Does: Age = Decent?

If your older are you better at Scaffolding...?

  • Yes, age is important as older Scaff's are usually better.

    Votes: 18 34.6%

  • No, there are just as many younger decent Scaffolders, as older ones.

    Votes: 31 59.6%

  • Not sure.

    Votes: 3 5.8%
  • Total voters
    52
  • Poll closed .
J

Jason-Gibbs

Guest
Hi guys.

I have been a part of this Forum for ages and posted some good stuff and some utter shiite.
And i have noticed many-a-times that peoples attitudes to this game are pretty much the same as they are out on site.

That being: If your young, your automatically not as good or experienced as someone older...? :unsure:


Me personally dont think this is either fair or even the case.
I have worked with 'old-hands' who are f.ucking crap and cant even base out an A Frame handrail and youngsters who are pretty decent.

My answer and attitude is: Age does NOT equal Experience and Ability - YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE YOURSELF DECENT WITH EFFORT AND THE RIGHT ATTITUDE.

You can be young and good at Scaffolding and can be old and useless and vice versa.


In my opinion (honestly) to be a good Scaffolder you need several traits, which are:
  • Reliability as in always being in work on time, each day.
  • Loyalty to your Firm and fellow workmates.
  • Passion and Pride in your work.
  • Adaptability to be able to overcome any situation.
  • Knowledge and skill in your job.

Without these, your pretty much f.ucked in this job and you dont have to be 60 years old to have it... you can be 30 and still have all/most of those traits. :idea:


Am i wrong?
Answers on a postcard. :)
 
Horses for courses,some people can get it immediately and others will never be able to lead a gang no matter how old they get,but the oldies do struggle to conform with all the new regs,though their work ethic is generally much better,in short there's many pro's and con's to both age groups:cool:
 
most scaff's can't even rite there own names but when you think about it scaffold should come it an eng degree ?????
sorry for jumping on your treat J
 
Objection M'lord. As one of the oldies I don't have any problem adapting to the new regs. I do have a problem with newly qualified who think they know everything. I will happily admit to still learning.
 
Experience takes time , some will learn quicker then others but older lads will have all that experience behind them which cant be taught by any collage
 
Fair enough.
But dont you think that there is just as much arrogance with older Scaffolders, as there is with younger Scaffolders who 'apparently' think they know it all?


Ive heard the phrase: "Ive got boots older then you." and to be fair this means f.uck all to me, as anyone in 1979 or whatever can get a card via Grandfather Rights and STILL NOT know how to Scaffold correctly.

Its nothing to do with regulations, as there have been so many changes in the last 5 years alone - we all, old and new need to continuously adapt.
 
All good things in life come to those who wait, A fine wine gets better with age yet a fine scaffolder gets arthritis with age, Snap, Crack and Fcukin pop :noworry:
 
hahahahaha older scaffolders have and always will be like that J , they where exactly the same ( if not worse 32 years ago when i started), and young guns will always be cocky ,its the nature of our game and the image people have of the Hard drinking Hard fighting Wild scaffolders who are of their nuts
 
Age means nowt. Worked with some pretty good young uns & shone pretty Shiite old un & vise versa. It's all about the individual.
Every days a schools day, the day you cannot be taught something new is the day to retire.
 
Age and experience means feck all now. A Scaffolder isnt allowed to plan,estimate nd erect a 'Job' that isnt a plain basic Scaffold.

We cant even work on our own Structure unless there is a AGR.

TG20:08 SG4:10 Ram the lot, as a post stated on a earlier thread. FFS we adhere too it , however it is a European directive, and those cants put Sh1t up.:eek:
 
couldnt agree more paddy when the british standard got changed to the en regs it was only to let the cants in to our game.
as for the original post youve eighter got it or you aint,if you have you will lead if not you will follow as long as you know your limits and will graft i dont mind.
regarding smart arse comments i was once told "ive stood at a bus stop longer than youve been scaffolding"
i replyed "you d think you would have learnt a wee bit then eh---obviously not";)
 
Totally agree Paddy.

Many older ones loose interest in the job and stop caring whether they're doing a decent job.

Yes, young 'uns can get cocky but eventually we wake up one morning and think "huh.... I'm a bit of a c*nt, I'll grow up now".

Those that don't get a slap.

I thought that's how it always worked??? :amuse:
 
Flinty said:
Totally agree Paddy.

Many older ones loose interest in the job and stop caring whether they're doing a decent job.

Yes, young 'uns can get cocky but eventually we wake up one morning and think "huh.... I'm a bit of a c*nt, I'll grow up now".

Those that don't get a slap.

I thought that's how it always worked??? :amuse:
Click to expand...

I am probably one of the older ones on hear, but i will never lose interest in the job. As one of my old supervisors told me always neat and tidy and i like to think i still do that today.
 
Well said oldscaff, many a good tune played on an old fiddle. To be honest I think I have met them all in my working life and age usually means experience but it's how the holder uses it that makes the difference, some do and some don't. I would say it also depend on how you gauge a "Good Scaffolder", if it's meterage you are looking for or 30 years experience of building similar structures.
 
When you get trainee's who are willing to work hard, listen and learn you don't mind taking time to pass on your experience and they normally become the bright minds of the future. I've also worked with blokes who couldn't put a nut in a monkeys mouth but think their the mutts nuts until something technical comes up so its a bit of both really.But like Karlj711 posted we can still learn new stuff everyday given the variety of jobs we get to do.When we get a cheeky little f****r the wind ups and piss takes soon put them back in their place.
 
I was truly honored to work with a lot of old hands who brought me through...When I became more capable I became a bit more cocky etc...but thats just Scaffolders isnt it?? Even when I was able to out perform these old treasures (No fault of their own...They had a long and tiring career and I was just a young buck) I never lost my respect for them and I was most grateful for them taking the time and effort to pass on their vast knowledge...I took that into the Management side of the business in the set up of the gangs...I would try and put a couple of young lads with an older leading hand (Muscle and Brain scenario) and on the whole it worked.

In my view you cant beat tried and tested experience of an older hand, as he gets on a bit you just have to give him different tools to work with in the form of the muscle and strength that have naturally diminished.
 
so what make a good scaff and how would you like to talked of

A- someone who can bang up 500' on price, as loudley and Arrogantly as possible, with the inability to communicate,question or take reponibilitiy for their action, to blame everyone else for the slightest thing to go wrong,who despite having a ticket are so set in their ways will not even try to take in rules & regs, who get annoyed because they have to return from the pub at lunch time or get docked for leaving site early,often the last to arrive but first to leave who refuse to work because it looks like rain or is a monday-whose god given right it is to have a company van with unlimited fuel,who despite owning 2 phones,can never be contacted or bother to ring you,and who feel they're doing you the favour of working for you,who consider themselves to be the best scaffs in the world and everyone else is useless, and if they had their own company wouldn't do any of this new boll.cks (any of this sound familiar)


B - someone who enjoys his work, and is glad to have it in the present climate with the ability to put up a safe tidy job,in a realistic time span,whilst working to all legal guidlines, to work with other scaffs,liaze with other trades & managment,in a polite and caring manor - who understand the importance of being an ambasador to the company who's name he proudly sports on his shirt and who's vechile he drives around in, as a privaledge and not a god given right, who finds the opportunity to progress through experiance and training to gain additional qualifications an advantage to both his paypacket and future, and who looks back at the end of the week at his achievments with both pride and satisfaction.

personally speaking, youth and ambition mixed with age and experiance is perfect
 
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