Do you have something for me to do?.........
How many times do we hear this question every day?
Our Earn-A-Bike program consists of 10 hours of community service doing chores around the shop. We've had record numbers of EABers this spring and our list of chores is burned through in the first couple hours of any given day.
So for the rest of the time the shop facilitators make up chores on the fly. This is particularly hard when the 20 people in the shop are asking two or three facilitators a constant stream of questions. Maybe we have too many people in the shop but I think if we had a better way to keep people working on projects.
How are you keeping people busy in your shop?
Peace
We've gone to a volunteer only night, for those looking to do strictly chores- not that our system runs perfectly smoothly, but it helps to have dedicated attention on some shop tasks.
-Sorting parts is always a great one, and a learning experience too. -Have rulers?Put em to use! Sort bottom brackets by size! Ah! -if you've got a parts washer, and a bucket of chains (or a bucket of chains and some simple green... you can resurrect some awfully nasty stuff- have em wear gloves! -signage is always needed, it seems, at our shop, and I'm really bad at getting people to donate their artistic abilities to those tasks... but they're valuable. -de-spoking wheels or lubing up spoke nipples for usable wheels is a sit quietly and work task. -Cleaning -prepping bikes for recycling (stripping stuff on down) is totally useful and credit worthy for us.
But, as importantly, you sometimes have to just say "Sorry, we've got nothing right now. Come back on Volunteer night, stay after, help us clean this dump up."
That's what we say, anyway. And we love our volunteers and our dump.
Peace Pete.
On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 2:15 PM, Rich Points rich@richpoints.com wrote:
How many times do we hear this question every day? Our Earn-A-Bike program consists of 10 hours of community service doing chores around the shop. We've had record numbers of EABers this spring and our list of chores is burned through in the first couple hours of any given day. So for the rest of the time the shop facilitators make up chores on the fly. This is particularly hard when the 20 people in the shop are asking two or three facilitators a constant stream of questions. Maybe we have too many people in the shop but I think if we had a better way to keep people working on projects.
How are you keeping people busy in your shop?
Peace
-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich@CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Rich, this is a great question, and one i've often thought about posting here! We deal with trying to keep folks busy as well on a daily basis. We're always running around asking each other what those is to be done for the earn-a-bikers! Here's a couple things we do to help keep poeple busy:
-We have a dry erase board in the shop, and we try to update it with the stuff that needs to get done the next time the shop is opened.
-We've also started giving repair lessens to our earn-a-bikers instead of actually requiring them to do "work". So for example, we'll sit a group of them down and teach them fix-a-flat or wheel trueing, and the time they spend learning skills counts toward their EAB hours. It is after all the goal of our EAB program for people to come out with more bike know how than when they started.
-A lot of our EABers spend time stripping bikes and wheels. We've been getting enough donations lately, that it seems like there is always a bike and some wheels to be taken apart. These also leads to parts that need to be sorted and filed.
-Checking, Patching, and labeling tubes is another common task that always needs doing.
-We also try to get EABers helping us to further organize the shop by sizing and seperating parts like spokes, BBs, Cable Housing, etc.
Anyway, these are the sort of things that we do to keep folks busy at our shop. And it is not always enough! We are often running around trying to keep 5-10 folks occupied with something to do, and we don't want to have to turn people away. I'd be interested to hear how other shops keep poeple busy as I'm sure it will help us out. I'd also like to further develop a sort of skill block program that EABers could work on towards their required hours. Do any other shops do this?
Doug 1304bikes Raleigh, NC
On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 3:15 PM, Rich Points rich@richpoints.com wrote:
How many times do we hear this question every day? Our Earn-A-Bike program consists of 10 hours of community service doing chores around the shop. We've had record numbers of EABers this spring and our list of chores is burned through in the first couple hours of any given day. So for the rest of the time the shop facilitators make up chores on the fly. This is particularly hard when the 20 people in the shop are asking two or three facilitators a constant stream of questions. Maybe we have too many people in the shop but I think if we had a better way to keep people working on projects.
How are you keeping people busy in your shop?
