I just had to reposess a forklift from a framer.. First one in over two years! (and I sell a lot of Forklifts..) We won’t be hurt too bad since there is such a demand for used ones (and we don’t have many left) plus he didn’t put too many hours on it..
I should have known better.. His credit was so-so and for the last 6 months he was a real slow payer.. Often complaining about the “dead” period between houses when he’d ask us for an extension on his late payment.
Now you know what building is like and if you can’t make your payments now, when will you able to?
He bragged to me about how well he built his houses..Telling me things like he liked to hump the plywood for the floors by hand because pulling it from the forks as it was extended over the floor joists would rush his crew too much and they might not do as good a job..
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Looks like he crossed that line between quality and efficiency. There has to be a minimal sacrifice somewhere, but it sounds like there has to be something else wrong there. No matter where you are, construction seems to be at a peak - if he isn't paying now, he won't be paying in February either.
I wonder about quality. I see all sorts of homes every day usually in the framing stage. Few are up to my standards and yet most pass inspection.. Oh, one city may require this bracing and another worry about nail spacing etc.. but by and large most framing passes quickly..
I spoke last week with another customer and he admitted that it took him 3 weeks to do what another framer did in 3 days.. To me it seems that if I were the developer I'd hire the faster guy as long as he passed my cities inspection... I've got interest costs to consider..
IMHO quality and speed, within a reasonable range, are not mutually exclusive. I have wired buildings that were build quickly that had very high quality by my estimation and I have worked on buildings which were assembled slowly but were of much lower quality.
Some of this is a matter of organization, a unified, foundation up, approach and recognizing what are the important standards to get dead on and which can slide a bit without effecting quality.
Quality to match the customer's expectations keeps the jobs coming. Speed makes them profitable. Framing shouldn't be a leisurely activity!
~D
Frenchy,
As a framer who uses forklifts, his reasoning is insane. The only time someone is moving too fast is when quality suffers. For some guys that is a breakneck speed and for others its slow.
One of our trim guys provides a good case in point. This guy can do anything . . . . slow and do it well. You can't tell the difference between his siding jobs and my crews, but mine get done about 40% faster. He is just slower. When it comes to some tasks I'm slow and others I'm not.
My personal take on the speed/quality issue is this: do a good job and then constantly try to get faster without losing quality. Good tools make a difference, machines make a difference, but the proper mindset is the most important.
By the way I have a question for you. We have a 2002 VR 1056 and I had some spare keys made. I went out after work today and moved some material around on our next jobsite and started up the forklift and the tilt didn't work and when I put the e-brake on, it made some wierd noise. Scared the daylights out of me. I knew the machine was fine last night and it had just been moved by our excavator. I tried the regular IR key (actually it has a bobcat on it) that came with the machine and the tilt worked and the noise went away.
Do I have to order IR keys for the machine? Is this a built in feature? I thought for sure that something had happened to the machine.
Timuhler,
Sorry, I typed an answer eariler but a moment before I sent it lightening struck and power's been out for a while..
Anyway here goes..
It's not the key.. that won't affect anything except your ability to start it.. What I suspect happened is that the flow cartrage in the system may have hung up. It happens especially if the hydraulic oil is dirty or contaminated.. Some kid may have poured an handful of dirt in your hydraulic tank or a fired employee etc..
When you change the hydraulic fluid remember that even after the tank is dry there is probably 20 gallons of fluid in the cylinders and lines..
May I suggest that when you change the hydraulic fluid use ATF (automatic transmission fluid GM type and not Ford)
If you order the cold weather package it comes from the factory with ATF. The seals are OK with it and there are several benefits..
First it's a little less expensive when bought in bulk. second your controls will feather easier and work smoother, third the engine will deliver more power since ATF turns over a lot easier than Hydraulic fluid. fourth the lift cylinders and other cylinders won't leak as easily saving you hundreds of dollars in clyinder rebuilds.. fourth in cold weather controlls will operate normally not all stiff and hard.
Don't use ATF with any other brand forklift, it hasn't been engineered for it and may cause problems. When I sold Caterpillars I was told specifically not to use it (british seals) I asked about it when I sold Lulls and Gehls and all I got was use approved Lull/ Gehl fluids (another words trying tosell their own brand of hydraulic oil with it's attending markup..
Edited 9/25/2005 12:56 am ET by frenchy
Thanks Frenchy. It threw me for a loop because with the factory key, it makes none of the noise and the controls work perfectly, but with the key I had made, I get the problems.
The company we bought the machine from services it on a regular interval and the mechanic lives fairly close and is a good guy. I'll talk to him about your suggestions. We don't get much cold weather, but we'll get to freezing for a couple of months at night, but not much colder.
By the way, I love Ingersoll Rand. This machine and our VR90B have been extremely reliable. Nothing but a loose wire here or there. :-)