Mike SE IL - 3/2/2008 09:18 He is doing what a good employer should, providing what his employees need to do their work. I'll tell you the same thing I have told several men I have worked with: DO NOT bring your own tools to work. It is the employer's responsibility, not yours. It is the employer's responsibility to provide you with what you need to do your job. If he only wants to provide you with a Chinese adjustable wrench and hammer the results are his fault. If he wants you to be effective he will provide what you need. You wouldn't buy your own tractor to drive, would you (if the answer is yes, ever consider moving to SE Illinois?) I've been wrestling with this problem for a while and haven't quite got a handle on the perfect solution yet. You ever try to keep tools straight for 6-8 people in 3-4 different fields plus keep a complete set of tools in the shop? Everybody treats tools like chocolate bar wrappers when they're done with them. "There it is, hung up on the floor" is a common expression around here. There's no responsibility so NOBODY has a complete set of tools after one day. If anybody's hired as a mechanic in a garage they provide their own tools but use the garage's lift (consider it like a farmer providing the tractor). If someone's hired as a welder in a fab shop around here they bring their own welder but use the shop welding table and forklift (think of it like the farm truck). It seems like around here that only farmers provide tools for people to work with. Even the junkyards require people to bring their own hand tools to work to prevent the chaos that happens if people don't defend and keep track of their own tools. I'm leaning towards signing out a complete set of tools to each person and making them responsible for having and returning that complete set. Requiring the two or three main mechanics to provide their own tools when everybody else gets theirs supplied doesn't seem fair, because everybody is responsible for simple maintenance on their tractor/equipment when working in the field. I recently reorganized the shop garage and hung up the wrenches on the wall. There's at least 8 5/8" wrenches and all I can find is one cheap 1/2" wrench and a pair of 9/16"ers. Sockets? Don't even go there. The cost of losing the many sets of tools is (IMHO) small compared to the time lost and frustration caused when trying to fix things in a hurry and you can't find what you need. Treating men like men and not handing tools out like candy to kids might be the best solution. As for the service truck and who supplies the tools, well, to me that'd depend on the wages and the situation. With good wages, stable employment history, and a fellow who wants to be able to say "no" when someone else (if there's more than one employee) wants to take his tools should probably provide his own if he's a mechanic (shades of grey here in farming). | 
Tools at work