Peace
-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich@CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
I really like Doug/1304bikes ideas about a 'skill block program'. All shops with a work trade program seem to have these problems, and I know that finding tasks--effectively 'managing' work-traders--is one of the most exhausting parts of working in community shops. I'm currently feeling rather optimistic about the whole situation. BICAS recently created a 'work trade coordinator' position that is currently being filled by Adam, one of our long-term staff members. Adam's perspective, which I really appreciate, is that we are not merely trying to find tasks for folks so that they can put forth a good-faith effort, justifying us 'giving them' a bike. Rather, work-trade can represent a totally new, non-money labor form, and, implicitly, a threat to the logic of capital. In thinking about work-trade in such a big picture, I've started to ask questions about how to make work-trade valuable to our shops. This might mean tasks such as cleaning and organizing, but I also think that tasks that pay the rent are critical. The main one for me is patching tubes. If we can be effective in teaching how to patch and organize tubes, and then sell them for $1 each, we are accomplishing three of our shared goals (teaching valuable--the most foundational--skills, making cycling cheaper, and reducing waste) while at the same time making money to support the organization. Noone likes patching tubes all day. But mightn't there be a way to create a sort of curriculum for work-trade? like a check-list; __patched 20 tubes __despoked a wheel __stripped--and parted out--a bike __sorted parts __etc.
when the check-list is complete the work-trader has learned a set of skills, and might be ready to tune-up kids bikes (which we'd still sell 'as-is' but might actually be ready to roll for, i dunno $15). Mostly, I'm tired of seeing 'work-trade' be a lot of work for staff/core-volunteers that only results in a pile of parts on the floor. I think it is our responsibility and an amazing opportunity to help folks be really helpful to our shops. thanks, kyle
On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 3:53 AM, 1304bikes 1304bikes@gmail.com wrote:
Rich, this is a great question, and one i've often thought about posting here! We deal with trying to keep folks busy as well on a daily basis. We're always running around asking each other what those is to be done for the earn-a-bikers! Here's a couple things we do to help keep poeple busy:
-We have a dry erase board in the shop, and we try to update it with the stuff that needs to get done the next time the shop is opened.
-We've also started giving repair lessens to our earn-a-bikers instead of actually requiring them to do "work". So for example, we'll sit a group of them down and teach them fix-a-flat or wheel trueing, and the time they spend learning skills counts toward their EAB hours. It is after all the goal of our EAB program for people to come out with more bike know how than when they started.
-A lot of our EABers spend time stripping bikes and wheels. We've been getting enough donations lately, that it seems like there is always a bike and some wheels to be taken apart. These also leads to parts that need to be sorted and filed.
-Checking, Patching, and labeling tubes is another common task that always needs doing.
-We also try to get EABers helping us to further organize the shop by sizing and seperating parts like spokes, BBs, Cable Housing, etc.
Anyway, these are the sort of things that we do to keep folks busy at our shop. And it is not always enough! We are often running around trying to keep 5-10 folks occupied with something to do, and we don't want to have to turn people away. I'd be interested to hear how other shops keep poeple busy as I'm sure it will help us out. I'd also like to further develop a sort of skill block program that EABers could work on towards their required hours. Do any other shops do this?
Doug 1304bikes Raleigh, NC
On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 3:15 PM, Rich Points rich@richpoints.com wrote:
How many times do we hear this question every day? Our Earn-A-Bike program consists of 10 hours of community service doing chores around the shop. We've had record numbers of EABers this spring and our list of chores is burned through in the first couple hours of any given day. So for the rest of the time the shop facilitators make up chores on the fly. This is particularly hard when the 20 people in the shop are asking two or three facilitators a constant stream of questions. Maybe we have too many people in the shop but I think if we had a better way to keep people working on projects.
How are you keeping people busy in your shop?
Peace
-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org http://communitycycles.org/ Rich@CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
-- 1304bikes 2419 Mayview Rd. Raleigh, NC 1304bikes.org _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
Hey - this is a fabulous thread, and it's nice to know that we're not the only shop with this problem.
For the Earn-a-Bikers, we too have been trying to come up with some sort of basic checklist of repairs to be mastered over the course of the earning of the bike. We currently require 12 hours of volunteer time to earn a bike, but I have been considering proposing that we scrap the hours requirement and make it more of a basic skills mastery thing (patch flat, adjust brakes, adjust derailleur, etc.). We use our 'yellow bikes' at our shop as learning tools for folks to build up their skills, then just release the bikes to the streets for anyone to use. This teaches folks basic bike repair, creates a final diversion of these bikes from the landfill, and helps folks with no other means of transport to get around.
jennifer austin yellow bike project
On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 12:42 PM, kyle mckinley bicirider@gmail.com wrote:
I really like Doug/1304bikes ideas about a 'skill block program'. All shops with a work trade program seem to have these problems, and I know that finding tasks--effectively 'managing' work-traders--is one of the most exhausting parts of working in community shops. I'm currently feeling rather optimistic about the whole situation. BICAS recently created a 'work trade coordinator' position that is currently being filled by Adam, one of our long-term staff members. Adam's perspective, which I really appreciate, is that we are not merely trying to find tasks for folks so that they can put forth a good-faith effort, justifying us 'giving them' a bike. Rather, work-trade can represent a totally new, non-money labor form, and, implicitly, a threat to the logic of capital. In thinking about work-trade in such a big picture, I've started to ask questions about how to make work-trade valuable to our shops. This might mean tasks such as cleaning and organizing, but I also think that tasks that pay the rent are critical. The main one for me is patching tubes. If we can be effective in teaching how to patch and organize tubes, and then sell them for $1 each, we are accomplishing three of our shared goals (teaching valuable--the most foundational--skills, making cycling cheaper, and reducing waste) while at the same time making money to support the organization. Noone likes patching tubes all day. But mightn't there be a way to create a sort of curriculum for work-trade? like a check-list; __patched 20 tubes __despoked a wheel __stripped--and parted out--a bike __sorted parts __etc.
when the check-list is complete the work-trader has learned a set of skills, and might be ready to tune-up kids bikes (which we'd still sell 'as-is' but might actually be ready to roll for, i dunno $15). Mostly, I'm tired of seeing 'work-trade' be a lot of work for staff/core-volunteers that only results in a pile of parts on the floor. I think it is our responsibility and an amazing opportunity to help folks be really helpful to our shops. thanks, kyle
On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 3:53 AM, 1304bikes 1304bikes@gmail.com wrote:
Rich, this is a great question, and one i've often thought about posting here! We deal with trying to keep folks busy as well on a daily basis. We're always running around asking each other what those is to be done for the earn-a-bikers! Here's a couple things we do to help keep poeple busy:
-We have a dry erase board in the shop, and we try to update it with the stuff that needs to get done the next time the shop is opened.
-We've also started giving repair lessens to our earn-a-bikers instead of actually requiring them to do "work". So for example, we'll sit a group of them down and teach them fix-a-flat or wheel trueing, and the time they spend learning skills counts toward their EAB hours. It is after all the goal of our EAB program for people to come out with more bike know how than when they started.
-A lot of our EABers spend time stripping bikes and wheels. We've been getting enough donations lately, that it seems like there is always a bike and some wheels to be taken apart. These also leads to parts that need to be sorted and filed.
-Checking, Patching, and labeling tubes is another common task that always needs doing.
-We also try to get EABers helping us to further organize the shop by sizing and seperating parts like spokes, BBs, Cable Housing, etc.
Anyway, these are the sort of things that we do to keep folks busy at our shop. And it is not always enough! We are often running around trying to keep 5-10 folks occupied with something to do, and we don't want to have to turn people away. I'd be interested to hear how other shops keep poeple busy as I'm sure it will help us out. I'd also like to further develop a sort of skill block program that EABers could work on towards their required hours. Do any other shops do this?
