I have always loved music, especially loud rock and roll. Some stuff, you just have to crank up. But in the shop? That has not worked out real well.

I used to let my employees have free reign over the stereo. I figured that they had a tough job and the music made it just a little more pleasant. After a while, I noticed that there was a lot of time being on changing the station or turning the volume up or down. It became an endless parade.

I also noticed the radio ended up playing metal loud enough to blow up the speakers. The guys that preferred that kind of music turned out to be the most tenacious.

It got so out of hand that I finally removed the radio. Then guys started showing up with personal stereos and headphones. Now each guy could listen to whatever they wanted, as loud as they wanted, without triggering a war over the music. Not bad, I thought. Then I realized that this was not exactly safe because the guys could not hear anything outside of their own little bubble.

So, in the end, I had to prohibit those too. I'm sure everyone wrote it off to my being an "old curmudgeon.” But really, I just wanted my employees to focus on the work and be safe.

D.D.