New customers maintenance man interferring with my project

[camdennetcom]

I am interested in what you guys have had to do or say to a customer or their employees when they are messing with your installations and programming or just getting in your way. Most customer just let me do my thing and never get in my way.

I am having a problem with a maintenance man who thinks he knows everything about everything and that includes a big MICS installation between 12 buildings. He has no license or training in low voltage or Nortel.

This guy is very territorial with an ego to boot and the other day when a vendor arrived to install a fiber patch panel he completely disregarded my posted notes not to install the cabinet on the back board and made a decision without consulting me. I advised him that this was not acceptable and he told me that he makes any decisions on the property as he sees fit.

I already spoke to his boss and he is still disregarding my instructions. My contract even states that I am the project coordinator and project manager.

They other vendors have even told me that he has been asking them to do work outside of the projects "scope of work" description. He is really causing me a lot of grief and is now blaming delays and conflicts on me even though he caused them.

What's a telephone installer to do???

 

[misseditbythatmuch]

Well, for my experience, it really comes down to how well written your contract is. Assuming you have robust terms, as you already point out that you are to be the project manager, take the issue upstairs.

I had a problem at a site where an IT person with access to the closet kept attaching IT gear to the phone system UPS. My contract states that no other equipment is to be connected to the UPS, since that will reduce run time amongst other things. After basic diplomatic terms failed, I sent a certified letter to the company President informing her of the situation, what I had done to resolve it, the failure of that resolution and then pointed out it was a breach of contract by the customer and that such tampering had voided the warranty on the install (my contracts state that my warranty coverage terminates upon any 3rd party servicing of hardware or programming.

All of a sudden, the issue was resolved.

If your contract is not robust, then you are on shaky ground, since you cannot be sure who the maintenance guy has as friends. However, you may find he has none. If going to his boss is not getting any traction, and it sounds like a weak boss with a nervy worker, go to the General Manager or a VP. The truth is, if the telecom system either fails or is not available on time, someone near the top is going to take heat for it, so they have a natural vested interest to be sure things that are brought to their direct attention about potential failure are given solid attention, lest they be left singularly holding the bag when things come to tears.

 

[camdennetcom]

Thanks for sharing your experience with me and your good suggestions.

The strange thing about this is that this is a lage chruch with a school and i have already spoken with the head preist who just does not seem very interested in being bothered. In this case I wonder who his boss would be!

 

[GordonKapesMZ4]

The Bishop of the Archdiocese or..... God maybe, I am Catholic, hehe..

Joseph Sus-Nortel Installer/Programmer

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joe-sus/12/1a7/856

 

[camdennetcom]

I am Jewish so I don't if that makes matters worse!

I hate to pull the "according to our contract" speach but this guy does not know what he is doing. He disrgarded my posted notes on teh back board and told the fiber splicer installing a 36 pair fiber feed to install and mount his patch board at floor level. I told the father that this is just asking for problems when someone, and they will, smashes into the patch panel.