Struggling at work - looking for tips.

Quote:
How do you guys double check your work before sending it on it's way? Do you use a checklist of some sort? Clearly, a 3 mile road test will not always reveal a mistake.

By doing exactly that.
Double check your work.

Most guys I have worked with as techs were pretty set in their bad habits and it's hard to change.

Some guys need the fear of God put into them when it comes to leaving bolts loose.

At both dealerships I worked at you would get fired no questions asked if you did not torque wheel bolts before and after a test drive if the wheels were off.

One simple thing you do when doing brake jobs and I do this every time.

1. Remind yourself that you are responsible for the safe repair of this vehicle and that it's your ***, not the dealer you work for if something goes wrong.

2. When the job is finished, put your wrench back on the bolts to make sure everything is tight.
Then pump the brakes and seat the pads.

3. Check for leaks and do another visual inspection to make sure everything is seated properly, brake pads in correctly not backwards-seen that happen.

4. Check your bolts again, and again if you must.

5. If you leave to help someone else or go to lunch, check the bolts again when you get back.

6. Torque the wheel bolts before/after test drive.

The second dealer I worked for made you put the car back up on the lift and recheck for leaks and recheck all bolts if you did a brake job.
This makes for excellent quality control and makes you a more conscientious technician as a result especially if there is a policy saying your *** is fired if you don't do this.

I am a mobile mechanic and answer to nobody but the customer.
I cannot afford to eff up someone's car and have no dealership or anyone else to back me up but myself so I am extra careful and responsible, but I have seen some techs who are careless because they have this notion that the shop they work for will bail them out if something happens.
In my opinion, a shop that bails out their eff ups is a disaster waiting to happen and encourages bad habits.

Shops with good training like to hire new techs because old techs are set in their ways.
If you can instill some good work habits in a young tech right off the bat, you've won half the battle.