cardosocea
Member
rdrast
Much of what you say is true but it goes beyond that.
I sat in a local GM plant and listened to two mechanical engineers try to size a gearbox for a conveyor. They called in a sales guy who was just that. He called the factory and they sized it over the phone. This was nothing special, just a 5hp conveyor.
I wanted to shout over the wall "HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A BROWNING CATALOGUE?"
The engineers didn't know and the sales rep didn't either.
Is that scary or what?
It is as scary as companies not accepting a mistake by their staff... have you considered that they don't want liability or risk their job or progression chances by ordering the wrong part?
They happen to make a mistake and boom... they're screwed. The sales guy makes a mistake or the guy over the phone sizing it and he has an excuse, they messed it up and therefore it's not his fault. I don't say I agree with it, but it's perhaps more a sign of corporate culture than it is of people knowing something or not.
Don't get me wrong, but having looked at certain catalogues (particularly Siemens switchgear and accessories) I wouldn't want to decide without actually having it in my own hands first to prove that everything fits correctly. A gearbox seems a slightly simpler example, but I'm not a mechanical engineer to say.