I had the idea for a tool at my company, now they are making it without me

[movingamountain]

Hi all, I have been working on a tool for my company that handles a specific task our company runs into often related to PLC's. This is a tool I have been making in my spare time (never on the clock), and I would say it's about 70% complete.

About a year ago, I presented this tool to my manager and he seemed somewhat interested but there wasn't much follow-up. He asked me to follow up with another department and seemed to more or less brush it aside. At that time the tool was only about 10% complete so I developed it in my spare time as a hobby and a challenge. Today it sits at around 70% complete, within striking distance of being finished.

This week I randomly received a meeting invite to work with somebody from another department, whose task is essentially to create the same tool I have already made (or partially made). It seems like the ideas he had (was given) were very similar to the ideas I presented in that meeting a year ago, though maybe I was not the only person to have these ideas.

I'm not upset that the company has decided to make their version of this tool, but I guess I would like to use the one I have made thus far and receive some compensation or recognition for it, because I am a selfish human being and want to be recognized for my hard work. Besides that, I have just spent a lot of time on it and would like some kind of "attaboy" instead of them simply going around me to make this tool. Maybe it's my fault for sharing the idea before it was finished, classic rookie mistake.

The person working on the tool is really nice and I have no ill will toward them or anything like that, I guess my question is, what would be the best path forward for suggesting the use of the tool I have created instead of a brand-new one from scratch which may not be as good as mine (or could be better)? And what would be a smart way to request compensation for it, like a one-time bonus, or an hourly raise for my contribution or something like that?

I know I am not owed anything since I worked on this in my spare time. At the same time I don't want to give away all the hard work I've done to a new person who did not put in the work, and would rather collaborate to help drive the development of the tool rather than simply handing over all of the hard work I have done on it.

Thanks

 

[cardosocea]

This was a rookie mistake... if you develop something, do so and keep it to yourself and gain benefit by being faster.



The other issue is that you spoke to one person only... this sort of stuff should be spoken to a large audience precisely so there's less opportunity for them to take credit.



As for the way forward, I would tell this guy's manager and yours that the tool is nearly finished and you'd like to do the remaining development and be in charge of it and also a bonus for the development of it. Another way is to swindle your way into a different role with a bonus to be the maintainer and developer of said tool.



You can point out that, if you didn't use company property and depending on your contract, this is something you can try to put in the market yourself whilst here you're offering for a cheap price overall.

 

[BryanG]

You first need to check your terms of employment, your employer may already have a claim on the work you have done, despite you working on it in your own time. After all, the reason you saw a need for this tool was because you were working on projects for them. This is likely to be beyond the knowledge of us electrical engineering types, and will almost certainly need a lawyer type.

If you can establish that your employer has no claim then it would be worth talking to them. Your previous work would save them time and money in developing from scratch.

 

[JTCat]

Always, and I mean always, make the code under a LLC or other form of entity that isn't 'you'. And don't share any information until it is complete and ready to be marketed.

If you are w-2, the employer may have retained the rights to all of your inventions and innovations that have anything to do with any kind of work you do for them.

 

[movingamountain]

Thanks for the replies guys. Agree with everything that was said, and will be using this as a learning experience going forward.

I have decided that I am going to finish the tool and release it to my team, so that at least I can get credit for it. At this point, I know I can finish it and make it a reality, and the most important thing to me is to know that I did it, and to share that with my coworkers so that they can use it as well... and also to get the recognition for having done this thing, let's not kid ourselves. All of us engineer types like solving problems and to be recognized for doing so, and in that spirit I am going to get it over the finish line and submit it to my team. Compensation or not, it means more to me to get due credit for bringing it into existence than to get monetary remuneration for it. If that makes sense anyways.

Thanks all, have a blessed week

 

[geniusintraining]

About a year ago, I presented this tool to my manager and he seemed somewhat interested but there wasn't much follow-up.

