Machine operator forced to adhere to strict new schedule by new management stalling line and costing plant millions in production: 'I got the new boss off my back and he got reamed'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Oct 19, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

When maintaining million-dollar machines is the singular focus of your work, you'd hope that your manager would leave well enough alone and trust you to know how to do your thing. Alas, when it comes to new management, leaving well enough alone is something that is never in the playbook, a "one-size-fits-all" approach taking precedence over logical reason.

This machine operator worked at an aerospace manufacturing company, executing an efficient routine by starting work early to ensure that machines were calibrated and ready to begin production before the machinist's shift began. This, of course, made logical sense as having to run these procedures while everyone else was present would do nothing but hold up production. Management insisted that they follow a new schedule and stick to their scheduled hours,  causing the production line to grind to a halt while they completed calibration. The disruption and resulting losses eventually forced management's hand and allowed the operator to return to their old routine.

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    Cheezburger Image 10417605632
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+
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    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. 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
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    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. After being there for several years the company eventually gets aquired and new management comes in.
    via alwaus
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    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. Schedule works fine for me, i get to beat traffic both ways and the pay is a bit higher due to the differential. 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
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    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
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    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. Roll up to the first haas on the line and hit the E-Stop, which shuts the machine down instantly.
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    Tell the operator this hasnt been set up yet and they need to wait til its ready. Head down the line and punch every one i pass telling them the same thing, not ready, go wait.
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    I start at the end of the line with my platten and gauges 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 3d space and move to the next, that was about 40 minutes since i took my time.
    via alwaus
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    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. 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
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    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
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    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. 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
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    The plant got a day paid to do nothing, i got the new boss off my back and he got reamed all to losing a days production. for
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    Fyrrys • 7h ago • 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.
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    talexbatreddit • 6h ago • "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." This is so beautiful. It needs to be framed.
    via alwaus
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    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 aeropspace company that I'm guessing you've mentioned - it used to be a shining example of how engineering was done correctly. -
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    Slackingatmyjob • 7h ago tear* beautiful *wipes away a
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    dan1ader 7h ago • I love a good malicious compliance story, so I'll share this here. My son works for a software company that was recently acquired in a merger acquisition. He had been one of the early hires and knew the code inside out, including all the code that was deprecated yet still in use, that kind of thing.
    via alwaus
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    The company was actively migrating client accounts from local hosts to cloud services like AWS, and he was the local guru who handled all of those migrations. After the merger a new management team came on board, and my boy got a new boss. New boss asked him what he did and he explained. New boss has a glazed look on his face.
    via alwaus
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    The new boss had no idea what Sean told him so he asked one of the original managers "What does Sean do?" and was told "Oh, NOBODY knows what Sean does." About a week later new boss tells my boy he is being reassigned to tier1 tech support. He said "okay," put on the headphones, and started taking end user support calls.
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    On the second day of him being in tier 1 he starts getting pinged by frantic project managers and clients wondering why the migration project is at a standstill. "I've been reassigned to T1" "WHAT! WHY?" "I don't know, ask my boss."
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    Sean was back on the migration project within about 15 seconds, and the new boss was summarily launched by trebuchet across the parking lot and into the street.
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    • processed meat 7h ago. When I was just a wee lad we got a new general manager she came down to the maintenance office one day as we were packing up to leave and was upset we wouldn't be able to hang her new photos in her office until the next day. She started to my direct boss about our schedule and that we need to be available while we are open.
    via alwaus
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    My boss just looks at her. Do you think my guys really want to be here at 5 in the morning? We have things we need to do that can't be done while open. She stopped her rant, tilted her head, said I'm sorry and I will see you tomorrow.
    via alwaus
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    . ultimate_sorrier 7h ago • The new boss found out. around and What a tool. Pun intended
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    Soulkyoko • 6h ago. Im a big fan of "If it aint broke, dont fix it." If somethings done a certain way then atleast ask why it is so before ya start messin around.
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    BackgroundGrade • 5h ago • I'm more surprised the operators were willing to start the machines without confirming the calibration. I worked at a aerospace company once. Walking into the shop, there was a poster showing the raw material that we use with a saying: This part is
    via alwaus
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    worth $75 000 before we machine it. It's worth $200 000 after we machine it. Make sure everything is right as we go. Before we got good process control on that part, we'd have weeks where we scrapped millions of dollars of them.
    via alwaus

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