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I’m not sure if it’s because I’m simply a new tech or if it’s just a part of the career, but after I finish a job I’m left with this nagging feeling that I didn’t do something.
For example, I can clearly remember tightening down the lug nuts and putting the wheel lock back into the car where they had it cleverly hidden, but still feel like I didn’t do something important.
Is this normal? I’m nearly two months into this and it drives me nuts.
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I’ve always had that feeling on a regular basis. I have honed oil changes, lugs, etc with various routines or tricks to make things like drain plugs, lugs, oil filters, keys, oil caps, etc accountable as having been done in order to reduce that nagging feeling. I just had it almost the whole drive home after working on my friend’s car at work, even though I watched him watch me put everything together right. I’m having that nagging feeling about it again right now for no rational reason whatsoever.
I find having a routine really helps especially with the more mundane jobs if I do a service the same way each time I dont have to think about it to much.
another note on bigger jobs if you remove bolts try and keep them with the part you removed in the correct order makes things a lot easier to put back also if you put a bolt in tighten in then and there and if you need to leave it loose for alignment reasons stay on that job until you have it all on and tight getting pulled of jobs at those points is the main time when thing get forgotten.
If I’m doing torque sensitive work I mark each bolt with a tyre crayon after I torque it that way I’m not second guessing myself.
The nagging feeling is good getting over confident is when mistakes start to happen doesn’t matter if you’ve been on the job 2 months or 20 years.
Ya, you’re gonna have to figure out how to deal with that voice or ignore it. Cause it isn’t going anywhere.
Like the other guys have said, routines, routines, routines. Then if you sense a disturbance in the force, it’s really easy to go back through and find the offender. Personally, I don’t remove the hoist from under the car until I torque the wheels down.
It’s been my experience that when “that nagging feeling” goes away, that’s when your mistakes happen. That feeling is what keeps you in check. It means you care.
I’ve been at it for 10 years and I still have it happen. I’m so used to doing things that I don’t remember doing them and find myself worrying about nothing. Almost every car gets a quick finger test of the lug nuts because I don’t remember hitting them.
[quote=”STLNik” post=136156]I’ve been at it for 10 years and I still have it happen. I’m so used to doing things that I don’t remember doing them and find myself worrying about nothing. Almost every car gets a quick finger test of the lug nuts because I don’t remember hitting them.[/quote]
I am starting to have that issue where my brain checks out but, I am still doing the work on some things. It can get annoying at times. But, like twiggy02919 said its cause you care and when you stop caring is when stuff gets real bad real quick.
It’s a normal feeling. The worst part is when service writers put your tech number on something you never touched but comes back as a improper repair.
We had a lube tech do an oil change, the RO was put under another techs Number. The engine blew up.and the tech that didn’t even do the work was fired.
He was later rehired after people came forward and told the truth. Its a good idea to keep copies of RO’s you work on and any work you do.
Thank you for the replies and advice everyone. I guess that is something I am gonna have to get used to, kinda sucks though b/c I do care about the job and the quality of work I put out and it makes me feel like I’m not doing as well as I could.
I’ve been doing it for 3 years and still get it at the end of the day. On a regular service i triple check my wheel nuts as part of my routine as safety wise it’s probably the worst thing that’ll occur on a road test.
It’s just a matter of Quality control and having a process for everything
I guess I am the odd man out because I very, very rarely get that feeling.
I think it is for two reasons though.
The first is I came out of aviation, it’s what I went to school for. Both in school, and in the field, they kind of drill double and triple checking everything you do. The idea of losing your license or getting fined and sued over forgetting something tends to make you hyper vigilant. Plus my first job out of school I had to fly in the helicopters I fixed so there was the whole self-preservation thing…
Second because of the first item I tend to work very carefully. I usually plan out everything I do, when I start a task I try to have always thought it through to the end. I also have systems and checks I use for everything I do. A good example is oil filters; so when I change filters I always use the old filter to smear oil on the gasket of the new filter by rubbing the gaskets together, that forces me to look at the old filter gasket to make sure it came off and I cannot double gasket the filter.
There are also tons of little habits that help me be sure I got everything done correctly. Things like never putting in a fastener and then doing something else before that fastener is tight. I double check everything is tight before the next step. I won;t talk to people in the middle of a task; they can wait till I am done. I make TONS of notes when I do have to walk away from a job. Anything that does not have fluid in it gets a tag on the filler and a tag by the keyswitch and/or steering wheel. I put tools way when I am done to make sure none are left in the machine. I keep bolts in the area they came from WHERE I CAN SEE THEM to make sure I never forget a fastener.
It’s all about being aware and alert and not getting distracted.
My first gig was also aviation and that’s a pretty strict area. There’s no pulling over and stopping when you screw up there.
Even with a little extra vigilance I would still get the feeling now and then that I missed a step. This would often happen if for some oddball reason that 4 hour job went smooth as silk and was finished in 1.5 hours. I’m standing there with clean hands, no bleeding, and asking myself repeatedly, “ok, why did this go so smoothly. I surely missed something”.
I fully agree with you about distractions. The state safety inspection program here was eliminated years ago (Thank God) and it was a PITA.
A guy could be in the middle of putting a manual transmission together or a timing belt job or internal engine work and the statute stated that a safety inspection had to be done pretty promptly. That often led to stop what you’re doing which then led to the train of thought being disrupted. After the inspection then you’re back at the bench trying to remember if you tightened this or that.One guy I know was in the middle of engine work and got interrupted for an inspection. He put the head back on it and found a wrist pin keeper. He thought i was screwing around with him and asked about it. Nope, not me. After some agonizing he tore back into it and found a keeper missing. Massive waste of time, more gaskets, and morale.
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