*FUN* Tall Tales Told to System Integrators

[dchartier]

Hello Aikona;

Parkinson's law has been guiding my appreciation of high-level administrators since I was a young(ish) man:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=613742&mesg_id=622437
Regards,
Daniel Chartier

 

[Leadfoot]

I always get a chuckle when I ask the operators, "what were you doing when it went down?".

Typical response, NOTHIN'.

Me: OK, I won't tell your boss but you should have been running the machine, right?

Operator: Well yeah, but I wasn' doin' nothin'.

Me: Did you turn it on and set a speed?

Operator: Of course I did.

Me: That's the problem, you tried to use the machine instead of doing NOTHING.

Operator: Blank Stare.

 

[ToolGuyFred]

Pfffftttttttt! I get that from my own management. It is not uncommon around here for the mechanical group to spend a month on the project and then when they pack up the welders and wrenches, I'm expected to have the thing running before I go home that night.

Typical where I used to work was a project plan showing one week for "load program, debug and develop machine" which was followed by customer snagging starting on Monday the following week. The mechanical guys would overrun and hand over the machine to the control department sometime on Friday afternoon - so my week on the machine was a weekend - and in a staff position with no overtime pay for the weekends I lost. A character-building experience, then.

 

[cntrlfrk]

The mechanical guys would overrun and hand over the machine to the control department sometime on Friday afternoon - so my week on the machine was a weekend - and in a staff position with no overtime pay for the weekends I lost. A character-building experience, then.

I think this is standard procedure, atleast where I work.

Most production personel just can't grasp the fact that once the mechanical work is done and everything looks complete, the automation and controls still need a thorough checkout.

I once told a project manager that they didn't need to worry about my end of the project, I would be ready whenever they were, as long as it wasn't during my vacation to Hawaii, which was 6 months off (project was scheduled to be complete in 4 months)

Of course the project was delayed several times and guess what, start-up was scheduled during my 10 day vacation, planned a year in advance, with mechanical delays of over 2 months, but now it was my fault if this was going to be pushed back another 10 days.

It was suggested more than a couple times that I re-schedule my vacation. I refused (all tickets and arrangements made as part of a college football game travel group) But I did promise them I would take my lap-top and provide support from Hawaii.

Luckily, the extra 2 months gave me more than enough time to double, and triple check all logic and HMI screens, plus the instrumentation was all Foundation Fieldbus, and the project started up almost flawlessly.

Upon return, the plant manager was celebrating the large success of the 'on-time' start-up, and the company didn't subtract the 10 days vacation from my allotted vacation since they considered me to be working...remotely. I was 'working remotely' alright, very remotely, in a lounge chair with a Mai Tai in my hand.

Thank God for thorough preparation.

 

[katratzi]

Pfffftttttttt! I get that from my own management. It is not uncommon around here for the mechanical group to spend a month on the project and then when they pack up the welders and wrenches, I'm expected to have the thing running before I go home that night.

- ChuckM



the above quote is SO true! it usually happens to me the day I am supposed to leave to go on vacation.