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How common are server issues and other technical problems that result in downtime? (sm)

Posted By: tired mt on 2006-03-09
In Reply to:

Do you get compensated for your downtime?  I'm thinking of going to work for a national, but I've heard there are a lot of technical issues at these bigger companies.  True?


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server issues
I work for a large national and we have servers down, programs down, instand messager down pretty often.  And, no we get paid nothing for downtime even when it's the company's fault.  Really sucks! 
Unless you consider the downtime necessary to MT. sm
In other words, I can't transcribe hour after hour without breaks. With QA, you may not need nearly so many breaks. Also, MT work tends to run out with my company, but QA doesn't quite as often. So with MT there's also that sitting around, checking for work trickling in, which really is work because you're bound to that computer.

When you count these downtimes with MT and take them into account when figuring what you actually make per hour, QA probably comes ahead.
Then wouldnt' they owe you downtime pay since it was
THEIR equipment failure and not yours?
Hourly - think about downtime and
if that account moves to VR one day....
If all the downtime was due to maintenance, (sm)
could you please arrange that it's done during non-peak hours, for as you can see, many MTs have posted how much they rely on this site while working. It only makes sense to do upgrades, etc. during off-peaks. Most of the IT people I deal with have no problem working graveyard shift -- it goes hand-in-hand with the business.
Estimated downtime for hernia surgery?
I have a large ventral hernia that needs repair and am trying to determine how much I have to save to see me through the disability period...have any MTs had similar procedures who could tell me approximately how long you were not able to work?  Thanks for any input. 
Use your computer downtime for medical research (sm)

First, this is not spam.  I am just a QA who found the below projects.  It is called BOINC, and the purpose is for home users to allow their CPU and memory to be utilized as a "supercomputer" for the purpose of medical and other research projects.  It runs on parameters you set in terms of when it can run, etc.  I have been using it for a week and it does not slow my system down at all.  Why not use that downtime for projects such as AIDS and cancer research?


Here are the links:


http://boinc.bakerlab.org/rosetta


You can also Google BOINC to find a list of projects.


my company pays downtime for conf calls...

Paid downtime vs unpaid slow time - sm

Do MTSOs, nationals, usually pay for downtime for employees?  If so, what has been your experience - ever received downtime? your company's policy, i.e., pay for two days downtime?


Also, as an employee for a nat'l, if you have a set schedule, what do you do when very little work comes in, for example one dictation/hour?  At what point do you cut out?  I'm new to working for a national and this has happened a lot lately - I know, the holidays.  If there is little work, I usually only stay connected for two hours, let me sup. know, and call it a day. 


I swear, sometimes I hate this industry!!  Any other company, at least in my state, if there is no work, as an employee, you still get paid or after a certain period, you get unemployment...something!


I did exactly what you did and had the same sorry result

I came down with repetitive stress injury after typing for hours each day for years. Now after an hour of typing my fingers are sore and stiff. I went to DNS for the same reason, did the Know-brainer, got the excellent mike and trained the a** of the thing - after months, I still could not get any production out of it. I can type circles around the thing-- except I can't type! Furthermore, the thing is so touchy, requires frequent re-boots to get quality production, and I would have to redo my dictationary every three months because of a **known** glitch in the system. Then the thing has to hear the whole sentence and think to make sure it gets context right-- you are dictating the next sentence while it is posting the previous sentence and you're trying to do both at the same time. hated it.


