Your First World Problems

[BugI02]

quite possibly the smartest thing you've said this month

low bar [CM 2.0]

 

[DCR]

• It’s easy to imagine someone with muscle memory from years of hanging up phone calls accidentally pressing where the button used to be.

I say this should secretly be connected to an ejector seat.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

Dang car battery was dead. Darn thing is in the trunk, under the spare, held down by 4 bolts... BTW, if you take your battery out, that's in the trunk and the trunk only opens via a button, your hosed. It was 6 years old. Wth is the world coming to?

 

[jamil]

Mine’s under the passenger seat for **** sake! The seat moves up just far enough to make me think I can get the battery out and a new one in without cussing. Nope. ***damn mother******* ***** ass engineers. Either they’re morons or ***holes with a demented sense of humor.

 

[d.kaufman]

As someone that works on cars for a living (30+years) engineers are Retarded

 

[Methane Herder]

The chicks at my formerly favorite strip club have gotten fat!

Yes, but do they have C-section scars?
Crap!!!! Did I actually post that?

MH

 

[jamil]

As someone that works on cars for a living (30+years) engineers are Retarded

Or enjoy other people’s suffering.

 

[red_zr24x4]

As someone that works on cars for a living (30+years) engineers are Retarded

It's not just car design engineers, the ones I deal with drawing up utility prints are just as bad

 

[JCSR]

It's not just car design engineers, the ones I deal with drawing up utility prints are just as bad

In the electrical field we would tell the engineers to draw a circuit up then we'll make it work. It always got a puzzled look from them.

 

[JCSR]

I went out to ask my on staff mechanic where the battery was located on the Bentley. My car wash boy said he was off today for personal business. This is his third day off this year! Why can't you get good help these days!

 

[actaeon277]

A few years before I left the mill, we had a major upgrade in the facility I worked in.
We had to follow the contractors and verify all the equipment that would become 'ours'.
Simulate an input into each of the new transmitters, verify the output level, at each station that had a readout.
Such as, input 150 psi in zone 1A, then go to each screen and verify zone 1A actually reads 150 psi.
Perform checks at 0, 25, 50, 70, and 100 percent.
Same with valves.

So, I go to a new control valve, and to input the signal I open the cover.
Well, this valve is installed RIGHT next to another control valve from a different zone.
Except the valves face 2 different directions.
So, the access covers face each other.
They are so close, that I have to take the tip off my multi screwdriver, cause only the tip will fit between them.
Then use a wrench to turn the tip, cause fingers aren't strong enough to work it.

So, I flag down the guy installing them, and tell him "This ain't gonna fly".
He said, well the engineers planned it out on software and they said it's okay.
I told him I understand.
He can't change things on his own.
But, before I left, I told him in order for the project to be paid, each department has to sign off.
And right now, all these valves (there were rows of them) had just failed.
Because I'm not gonna check the calibrations on them every 6 months, year after year, having to deal with it.
So, told him to get ready.
Cause I had to talk to my boss.
My boss talked to his boss.
I had to show that boss.
Then that boss had to show his boss.
Then I had to show that boss.
That boss was high enough up, that he contacted the engineers.
They shrugged their shoulders and said, the head holding the controls just has to be unmounted from the body, rotate the valves 180, so that the panels were AWAY from each other.

Later on, I went down to the valves, and they were fixed.
They asked me if I was now "happy".
Well, less unhappy.
But now I STILL had to check those valves operation and calibration before I'd release them.
Everyone was just.. why don't you just sign off.
Nope.
I do my job.
Complain about those NOT doing their job.
Don't get mad when someone is ACTUALLY DOING THEIR JOB.

 

[actaeon277]

Gee, that's a long post.

 

[TheGrumpyGuy]

... Why can't you get good help these days!

Probably the same reason we can't get good forum mods...

or at least ones that don't quote non-redacted profanity

 

[Rookie]

Probably the same reason we can't get good forum mods...

or at least ones that don't quote non-redacted profanity

I saw that too...



I thought about reporting the mod.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

Gee, that's a long post.

I'm still trying to get the c section scar dancer out of my head. Ugg...!

 

[Nazgul]

Speaking of engineers. I fixed forklifts for 40 years. Mainly electric which was a specialty job that paid well.

