relentless

We often hear in the news that projects have run over budget by several million / billion / gajillion pounds, and that various people are trying to apportion blame as to why it has gone over-budget, and that "lessons have been learned" etc. etc.  This happens on an all-very-regular basis, and people don't seem to learn the lessons.

Why? The main reason that this happens (as far as I can see, being involved in a project that is waaay over-budget) is that the initial estimate of budget is done by someone who is being sensible and reasonable, and the people who are involved further down the line are far less sensible and reasonable, and are only interested in protecting themselves.  This means that the initial estimate is generally fairly accurate, and if the project were managed properly, it would probably stay roughly on budget.

But it doesn't.

When the customer is more than just one person (or even a small team of people) but a large company, every single person in that larger company will want to stick their oar in and rock the boat.  What's more, once the contractor has replied to every single idiot within the customer organisation, the customer will probably come back for another bite.  And another.  And probably several more.

Example:  Fit a light bulb in a cupboard. (please note, not "change" a lightbulb.. that one is slightly too simplisitic!)

If I were doing this myself, I'd be looking at a light fitting (tenner) a light switch (fiver) some cable (couple of quid) a junction box to tap into the existing live supply (quid) and a couple of hours work.  Even if I got a sparky (electrician) in to do the work, I'd still expect a fair bit of change from £100.

Now try doing that on a large installation as part of modern industry.

First: Design drawings, both mechanical and electrical need to be submitted to the customer.  This will probably include schedules of components being fitted, and manufacturers data sheets for all items to be fitted.  The customer will then mark these drawings with "comments" that they will expect to be incoporated into the drawings, and will issue a set of drawing numbers that need to be used on their drawings.  Re-submit drawings.  Rinse and repeat as necessary (usually two or three times)

Next: receive an email from the customer, indicating that they are not happy with the location of the lamp, and that they believe it will cast shadows where they are not wanted.  Also, the customer is not convinced about the ability of the cupboard to dissipate the heat generated by the lamp, and would like some vents to be fitted to the cupboard.  Reply to this email, asking the customer where they would like the lamp fitted, and assuring them that the lamp will be fine in the cupboard.  Receive reply from customer showing another marked up drawing of where this person would like the lamp fitted, and that he is still not happy with the heat output of the lamp, but if we could provide some calculations to show that it is safe, then he will accept it.  He also now insists that the switch is labeled to show which lamp it operates, "in case of confusion".

Then:  Representative for the customer on site is desperate to have the lamp fitted, and insists that work commences, despite not having approval from office-based part of the customer.  So, you go to fit the lamp on site.  This involves:
Construction Skills safety course to attend. (2hours)  Customer site induction to attend (3hours)  Checks to be made to confirm you are a skilled electrican.  All persons on site have to wear high-vis jackets, safety boots, hard hats, gloves and glasses.  Arrive on site to then discover that "lone working" is not allowed, and so you need someone with you at all times.  Bring along another person, who has to go through the same procedure again (inductions etc)

Finally get on site, and install the lamp. (about 1h work)  Customer then inspects your work and complains that the cables you have used are not to his standard, and that he expects you to use a different type of cable.  Customer also complains that access to the lamp for bulb-changing is not acceptable, and the lamp will need to be moved to a location that allows someone to change the bulb without using a stepladder.  You remove the initial installation, order replacement cable, and start re-working the installation.

At this point, the original person you were dealing with sends back your drawings with further mark-ups on them to show that they also need a neon on the light switch (which was not part of the original specification).  You then inform him that you have had to change the location of the lamp fitting due to the need to access the bulb.  Customer then throws a wobbly that you have installed something not-to-drawing.  Drawing changes are then made, and sent off to the customer (see paragraph 1).

Commissioning engineer then contacts you from the customer to ask about your test and inspection plan to be implimented before the equipment is put into use.  "It's a bloody light-bulb, how many tests can you do on it?" is the curt reply.  Commissioning engineer then shows you a specification for a 15-page test plan that must be followed by all subcontractors before their equipment is energised.

Customer then contacts you, asking for a copy of the operation and maintainence manual for the installation you have fitted.  You produce one, which is then bounced back and forth from yourself to the customer several times to address their "comments".

Commissioning plan is finally approved, and the installation is tested.  Several queries about the location of the lamp are brought up at the commissioning by persons who were not in the loop previously, one of whom also cannot reach the lamp, and questions the ability of anyone to change the bulb.  You bite your lip, but actually want to tell the customer to shove off.

All drawings and documents are then revised to an "as built" status, to show exact installation.  Customer also "comments" on these drawings, wanting more detail, more labels, more cross-references and more nformation about the junction box terminals.

Commissioning engineer then comes back to you to ask for copies of all your calibration certificated for every single item of equipment used in the installation.

.......... and on and on and on it goes.

Total cost for this cupboard lamp?  Probably about ten grand.  And I'm not joking.

The root cause of this is subcontracting.  All too many large companies no longer employ their own engineers, rather they are an office-based organisation who subcontract out everything.  These subcontractors then further subcontract out some work, and so on and so on.  If companies actually still employed their own engineers, and did the installation work themselves, the world would be a far less expensive place.

First post and all that Jazz

Tomorrow I will be old.  Well, clearly I will simply be one day older than I am today, but in numerical terms I will suddenly become closer to forty than thiry.  This is not too much of a concern to me, as I was never particularly interested in being 20-something, and the increase in years means that essentially I am the same as I was when I was 20, just with more experience, and I am now taken seriously.  I think it's the streak of grey hair that does it.  If you're trying to present information to a group of jaded engineers / project manager or similar,  having at least some grey means you're either old enough to have sufficient experience, or have dealt with sufficiently stressfull projects to make you turn grey, that you are then treated with a level of confidence not afforded to the still-wet-behind-the-ears university (or worse still, college) graduate.

I dislike my birthday.  Not because I get a numerical year older, and not because other people do not care... Quite the opposite; they do care and I don't want them to.  Making a fuss over someone just because our planet has orbited our sun by an integer value of cycles since their birth does not seem like good sense to me.  Yes, it may be nice to be especially lovely to someone on a paricular day, but can I just choose when that is and it not have to be during the chaotic week between Christmas and new year please? 

... and I don't know whether this will show as being written on the 28th or the 29th.  I've left it overnight and haven't finished it yet.  Having never used blogging software before, my understanding of it and it's functionality is limited.  Being a mechanical engineer, rather than an electronic or software engineer, I have every intention of using someone elses html coding rather than trying my own.  Tried that about 8 years ago, and despite having spent many many hours as a teenager hand-coding B.A.S.I.C. into my spectrum +3, and expecting to be not-too-bad at using a programming language, I was utterly crap at it.  Another lesson learned with age and experience:  know your limitations! Or at least know your knowledge level.  I'm fairly sure I could learn HTML if I could be bothered, but I can't: There's far too much cake to eat.