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Keeping tech support safe
The engineering group at the company where pilot fish provides on-site support sits on a raised floor inside the manufacturing area, 16 steps above the rest of the staff.
"Our Ergonomics people require us to use proper lifting and carrying techniques, which means two hands on the PC at all times", fish recalls. So when carrying PCs that need repairing, upgrading or replacing up and down the steps, using both hands is mandatory.
However, fish points out, another health and safety-related directive makes things difficult for tech support when servicing the engineering department.
"On the stairwell, our Fall Protection people have posted a safety requirement to always use the handrails. In order to use the handrail, I have to carry the PC with one hand and risk a muscle pull or other ergonomic related injury, in order to reduce the risk of a fall injury," fish points out.
It's all about perception
One of the users at the site supported by pilot fish is a scientist who's in his 80s — and he knows what he likes.
"The department where he works was using Internet Explorer and having problems with it locking up their computers," says fish.
Fish proposes that they try a different web browser and, with the scientist's grudging approval fish, installs Firefox.
But it's clear right away that Doc doesn't like it. He soon decides that every problem that that turns up on his PC, from the printer jamming to email failing to send, is new since he started using Firefox.
Then fish gets an idea. He tweaks Firefox to make it look as much like IE as possible — even replacing the name in the desktop icons and title bar. Then fish informs Doc that he's been upgraded to the newest version of IE.
"I haven't heard another complaint from him about his browser," fish says. "As a side bonus, the number of other issues has dropped as well."
Thin-brained user
At the company where help-desk pilot fish works, a memo is sent out to all users: "We would like users to power down thin clients and monitors at the completion of the work day. Powering down these devices will further assist with the power-savings initiative."
One user writes back: "This email is confusing to me. If I power down my thin client, how am I able to put information on the public website and share files?"
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