Often had customers want comm radios on their lifts. No problem, except that electric lifts have no voltage to the frame, both (+) and (-) have to be isolated. There is a specification that gets checked on regular maintenance that is allowable for voltage leaks. Anything above that spec has to be fixed. It interferes with the electronics that control the systems.

Back to radios. They are installed using a negative ground to the frame just like all cars/trucks use. This has to be handled carefully. The radio itself has to be isolated from the frame, it grounds thru the case. The antenna has to be checked, some I found put power thru the base, it has to be isolated. Then the mic uses a metal clip to mount within the drivers reach. Some have a negative lead to the stud that engages the clip, it switches the speaker from the mic to the radio when it is on the clip. Again, it has to be isolated from the frame. Radios ran on 12 volts, the forklifts were 36 or 48 volt systems, so a voltage divider was needed. Again being careful because a lot of dividers had grounds thru the case.

Twice we quoted a price to install radios and the customer said they could have the radio company install them much cheaper. I tried to explain both times to the powers that be what the problem was. They did not listen.

Radio company installed 5 radios one Saturday for them. On arrival Monday there were 5 forklifts down, 3 would not move and 2 had caught fire. All of management was there because production was at a standstill. They were demanding I get them up and running ASAP. I calmly showed them the fried wires to/from the radios, the burnt control boards and fried radios. Control boards cost about $1500 at the time.

We got them some rental lifts to get them going while I spent 30 hours sorting the problems out. They paid us to install new radios.

Don

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

Speaking of engineers. I fixed forklifts for 40 years. Mainly electric which was a specialty job that paid well.

Often had customers want comm radios on their lifts. No problem, except that electric lifts have no voltage to the frame, both (+) and (-) have to be isolated. There is a specification that gets checked on regular maintenance that is allowable for voltage leaks. Anything above that spec has to be fixed. It interferes with the electronics that control the systems.

Back to radios. They are installed using a negative ground to the frame just like all cars/trucks use. This has to be handled carefully. The radio itself has to be isolated from the frame, it grounds thru the case. The antenna has to be checked, some I found put power thru the base, it has to be isolated. Then the mic uses a metal clip to mount within the drivers reach. Some have a negative lead to the stud that engages the clip, it switches the speaker from the mic to the radio when it is on the clip. Again, it has to be isolated from the frame. Radios ran on 12 volts, the forklifts were 36 or 48 volt systems, so a voltage divider was needed. Again being careful because a lot of dividers had grounds thru the case.

Twice we quoted a price to install radios and the customer said they could have the radio company install them much cheaper. I tried to explain both times to the powers that be what the problem was. They did not listen.

Radio company installed 5 radios one Saturday for them. On arrival Monday there were 5 forklifts down, 3 would not move and 2 had caught fire. All of management was there because production was at a standstill. They were demanding I get them up and running ASAP. I calmly showed them the fried wires to/from the radios, the burnt control boards and fried radios. Control boards cost about $1500 at the time.

We got them some rental lifts to get them going while I spent 30 hours sorting the problems out. They paid us to install new radios.

Don

I hope you increased your rate/adjusted the bill due to their stupidity.

 

[radar8756]

...
Often had customers want comm radios on their lifts. ...
They paid us to install new radios.

When I worked for a Motorola shop (1980's) ... I installed several radios on Forklifts with No Issues - used Isolated Inverters for Power Conversion (48-12-i)

Guess the electronics weren't as sensitive back then

 

[Nazgul]

When I worked for a Motorola shop (1980's) ... I installed several radios on Forklifts with No Issues - used Isolated Inverters for Power Conversion (48-12-i)

Guess the electronics weren't as sensitive back then

Yes they were much less sensitive. Worked on a lot of the 70's - 60's equipment and they were SCR or resistor controlled trucks. They were bullet proof but not as efficient .

When they developed SCR and then transistor controls they became much more sensitive to voltage leaks/spikes. Now many use DC converted to AC, it is very efficient and easier to regulate. They do not do well either with random voltage to places it doesn't belong.

Don

 

[actaeon277]

I couldn't count the times that management didn't have the time/money to do something right, so they did it wrong...
Then had to come up with the time/money to do it right.

Then a month later, make the same mistake AGAIN.