Ten Tools Day 4 (about 3 weeks late!)

Sorry this is so late but we are going to pick up where we left off.  My fourth out of ten tools we all need in our bag is a cordless screwgun.  This could be the most valuable item in my bag.  I started out with a 12v Dewalt that worked well but sometimes just didn't have the power I wanted so I upgraged to an 18v Dewalt.  I stuck with the NiCad batteries for both.  I also got the Dewalt 18v impact driver which I love.  It is smaller and has more torque than a regular drill driver.

I have recently got on the smaller is better kick.  We carry our tools all over our properties every day and, frankly, I am tired of breathing hard when I get to that third floor apartment.  So I switched to a smaller tool bag, smaller hammer, smaller tape measure, and a smaller drill.

 Just this week I got a Rockwell RK2510K2.1 12v drill.  This is what I would call a "pocket driver" although it may be just a little too big for that category but it is still many times smaller and LIGHTER than Dewalts that I used before.  I am very impressed with this drill, it has no problem driving 3" screws, drilling countersunk holes, pretty much anything I need from it.  I don't know if it would put some 3/8" lags into a deck but short of anything heavy duty like that it is awsome.

                                                 

I think every maintenace tech should have a drill/driver in their tool bag.  There are many things you just can't do without them and cordless is the way to go.  Be sure to look carefully at the jobs you do and be sure you find the right tool.  There is nothing more disapointing that spending big money on a tool and find it won't do everything you need.  I think you need to seriously consider a name brand, contractor grade drill for this purchase.  I have owned Harbor Freight and Menards specials (not to say anything bad about the store they sell the Rockwell drill I am so excited about!) and they just don't handle the abuse for very long, they don't have the power of a heavy duty drill, and the batteries don't last near as long.  If all you have is enough for an off brand don't hesitate to get it but, if you can, save a couple weeks and get a Dewalt, Porter Cable, Craftsman, Rockwell, or any of the other name brands you won't regret it.

I would also like to put a link to a website I used to find this drill.  The website is called Tool Select.com and offers real world reviews of different tools.  I have been using this site for about two months now and have found it very helpful.  It allows you to compair tools and review them.   Its nice because all the tools are right there instead of having to search a few different web sites.  While their database is far from complete they add new stuff pretty often.  Also, for every tool you review you earn points toward a host of things in their store and its free!  They also have a great discussion board that covers everything from electrical to plumbing to fun tool talk.   Check it out!

Updated 11/3/2013:  Toolselect.com is no longer running.  I believe their website is still active but I don't know for how long.  I will be doing some research over the next couple weeks to try and find a new source for unbiased tool reviews, until then make sure you read customer reviews before you buy your tool, or post a comment below and I will let you know if I've used the tool or not.

Picking Up the Peices

I would like to apologize for my long absence and not finishing my tool countdown.  I got really busy at work and home.  It was the holidays and people are all of a sudden putting in work orders like mad and the weeks are short, not to mention the things that need to be done at home.  With everything going on I had to prioritize and, unfortunately, the blog had to wait.

So, we are finished cleaning up the wrapping paper (by the way my daughter had her first birthday on the 6th!), taking down the decorations, we took back the bottles and cans from the New Years party, and everything at work is caught up.  Looking back now I have to say that things got pretty hectic and stressful during that busy time but I am glad that it happened.  We learn from every experience we go through and it makes us better.  Every holiday season that goes by we get better at keeping up with the influx of work orders and the make readies that have to be done; all shorthanded as people take vacations and we deal with shortened hours and days off.

So I am going to sidetrack from my tool blog again and concentrate on something I learned from this holiday season; how to pick up the pieces!  During the three weeks that constitute our holiday season (week before Christmas, week of New Years, and week after New Years) we lost approximately 144 man hours.  We also took around 50 more work orders per week than we normally would and had six apartments to get ready.  We got all this done and even a little more but certain areas suffered.  Our grounds received little attention, the shop looked like a tornado went through it, and we had lots of bulbs burned out on the property. Even though the ball was dropped on those few things I am very proud of all that was taken care of. We handled all the residents issues and had work orders completed within 12 hours, we turned out some great looking apartments, the property was decorated for Christmas, we had a balcony decoration contest that was a huge success, and we were even able to join our sister property for a holiday dinner. 

The last two weeks have been catching up on all those neglected items.  Sometimes it seems like it takes much longer to do projects when they have been neglected.  We spent a total of 24 man hours just replacing common area light bulbs!  During this time it is easy to look at the work load and get overwhelmed.  Take things one thing at a time, writing them down so we don't forget, and prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.  The priorities might have to be revisited every day to keep up with the changes our business presents.  Make sure you are easy going with your co-workers (there is enough stress, you don't need to bring in more!), and don't rush through projects (your bound to spend more time fixing stupid mistakes!).  Take each item, each hour, each screw, nail, light bulb at a time and don't get ahead of yourself.  It may seem like you are neglecting other things but as long as your priority list is in order you can be sure you are working on just what needs to be done at that time.  Most of all, be sure to have fun!  No matter what is going on you can always find some fun in what your doing.

Good luck picking up the pieces!