Above 1200 Sq/FT 86's 20HP shop

[86turbodsl]

Yeah, it's better today, but i need to be pulling the cylinder head on the tractor and theres rain coming tomorrow. I am not leaving that open to the elements. So working in the basement today. Pulling more wire for the server closet. Got an AI server i'm setting up for assistant to my various tasks. Work has been a slog but at least the boss is staying off my neck for now.

 

[86turbodsl]

Been a while. I'm swamped with work. Don't know how to get on top of the beast. Anyone want to hire a polymath remote? Going into a late night meeting in 15.

 

[bimmer1980]

One bite at a time.

Candidly, a busy person figures out how to make effective and efficient steps forward. Are they perfect steps? No.

I know you have a lot on your plate, but work on what you can, and other things will have to be put on the back burner.

Again, "load shed" or delegate when you can too.

Hopefully it will settle down in a few weeks and you can make progress on the home/shop end of things.

But I do know how you feel with the hits coming at you from multiple directions. I've had a month of that too.

P.s. I know it was a rhetorical question...

 

[86turbodsl]

If i make it through the day employed it will be a miracle. Hopefully not in cuffs.

 

[kent_323is]

So did you make it through the day? Care to share any details or maybe a broad overview?
Hopefully you were able to get some distance from whatever was the hot button and maintain your job status.

What did you decide to do with the tractor head gasket issue?

 

[bimmer1980]

Hopefully you made it thru the end of the week and everyone gets a chance to cool down over the weekend.

On the upside, maybe you have some moderate September temperatures outside so you get a chance to work on some projects.

 

[86turbodsl]

I made it through the day, but it was close. Had a blowout with the manager. Managed to apologize before leaving, but i have to find a new role somewhere. It's complicated, but a broad overview is the person is nuts and uses emotion to manipulate people. I am very technically competent but verbally am not strong. I do not debate well. Strong disadvantage in this position. I am a whipping boy for now. My health is declining. Insurance is very good. I need / want to stay employed in the short term. Hanging out a shingle of my own is probably not in the cards right now. With the economy and world in chaos, nobody is hiring. It's a melting pot of not good.

 

[86turbodsl]

So did you make it through the day? Care to share any details or maybe a broad overview?
Hopefully you were able to get some distance from whatever was the hot button and maintain your job status.

What did you decide to do with the tractor head gasket issue?

I have the gasket replaced, working to button it up to do the initial run in. After like 20-mins runtime, i have to retorque the head bolts and finish putting together. hopefully i can get that done today or early tomorrow. Storms moving in tomorrow night.

 

[bimmer1980]

-86. Sorry to hear that, but at least you are still employed and have money flowing in. Let's keep it that way.

If I could render some advise or thoughts: it seems you recognize that each of the personalities and methods of communicating are vastly different. The key here, can you or would you be willing to get some tools to help you navigate this quagmire?

There are a multitude of books and articles on communicating and how to handle various scenarios. I would suggest trying to equip yourself with a few.
One key thing, take a deep breath before responding. Secondly is repeating part or all of her phases back with the intent of understanding her perspective. This also buys you time to process in your mind. Also, some people really don't want to get in to the "weeds" or details. Know how to read this and give an abbreviated version that align with their objectives.

Yes, you will be out of your comfort zone. But also look at this as a growth opportunity and potentially preparing for the next opportunity if it presents itself. Thus, takes some of the pressure off your existing situation while you survive.

One author that I have read is Brene Brown. Can't remember the titles, but might be insightful.
I also get a newsletter at work called "smart brief" that has various links to articles on how to handle work situations.

Based on my understanding of your relatively recent promotion, you will need to adapt into a more managerial role and lest of a pure technical role. (Maybe i'm off base here, but reading between the lines).

Just think of the "mental and social" techniques as "tools" for your brain and your mouth for work.

Anyhow, just some thoughts. Good luck on Monday.

 

[M.Brane]

While I'm not a fan of Talking Heads, same as it ever was.

I am so done with my job, but just need to stick it out for a little over a year. I won't be living the good life, but at least I won't have to deal with the insanity directly. If I keep myself busy I should be able to last a few more years.

