AMEN to that brother.

Come on Edward t, we are the last people they ask, yet we are the people that deal with customers everyday face to face, we are the ones that pick up the pieces when all else fails...

"the problem we have is accountants who don't understand how the job works"
I would also add, (at least part of) the problem is that those who are doing the work under consideration (field techs/engineers) are (very often) not in the office when discussions about their procedures and policy are discussed.

Spot on there Normandy, I think the FLT industry think they can replicate the car industry, it's totally different in so many way's and as you say impossible to work efficiently, so much relies on the customer giving you the truck, we're it has broke down on the plant, towing it to an area designated, then you have to wait for someone to tow you, all the health and safety rules for different places which seem to alter on a monthly basis, traffic jams between sites, inductions out of dates, hot work permits, and many many more that pop up everyday, this happens before you actually get to work on the truck.......the problem we have is accountants who don't understand how the job works..

This whole BW mess is not just theirs but replicated all over the Forklift Industry.

I wrote many years ago that if you want to investigate how not to do business you should look at the Forklift Industry

It has being going down hill since the 1980's

Part of the problem is that work is no longer fun for lots of people

If you are unhappy going to work the efficiency is impossible no matter what systems are in place.

BW never understood that

Most people if they are happy will go that extra mile anyway HR responsibility is to make it a pleasure and a challenge to work for company

Avis the car rental company used to understand that, don't know their current attitude, but it kept them no2 for a long time against the odds

My advice to all of you that are unhappy is get out, do something that makes you happy, life is just to short to waste it with people like BW and their ilk.

-

i have worked for bw for a long time and was employed on the basis of being paid from door to door i recieve parts to my home and store parts in my garage so my day starts when i sort my parts out through i do not charge for this i start at 8am and finsh at 4.30pm if i do any overtime it is cleared by my fsm this arrangement has had no problems and i am not changing if bw want to change this there will be a big pay out if i am so inclined this how all bw field engineers are also we use our own computers to order parts that difficult to order plus we do all other manner of things that are not anything to with us yet we are being treeted like scum there some bad people among us but dont think we all the same

Correct me if i am wrong here but this topic produces a large number of posts all over this forum and it seems to me if you look at all the so called benefits to the companies that want to introduce this it seems a whole lot of upset for not a lot of gain.
or am i missing the point?

If times are tough,and they are right now,then all should suffer in some way. I think the actual problem is that the engineers feel that they are the only ones in the company being financially penalised,whilst the office staff,managers and directors despite having greater work pressures put on them still have the same money in their wage packet every month.
Everybody is a cog in the machine and we all need to pull together,in a fair way.

I would argue so long as they have the van, they are always representing the company, even if they are picking the kids up from school at the time.

The van is a mobile advert for the company. If it is clean it shows the company in a good light. If it is dirty or the driver is driving discourteously, it reflects badly on the company. All of us are always on duty at all times.

The question that has to be answered is this: When does company representation end for the tech- When he leaves his last job or when he gets to the shop or home? If the answer is when he leaves his last job, then is he free to do what he wants with the work van ( go shopping, pick up kids at school, stop at the bar for a few beers , etc) on his way home? If he's not allowed to do anything but go straight to the shop or home, then I believe he then is still on the clock.

Well said Chris T. and Misterlift! It's good to see There are still some people who appreciate having a good job and realize what their employer gives them. Our customers demands for cheaper service will increase and our employers will push for more productivity. As tech's, we must change our way of thinking or risk losing our positions. Like Chris T mentioned, there are many who lost their jobs and are stuggling. It's sad to see that some tech's still think they deserve more.

Good on you, a mid manager that agrees with engineers rather than towing the line and enforcing something that will affect an engineer financially and his/her family life.

Field service engineers are a breed apart from workshop engineers and as some one who has worked as a workshop engineer and then as a field engineer based from home and now the service manager for the same, i make it my responsibility to employ the right engineer in the right locations and pay them from home, all vans are tracked anyway.

Having the convenience of an engineer paid from home going out to a break down in the evening is remembered long after the half hour here and there scraped each day to save a few quid.

I expect professional mature engineers working for me and treat them as such, sure there are some chancers out there, but managed correctly they either tow the line or leave.

Trust me, working in senior management i see far more money wasted on half arsed schemes and pointless courses, than trying to pinch an hour or two a day on travel time.

Guess I'll kick a little mud in this one. I drive my company van home. Depends on where I am going and what customer I am going to if I charge time from home or not. Company charges hours I put on Job ticket, travel time is not an extra add nor is it seperatred out. I don't complain aboutr a little extra here and there, because I would not drive my own vehicle to the shop to pick up my van. One hour and 45 minutes minimum each way home to shop, that's an extra three or four hours added to the work day. It would be a minimum of 1 hour back to shop from my last customer then 1 hour and 45 minutes home. I can be home from the customer in an hour. You really can't put this egg in one basket, there are to many variables. I think it depends on who, when, where as to how it works best for those involved. Doesn't hurt my feelings to park the van in my yard, just means I don't have to pay insurance on two vehicles to get to work. We aren't given a 1099 because we are on 24 hour call, not that we get called out very often.