4 ms·

I'm bookmarking your comment. It is just the slice-of-life that I want to show newbie engineers. Like some people say you need to spend a year or two in the ser

I'm bookmarking your comment. It is just the slice-of-life that I want to show newbie engineers. Like some people say you need to spend a year or two in the service industry to learn empathy, I feel engineers likewise need to spend time in QA to learn what their ethics really are. QA is hard, and the pressure to pass is difficult to withstand; eventually you take the "my boss told me to do it" attitude or you learn to make ... Well, not enemies, but certainly rock the boat. Kudos to you!

thaumaturgy 11y ago
> I feel engineers likewise need to spend time in QA to learn what their ethics really are. QA is hard, and the pressure to pass is difficult to withstand You really nailed it. The GM's position -- and he said this more than a few times -- was that the parts were designed with extra tolerances already, so if they were a little below spec it was OK. Engineers have to keep that in mind when designing products: production knows there's a margin for error and they'll take that into consideration when deciding whether or not they can get away with shipping something. (And the GM was a pretty OK guy, we got along fine otherwise. He in turn was just under a lot of pressure from further up the ladder to meet certain production goals.)
david-given 11y ago
“Look at this. What do you see?” He nodded at Tony again. “A laser weld, sir.” “So it would appear. Your identification is quite understandable --- and quite wrong. I want you all to memorize this piece of work. Look well. Because it may easily be the most evil object you will ever encounter.” They looked wildly impressed, but totally bewildered. He commanded their absolute silence and utmost attention. “That,” he pointed for emphasis, his voice growing heavy with scorn, “is a falsified inspection record. Worse, it’s one of a series. A certain subcontractor... found its profit margin endangered by a high volume of its work being rejected... The welds passed the computer certification all right --- because it was the same damn good weld, replicated over and over again...” He gathered his breath. “This is the most important thing I will ever say to you. The human mind is the ultimate testing device... There is nothing, nothing, nothing more important to me in the men and women I train than their absolute personal integrity. Whether you function as welders or inspectors, the laws of physics are implacable lie detectors. You may fool men. You will never fool the metal.” --- Lois McMaster Bujold, _Falling Free_

thaumaturgy 11y ago

> I feel engineers likewise need to spend time in QA to learn what their ethics really are. QA is hard, and the pressure to pass is difficult to withstand You really nailed it. The GM's position -- and he said this more than a few times -- was that the parts were designed with extra tolerances already, so if they were a little below spec it was OK. Engineers have to keep that in mind when designing products: production knows there's a margin for error and they'll take that into consideration when deciding whether or not they can get away with shipping something. (And the GM was a pretty OK guy, we got along fine otherwise. He in turn was just under a lot of pressure from further up the ladder to meet certain production goals.)

david-given 11y ago

“Look at this. What do you see?” He nodded at Tony again. “A laser weld, sir.” “So it would appear. Your identification is quite understandable --- and quite wrong. I want you all to memorize this piece of work. Look well. Because it may easily be the most evil object you will ever encounter.” They looked wildly impressed, but totally bewildered. He commanded their absolute silence and utmost attention. “That,” he pointed for emphasis, his voice growing heavy with scorn, “is a falsified inspection record. Worse, it’s one of a series. A certain subcontractor... found its profit margin endangered by a high volume of its work being rejected... The welds passed the computer certification all right --- because it was the same damn good weld, replicated over and over again...” He gathered his breath. “This is the most important thing I will ever say to you. The human mind is the ultimate testing device... There is nothing, nothing, nothing more important to me in the men and women I train than their absolute personal integrity. Whether you function as welders or inspectors, the laws of physics are implacable lie detectors. You may fool men. You will never fool the metal.” --- Lois McMaster Bujold, _Falling Free_