 

[Johanfpa]

Not a pleasant situation to find your self in and as you already have concluded not good for your health to stay there long term. At least you have identified the problem and hopefully that let you try and apply coping strategies. The economic situation doesn't help you right now but hopefully that will improve in the future.

I have, after 28 years with the same company, been looking to change jobs for the last few years because of the toxic work environment it has become. Also stuck in a bit of a golden cage (high salary because of the 28 years of increments) I have now applied for a job that pays 40% less because my mental health is suffering too much. I'm lucky my wife fully supports me in this and we were able to stash some money away if required to cover the loss of salary. As a result of the pay cut I would have to work a bit longer than the originally planned retirement but in our view that will be worth it. The new company is Norwegian and they are renowned for the great life/work balance compared to our current American owners who don't seem to understand we work to live not live to work.

 

[kent_323is]

I made it through the day, but it was close. Had a blowout with the manager. Managed to apologize before leaving, but i have to find a new role somewhere. It's complicated, but a broad overview is the person is nuts and uses emotion to manipulate people. I am very technically competent but verbally am not strong. I do not debate well. Strong disadvantage in this position. I am a whipping boy for now. My health is declining. Insurance is very good. I need / want to stay employed in the short term. Hanging out a shingle of my own is probably not in the cards right now. With the economy and world in chaos, nobody is hiring. It's a melting pot of not good.

86, Glad to hear you are still employed, and it was definitely the right move to apologize at the end of the day.
Are you open to reading a book to help you have some tools in your belt to handle this toxic boss?
"Working with you is Killing Me" is a favorite of mine. It has been helpful for me personally with some of the assholes at work, and it was also helpful as a training tool that I used to grow one of my own employees and help him get past some past trauma.

For your case, there's a couple of chapters that would specifically be helpful:
Chapter 5 - Managing Up - Taking control
Chapter 6 - Difficult and Extreme Bosses - How to keep your sanity

Bimmer1980 shared some tips that are similar to the stuff in Chapter 5 on managing up. Having insight on what is important from their (the boss) perspective and only sharing those updates makes steps in the right direction... Their time is limited, so they don't want the details, broad strokes is usually best and let them ask for more detail if they want it.

Managing people is far different from doing design, and it takes far different skills. Travis Bradberry on LinkedIn has some good articles that are short reads, and also has a book (I haven't read but I think many of the posts he has are from the book).
From what I have experienced, companies do a poor job of training people how to manage/supervise people, and you're left to learn it on your own. There are resources out there, but you have to seek it out and be open to learning again. I've been managing people for roughly 20 years, and it's a journey.

Another tool to consider is a personality test. Both for yourself, and do one that would hypothetically simulate your boss. If you are different personalities (I'm assuming that's the case), that can give you insights on both yourself and your boss, and depending what personality they are, you can adjust your approach to better mesh with them. That's something we did at work many years ago, and that was the most helpful thing we did, and it helped me better understand and then work with some of the assholes. Leaning into their personality type made all the difference.

You can't change them, the only thing you can change is how you react.

Reach out via PM if you want to go into deeper detail on anything.

 

[rharman]

Not a pleasant situation to find your self in and as you already have concluded not good for your health to stay there long term. At least you have identified the problem and hopefully that let you try and apply coping strategies. The economic situation doesn't help you right now but hopefully that will improve in the future.

I have, after 28 years with the same company, been looking to change jobs for the last few years because of the toxic work environment it has become. Also stuck in a bit of a golden cage (high salary because of the 28 years of increments) I have now applied for a job that pays 40% less because my mental health is suffering too much. I'm lucky my wife fully supports me in this and we were able to stash some money away if required to cover the loss of salary. As a result of the pay cut I would have to work a bit longer than the originally planned retirement but in our view that will be worth it. The new company is Norwegian and they are renowned for the great life/work balance compared to our current American owners who don't seem to understand we work to live not live to work.

