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Reminds me of this section[2] from "How Engineers Create the World" by Bill Hammack - an interesting but perhaps scattered read. Well, a pothole is not just
by donatj 9y ago
Reminds me of this section[2] from "How Engineers Create the World" by Bill Hammack - an interesting but perhaps scattered read.
Well, a pothole is not just a technological thing,
it's also a political entity. Usually we think of
European nations as steeped in governmental regulation,
and the United States as a free market, but actually
the opposite occurs in building roads. In the United States
the government sets specifications and asks contractors
to meet them. Once done with the road they have no
more responsibility.
Contrast this to France where the contractors must come
up with their own specifications and guarantee their work.
This means that if a pothole developers the contractor has
to fix it. But in the united States, once the job is done,
as long as it has met specifications, the contractor is no
longer liable.
1. https://www.amazon.com/How-engineers-create-world-commentaries/dp/0983966109 https://www.amazon.com/How-engineers-create-world-commentari...
2. https://i.redd.it/uthzdyul53fy.png https://i.redd.it/uthzdyul53fy.png
- colanderman 9y agoReformatted for those on mobile: > Well, a pothole is not just a technological thing, it's also a political entity. Usually we think of European nations as steeped in governmental regulation, and the United States as a free market, but actually the opposite occurs in building roads. In the United States the government sets specifications and asks contractors to meet them. Once done with the road they have no more responsibility. > Contrast this to France where the contractors must come up with their own specifications and guarantee their work. This means that if a pothole developers the contractor has to fix it. But in the united States, once the job is done, as long as it has met specifications, the contractor is no longer liable. (Please don't use code blocks for quotations.)
- donatj 9y agoI like that you copied it typos and all ;) I retyped it from the screenshot on my way out the door at work and now note a number of mistakes.
- horsecaptin 9y agoContrast that to some other countries where the government comes up with minimum requirements, then asks for bids. One of the requirements is that the road comes with a 8 to 10 year warrantee - any fixes come out of the contractor's pocket. Contractors are pre-approved for their ability to execute.
- Moru 9y agoSweden is going the UK way lately. State says "We want a road here". Contractor says "Ok, that won't cost you much.". Then they build for 2 years and then they say "We want more money!". 5 months after the road is finished, the tarmac melts in the sun and the contractor says "You wanted it cheap, deal with it.".