10% rule

[noOT4me]

After seeing an increase in posts concerning policies and procedures recently I have a little rant that I feel needs to be heard. Keep in mind that I am not in any way upper management. I just understand the industry and how it works.

There is a general rule of thumb in any business. It's called the 10% rule. It basically says that 10% of the workforce dictates the rules and policies for the entire company. This means that for everyone complaining about the so called BS policies it is because of either you or one of your co-workers that these policies exist. There was or is someone out there somewhere that is taking advantage of any unwritten policy that is making it necessary to put it into writing and enforcing it across the board.

Complaining about these policies will do no good. Even though they may only apply to 1 in 10 employees they have to be enforced equally. If not, you then have another lawsuit. It is not the supervisors fault or even the DM that someone is written up for not following the rules. It is there job. If they fail to do there job properly then they are reprimanded. Remember the next time you want to complain about a BS policy that it is because some moron put the company at some sort of risk and they in turn now have to protect themselves.

It will not change and has always been the way it is. It just happens that the new policies have to evolve at the same rate the technology evolves.

Think about it. There are approximately 2000 members on thecablevine.com. That means that there are 200 members on here that have done or will do something stupid to contribute to the policies that we are all now held accountable for. My only advice to the 90% is to ask questions. If you aren't sure about a specific policy or if you find yourself in the gray area call you supervisor or DM. You can't be held responsible if you received permission.

[locator00566]

After seeing an increase in posts concerning policies and procedures recently I have a little rant that I feel needs to be heard. Keep in mind that I am not in any way upper management. I just understand the industry and how it works.

There is a general rule of thumb in any business. It's called the 10% rule. It basically says that 10% of the workforce dictates the rules and policies for the entire company. This means that for everyone complaining about the so called BS policies it is because of either you or one of your co-workers that these policies exist. There was or is someone out there somewhere that is taking advantage of any unwritten policy that is making it necessary to put it into writing and enforcing it across the board.

Complaining about these policies will do no good. Even though they may only apply to 1 in 10 employees they have to be enforced equally. If not, you then have another lawsuit. It is not the supervisors fault or even the DM that someone is written up for not following the rules. It is there job. If they fail to do there job properly then they are reprimanded. Remember the next time you want to complain about a BS policy that it is because some moron put the company at some sort of risk and they in turn now have to protect themselves.

It will not change and has always been the way it is. It just happens that the new policies have to evolve at the same rate the technology evolves.

Think about it. There are approximately 2000 members on thecablevine.com. That means that there are 200 members on here that have done or will do something stupid to contribute to the policies that we are all now held accountable for. My only advice to the 90% is to ask questions. If you aren't sure about a specific policy or if you find yourself in the gray area call you supervisor or DM. You can't be held responsible if you received permission.

Thanks for stated the obvious. I feel people should know how a company operates before they consider working for them. The cablevine is a good place to share inside knowledge of a companies poilcies. Be them fair or not is for the potential employees to decide. The 10% rule applies for any line of work. But its hard to watch a company treat its employees the way certain companies do. No one posting these comments are trying to get over on a company, they just want fairness in this already stressful field of work. I appreciate everyones opinions on certain policies. It gives me insight over how different companies operate.

[paintitnow]

That was a rule in the marines too. they always said that !0% screw it up for the rest. Why do you think there is 37 labels on a ladder. Someone misused it and then sued the ladder maker becuase they did not protect them from their own stupidity. The clockin/clock-out, someone sued. GPs to catch the ones lying or screwing up, tool to get rid of undesirables. Safety calls and all other safety bs talk, CYA for insurance an or to impress client or requirement desired. If something happens they cn say "see we are doing this". Step 10 in the ten basics (if they still have it around) "never assume". A catch 22 to write up a locator. Like the guy said it is all about CYA, covering the companies liabilty.

[Wingfoot]

There is a general rule of thumb in any business. It's called the 10% rule. It basically says that 10% of the workforce dictates the rules and policies for the entire company. This means that for everyone complaining about the so called BS policies it is because of either you or one of your co-workers that these policies exist. There was or is someone out there somewhere that is taking advantage of any unwritten policy that is making it necessary to put it into writing and enforcing it across the board.

WoW OT! Your analogy is spot on! This 10% rule is used in manufacturing also.

For part-time employment, I work for 2 Goodyear race tire distributors. Consequently, I have become very close to the Goodyear engineers that design and schedule the production of both bias and radial race tires. Due to the environment in which these tires operate, every tire gets x-rayed, gets a static spin @ 300 mph while inflated, gets inspected during each stage of manufacture before it gets it's nylon lettering painted on the sidewalls and leaves the Akron, Ohio plant.

My point - Every race tire Goodyear manufactures is tested and 10% of EVERY production run of race tires gets scrapped because they do not meet the high standards set. If the next NASCAR race required 5,000 tires, then Goodyear would schedule a production run of 5,500 tires to compensate for the 10% rule to meet the order.

The same 10% rule was true for street tire production. 20 years ago, the 10% production rejects were branded "blemlished," were heavily discounted and heavily marketed. Studies showed Goodyear was spending more money marketing the 10% junk than it was spending to market it's 90% quality! It was cheaper to shred the 10% junk at the factories and haul it to the landfill than to sell these "blems!" And that's what Goodyear did. When I left Goodyear, the manufacturing plants were making a much better tire with the rejection rate lowered to just under 9%; a level previously thought not to be achievable!

Hey OT - I apologize for my dissertation, but I was impressed with your observation and applying the 10% rule to locating! Luv Ya Man!

------------------------------------------------------

[noOT4me]

Thanks for stated the obvious. I feel people should know how a company operates before they consider working for them. The cablevine is a good place to share inside knowledge of a companies poilcies. Be them fair or not is for the potential employees to decide. The 10% rule applies for any line of work. But its hard to watch a company treat its employees the way certain companies do. No one posting these comments are trying to get over on a company, they just want fairness in this already stressful field of work. I appreciate everyones opinions on certain policies. It gives me insight over how different companies operate.

You are correct locator00566. The cablevine does provide a great forum to discuss these policies. That is what this place is all about. I was just pointing out that these policies exist in any business. The real problem is that some of you have management that fall into the 10%. It's when these managers put there own skew on things and don't enforce them fairly that problems arise. I am not pointing any fingers as I do not know anyone on here personally. Just making a general observation.

[[HAF]Foxtrot]

Corporations like Government is a human institution and can never be perfect.

With that said, I have issues when corporations make decisions out of greed, power, or control. Alot of these methods in place by companies like USIC can easily be replaced with a less intrusive means of management. Like it was posted on here in the past, if you don't trust the workforce, then don't hire them.

I also have an issue when veterans of this industry are hurt by these policies when they have done nothing but protect the company and the community. True there are those who may abuse the rules to their benefit. But these people never go without being caught at some point. The industry locators do not recieve the respect they deserve. Especially because what we all deal with on a day to day basis.