When I was studying to move into IT, one of my programming teachers warned us to avoid "Golden Handcuffs". Well, I eventually fell into that like you. Mine was due to promotions, not necessarily longevity. It sucked the life right out of me. Management looked at IT as a dreaded cost to the company - not the asset we actually were. Eventually, we got a new general manager who was.... well... not a nice man. I had a target on my back as I stood up for my department and the company. I refused to do something that, while not unethical, was highly improper and should never be done as asked. I offered a safe alternative and, after a big struggle, they eventually acquiesced. Damage was done though. A few months later, I was part of a group, across many departments, that got laid off. I had been there 17 years.

I planned on taking 6 months off to decompress. Job market changed in the meantime and I ended up out of work for 25 months. My wife had been retired for 12 years already so we lived off savings and (extended) unemployment. Paying for COBRA and, eventually, Cal-COBRA was not fun. BUT... in the end, it was all worth it. We got to spend 2 years together as a test run at retirement and it was great. I eventually got a job doing just coding - no management - at about 30% less pay than before. Spent my last ~8 working years there and absolutely LOVED it. Great management and a wonderful environment.

@86turbodsl and @Johanfpa - Please watch out for your mental health. It's irreplaceable. For me, getting laid off was the best thing that could have happened.

 

[bulletpruf]

86 - I don't have any advice, but hope it all works out well. Please keep us posted and let us know if there's anything we can do to help.

 

[86turbodsl]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will be looking into them all. My time is very limited so it's going to be a bit of a slog.
I definitely feel underprepared for the transition and as mentioned, my company provided no real training on that move. I definitely have golden handcuffs. My wife does not really contribute to the situation, not for lack of trying. She's just not able to support. Except emotionally.

I am working on generating tools to help me be more productive and able to cope with the increased workload. I may share those at some point.

 

[bimmer1980]

Good to see your reply.
I understand the feeling of being buried.
If I might offer a couple more suggestions:
1. Leverage your team to help with the workload. I know it's challenging to delegate, but this is key to managing people and expectations and the load. Certain aspects may be completed differently than you might have done them, but in this case, done is done. Its not your garage.
2. Be extremely careful not to complain or speak derogatory about your boss to your direct reports. I know you want to vent and commiserate, but you don't need that blowing back on you.
3. I know it's challenging to see, but your boss may be under extreme pressure as well and may not know how to manage that either. As many of us realize, the global market for goods and services have radically changed this year, with some unforeseen ramifications.

I listen to a few companies earning reports and it is interesting to get the broader perspective.

That said, one day at a time, keep your head up and proceed forward.
Good to hear you are taking some steps to help handle the workload. Continuous improvements over time do add up!

 

[86turbodsl]

A new and interesting development manifested this weekend and today.

I just purchased a 2nd Namco, yet to be retrieved, and close to work, which has a full free lift, triple stage mast.

So the engineering project i am / was working on with the Yale mast, can be avoided, and get sold. The new one
will basically just bolt on. It's in good shape and doesn't leak.. lifts to 156in, and that's about how high the shop is.

I should mention it's electric with a dead battery. There's plenty of usable parts though.

I love when problems just go away.

 

[bulletpruf]

I love when problems just go away.

Don't jinx yourself!!!

 

[Mr.zippy]

Don't jinx yourself!!!

My exact thoughts as well!

 

[86turbodsl]

doh. called out. fingers crossed????

 

[SilverJimmy]

My friend inherited an electric forklift from his father. It’s a standup model like your Namco. The giant battery was toast, so he researched replacing it. Shocking how much those batteries cost, you almost think that they’re silver instead of lead! We started thinking about how to get it running inexpensively, figured out we could replace the one large battery with a bunch of car batteries wired in series. Can’t remember how many for sure, maybe 6, but it worked great! He doesn’t use it continuously but when he does it lifts everything he needs it to. He says he only charges the batteries a couple times a month too, so a win overall!

 

[86turbodsl]

Yeah that original battery is like 1500 lbs. Don't overlook the counterweight part of it. I'll probably strip what i need and scrap the rest. I'm not running it enough with the door shut to worry about exhaust and i've already done all the rebuild stuff to the gas job. What would have been nice is if i could use li-ion modules as we've got them all over the place here at work, but voltage is wrong and you need a battery management system or you risk melting them all down charging.

