Sign Installer - Side Job at a Car Factory

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There are so many things that we totally take for granted. Everything that is made and manufactured in front of us is carefully designed and went through a whole crap loads of processes and certification, inspection...ect. Even as simple as a pencil.

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Today I would like to talk about my work experiences I had an opportunity to work with a friend who is the sign business. I helped him out install... at first I was thinking how hard can it be? Just a sign.... I dont think I will ever see a sign the same way as I did before. Its labor intensive, its dangerous, it needs some understanding of engineering (hanging installation),and its an honest work.

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For several months I have been lucky to get a side gig to design sign graphics and at the same time install them on site. I have learned designing signs is one thing but installing them... that was a whole different ball game all together.

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Coming from a corpo background this side gig literally reminded me that back in the jungle outside the umbrella of corpo is basically like fight club.

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The grind was for real... and it required real deal man power.

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I had no idea that signs were so labor intensive. There was a lot of work that had to go into Metal/Plastic Sheet Cutting & Bending, Painting, Electrical Wiring, and getting a Legal Permit.

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Sometimes during the summer it gets real hot too... from the weather and also from the heat the machines produce.

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All this time I never really thought about what happens after the design. Because in corpo your job is ultra specific and you just need to do that very well. When you are an entrepreneur you need to grind all gears from design all the way down to customer service. I was definitely up for the challenge however I didn't expect it to be so hardcore.

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Lets start off with how things go in the sign shop. This is the stage after the graphic design is complete and we are printing them or fabricating them into reality. A lot of designers miss this part but and it is labor intensive so designers don't want to do this. However I disagree, if you understand the craft of how things are made then with that experience you can design things that are much more efficient to manufacture and figure out ways to save cost in complex designs. At the same time manufacturing signs is a very dangerous job. Its not to be taken lightly.

After the signs are all prepped up, its time to head to the car factory!!!! Gear UP!!!

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Hanging that sign was seriously no joke you see below... and It was done by me and the other guy who is operating the Genie. From above I needed to use a rope to hold it in place as he bolted the sign into the metal panels. Wow... I was sweating so much. LOLZ

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The factory itself was amazing! So much metal... like literally there is huge body's of metal everywhere! It made me feel really small and weak.

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I was so surprised on how they made all this process automated with robotic arms. Yes that shit is real... I thought it was exaggerated movie stuff but no, it is as real as it can ever be.

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The first thing I noticed is a factory like this is absolutely huge. Its so big that I start to wonder how human civilization can organize and build such marvel. Its even not showing up in the photo of how big the machines and parts are to scale and they are scary big.

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I think some of the reason why I feel so insignificant and small is because in day to day life we dont usually see that huge size machined parts that are the size of elephants. A lot of the things we see at home is usually hand carriable, so it took some time for my brain to get used to.

Just take a look at that... Automation at its fullest and look at the complexity of it all. Crazy Amazing.
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Next the factory is so damn clean and well organized it can literally be a tourist attraction. When I enter the factory assembly line each car is attached to a rail and piece by piece the car is attached with more and more parts.

When the robotic arms start moving in... man... it feels like 2077 CyberPunk. The coordination of the robotic arms are so perfectly aligned it looks so smooth and meant to be. Its almost a dance even. Very inspiring and cool.

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The floorplan of the whole factory is designed for human safety as a priority. I can tell by first how clean they have the whole place so people wont slip and second there are so many signs and warnings on what to be careful of.

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These machines are so heavy duty it will squash a human as if were never there. And I dont think there will be much human left... The scale of the machines are really that big. I also think mainly because for the past 10 years I have been working on small mobile smartphones so the size difference when seeing an object kinda shocked me.

My overall experience with this was that installing signs is an honest work that really requires some brut strength. I have not worked in labor and this gig really has made to respect workers who work in this field. When I got home I was completely toast the first several gigs... however my body starts to get used to it as well so things got better and better.

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Sign business is a lot of hard work from design all the way to installation... I am very happy I got to experience it through my own eyes. I do remember one thing though... LUNCH TIME... the FOOD IS SO GOOD after you muscled your work through the day. Food never tasted so great.

Now comes the real question... Which brand is this factory?
Not sure if you guys knew, but its KIA. :)

Thanks for stopping by to view my blog post where I try to post interesting experiences of my life to share and entertain/learn/inspire. Hope I can bring more value on the next blog~
Set Da Tone!!!



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39 comments
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Nice one. I thought you were making cars, not signs!! lol

I would love to visit the BMW factory, hopefully I will go one day.

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Yup~~ anything goes at this point homie. Designers can't choose. LOLZ~
BMW Factory would be pretty cool~ This one was pretty impressive as well... if possible tag the kids along too. :)

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Hello! @wangster
You are posting through W.L! Wow!

I have seen those machines in the movie "Matrix". I never thought it can be real also.Your camera and the whole description say, it's natural.A robot can do the same in reality.😂😂

I am glad to see "W.L" is active now.I am thinking what should I post if I can..lol

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Hey bro~~
Yea I am trying to set some examples by posting some work stuff I did in the past. This one in particular was a side gig and I thought it would be pretty funny... cause man... I had no idea what the hell I was doing in the first few jobs. and If you have anything you want to add into don't hesitate~ Lets get to know one another through reading each others blog. :)

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Yeah sure man. Actually I thought the community W.L is in progress. So sorry..😂😂 already 31 members and people are sharing their stories.