VR done by other companies uses the Dragon platform but then changes the software so that edits are easy - not the bulky, slow, fingers off the keys editing that DNS has. Our hospital had the radiologists go to Dictaphone's Powerscribe and in 30 days they were doing all their own dictation without ANY editing by MTs. So depends on the platform. VR definitely works.


what is the result if you make the same
checking on a free AV?
As long as your end result is verbatim, it should be up to you how you get there! nm
..
Actually, the testing is a direct result of...SM
all of the schools and training programs out there that don't begin to teach a person what they need to know to be able to do this work. People come out of the training programs and think they are ready to go to work, but in reality they haven't got a clue. The only way to weed through these people is to require testing to be sure the person being hired can actually do the work. That's the long and the sort of it, in my opinion.
I agree I learned more as a result of the
I never worked on production back in the olden days, though. I was always paid hourly at my in-house positions. I never received production pay until I went home to work. It's a whole new mindset, and I believe wholeheartedly in using whatever tools are at my disposal to increase productivity. However, I'm very glad to have learned the old-fashioned way, too.
And the result is like a Catch-22. Clients/MTSOs

so they turn to alternatives like offshore or VR.  But they don't look far enough to see that the root cause of not enough experienced MTs is because the experienced don't want to stay in a sinking ship.  I think they feel that using the excuse that lack of experienced MTs validates them turning to cheaper alternatives, which in turn, makes the ship sink even further.


Think it's a result of that darn "vote-for-the-worst" sm
group that is skewing all the results. Wish that site could be abolished.
Sage advice. Consequences would result in being out of the loop
But I can live with that.
The result of MTs' efforts to make a living wage are (sm)
And of COURSE we don't want less - we DO want more. That goes without saying. But you see - the type of verbal attack that you and other "Debbie Downers" like you launch every time an MT says, "Wait a minute... maybe there IS something we can do is so typical of the type of thinking that holds not just MTs, but women in general back. I have already checked and made sure my doc's MTSO doesn't offshore. If that changes, my ins. (which is just your average, run-of-the-mill HMO) STILL allows me to go to other providers. If you "don't have many options", have you ever wondered WHY? Could it be that you keep SETTLING for less and less? And could it be that other MTs, when they read the gloom and doom in your post, will think THEY have to settle, too?

As for pulling other endeavors out of other nations, hey - there are quite a few that I think others would LOVE to see pulled out. Such as tech help for just about everything from your PC to your cellphone being sent to places where they can't understand what you're trying to tell them, and vice versa. I have a friend with a Masters degree in software engineering who is working menial jobs right now in order to pay the rent, while he looks for a job in his field that is a full-time, benefitted position, rather than as a part-time IC with no benefits. He says even the part-time jobs are getting hard to find because so many employers are sending EVERYTHING out, including part time.



The old, "Go ahead and try! Why don't you quit MT? Oh, boy - more work for ME!" song and dance may fly for a while, but why sit back and seemingly enjoy watching your profession go extinct, when eventually it WILL affect you, too? Do you really want to sit there all day as an "editor" and stare at work typed by other entities? How boring is that? Where is any ounce of creatitivity? At least when you transcribe, you are producing something of value, and can take pride in it. And at a lousy 3-to-6 cents a line, where is the pride in speech-rec or editing work?




Anyone had a positive result of posting a resume through this site?sm

Once again, I am on the lookout for another service because work load is starting to slow down.  Quite frankly, I'm a bit scared!  We had no work for many days starting about this time last year, and it looks as if that cycle is starting again.  I was just wondering if anyone would suggest I post my resume here.


 


This board's image problem is the result of complaining MTs.

--should become the new logo.


Once had an ESL cardiologist who dictated every lab result done during hospital stay
and even the normal ranges for each test!!! 45 minutes long and of course it was a PRIORITY/STAT.. yeah right
If you google the phrase "Letterman sign" it is the fifth result listed ... sm
It seems to be the same thing as the Terry-Thomas sign. It was new to me, too.
Offshoring to India is the direct result of declining quality

being produced by American MTs.  The declining quality being produced is the direct result of inexperienced, under-educated MTs being churned out by these online MT schools.


If Joint Commission audits and finds "patient care" errors it can result in very...
...serious fines and repercussions. 
Common phrases. LOTS of common phrases, just like ops. SM

pser = the patient was seen in the emergency room


wwd= the wound was dressed


Just two tiny examples. People need to learn to use their Expander programs. I'd be making like $10 per hour without mine. I also work in a job where I do the work type I do best. That's very important. I would imagine (don't know for sure) that H&Ps and DSs have the most lines (I work on a gross line count) but you have to think more, look up more, and type more to get those lines.