 

[bimmer1980]

When do you pick up the forklift?

 

[86turbodsl]

Scheduled for Monday.

 

[kent_323is]

How'd the forklift pickup go? Will it run if you throw in some marine batteries in series?
My straddle pallet lifter that I have in the garage is 12v and that thing works great with an old battery from our van. That battery was too weak to start the van and run all the accessories, but with an occasional charge from a trickle charger, it works great for the pallet lifter forklift. Not having to fire up a gas engine in the workshop is also beneficial as well.
I have an outdoor forklift that's propane, that's for all things outside and in the sheds.

 

[86turbodsl]

Looong day. Started with breakfast around 630am, got the truck running and left around 730am. Thought i was making good time until i got to Lansing and the roads were completely messed up, they seem to be on an endless cycle of road construction and freeway entrance / exit closures. Ended up going through town all the way, which is no easy feat. So got to the trailer rental place, about 1/2 hr late, and a non event picking up a very very whipped steel deck dovetail trailer with two questionable ramps.

Got on the freeway and just bypassed all the normal roads and headed back to Detroit. It was about a 2 hr ride there at the typical glacially slow OBS Ford rate. Arrived at the destination 1130am. The old guy's got two lots in an area with a LOT of traffic, and it's pretty tight. I don't think he expected a crew dually in his driveway. I managed to get the trailer backed into the right spot with about 50 adjustments, My clutch leg was really getting a workout, but it would get worse.

The namco was freely moving and the trailer had a winch. Not a good winch, but a winch. We setup the ramps where we thought they would work and the third wheel was not going to fit on the ramps. We used a big 2x12 lam board for a ramp. Had to do an angle pull to get it straightened out and more centered, but then a straight pull and got it bumped onto the trailer deck, PRETTY big sag in the deck. Looked underneath and saw just angle iron for crossmembers. Sketchy.

Then i pulled the trailer out into the driveway and unhitched, so i could back into the shop and they had the battery up on a chain hoist and on the central rail of the steel building which would be fine, except the damn doors were NOT under that. So i basically had to back into the door on a sharp angle to get the *** of the truck under the battery. About 2 inches from the fence that runs right on the side of the door and behind a trailer that was in the way. About 50 more back and forth movements and i thought my left leg was going to snap in two.

Got under it and we managed to set it into the bed and i pulled out and started strapping down. The old guy shoved it into the center of the back of the bed and i finished strapping down.

Hooked the trailer back up and headed out down the road. Back on the freeway, it was a sketchy view in the rear view mirror to see the namco bouncing up and down on the trailer. I kept expecting it to drop through the deck and drag it down the freeway but it didn't happen.

Stopped at the rest stop in my county with about 2/3 of the trip done and shot a couple photos.

Sorry i was super busy today. Meant to do it before now.

I got home and found a nice spot in the yard to offload. I blocked up the rear of the trailer, and mid blocked the ramps,
then tied a chain to the namco mast and dragged it off the trailer with the Oliver.

It took about 1/2 hr. Then ran the trailer back to Lansing and on the way back got word that something at work that was supposed to happen Tues AM happened Monday after 5pm.

And that kicked off today's madness.

Meanwhile i have a manager who's passively aggressively attacking me. Always by text or teams. Usually not in person.

Anyone want to hire an experienced engineer???


Photos for proof.

 

[bimmer1980]

Forklift looks in pretty good shape from this perspective!!!

While you may not have full capacity, slap three or four batteries in it and send it!! I.e. run it!!

Unless it looks better than it actually is??

If that would allow you to move most of your stuff and rack things to get them out of the way, less of a project and more moving the ball foward...

 

[bulletpruf]

Meanwhile i have a manager who's passively aggressively attacking me. Always by text or teams. Usually not in person.

Gutless *************.

 

[86turbodsl]

Forklift looks in pretty good shape from this perspective!!!

While you may not have full capacity, slap three or four batteries in it and send it!! I.e. run it!!

Unless it looks better than it actually is??

If that would allow you to move most of your stuff and rack things to get them out of the way, less of a project and more moving the ball foward...

i'd need at least 3 deep cycles. or 6 golf cart batteries. I'm also told the battery is the major part of the counterweight. I haven't investigated the current state of the battery, but i did bring it home.

