Jeff in ND - 10/16/2021 16:14

This happened in 1997.

I am a salaried engineer. Get sent to customer site for a test on prototype equipment that was at a outdoor location with a shack for the test instruments while the thing to be tested was outside.

This is in thunderstorm season. Lots of storms rolling through the area. Cannot test if the humidity is too high or its raining....

Customer has 2 staff at the test site. A salaried test engineer, and a union electrician or tech. The rules were that person had to be present when any testing was going on.

From what I could determine/observe, their entire role in a 8hr shift was to set on a chair with feet on the trash can and maybe once every hour or so flip a switch or 2 on the test gear. Maybe they went out and moved some instruments around. Nothing the test engineer could not have done alone.

Annoying to this farm son for sure, but not as much as due to the weather we could not test if it was too wet. So, the union tech leaves at like 4pm or something (this is in June so it don't get dark till late). Thus, wasting hours of daylight (and dry weather) we could have been getting those tests done. The salaried test engineer was OK to work late but could not due to the tech not being there. Of course it rains that night and no testing in the morning either till it dries off.

I was pretty PO'd as here I am setting around twiddling my thumbs for probably 2 extra days at least so extra hotel fees and me not back at the office doing something productive. My charge rate was probably a lot more than that tech was getting hourly or even his overtime if he had it. This was the days before internet and work issued laptops or cell phones were common so it was even worse as I literally had nothing I could do and had to hang out in some office staring at the walls for hours.