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jeeprubi · 02-28-2012, 09:06 PM

You don't have to be an engineer to appreciate this story.

A toothpaste factory had a problem: they sometimes shipped empty boxes, without the tube inside.
This was due to the way the production line was set up, and people with experience in designing
production lines will tell you how difficult it is to have everything happen with timings so precise that
every single unit coming out of it is perfect 100% of the time. Small variations in the environment
(which can't be controlled in a cost-effective fashion) mean you must have quality assurance checks
smartly distributed across the line so that customers all the way down to the supermarket don't get
pissed off and buy another product instead.

Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the
company together, and they decided to start a new project, in which they would hire an external
engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem, as their engineering department was already
too stretched to take on any extra effort.

The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, RFP, third-parties selected,
and six months (and $8 million) later they had a fantastic solution — on time, on budget, high quality and everyone in the project had a great time.

They solved the problem by using high-tech precision scales that would sound a bell and flash lights
whenever a toothpaste box weighed less than it should. The line would stop; someone would walk over
and yank the defective box off of it, pressing another button when done to re-start the line.

A while later, the CEO decides to have a look at the Return On Investment of the project: amazing results!
No empty boxes ever shipped out of the factory after the scales were put in place. Very few customer complaints, and they were gaining market share. That's some money well spent! – he said, before looking closely at the other statistics in the report.

It turns out, the number of defects picked up by the scales was 0 after three weeks of production use.
It should have picked up at least a dozen a day, so maybe there was something wrong with the report.
He requested an inquiry, and after some investigation, the engineers come back saying the report was
actually correct. The scales really weren't picking up any defects, because all boxes that got to that point in the conveyor belt were good.

Puzzled, the CEO traveled down to the factory, and walked up to the part of the line where the precision
scales were installed. A few feet before the scale, there was a cheap desk fan, blowing the empty boxes
out of the belt and into a bin.

Oh, that, says one of the workers — one of the guys put it there 'cause, he was tired of walking over
every time the bell rang."

Bill M · 02-28-2012, 09:34 PM

Great Story.

I sent a copy to my son in engineering school with a reminder to keep it simple.

thanks, Bill

Muddypaws · 02-28-2012, 09:54 PM

As Robert Heinlein wrote way back in the 50's. Laziness is the true mother of invention.

Lukeaa · 02-28-2012, 10:15 PM

I love this story. It is sooooo Silicon Valley.

Arch Hoagland · 02-28-2012, 10:35 PM

Probably true.

Wizard · 02-29-2012, 06:30 AM

All of my years as a technician that worked on these type of systems, the one thing I remember most about my training:

ALWAYS ASK THE OPERATORS FIRST " WHATS GOING ON ?"

Too many techs assumed they knew the problem before they arrived.

If you can't fix it quickly, git a bigger hammer

Arch Hoagland · 02-29-2012, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wizard

All of my years as a technician that worked on these type of systems, the one thing I remember most about my training:

ALWAYS ASK THE OPERATORS FIRST " WHATS GOING ON ?"

Too many techs assumed they knew the problem before they arrived.

If you can't fix it quickly, git a bigger hammer

I repaired computers for 40 years and I agree with you. I always asked the operator or customer what they thought the problems was. They spent all day with the equipment and knew it's particular quirks and would notice any subtle changes, etc.

Lukeaa · 02-29-2012, 01:07 PM

I saw somewhere recently that if you can not fix the problem with a hammer, then it must be an electrical problem.

Dunner · 02-29-2012, 06:07 PM

Many years ago, when AT&T installed a diesel generator, they went to test it. They killed commercial power and the generator fired right up as expected. A minute later, it died.

The investigation found that the fuel pump was connected to commercial power. Duh!

Muddypaws · 03-01-2012, 09:51 AM

Remember when California had those 'rolling blackouts'. At the time I worked at the 'Electric Power Research Institute', or EPRI for short. During one of the blackouts the local and national media descended upon EPRI to demand an explanation. (We knew it was totally political but that's another story)

EPRI had diesel backup generators that were tested every month and they never had a problem. Until now. The generators ran out of fuel exactly as the president of the institute was meeting with the collected media.

Why? What they never tested was the shutdown of the generators when grid power was restored. So the previous weeks blackout started them and they were never shut off. They ran for several days and NOBODY thought it odd that they were running.

On top of that, they guy who's job it was to manage the fuel purchase and delivery had been laid off 6 months before.

It was a strange place to work but it was in a great location. I had a window office with a view of the rolling hills of Palo Alto and the bay. But even at that I didn't make it a full year.

wa8yxm · 03-02-2012, 09:44 AM

I love that "Ran out of fuel" story.. Sounds like a government job.

Lay off the man who's job it is to prevent a problem.. Then .. Well, you can expect said problem to happen.

I have shot a few problems in Government jobs in the past. Alas, I'm not retired.

(had a few more I'd have liked to shot but they don't give guns to dispatchers, and they were taken care of in the due corse of time by more natural means anyway)

Dick Noble · 03-02-2012, 11:20 AM

I watched this true story on TV - A manufacturing firm was building a collar from metal to go over a bearing surface. Due to a computer error all the collars were just a bit to small to fit the surface. It was going to cost millions to fix until one fellow on the line said to give him till tomorrow morning to see if he could fix the problem.

Come early morning and the guy was pressing the collars on without any problem. Asked how he did it he replied "I put the bearing surface in the freezer and that solved that problem".

Windy City · 03-02-2012, 11:44 AM

I thought engineers were the people who drove trains?

Dick Noble · 03-02-2012, 01:19 PM

wa8yxm - I've worked in non-governmental and governmental jobs. I've found idiots in both. I really can't see why folks keep saying bad things about government employees. Near as I can see, it is about the same. I've worked for union and non-union, same thing - about the same % of idiots.

The way I look at it is: we are all people of color - some more than others. We are all mentally retarded - some more than others. We are all mentally ill - some more than others, etc.