I ate 18 Carrots…Why? Cos I was told it was good for my eyesight…(really?)

A serious lesson in training...would you do what you were always told?

A meeting last week, bought back to mind a embarrassing but distinctly funny situation.

Something that I have done for a long time and engaged in but, not quite put it so simply… and this is it.

Speaking to a fantastic Customer potential a few days ago... He was a roofing application specialist and during the meeting as we were going through the importance of training, and engaging with Roofing Contractors to ensure they were applying adhesive correctly during single ply applications...he just said " I've always said...Don’t blame them, Train them" now that's powerful.

Put that statement across your business and challenge every issue that arises...the results are incredible. Another statement that totally hits home was...”Point the finger at the process not the person” In the main issues that arise in any area of the business is mainly not because someone really wants to cause an issue...but because they haven't been shown, trained or coached.

Anyway, this all leads me onto the Story that happened to me a few years back.

I left at around 4 am, on a cold snowy January in view of getting to a site 5 hrs away and arrived on site at around 9am.

The reason for attending site was the fact that the main contractor was concerned at the shear volume of adhesive they were going through...approx 10 times more than they should have been!!!

The site comprised of 4 roofs on the top of 4 blocks of flats (5 Storey block of flats) As we were climbing the 4th Block...up the scaffold...there was plumes of adhesive coming over the edge of the roof...(not what we should be seeing :-))

So we got to the top, the fruitful words were flowing, and the cursing of the spray adhesive canister and equipment was extremely apparent! This is the worst beep beep beep adhesive system we have ever used etc etc etc.

I had an extreme level of abuse hurled at me...anyway the guy was holding the spray gun out the front of him applying the adhesive about 12 feet away from himself, as if he was using a pressure washer!!!!....(he should have been holding the gun at pretty much his feet...so something was seriously wrong)

Oh my Word...plus plus plus!!!!! was what was flowing through ones mind. This guy has clearly never used this Canister spray system before! Man this was what I call a major major misapplication...how on earth can such an application error happen????

Well...here goes... :-)

As we looked across the other roofs...the First block was nearly complete, the second was 2 thirds complete, and the 3rd was half way there and these guys we were with...were spraying 12 feet in front of them putting plumes of adhesive off the edge of the roof and nothing much on the roof!!!

In short what had happened was...the guys on each roof were subcontractors, and the gang from the first roof was told by the main contractor to train the others...and clearly the best way to ensure job security in the situation :-) was to advise them to use incorrect equipment...and show them how to miss-apply... and this was literally what had happened.

They were told to use this specific gun for the insulation foam adhesive...the hole in the gun is 4 times bigger than the correct spray gun...Oops 

Incredible lesson...

"Dont blame them...Train them"

And by the way, they did end up happy as ducks in water. But if you want or feel you need training on how to apply adhesive from a canister system, give us a yell.