As i'm sure you're aware, most electric forklifts not owned by companies get scrapped when the battery goes. They're just too expensive to replace. and live like 5 years?

 

[bimmer1980]

Fair enough, but remember the engineering use case of a company forklift versus your needs. Do you need to run the forklift for an 8hr or 10h or even a 12 hour shift of 90% duty cycle? I doubt it.

My suspicion is that you would run for 10 minutes, then need to shuffle stuff around, prep, shuffle, sweep, etc, before you're ready for another 10 minute run of moving stuff.

Realistically, how heavy is the bulk of what you need to move "right now" up to the racks?

The point is, can you do "something" with the current state of the battery to move your shop status forward with out creating another project?

If i was in your position, pending the status of the current battery, I would pull batteries from the tractor, the mower, your truck, etc, temporarily connect them up, get some run time on the forklift and then reinstall in each vehicle as needed. Cost effective, some sweat labor, but it would allow you to get your shop "functioning".
Just some ideas. Otherwise, I see another half completed project up coming, no heat, no working milling machine, no working lathe, etc. Sorry to be blunt, but trying to cut thru the layers. I understand you are busy and have a difficult boss, so you need to be selective on your efforts to move the ball forward.

Just my two buffalo nickels.

 

[86turbodsl]

Yes, i appreciate that. I do not want to kill fairly new decent batteries from all my stuff though. Deep cycles and starting batteries are quite different construction. I also do not have a 36v charger so that amps up the PITA aspect quite a bit. I also have to fix my outdoor Oliver before i can even think of moving it out of the yard as it had to be dumped in the yard to make it back in time for the trailer rental. So it's stuck in the yard for right now.

I broke a chain on the Oliver. I'm replacing with new, but everything has not shown up yet.

 

[86turbodsl]

Interesting development - the forklift battery i dragged home is measuring exactly 36V. Maybe a touch low, but still almost to spec.

 

[SilverJimmy]

I think I’ve read or heard that you can rehab lead/acid batteries doing certain steps and then extend their life. My friend who got his dad’s electric forklift going loves it for inside his shop.

 

[86turbodsl]

I agree electric would be better for indoor use. i am researching rehabbing now, seems there's several things i could do. the bigger issue is finding an affordable battery charger.

 

[SilverJimmy]

This work?

VEVOR 36 Volt Forklift Battery Charger – 30A Smart Charger

Need fast charging? VEVOR 36 volt forklift battery charger offers 30A smart 4-stage charging with OLED display & Anderson plug for industrial use. Order today!

www.vevor.com

 

[86turbodsl]

Actually i'm not that sure about charging needs other than should be higher than 36V, maybe 42V? Other specs not sure.
I'm a Li-Ion guy, don't know that much about FLA.

 

[SilverJimmy]

I’m sure the fork will lift with only 30 or so volts!

 

[86turbodsl]

What i don't get is why the guy had the battery out and said it was bad if it's showing 36V, which is about 45% soc. maybe it won't pull a load.

 

[Johanfpa]

Don't want to teach you how to **** eggs but here are some bits I would check:
If the battery seems okay, the issue could be with the forklift's electrical system, such as a faulty key switch, wiring or other components, worth checking this out. Clean all corroded contacts and check the earth/ground connection.
If that isn't the case you can check the electrolyte with a hydro meter to check for weak cells, if when you do that it smells like rotten eggs you will have found the failed cell(s).
You could also check out the voltage of each cell individually and if one or more are different from the others you found your weak/failing cells. If you find some cells like that I would try to recondition them because sometimes you can recondition them but they will more than likely need to be replaced in the future.
For a definitive diagnosis of the battery, a professional capacity discharge test is the most accurate method but I would start with the checks above.
You might be very lucky, you never know there is a broken wire or other small issue because the place you bought it from decided to replace it rather than repair it (again).

 

[86turbodsl]

Good tips Johan. I need to get the other forklift fixed so i can get this one into the shop. All the bits to fix are here today. So probably over the weekend or tomorrow.