OT IT Depts

Jezz

Member
Jezz
Join Date
Dec 2002
Location
Kendal
Posts
399
<RANT>

How come when you ask IT to do a job they turn up late ,install what they think you want ,not what you asked for and then panic and run away if it's not a standard Microsoft product .

Then when the system locks up because they used the wrong name for the computer so your data base won't connect ,some how that now becomes my problem as they have gone home (didn't tell any one just went home) any when you finally give up because they have all the OS disks so you can't start again (to sort out their ***k-up).You then contact the IT help desk and have to pester them every day to get a response ,and now 4 days later your still sat next to a dead server wondering if it's ever going to work again.

If I worked like that I'de be picking up my P45 and looking for another job :mad: :mad:

</RANT>
 
I don't think I've ever heard of a good Engineering / IT relationship. Most IT departments are too "office" minded and don't understand that it's got to run, run all the time and no we can't go home and wait till Monday to get it going. Yet, they want ultimate control of everything on the network!

When I get time, I'm drawing a Dilbert cartoon with the caption "Today the network - tomorrow the world!!"
 
Here at the plant I am at, we have developed a good relationship. I have admistrative rights and access to all that I need. They understand that they haven't got a clue about what I do, so they give me full control. But we have offices right next to the IT and are part of IT, so I think we have a better setup than most.


David
 
May be we need some process guys/gals to change careers and become IT guys/gals? So that they will attack system problems with the urgency that is handed down to us, uh.

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Must Play Nice With Others

davidg68124 said:
Here at the plant I am at, we have developed a good relationship. I have admistrative rights and access to all that I need. They understand that they haven't got a clue about what I do, so they give me full control. ...

David
Click to expand...
You need to get ITs respect for what you do and that you can even do some of "their work" so they see a benefit in releasing some of their control. As David mentioned, typically they don't have a clue what you are doing but you need to have access to a "utility" they provide - the Plant LAN. Yes, that's all a LAN is these days, just like the water and electrical line run throughout the plant. They may hold the purse strings of what PC gear can be acquired to allow "Plant PC Standardization", so work with them to make both your jobs easier.

When I find I need more memory in the standard PC I control, I request IT to purchase it and then I spend 5 minutes installing it instead of the 30 minutes it would take them to come out to the plant floor, arrange a time to shut the PC down to not disrupt production, and then the 5 minutes to install the memory. For doing this small task, I can be rewarded with perks such as static IP addresses instead of the "DHCP addresses that every PC must be set up as for accessing the company's LAN".

If they flunked kindergarden and don't play well with others, use the "Production will be impacted because of what you are doing and the boss will want to know why IT caused this to happen". Doesn't take more than one of these occurances to let IT know that you can play hardball when required. We just talked with the network guru this morning because LAN communications in part of the Plant has been getting flaky recently. With a little dialog, he admitted that he was having problems with that server (which was getting old) and he would work on getting it replaced in the next month.

Once you start working together, it's amazing how fast you can be given the main administrator password and even where to find and get access to OS system files that are buried somewhere on the network that normal users do not have access to. If you make life easier for IT, they will be your friends.
 
Here at the plant I am at, we have developed a good relationship. I have admistrative rights and access to all that I need. They understand that they haven't got a clue about what I do, so they give me full control. But we have offices right next to the IT and are part of IT, so I think we have a better setup than most.
Click to expand...

I have a similar situation. Working together is the only way to go in the future. IT Integration is only going to increase in the future. This is an area most companies have not addressed.

Try to explain your concerns to them. If that doesn't work then go through your boss. Either way they need to understand your needs, and you need to understand their concerns as well.
 
juice76 said:
I don't think I've ever heard of a good Engineering / IT relationship.
Click to expand...

We have a great relashionship with our IT department, though I have to admit the change in management on the IT side helped a great deal.

When it comes to 'our' PC's, we buy, we setup and put them on the network, the only input our IT department have is issueing the IP address.

It wasn't always that way, but a few middle management heads being bangs together by 'upper' management got the right results, plus the incompetent IT manager being replaced.

Paul
 
Jezz said:
<RANT>

How come when you ask IT to do a job they turn up late ,install what they think you want ,not what you asked for and then panic and run away if it's not a standard Microsoft product .

</RANT>
Click to expand...

Could it be because they are Bill Gates wanabes. :D

Work with the local guys. Allow them to impress you. Then show them some of your cool stuff. Sooner or later, out of the blue, they'll say hey, "Here's a username and password, but only for emergencies."

Two things you can about bet on:

1. They smoke.
2. They drink coffee.

Support these habits. Keep a fresh pot, and a pack of smokes handy. When they start squirmin' offer relief. Oh yeah, if they are any good, they like to work late at night.

This appoach sure works better than bitting their heads off, and letting them know how much they don't know. Hell, they're computer geeks, they probably have the very same gripes about the policies they enforce.

At least they aren't production supervisors. ;)
 
Still sat next to a dead server, now there not answering emails. It used to be so simple when we had a IT guy on site (you had some one to shout at when it went wrong and they had to face you the day after) now if I'll lucky he'll be in site on Wednesday :confused: (didn't say which one) :mad: .
 
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