Doug 1304bikes Raleigh, NC
On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 3:15 PM, Rich Points rich@richpoints.com wrote:
How many times do we hear this question every day? Our Earn-A-Bike program consists of 10 hours of community service doing chores around the shop. We've had record numbers of EABers this spring and our list of chores is burned through in the first couple hours of any given day. So for the rest of the time the shop facilitators make up chores on the fly. This is particularly hard when the 20 people in the shop are asking two or three facilitators a constant stream of questions. Maybe we have too many people in the shop but I think if we had a better way to keep people working on projects.
How are you keeping people busy in your shop?
Peace
-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org http://communitycycles.org/ Rich@CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
-- 1304bikes 2419 Mayview Rd. Raleigh, NC 1304bikes.org _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
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-- If an Easyrider rides easy, then a bicirider rides bicis _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
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Speaking of skills-building lists, we tackle each of these systems with every EARN a BIKER (column 1 on our attached checklist) and then have a mechanic go back through and inspect (column 2) (trickier things are assisted by a mechanic). When all tasks are complete and checked off, well, then they roll out with a working knowledge of the bike (is the hope). We should add, perhaps a back-side to the sheet with flat fix, on-road derailleur adjust, parts identification, and understand rules of the road checkboxes, huh?
Anyway... one idea for tasklists. Helpful?
On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 12:56 PM, yellow bike austinyellowbike@gmail.com wrote:
Hey - this is a fabulous thread, and it's nice to know that we're not the only shop with this problem.
For the Earn-a-Bikers, we too have been trying to come up with some sort of basic checklist of repairs to be mastered over the course of the earning of the bike. We currently require 12 hours of volunteer time to earn a bike, but I have been considering proposing that we scrap the hours requirement and make it more of a basic skills mastery thing (patch flat, adjust brakes, adjust derailleur, etc.). We use our 'yellow bikes' at our shop as learning tools for folks to build up their skills, then just release the bikes to the streets for anyone to use. This teaches folks basic bike repair, creates a final diversion of these bikes from the landfill, and helps folks with no other means of transport to get around.
jennifer austin yellow bike project
On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 12:42 PM, kyle mckinley bicirider@gmail.com wrote:
I really like Doug/1304bikes ideas about a 'skill block program'. All shops with a work trade program seem to have these problems, and I know that finding tasks--effectively 'managing' work-traders--is one of the most exhausting parts of working in community shops. I'm currently feeling rather optimistic about the whole situation. BICAS recently created a 'work trade coordinator' position that is currently being filled by Adam, one of our long-term staff members. Adam's perspective, which I really appreciate, is that we are not merely trying to find tasks for folks so that they can put forth a good-faith effort, justifying us 'giving them' a bike. Rather, work-trade can represent a totally new, non-money labor form, and, implicitly, a threat to the logic of capital. In thinking about work-trade in such a big picture, I've started to ask questions about how to make work-trade valuable to our shops. This might mean tasks such as cleaning and organizing, but I also think that tasks that pay the rent are critical. The main one for me is patching tubes. If we can be effective in teaching how to patch and organize tubes, and then sell them for $1 each, we are accomplishing three of our shared goals (teaching valuable--the most foundational--skills, making cycling cheaper, and reducing waste) while at the same time making money to support the organization. Noone likes patching tubes all day. But mightn't there be a way to create a sort of curriculum for work-trade? like a check-list; __patched 20 tubes __despoked a wheel __stripped--and parted out--a bike __sorted parts __etc.
when the check-list is complete the work-trader has learned a set of skills, and might be ready to tune-up kids bikes (which we'd still sell 'as-is' but might actually be ready to roll for, i dunno $15). Mostly, I'm tired of seeing 'work-trade' be a lot of work for staff/core-volunteers that only results in a pile of parts on the floor. I think it is our responsibility and an amazing opportunity to help folks be really helpful to our shops. thanks, kyle
On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 3:53 AM, 1304bikes 1304bikes@gmail.com wrote:
Rich, this is a great question, and one i've often thought about posting here! We deal with trying to keep folks busy as well on a daily basis. We're always running around asking each other what those is to be done for the earn-a-bikers! Here's a couple things we do to help keep poeple busy:
-We have a dry erase board in the shop, and we try to update it with the stuff that needs to get done the next time the shop is opened.
-We've also started giving repair lessens to our earn-a-bikers instead of actually requiring them to do "work". So for example, we'll sit a group of them down and teach them fix-a-flat or wheel trueing, and the time they spend learning skills counts toward their EAB hours. It is after all the goal of our EAB program for people to come out with more bike know how than when they started.
-A lot of our EABers spend time stripping bikes and wheels. We've been getting enough donations lately, that it seems like there is always a bike and some wheels to be taken apart. These also leads to parts that need to be sorted and filed.
-Checking, Patching, and labeling tubes is another common task that always needs doing.
-We also try to get EABers helping us to further organize the shop by sizing and seperating parts like spokes, BBs, Cable Housing, etc.
Anyway, these are the sort of things that we do to keep folks busy at our shop. And it is not always enough! We are often running around trying to keep 5-10 folks occupied with something to do, and we don't want to have to turn people away. I'd be interested to hear how other shops keep poeple busy as I'm sure it will help us out. I'd also like to further develop a sort of skill block program that EABers could work on towards their required hours. Do any other shops do this?
Doug 1304bikes Raleigh, NC
On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 3:15 PM, Rich Points rich@richpoints.com wrote:
How many times do we hear this question every day? Our Earn-A-Bike program consists of 10 hours of community service doing chores around the shop. We've had record numbers of EABers this spring and our list of chores is burned through in the first couple hours of any given day. So for the rest of the time the shop facilitators make up chores on the fly. This is particularly hard when the 20 people in the shop are asking two or three facilitators a constant stream of questions. Maybe we have too many people in the shop but I think if we had a better way to keep people working on projects.
How are you keeping people busy in your shop?
Peace
-- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org http://communitycycles.org/ Rich@CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019
Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...
-- 1304bikes 2419 Mayview Rd. Raleigh, NC 1304bikes.org _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
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-- If an Easyrider rides easy, then a bicirider rides bicis _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
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"Be the change you would like to see in the world." - Gandhi "Keep Cycling: it is Undoubtedly the Best form of Activism there is." _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
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I like the idea of mastering skills rather than hours. I sometimes worry that people are going through EAB and not really learning all that much. We tend to direct them towards chores and they'll learn whatever those chores dictate. My sense is that the majority of people who've earned a bike at our shop would not know how to fix a flat.
We've tried what Doug suggested by giving mini lessons to EABers in the shop. This has been largely hit or miss based on who's in the shop and what's going on on any given day.
I guess the bigger questions here are 1) how can we ensure that EABers are gaining valuable skills and 2) run our shops in a way that keeps the doors open and the staff/volunteers happy and productive?
To make the skill mastering method work the shop would need to be able to provide any task at any given time. And I suspect all the collectives out there are limited by space in some way.
We could probably make the skill method work by shuffling bikes between our three storage units and the shop but it would be a huge drain on staff, probably not worth it.
Space seems to be the problem, how do we solve it?
Rich
We currently require 12 hours of volunteer time to earn a bike, but I have been considering proposing that we scrap the hours requirement and make it more of a basic skills mastery thing (patch flat, adjust brakes, adjust derailleur, etc.). We use our 'yellow bikes' at our shop as learning tools for folks to build up their skills, then just release the bikes to the streets for anyone to use. This teaches folks basic bike repair, creates a final diversion of these bikes from the landfill, and helps folks with no other means of transport to get around.
jennifer austin yellow bike project
On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 3:15 PM, Rich Points rich@richpoints.com wrote: How many times do we hear this question every day? ... How are you keeping people busy in your shop?
I hope posters to this thread have looked at the tasks listed at http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Shop_Manual many of which came from OCBC's original stab at this task-finding task.
We are refining this now with a button for volunteers to "get a task" when they log in (we keep track of vol. credits on a computer), so much of our Shop Manual http://ohiocitycycles.org/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=ShopManual is currently being revised for clarity.
I will endeavor to update bikecollective's wiki as we go along.
I hope you all will do the same. Jim
participants (7)
-
1304bikes -
Jim Sheehan -
kyle mckinley -
Peter Morsch -
Peter Morsch -
Rich Points -
yellow bike