I have everything magicked in there. That's the way I like it, that's the only way I will work.


 


LAW WITH REGARD TO UNPAID TRAINING, UNPAID WAIT TIME, DOWNTIME, ETC.

I was doing some research and just thought I would share it here. 


----------


http://en.allexperts.com/q/Employment-Law-924/2008/3/unpaid-training.htm


Question
I'm a part time security officer.  The contract is changing hands where i work (large corporate facility)...the location stays the same but a new company takes over the new contract next week.  The incoming company has advised everyone that they must attend a mandatory unpaid training class.  Is this legal?


Answer


Expert: Shirley McAllister, CPP, PHR
Date: 3/28/2008
Subject: unpaid training


It is not legal.



Here is the ruling from the Department of Labor Website at


http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs22.pdf


Lectures, Meetings and Training Programs: Attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs and similar activities need not be counted as working time only if four criteria are met, namely: it is outside normal hours, it is voluntary, not job related, and no other work is concurrently performed.


Since the meetings are not voluntary you must be paid to attend them.


FURTHER:


29 CFR 785.27 - General.
Attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs and similar activities need not be counted as working time if the following four criteria are met:
(a) Attendance is outside of the employee's regular working hours;
(b) Attendance is in fact voluntary;
(c) The course, lecture, or meeting is not directly related to the employee's job; and
(d) The employee does not perform any productive work during such attendance.


IF THE ABOVE 4 CRITERIA ARE NOT MET, THEN THE EMPLOYEE MUST BE PAID FOR THE TRAINING/MEETING TIME.


29 CFR 785.28 - Involuntary attendance.
Attendance is not voluntary, of course, if it is required by the employer. It is not voluntary in fact if the employee is given to understand or led to believe that his present working conditions or the continuance of his employment would be adversely affected by nonattendance.
__________________


ICs and unpaid trainings:


http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59022


----------------


FURTHER
(FROM http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/hoursworked/screen1d.asp)


Waiting for Work
Time which an employee is required to be at work or allowed to work for his or her employer is hours worked. A person hired to do nothing or to do nothing but wait for something to do or something to happen is still working. The Supreme Court has stated that employees subject to the FLSA must be paid for all the time spent in "physical or mental exertion (whether burdensome or not) controlled or required by the employer and pursued necessarily and primarily for the benefit of the employer of his business."


Place of Work
Hours worked include all the time during which an employee is required or allowed to perform work for an employer, regardless of where the work is done, whether on the employer’s premises, at a designated work place, at home or at some other location.
------------


DOL.GOV, WAGE AND HOUR OFFICES:


Having trouble finding your answer on our website?


Call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free help line:
1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243)
TTY: 1-877-889-5627
Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time


 


FTP Server

Can anyone tell me what FTP Server is, and how I can find out what type I have.


 


Thanks


FTP Server
Does anyone know who might rent space on an FTP server?
FTP server
I have been using an FTP server since 2001. There was absolutely no cost (as I said above I found the software on a free site as it was new). The FTP server software is located on my computer so a webpage is not needed. They upload to that computer from their office by plugging the recorder in. Once plugged in, it automatically connects to my server and uploads. Not difficult at all.
You are most likely on their server.

I need some help on the technical

Technical help please......
I work in Word 2003 and am needing to make headers in some of my reports with the following information (page #, patient name, date and report type).  My problem is that the page number stays the same (#2) for all pages and when I go into change it all pages change.  I know there is something with "sections" and all that, but I'm just not getting it to work.  How can I make a header with the numbers to change from page 2 to page 3 and so on?  Thanks for the help guys!
Technical help
I'm really lousy in the technical department and I just got a message on my computer that my local C disc space is almost full.  I'm thinking I need to empty my recycle bin, but not sure.  It is quite full, as I type the reports in Word and send through Outlook Express.  Is that what this means?  Any help is greatly appreciated.
No, no technical available. Need to have something set up by sm
late fall. Thanks for the help.
either your ISP is not working or MQ server is down.
Call tech support.  They may need to reset your ID.  Right now I'm on DQS.
My expansions on MQ's server
Conditions at my local MQ ofc have deteriorated to the point where I am ready to throw in the towel and look elsewhere.  My question:  I am using my own computer.  Is it possible to retrieve/print out my Expanders and shortcuts that I made up myself before I leave.  I've only worked for MQ, and imagine I've accumulated over 2000 of these shortcuts.   I know they are on my hard drive, but I have no program that will enable me to access them.  Does anyone know of any such animal?  Secondarily, has anyone ever left one MQ ofc for another, or just plain asked to be switched to other accounts.  TIA
Server problems
We have the same issue on our hospital lines using Citrix.  Too many people on and it gets really slow, locks up, and kicks us off.  Every time they work on Cerner or Citrix I have problems. 
Silly me. It is the server. Still would like
asdf
I don't believe this is a secure server.

Having said that, if you encrypt any files BEFORE uploading to their server, you should be OK. There is a webpage where you can ask specific questions--the link is below.


Call in server
We are looking for a call in system for a couple of doctors. Does anyone know of a place that will rent space on one? or any suggestions?
In the technical world
the quality of the parts that comprise one computer is no longer a deciding factor, because they are all designed and manufactured by only a few companies that are world class manufacturers. It's the service that counts. If you get good service (including after sales service) then go for that company. Check, too, the available hardware that are offered in both companies that you are considering. If the local co. has everything that Dell or Gateway has to offer and also give you good service, then go for the local.

I bought mine from Best Buy and gets good service from the pc manufacturer.
Need pop up help on technical board -- thanks!
nm
Need help on technical board
nm
I have a question on the technical help
board please ASAP.  TIA
Can you help on Technical board? nm
d
MS word technical help
I type on ExText using MS word 97, and starting yesterday the spellchecker keeps picking up the words "as" and "is" as misspelled words. I even checked MS Word outside of the ExText forum, and it still picks out these 2 words. I keep hitting "add" to add the words so they will not keep coming up, but every time I start a new document, back it comes. Anyone with any ideas on how to permanently add these to my spellchecker so I don't have to keep dealing with this? thanks!
I have a technical question
I'm thinking about getting a new computer, and I think I recall seeing that a lot of companies' platforms aren't compatible with Windows Vista. Is this true, and if so, what do you do in that case. Cause it's not like you can buy a new computer with an old Windows system on. What do you do in this case?
that would be technical - normally I can spell!

technical question
Try core FTP lite.  I have used it and it is pretty easy once you get it configured.  Just drag and drop files from the left side of the screen tothe right
No coffee yet this morning. You said it was on the server.
On the one hand, if it's on the server and not on your computer, perhaps your supervisor only has it installed to make sure nobody is hacking the system.  Maybe your supervisor doesn't even know it's there, but I doubt that.  I'd want to be sure it didn't get on my computer, but you sound savvy since you're already running anti-spyware software.  How would I feel knowing my supervisor was spying on me?  Well, I have nothing to hide.  I would never do anything I shouldn't be doing on her server.  Then again, I'm not some infant hacker that needs to be monitored.  (I'm not a hacker at all, for that matter!  LOL  Oy....Where's the java?)  Most of my former employers used to monitor what we did with our computers with regard to email and the Internet.  I have nothing to hide, but if they can't trust me, they can bite me.
Curious about a server as our office is getting one

Is the main reason to get a server to monitor employees on the internet? I know there are bound to be other reasons, but our boss is getting a server for our office and says that is the reason. He's a real jerk, by the way. He didn't even want any of us to have email. He really doesn't want us working in the 21st Century mode and he is a computerophobic! I'm curious as to all the advantages of a company having their own server. He tried to take the internet off my computer because "you are the only one doing transcription (PHI) on the computer" which was bull in itself, but he's afraid of "someone getting into our info" even though we have protection.