You really should watch a manhole entrance get replaced
June 29, 2022 11:29 AM   Subscribe

This German video of a manhole cover replacement [SLYT] is surprisingly soothing in a kind of How It's Made / Slow TV way, even for those who don't speak the language. (Content Warning: efficient and methodical; discussion of DIN standards)
posted by majick (21 comments total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
my god how long had that cameraman been stuck down there
posted by gwint at 11:53 AM on June 29, 2022 [7 favorites]


I was part of the group that set up Chile's exhibit at the Hannover Fair in '99.
We flew out from Chile to Germany in a group of about 10 architects and designers plus 6 carpenters/handymen.
Chilean construction workers are notorious for not being very efficient or precise, using a lot of shims (which we call suples) and often 'presenting' parts (ie: putting them where they go and marking them) before cutting them instead of actually measuring them. This makes for a slow workflow, where things often have to be taken down and fixed because they don't quite fit.
So, we had been in Hannover for a month, working on a series of stands, basically wooden kiosks, and were making slow progress.
The other part of the exhibit was a much larger, more complex, three-story-tall wood and metal building.
The German contractors who were setting it up arrived on a Monday. They had every single piece already measured, cut, and labeled. They had all sorts of very specific tools to tighten this, insert that, etc. They moved in, no wasted movements, knowing where everything went and what to do with it.
They had their building up and ready in three days. It towered over the unfinished, little wooden stalls we'd labored on for a month as a testament to German efficiency.
posted by signal at 12:30 PM on June 29, 2022 [19 favorites]


That was interesting and about something I've never really considered before. I will be looking at all the manholes around here in future, to check if they 1) have ventilation holes 2) are within 5mm of the road surface.
posted by scorbet at 12:38 PM on June 29, 2022 [4 favorites]


I was aghast, tho, at the lack of the respirator use while cutting the road surface. That shit is really bad for you to breathe.
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:01 PM on June 29, 2022 [7 favorites]


Pepsi-Kola Blau
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 1:15 PM on June 29, 2022 [1 favorite]


I was aghast, tho, at the lack of the respirator use while cutting the road surface. That shit is really bad for you to breathe.

They were a bit hit and miss on their PPE, but to their credit they also spent about as much time sweeping up the job site as they did installing.
posted by Dip Flash at 1:18 PM on June 29, 2022 [4 favorites]


I love the rubber insert design, and the jackhammer seemed unusually quiet. Maybe because asphalt is soft and there isn't concrete just below the surface.
posted by rhizome at 1:36 PM on June 29, 2022


...within 5mm? Lately around here I'm lucky if the manhole is within 25mm of grade in new construction. _5_ mm? That sounds like crazy talk.
posted by Kyol at 1:36 PM on June 29, 2022 [3 favorites]


The automatic captions transcribe the saw and the compacter as [applause] and [laughter], so I'm picturing the sitcom audience that's watching this. They're having a good time.
posted by echo target at 1:45 PM on June 29, 2022 [12 favorites]


"It towered over the unfinished, little wooden stalls we'd labored on for a month as a testament to German efficiency."

Let's be fair to you, though: the German group had to build one thing, even if it was a tall thing. Your group built a bunch of things.
posted by majick at 3:03 PM on June 29, 2022


Well, yes, but theirs had, like, stairs and doors and windows and electrical outlets. Ours was a bunch of kiosks.
posted by signal at 3:42 PM on June 29, 2022


"Ah, German precision. It makes me as happy as a little girl... Would you like to touch my manhole... cover?... Touch it. Looooove it! Liebe meinen Mann-Loch-Abdeckung!! " (bad translation intended) Your video has become tiresome. Now is the time on Mëtafiltür when we dance..."
posted by zaixfeep at 3:43 PM on June 29, 2022 [3 favorites]


I'm also pretty sure theirs was up to code, whereas we got severely chewed out for a neon sign that gave one of my coworkers an electrical shock. Of course, we found out at the same time that the Messe wasn't up to code in ambulance accessibility, so they sort of let it slide.
posted by signal at 3:44 PM on June 29, 2022 [1 favorite]


It's like they had a plan, knew what they were doing in advance, brought all the required parts and tools with them, and followed a set procedure. Here in Central Asia that is like voodoo or something.
posted by Meatbomb at 3:53 PM on June 29, 2022 [4 favorites]


Germanhole
posted by anazgnos at 3:55 PM on June 29, 2022 [3 favorites]


Even if you don't speak German, turn on the captions and you can read along pretty well. Unlike English, German has straightforward pronunciation rules, so what you read is what you hear/say.
posted by zardoz at 4:18 PM on June 29, 2022 [1 favorite]


Love a good maintenance montage. Clapped for myself when I heard them say the German word for "asphalt" and was like, ah, yes, that's the German word for asphalt.
posted by cortex at 4:34 PM on June 29, 2022 [4 favorites]


People might like the: Practical Engineering - YouTube channel. Civil Engineering, more why and explanation than construction porn.

This is pretty much just repetitious workflow. They've done this dozens of times and will do the same thing tomorrow. Though they did probably pick a good crew for the commercial filming aspect of things.
posted by zengargoyle at 5:56 PM on June 29, 2022 [1 favorite]


If you like watching Germans put things together efficiently then a team making a (prefabricated and rather costly) Hanse Haus will be for you. The shell of the house goes up in 1 or exceptionally 2 days. Note the shot of the guy painting the assembled interior ceilings with the help of special stilts.
posted by rongorongo at 3:42 AM on June 30, 2022


This is pretty much just repetitious workflow. They've done this dozens of times and will do the same thing tomorrow. Though they did probably pick a good crew for the commercial filming aspect of things.

Additionally, this appears to be a sales/promotional video from the manhole cover manufacturer, so that explains the actual production values.
posted by mikelieman at 5:02 AM on June 30, 2022


All their PPE being branded the same is a give away. No one not eating their own dog food is that dedicated to a single supplier.
posted by Mitheral at 5:55 AM on July 22, 2022


« Older Where are all the assheads?   |   Viva Terlingua? Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments