A Job Site Hazard

It can be shocking the first time you see it. It is one of the dreaded and known risks of allowing too many subcontractors onto a job site simultaneoulsy. It is probably more common than we would like to think. It starts out innocently enough. The carpenters show up and run a couple cords to power their saws and drills and electric screwdrivers to patch the hole in the particle board subfloor. Then the drywallers arrive for the day and run a few more cords for their lights and drywall saws and Roto-zip trimmers and power screwdrivers. The plumber steps in to try to get those shower supply lines in while the wall is still open on both sides and runs a couple more cords to power his soldering iron and saw. The electrician makes his appearance to install that one missed light fixture with his own cords for his tools. Pretty soon, the mass of cords on the floor is exuding powerfully attractive pheromones and all the cords stored in all those subcontractor trucks get a whiff and are irresistibly attracted into the building, and the mass grows and grows and grows. It can take days for the mating ball of the Elasoidea electricalii orangeri to accomplish its natural mission and for the individuals to quiet down enough that the subcontractors can return to the site and begin to sort out their own individual cords to return them to their own individual trucks. This is just one of the many ways that delays are introduced into the construction process.