Story:
Many moons ago about the time Six Sigma, Kizan, Black Belts, Just in Time bla bla bla started taking off in my industry (PCB) I wrote a procedure on how to write procedures (on the clock) when I was doing that I started working on a project (off the clock) I called "Best Practices"... long story short I brought the idea to my plant manager he was in charge of corporate Six Sigma, I explained my idea and had a flow chart and all the bells to go along with it, he had a few questions and at the end he rolled up my flow chart and put it in his desk also took the overview letter and wadded it up and tossed it into the trash can, I stood there in shock and then he said "lets keep this between us" about 6 months later he was full time "Best Practice Manager" and about a year later started his own business and quit his 6 figure job (25 years ago) last I saw he was also using the procedure I wrote on 'how to write procedures'.

Come to find out his favorite saying "Steal Shamelessly"

 

[cardosocea]

Come to find out his favorite saying "Steal Shamelessly"

You worked for Steve Jobs? LOL

 

[OkiePC]

I used to work for a mega-corp that promoted its workers to develop new ideas and processes. They were a bit socialist in their approach to compensation. If your project was approved and completed, you got to attend a luncheon. So if you saved the company $5 or $5,000,000, you got the same bbq dinner and a t-shirt.

A co-worker designed a system that was so simple and amazing that the corporation put his name on a plaque and sent him to corporate headquarters for a nice pat on the back. He got no money for it though, and they used it in all the plants globally saving tens of millions of dollars per year.

I no longer work for that company, and the little outfit where I am at now shares generously with all the techs for our projects and sales.

 

[dummy_bit]

Do not ever bring up the idea to only one person. If you work for a corporation, they are usually full of people trying to take credit for other people's work.

 

[ndzied1]

Not me but I worked with someone a long time ago who claims that he had the idea for the inline hair dryer. Where the heating coil is in a tube with the fan blowing through it. I have no way to prove that he did or didn't come up with it but I lean on the side of that he did. No acknowledgement from the company, his boss took the credit.

That design is still in use today.

 

[Ronnie Sullivan]

50 years ago - being mad on electronics and before IC's were common, I designed a light sensor that could switch 240V AC. (called dusk till dawn sensors these days)
I got it to fit in a hollowed-out fluorescent light starter.
My boss had a second small company that made emergency light fittings. They were just becoming compulsory in public buildings.
He loved the idea and took it to his second company.
They perfected it and sold untold thousands of dusk till dawn light fittings to councils throughout the country.
What did I get - sweet Fanny Adams.

 

[geniusintraining]

I used to work for a mega-corp that promoted its workers to develop new ideas and processes. They were a bit socialist in their approach to compensation. If your project was approved and completed, you got to attend a luncheon. So if you saved the company $5 or $5,000,000, you got the same bbq dinner and a t-shirt..

Reminds me of another one, we lost a gear box on one of our main lines, it was 12 weeks out from Germany, it was special had a turn knob to speed it up or slow it down and it was large hooked to a 50ish hp motor... anyway they were talking about laying off about 100 people so my boss (very smart) reworked the gear box to a straight drive and installed an inverter, worked like a charm and we were only down a couple days, at the same time they wanted a new company logo.

In the weekly meeting they gave the guy that came up with the new company logo a trip, dinner basically a paid vacation and they never even mentioned what my boss did?

 

[cardosocea]

Reminds me of another one, we lost a gear box on one of our main lines, it was 12 weeks out from Germany, it was special had a turn knob to speed it up or slow it down and it was large hooked to a 50ish hp motor...

This hits home for me. We still have two of these gearboxes (though locked out and fixed ratio) and they were used to regulate flow of material onto one reactor. The issue is that the gearbox is on the ground floor and the flowmeter was installed two floors above... the dosing took 8 hours so they had an operator climbing up and down if they were alone to set up the flow rate.

The kicker?? I had to move a couple of wires and put a PID block in the PLC. Everything was sort of there and just needed connecting, but no one cared.

 

[thehoneybadger]

If i were you, i would propose the possibility of working on the project form home for the next couple of months so you can "dedicate" yourself fully to the project and getting it finished. All you need is some materials and some time alone to "focus".

Seeing as the project is almost complete. This should give you a holiday and recognition seeing as you worked on the project alone.

Good luck

 

[I_Automation]

All I can think about here is Ford and the lawsuit from the inventor of the time delay windshield wipers they told was a novelty and would never be needed - then started putting them on their cars the next year without paying him a cent.


That was in the courts over 30 years before he was awarded millions from Ford. And they have done it to others.