office, acquiring more reference texts, and reading on finite element analysis. I have acquired a structural program called Midas Gen 2014 and it can design structures. That is all you need. Midas Gen can select the optimal size of the structural members. I have Autocad 2010 and Office 2010 which includes Words and Excel. I use Smath Studio for my calculations. Although there is no work, I am enjoying life.
I am yet to give up on structural engineering. I live alone and I don't have any burdens. I have cable TV and I listen to the radio. If I am tired, I can make a cup of coffee or ly on my bed. It is a comfortable queen size bed.
The dreams of construction never die! My brother is a contractor. He built many houses and he is retiring.
Now I was thinking of pre-selling real estates. I work on conceptual projects and sell my ideas to investors. If the pre-selling is successful, I am going to hire a top-notch architectural firm to design my project on a turn-key contract. The architect does the hiring of engineers, contractors, and subcontractors. All I need is to have coffee with the owner. I am working on ideas from a simple residential house, hotels to large residential apartments.
I think I would work up to my eighties. Cheerios.
disclaimer: all calculations and comments must be checked by senior engineers before they are taken to be acceptable.
RE: Working from home
Peter Stockhausen
Designer / Checker
RE: Working from home
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Working from home
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Working from home
There are other ways but come with a lot of downsides, capital gains being one of them.
Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.
RE: Working from home
Not terribly different here in The Colonies.
Worst when you want to sell a house that's been used and taxed as a home office, sort of like selling two separate properties.
... according to all I've read over decades of doing occasional work at home, which is why I've never claimed the home office thing.
Mike Halloran
Corinth, NY, USA
RE: Working from home
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Working from home
Personally I have never been tempted to claim that deduction for zoning and property tax reasons. Years ago when my family's diesel shop led to the entire homestead being unexpectedly rezoned from ag to dual residential/commercial it multiplied the taxes and dropped the real-world sale value. Granted those were different circumstances, but it taught a good lesson about making assumptions about the future and govt so I will always keep my home and business entanglements separate.
RE: Working from home
Moreover, the production plants have scaled down the production which requires a limited workforce at the workplace in order to abide by the social distancing requirements. These organizations are scaling down the operation so that they can at least survive the financial setback and pay wages to their resources.
RE: Working from home
I have everything I need on my laptop except for one book (and it is on my laptop, too -- I just prefer the speed of using the printed version).
FedEx Office and Office Depot both do a fine job of printing those 11x17s for you. FedEx was easier and faster until COVID-19, when Office Depot seemed to 'step up' and improved their service. Just email your PDFs to 'printandgo@fedex.com'. They will email you a code that you use to print at a self-serve kiosk. You can also print from USB, but I use that for backup just in case I don't have the emailed code (forgot your phone, anyone?). I like that if I decide to print a different version, only PDF electrons are burned, not paper and ink.
Office Depot hangs your prints on a set of shelves near the registers. They used to be slow (almost overnight!) but lately it seems my prints are ready within a couple of hours. I send, work a bit more, then go pick them up. I also use these services for larger letter-sized print jobs bc my printer is low-capacity.
It's nice to take a lunchtime break or take a short drive after "work" to go out into the world to pick up prints. You get to see all the commuters and laugh.
RE: Working from home
An employee cannot take the home office deduction, no matter what. (This from my sister, the accountant.)
As a self-employed consultant, I have been taking the simplified home office deduction for the past two years, which is based on square footage times a standard rate. It's not much, but it helps. Works up to some limit like 300 sq ft. I also claim about half the rent of my storage unit bc I have books and other equipment stored there. Believe me, I pay plenty in taxes, so I will never be audited. These deductions are taken from "Schedule C -- Profit and Loss for a Business", so the standard deduction is not applicable.
RE: Working from home
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm