One of the first things I learned from the “old-timers” was to keep a clean job site.
When I was an apprentice I swept, cleaned, organized tools, set out fittings, changed out the trash, vacuumed, dusted, etc. I did this for the entire eight-hour day. I felt I could be more useful and productive, but I didn’t realize until I was running my own jobs just how valuable the “ground man” — as the old-timers called the position — was.
There was a battle between the old-timers and the younger journeyman. The old-timers stressed keeping a clean job site during the entire
