‘The plant got paid to do nothing': New management brings a $1M+ production day to a halt by trying to force their setup engineer to adhere to a nonsensical 9-5 policy

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Oct 2, 2024 7:00 AM EDT

This factory setup engineer normally arrived to work at 3 AM to prep the floor for a day's work, but new management seemed to think that they knew how to do his job better than he did. However, to capitalize on a foolish act of managerial naivety, the worker maliciously complied and bled out millions of dollars of production value to prove a point.

Micromanagers rarely know what's good for them. Blissfully unaware that 90% of their employees are much more productive without middle management breathing down their necks, they rudely install themselves onto every facet of the workplace, effectively kneecapping all productivity from the ground up. So when a new manager tried to tell this employee how to do his job, he complied with a smile on his face knowing that he would have a satisfying 'I told you so' moment. 

Read on to enjoy the fruits of this man's sassiness after he effectively got management off his back, setting his own rules about his schedule by making them eat the cost of their mistakes. After this, here's another work-related procrastination tool–a collection of cringey corporate jargon that'll make any employee squirm in their ergonomic chair. 

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  • 01
    "I got the new boss off my back"
    via Science Photo Library - Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    No one leaves til 5pm but no overtime? Bet. M Several years ago i worked for a aerospace manufacturing company (you already know this won't end well) as a setup operator.
    via alwaus
  • 03
    Meaning my job was to arrive before shift start, usually 3 or 4 hours early, make sure all the 5 axis mills were calibrated, the atc (automatic tool changer) magazines were all loaded correctly and the tooling was in good condition, nothing dulled or broken.
    via alwaus
  • 04
    If there was damaged tooling part of the process was removing the carrier, replacing the cutter and resetting the cutter height with a gauge, making it so that the tip of every cutter is in the exact same position for that particular holder every time.
    via alwaus
  • 05
    After being there for several years the company eventually gets aquired and new management comes in. Im there from 3 or 4 in the morning until 1 or 2 pm, sometimes earlier if a new job gets added to the floor.
    via alwaus
  • 06
    Schedule works fine for me, i get to beat traffic both ways and the pay is a bit higher due to the differential.
    via alwaus
  • 07
    After a few weeks it gets noticed that i constantly leave "early" and always run over on hours so they implement a new policy, work starts at 9am and runs til 5, you have to be on the floor ready to go when the clock hits 9:00.
    via alwaus
  • 08
    I try to explain to my new boss exactly why i leave early but hes more concerned about numbers and cash flow than what i actually do there. So fine, you want 9 to 5, ill work 9 to 5.
    via alwaus
  • 09
    Instead of punching in at 4 I chill in my car til 8:45 and roll into the building, wait til exactly 9 and punch then head to the floor.
    via alwaus
  • 10
    Roll up to the first haas on the line and hit the E-Stop, which shuts the machine down instantly. Tell the operator this hasnt been set up yet and they need to wait til its ready.
    via alwaus
  • 11
    Head down the line and punch every one i pass telling them the same thing, not ready, go wait. I start at the end of the line with my platten and gauges
    via alwaus
  • 12
    and start calibrating the entire magazine, verifying everything in there is in spec and ready to be used. Get the magazine done and home the probe so the machine knows where it is in
    via alwaus
  • 13
    3d space and move to the next, that was about 40 minutes since i took my time. Meanwhile the rest of the line is dead in the water, nobody can do any work until their deck passes calibration and is certified to use.
    via alwaus
  • 14
    Im part way through the 2nd unit when I have my new manager breathing down my neck, why is nothing running, whats going on, etc etc etc.
    via alwaus
  • 15
    I sit back on my haunches and calmly explain to him, this is my job, the one that until today i used to come in hours early to do as to not mess with the production schedule. I need to get this done, should be ready to start the line in another 5 or 6 hours boss.
    via alwaus
  • 16
    Im told to unlock and get the line moving, no can do, none of these machines are checked and im not signing off on the certification until im done. Anything not certified is a instant QC reject.
    via alwaus
  • 17
    Choose: run the line and reject a $mil in parts or let me finish and lose a $mil in production time and i go back to my old schedule tommorow.
    via alwaus
  • 18
    The plant got a day paid to do nothing, i got the new boss off my back and he got reamed all to for losing a days production.
    via alwaus
  • 19
    Eyrrys Moral for any managers out there, question why the team does things the way they do, but don't just come it to alter everything.
    via Eyrrys
  • 20
    talexbatreddit Why, why, why are there so many managers and bean counters who think that they can just unilaterally impose new rules without getting to know how things work? It's so insane. And the aerospace company that I'm guessing you've mentioned -- it used to be a shining example of how engineering was done correctly.
    via talexbatreddit
  • 21
    CoderJoel Because they feel the need to justify their presence.
    via CoderJoe1
  • 22
    talexbatreddit And they should be launched away from the company using a trebuchet. That kind of manager is not adding any value to the company at all -- in this case, they cost the plant an entire day's output.
    via talexbatreddit
  • 23
    HerringLaw Misguided, ape-like ideas of what "leadership" means. They think leaders storm in like an angry silverback, earning respect and admiration by thumping heads and smashing things.
    via HerringLaw

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