5 ms·

Industries like airlines and railroad have the problem where you can't cut the corners that can be tastefully and carefully cut because once upon a time someone

Industries like airlines and railroad have the problem where you can't cut the corners that can be tastefully and carefully cut because once upon a time someone went overboard, hands were wrung, and a law or rule was made. So then when you're squeezed you cut some corner no sane person would cut with predictable results. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that the railroad had implemented the XKCD 28hr day or something dumb like that because that was their only way to squeeze more man hours out of the month without violating the law or violating their union contracts. Edit: not to say the 28hr day is dumb

ruined 4y ago
it's hard to find good news coverage of the actual details of the dispute, but it seems to be fairly basic staff reductions intended to increase margin (already historically massive) the keyword to search is "precision scheduled railroading" as that's the management term recent nymag from last year's attempted strike https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/11/rail-strike-why-the-railroads-wont-give-in-on-paid-leave-psr-precision-scheduled-railroading.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/11/rail-strike-why-the-... wsws coverage has labor complaint details https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/19/prec-f19.html https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/19/prec-f19.html https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/08/01/rail-a01.html https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/08/01/rail-a01.html ttd, a union publication https://ttd.org/policy/precision-scheduled-railroading-threatens-to-gut-americas-freight-rail-system/ https://ttd.org/policy/precision-scheduled-railroading-threa... https://ttd.org/policy/ttd-president-greg-regan-testifies-at-fra-hearing-in-support-of-two-person-crews/ https://ttd.org/policy/ttd-president-greg-regan-testifies-at... notably, workers are forbidden from calling in sick, and are complaining about scheduling that disregards sleep, reduced maintenance, and dangerously increased train length. railroads have laid off about 30% of staff in the last few years, and unions have struggled to achieve rules as basic as forbidding single-person crews.
- sclarisse 4y ago
  PSR is worth some controversy but the big problem here was ordering the train to proceed after a hot-box detector found a hot axle (saying that if it’s really a problem the next one will detect it, which it did, but it was too late to stop). That’s just bypassing the safeties deliberately.
  - iinnPP 4y ago
    And nobody will even go to jail for that. Maybe a adult summer camp, but probably not. Guess what will happen again?
  - ruined 4y ago
    yes, there seems to be a lot of management pressure to disregard risks in order to keep schedule.
  - dsfyu404ed 4y ago
    Those were line level employees, not fat cat MBAs. It'll be real interesting to see what sort of incentives those people were and weren't subject to. You don't just order a train that might be on fire to keep going unless your equipment is chronically faulty or you are really, really, really sure it won't be your ass. Sounds like a "when everyone is responsible nobody is" situation.
ClumsyPilot 4y ago
So you cut corner A because that has results in disaster, now they've cut corner B and that resulted in disaster? Do they have an Obsessive Compulsive Corner Cutting Disorder? Sounds like the 'problem' is irresponsible management and investors that never suffer the consequences of their actions.
dotancohen 4y ago
Slightly OT, but the XKCD 28 hour week is terrific. I've twice tan a test week using it, and I was more refreshed, and got more work done, than any other week. I also enjoyed more sunshine too. I'm sure that it's not for everybody, but it is a terrific solution to _some_ lifestyle issues. Not to mention the drop in peak resource usage (electric, roads, etc) if people were to stagger it in three shifts.
- paulmd 4y ago
  I used to run the 28 hour week in grad school and really enjoyed it personally as well. The problem is keeping contact with everyone else when your schedule is rolling all across the calendar. I gotta pick the car up at 3 and call the dentist after they open at 10, and I have a class monday-wednesday-friday at 10am. 28 hour week would work a lot better in a city where everything is open 24h than a rural area where the grocery store closes at 8.
  - dotancohen 4y ago
    Yes, agreed. It does present scheduling challenges. It would certainly work better in a society that had other people on 28 hour days.

ruined 4y ago

it's hard to find good news coverage of the actual details of the dispute, but it seems to be fairly basic staff reductions intended to increase margin (already historically massive) the keyword to search is "precision scheduled railroading" as that's the management term recent nymag from last year's attempted strike https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/11/rail-strike-why-the-railroads-wont-give-in-on-paid-leave-psr-precision-scheduled-railroading.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/11/rail-strike-why-the-... wsws coverage has labor complaint details https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/19/prec-f19.html https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/19/prec-f19.html https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/08/01/rail-a01.html https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/08/01/rail-a01.html ttd, a union publication https://ttd.org/policy/precision-scheduled-railroading-threatens-to-gut-americas-freight-rail-system/ https://ttd.org/policy/precision-scheduled-railroading-threa... https://ttd.org/policy/ttd-president-greg-regan-testifies-at-fra-hearing-in-support-of-two-person-crews/ https://ttd.org/policy/ttd-president-greg-regan-testifies-at... notably, workers are forbidden from calling in sick, and are complaining about scheduling that disregards sleep, reduced maintenance, and dangerously increased train length. railroads have laid off about 30% of staff in the last few years, and unions have struggled to achieve rules as basic as forbidding single-person crews.

sclarisse 4y ago
PSR is worth some controversy but the big problem here was ordering the train to proceed after a hot-box detector found a hot axle (saying that if it’s really a problem the next one will detect it, which it did, but it was too late to stop). That’s just bypassing the safeties deliberately.
- iinnPP 4y ago
  And nobody will even go to jail for that. Maybe a adult summer camp, but probably not. Guess what will happen again?
- ruined 4y ago
  yes, there seems to be a lot of management pressure to disregard risks in order to keep schedule.
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago
  Those were line level employees, not fat cat MBAs. It'll be real interesting to see what sort of incentives those people were and weren't subject to. You don't just order a train that might be on fire to keep going unless your equipment is chronically faulty or you are really, really, really sure it won't be your ass. Sounds like a "when everyone is responsible nobody is" situation.

ClumsyPilot 4y ago

So you cut corner A because that has results in disaster, now they've cut corner B and that resulted in disaster? Do they have an Obsessive Compulsive Corner Cutting Disorder? Sounds like the 'problem' is irresponsible management and investors that never suffer the consequences of their actions.

dotancohen 4y ago

Slightly OT, but the XKCD 28 hour week is terrific. I've twice tan a test week using it, and I was more refreshed, and got more work done, than any other week. I also enjoyed more sunshine too. I'm sure that it's not for everybody, but it is a terrific solution to _some_ lifestyle issues. Not to mention the drop in peak resource usage (electric, roads, etc) if people were to stagger it in three shifts.

paulmd 4y ago
I used to run the 28 hour week in grad school and really enjoyed it personally as well. The problem is keeping contact with everyone else when your schedule is rolling all across the calendar. I gotta pick the car up at 3 and call the dentist after they open at 10, and I have a class monday-wednesday-friday at 10am. 28 hour week would work a lot better in a city where everything is open 24h than a rural area where the grocery store closes at 8.
- dotancohen 4y ago
  Yes, agreed. It does present scheduling challenges. It would certainly work better in a society that had other people on 28 hour days.