Speak up or shut up?

strantor

strantor

Active User
Registered
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Messages
1,328
I have a small business where I work with controls on industrial machinery; Troubleshooting and design, for things like conveyors, extruders, winders, bottling machinery, etc. (pretty much anything that has a programmable controller in it). My most loyal customer who I have been serving for over a decade can't seem to find a good maintenance guy. I have seen dozens of guys go through that maintenance department but quite often they have no maintenance guy at all.

Lately they have had two guys, and lately I have been getting called more often than usual (2-3 times per week for the past 3 weeks) and in 75% of the cases it was because this one guy did something stupid and made a problem worse rather than fix it. Today he replaced a control transformer with the wrong part, plus wired it wrong. It was a special purpose transformer with 480V primary and dual secondaries (24V and 36V). He replaced it with a standard control transformer with jumper-selectable 480/240V primary and 240/120V secondary and he had the jumpers set for 240V input and 240V output. When 480V is applied to this it results in 480V output... to which he connected the combined 24V and 36V circuits. Then was surprised when the transformer smoked and nothing worked. So he replaced the transformer 3 more times, same result each time. I think I only got called because he ran out of transformers to burn up. (Why didn't fuses blow? Because he bypassed them)

I replaced the transformer with two separate transformers: one 480->36V and a separate 480-24V transformer. Miraculously the electronics survived being subjected to 13x and 20x their rated value and I was able to get the machine up and running.

This is just the latest in a string of bone headed mistakes. Last week I had to replace two DC drives in the same machine because he killed them both by connecting their non-isolated speed references together in opposite polarity. Before that he killed an AC drive by connecting its DC bus to ground.

This guy is a (major, life-altering/ending) accident waiting to happen. I hate drama and I don't meddle but I felt compelled to say something. I just kept seeing mental images of someone powering on a machine he worked on and having it start automatically, pulling someone into it and killing them. Or someone laying a hand on the wrong piece of metal to which he had nonsensically connected 480V. So I sent an email to his supervisor basically naming him incompetent and dangerous. I pointed out how this latest incident was inexcusable as even a total layman should be able to distinguish a difference between the two transformers since the ratings are written in bold font right on the front of the transformer. I said that in my opinion he should not be allowed to work with electricity (which if they agree, probably means they will let him go as they don't need "just a mechanic.")

Before I sent the email I could only envision the workplace injury scenarios. Now that I have sent it, I can only envision a guy going home to his kids and telling them everything is going to be alright while wondering how he's going to pay rent this month.

This is why I don't get involved. Now I feel bad. I feel like I made a mistake and should have minded my own business. But at the same time I know that if someone ever got hurt because of him I would never forgive myself for having had the opportunity to speak up but not doing so.

Pretend I haven't already sent the email; what is your advice? If this situation ever happened to you, what would/did you do?
 
I don't know much about electricity but I think you did the right thing. It was just a matter of time before something happened
 
+1 on doing the right thing.
 
I might have chosen a conversation with the supervisor instead of email, but otherwise you did the right thing. He was a danger to himself and others.
 
While nobody likes the thought of somebody getting fired, it sure sounds like he absolutely deserves to get fired. What he was doing was unsafe, and could maim/kill someone else. That's a lot worse than getting fired.

You're either competent and safe or you're not...he's not.

If nothing else, you warned them, so it's not on your shoulders. I suspect most decent people would realize that if you haven't meddled in the past decade, something was different this time.
 
You now have a discoverable document in place.

It would have been better to have supervisor come to where you were working to show him the "evidence", calmly explain the excessive billing and other typical things.

Avoid specifics about skill set, do not specifically call their guy bad things, proper presentation and the supervisor will do it.

Take notes and photos.

Create a confirmation email to express concern for understanding.

Something like this,

Just following up on our meeting earlier today.

We discussed the issues that I found and you were going to do .....

Going forward I will continue to insure your equipment is repaired properly and is safe to operate.


I also will document each email with pre and post repair photos for your records.

Also please note there is a high risk of serious injury and catastrophic failure if corrective actions are not implemented.

Please keep all service records.

That also is a discoverable document, these will save your but if someone gets hurt.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
 
How did this clown ever get hired in the first place? I would have done what you did- probably saved his life and others- at least for a while
Incompetence needs to be called out before he burns the place down or electrocutes somebody- Unbelievable
They should take those transformers and drives out of his paycheck- I'll bet they're not cheap
 
Last edited:
I’ve worked with men like that. I usually speak to the bonehead first. Tell him what he did wrong, and how he could have known it was wrong. I wouldn’t feel bad though. They won’t fire him. Nobody fires people for incompetence anymore. He’ll get some **** poor third hand “training”, and they’ll pat his little bottom on his way back out to the production floor. If I were you, and can take the hit, I’d probably fire the company as a client.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top