What about the logo? Is it chosen?

Let me prepare my story of work life though it's insane.😂

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The logo is right smack even votes.... So I will leave what we have now and periodically change it I guess? Yea... that would be fair. :) I know it takes a lot of preparation to create something good however it will be worth it. It has lead me to meeting a lot of good people here.

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Firstly, I haven't been to an automobile factory before and I would love to see what assembling car would look like with those machines moving left and right.

I don't know much about sign making but my little experience as a worker in a printing press made me believe that it would be a stressful job. That's a lot of machine for the printing stuff, one actually looks like a machine called speed master, it can print multiple colors at a time.

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If you worked at a printing press then I think you can understand it a more better. I only knew about design from the screen. The rest was unknown till that side job.

If you have a chance to see one I would. The machines there are so enormous it gives you butterflies in your stomach. :)

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It is great fun experiencing jobs that others do as it does get you thinking as you are seeing it from another perspective. I am sure you saw some things that could improve your friends company even if they seem minuscule.

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You are absolutely right. There were things after the job I realized that can be done better. and some of them were finding the source of graphics they can use to make thier work more easier. At the same time I asked about the organization he is in and what he needs to play his cards when dealing with work politics. Its was good for both of us since I was seeing it in a different light. Your totally spot on. :)

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This is always the case and why it is good to ask certain friends who understand things to come check what you are doing as these are people you will take advice from and value their opinions.

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Man, I didn't experience it, but I visited a factory and everything was really big and the work was really hard. So I can understand you. I have a lot of respect for what the people who work here do. They certainly don't do anything easy. By the way, it's true that if you work hard, you get hungry and the food tastes better. Bon appetit and Set Da Tone!

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The hunger is true right?? So its not just me. Yea I knew it! I remember telling my friends and family food was tasting better lately and at the time I was even gaining weight!~ yup we gotta respect them folks at the factory bro. Cheers

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It's %100 true man. When you work foods are more tasty. I experience it and approve it 🤣

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This is definitely not my area but it looks like a very cool playground.

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it was definitely not my area as well but I just did it anyway to get the "been there done that" badge. lolz

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I would do it as well as it's cool to do something that is out of the area of your interests or expertise 😀

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that really makes me feel alive sometimes. When doing something completely out of the ordinary.

nam sayin? :) hehehe. cheers

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Is this your current job or a job from the past ?
It's always interesting to do other types of work then you are used to do , it gives you better perspective of how things are done and how people think.

It could be a coincidence but i'm surprised not to see any sprinkler system in the factory pictures or fire extinquisher.

Physical work always makes you eat more , atleast that is my experience. 🍕

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This was a side job from the past 1.5 years ago. Hmmm I didnt notice any fire signs but I am sure they had to have it installed maybe its automatic robotic as well.?

Its true, that work has given me so much adrenaline I can clearly remember almost every step we took in hanging the big sign. and the way people talk is different too~ :) Not sound accent wise.... but more attitude personality wise they felt similar.

Food... yea I guess that makes sense. Tasty food was pretty cool. mmmmmmm taco's.

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I remember the days that i was gardening for the city of Amsterdam back in 1984-1985 i think it was never had issues with eating 6 sandwiches on lunch break , and now i hardly eat 2 .
I never liked taco's myself i prefer Gyros and Shoarma

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OOOHHhhhhh Goshh..... that looks so good. and those are not even easy to get in Taiwan if any.
True on the eating part. While I was there I had no problem eating more and now I can't eat as much and if I do I actually gain weight.
By the way did you make that? I can smell the tomatoes from here. mmmmmm

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no this image comes from wiki pedia , just had a rough night just woke up again , hate it when you are trying to sleep and your head goes down memory lane 😏

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I've never been in a car factory but I love watching the assembly process in videos. It would be a worthwhile experience if I can see the action in person. 😊

Thanks for sharing your experience and the photos.

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thanks for coming by and checking out my post. :) Its definitely different cause I used to watch them on TV as well but when you see in person the sense of scale becomes most noticable which TV cannot capture.

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Wow, what an experience this will stay with you forever. Modern car production lines are some seriously evolved systems indeed :)
Thanks for sharing in such great detail.

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Yes production capability has really came a long way and for automobiles it seems like they almost perfected it. I cannot imagine the planning that had to go through to create and build such construct. Therefore, I probably will remember it for a long time. :) Thanks

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Looking at the cars were lining up looking like a toys I can only wonder how big the factory is.
I think I will never see such a huge factory like that here in Bali. the island is quite small for that kind of factory. : )

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I think you enjoyed trying something new :) And the workout was probably good for your health too - even better than a gym?

!PIZZA !ALIVE !LUV

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Trying something new was pretty cool, but when there are muscles that you never used before.... wow the next several days the pain and ache is amazing!! Makes you feel alive... hhehehehehehe. Better than a gym? with fresh air outside along with some good sunshine~ yea I do think so. :)

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Considering both the good and the bad... Are you glad it's over?

!PIZZA !ALIVE !LUV

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