Frequency of sanding a potter's rib

[Rae Reich]

If the employee says his rib is used ON the wheelhead, is he using the straight side of a pointy-D shaped rib to scrape clay from the wheelhead while also trimming clay from the bases of mugs? If so, he can learn how to hold the rib at an angle to the wheelhead to sharpen while he trims. He can improve his skills to the benefit of both of you. 

[Callie Beller Diesel]

When I became self employed, I thought that since I didn't plan on hiring anyone else, I'd never need my HR training again. ha.

I don't think it's an unreasonable expectation to have an employee re-learn better habits if the old ones are markedly impacting productivity. Economy of motion is important if you're talking about production pottery. If you have other employees who are finding the job expectations reasonable, and everyone is getting adequate stretch breaks, etc., if this person isn't meeting those same expectations because they're working inefficiently, that's a performance issue. If this person is doing it wrong and they decline to relearn on the basis of "I don't want to" or "I don't see why I should do it that way," it's a again a performance issue from an HR standpoint. 

It's important to note that "I don't want to" or "I can't because this is frustrating" is different than "I physically can't or this will hurt me" or "I have a disorder that obliges me to do it this way." The latter two instances need to be, and should be accomodated however medically necessary. This is up to and including buying a few more ribs and accepting a lower production quota. The former two instances do not need accomodating at all, and are possible sources of staff morale problems that are even harder to deal with. The first two instances need to be stopped and stopped now, or you'll have more HR work to do, which sucks.

If this person is otherwise unimpaired, if you've offered to provide alternate more durable tools to speed this person up, and support/reduced production expectations during a relarning period, that's being a reasonable employer in my opinion. 

In my experience, dealing with employees compassionately does involve knowing exactly where all the boundaries and job parameters lie, communicating them clearly, and being willing to gently but firmly enforce them. There's a lot of "If This Then That" scenarios, and you have to know what you're willing and able to accomodate, and when you need to call it. As an employer, you have respnsibilities to fulfill your orders to your customers. If you have done your utmost to train this person but that person isn't able to adequately do the job you hired them for, they either need a different role, or they need to go on to find more suitable employment. It's ok to do this. No one is good at every single  job out there, and sometimes we find things out about ourselves through trial and error. Maybe this person will turn out to be a glazing wizard with his scrupulous attention to detail if they aren't able to speed it up enough on the wheel.

As noted in the first few comments, this level of rib sharpening is idiosyncratic at best. Because there are so many ways to make pottery, I don't think it's strictly necessary from a making standpoint.

[Ceramic Human]

4 hours ago, Bill Kielb said:

As far as fitness, moving, etc.... sitting forever is not reasonable or practical and folks rarely if ever work every minute of the day

 

3 hours ago, Benzine said:

It is definitely important, for many workers, at a variety of jobs, to get up, walk around, and yes, even stretch, to save them from strain on their bodies.  Any type of repetitive process, does take its toll on the human body.

I had mentioned above that taking a stretch  on occasion is important. We provide workers with multiple ten minute breaks/day in addition to a lunch break. Additionally, our potters rotate to different parts of the process on different days giving an opportunity to use/rest different muscles. I was commenting on the ridiculous nature of expecting your employer to provide a substitute for a workout routine by placing things in inconvenient nonsensical places in the workspace. More of a digression to the OP really. I do appreciate that feedback though. Not being a potter myself I lack a truly empathetic view of the process. That's why I'm on this forum I guess. 

[neilestrick]

18 hours ago, Ceramic Human said:

 

I was commenting on the ridiculous nature of expecting your employer to provide a substitute for a workout routine by placing things in inconvenient nonsensical places in the workspace. 

That's how I understood it. No worries.