guilty by association - has this ever happened to you

hi all,

i just have to ask if this has happened to you.

we are having issues with some hydraulic pumps not holding up and we are replacing them frequently.

since i am the programmer for this project i want to see if its my program causing problems and to also make sure the logic is running the way it's supposed to. i want to do it right and make improvements if i find them.

issue #1
a pump burned up. bubba changes the code to do what he wants it to rather than call me. they replace pump and all is well for a week. i get a call at 8 pm about the same system and discover bubba's change. so i put the logic back so i can figure out what is going on. there was a contact left out of the logic and i inserted it to make things work correctly. this was only discovered when the pump burnt up.

so i have been keeping close tabs on the 2 machines for hydraulic / sensor problems like i felt i should.

i got called into the bosses office and he says i cannot connect to any of these machines without his permission because i have been creating problems (according to maintenance).

they say i have been johnny on the spot when something goes wrong or am walking by. every plant i have ever worked at has encouraged me to keep an eye on projects i work on and notify them when i find a potential problem. this helps them plan for the repairs if there is truely a problem. less downtime means more profits.

well not here! bubba has convinced management that i am creating the pboblems. i have been programming for over 20 years and have never ben told to stop doing my job.

Ranting a little, but i just wanted to know if this happens to anyone else?

regards,
james

Get used to it. It happens all the time. When they can't figure out what's wrong, people tend to assume that the part of the system they understand the least must be the cause of the problem. When you run into that, you'll find that the guy that says the program is causing the problem doesn't have to prove it. You have to prove the program is not the problem.
It's a lot like trial by ordeal. You tie a dozen concrete blocks to the programmer and throw him in the lake. If he's able to swim, he must be guilty so you kill him. If he drowns, oops, I guess he wasn't guilty after all. Tough break for him. Anybody know where we can find a new programmer?
There's also the "you touch it, you own it" syndrome. "Weren't you looking at the PLC last week? Well, the machine hasn't worked right since the fork truck driver backed into conveyor. What did you do to the program?"

Steve Bailey said:

Get used to it. It happens all the time. When they can't figure out what's wrong, people tend to assume that the part of the system they understand the least must be the cause of the problem.

Click to expand...

I second that.....as a matter of fact I believe that is one of the PLC laws.

I once replaced a faulty panelview and later that evening when they had problems with that machine I got a call before any troubleshooting had been done on the machine because the manager said I was working on it "with the laptop" earlier so it must be something I changed.

There were no changes made other than the physical screen. The problem was a cordset that got damaged by a technician during a changeover.

I am very careful about where I bring the magical laptop now.

Dave

osmanmomin, stop it. It is not helpful. Some one ban him if he continues.

Yes, this sort of thing happens. It happens out of ignorance because people don't know the real problem and are incapable of figuring out themselves. We see this all the time.

To Osmanmomin, I recommened:

http://www.despair.com/demotivators.html

Steve Bailey said:

To Osmanmomin, I recommened:

http://www.despair.com/demotivators.html

Click to expand...

Thanks, Steve that is awesome!!!

This happens to me all the time. Installed a new loading computer, when the control valve stuck open the loading computer was blamed. I told them to remove the wires from the FCV and then see what happened. The valve was still stuck open and they still were thinking the loading computer was the problem.

Are you a contractor? If so I would just take a hands off approach. Then when things still keep failing and Bubba has no one to blame it on it will be obvious that it isn't you.

Then when they call to have you fix anything you might just be "busy" for a few days. When I have a PITA customer that is how I handle it.

Steve Bailey said:

To Osmanmomin, I recommened:

http://www.despair.com/demotivators.html

Click to expand...

Good one, I will use it elsewhere, Thanks!

thanks everyone,

good to kno its not just me trying to be a professional and
help where i can.

i'm in the IT department.
degree in engineering technology.

so for now, its hands off, halt all work and let them have it.
life goes on.

regards,
james

Steve Bailey said:

When they can't figure out what's wrong, people tend to assume that the part of the system they understand the least must be the cause of the problem.

Click to expand...

Right on the money. Not just in automation but just about anything.

Steve Bailey said:

There's also the "you touch it, you own it" syndrome. "Weren't you looking at the PLC last week? Well, the machine hasn't worked right since the fork truck driver backed into conveyor. What did you do to the program?"

Click to expand...

This pretty much sums up my least favorite part of this business.

How many times have I spent hours chasing a bug that someone insists never happened before until now until to have the operator tell me a day later that it has been like that ever since it was installed.

Got one of those happening right now.

James Mcquade said:

thanks everyone,

good to kno its not just me trying to be a professional and
help where i can.

i'm in the IT department.
degree in engineering technology.

so for now, its hands off, halt all work and let them have it.
life goes on.

regards,
james

Click to expand...

Sometimes in situations like this your better off just moving on to somewhere else.

"Sometimes in situations like this your better off just moving on to somewhere else."

Right now i must stay where i'm at. just moved here 18 months ago and are just now getting back on my feet.

better half loves it here and i'm getting to terms with the new home. neighbors everywhere, at the other home, no neighbor for 1/4 mile and permission from all the neighbors to hunt.

regards,
james

You got to love when you touched it you own it. I showed the boss this at one company I was working for. He asked if I could prove it. So I put the processor in run and removed the Key. I set at the machine with my laptop working on another project. Every time the system stopped "Jeff stopped the system" is what was reported in the shift notes for down time.

JeffKiper said:

You got to love when you touched it you own it. I showed the boss this at one company I was working for. He asked if I could prove it. So I put the processor in run and removed the Key. I set at the machine with my laptop working on another project. Every time the system stopped "Jeff stopped the system" is what was reported in the shift notes for down time.

Click to expand...

funny but so true!
I started my carreer as a field technician and for my first outside job alone, i went to a site to do cleaning and tightening of connections for a specific power equipement. (Easy thing) During i was doing it, a big boom happened beside me on another MCC bucket...Someone came in, and ask me what i have done!!!?????Nothing about that but as a junior i couldn't convince the guy so he didn't believe me. As a good guy, I spent the rest of the day and free time friday evening to look at what i could have done wrong...(Fail)
Left the job around 11pm without any clue, got a call during weekend from my boss being upset because he get called from the customer etc...I almost got fired because of it. 6months after receiving boss warning everyday, the customer REP. got the information that a stupid electrician removed a blown motor and didn't lock the starter and twisted all 3 lines togheter while an operator didn't know and tried to start the equipement while i was there!!! No excuse from the customer obviously!
15 years later i remember it but i ran through manny others issues where i proved right away that i wasn't causing it!

The the OP unfortunately, if you cannot connect the pump burns to the removed line into the code, the only thing you can do is: nothing but waithing for few more pumps to burn and let the boss ask bubba why this is happening...

And from over the pond as well. I developed a thick skin to it. If I've been on site for a prolonged time I always leave a day or as long as possible not plugged in, or better still with the laptop in the bag just so they get the message it works fine.

--
(despair.com favourite)
Customer Service - We're not happy until you're not happy