Speak up or shut up?

[matthewsx]

This strikes a chord with me.

I worked for many years in IT, also running my own mechanical shops where I set the standards and enforced them. This past year I've managed a small team that maintains equipment in a factory. My guys are pretty good with safety, one of them ran his own cabinet shop for years, the other a US Navy vet with flight deck leadership experience.

The first thing I did after moving over from IT was to purchase an online training class in CalOSHA electrical safety for everyone on my team and several others in the department. You can't see electricity and it will kill you instantly if you get it wrong so this is critical IMHO. Sometimes I'll look at the work others have done before me and just wonder why they thought it was okay to do it like that.

It's everyone's responsibility to make sure that we all go home at the end of the day, so what you did was right and necessary. Don't let it bother you, all you need to do is think about what could happen if you turn the other way.

John

 

[Nutfarmer]

You probably saved his life. Welcome to the world of dealing with help. I have a small farm and trying to even find help is hard. The one person that has been with e for the last twenty years is retiring. He is turning 65 and can draw his social security. Trying to find a replacement hasn’t worked.

 

[jwmay]

After reading your replies to my post, I still think you were in the right.
Especially since he’s untrainable. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes I reckon.

 

[kcoffield]

That's not a hard decision at all.

On the business side, if you did/do nothing and someone operating the machine becomes seriously injured or loses their life, there will be an OSHA investigation and if the cause is due to something like you describe, almost certainly a civil suit to follow, both of which you become entangled in if you touched the machine in any way. The only difference will be your ability to defend yourself. If you report it, the probability of either occurring is drastically reduced or maybe eliminated.

On the emotional side, all you need to do is think about the people that will go home to their kids and continue to be able to support their family because they weren't mamed or killed. Their need and right to do so far exceeds the right of someone being employed in a position they are not qualified to do.

Best,
Kelly

 

[Eddyde]

Late to the convo and totally agree, you did the right thing. A guy losing a job he shouldn't have in the first place is nothing compared to someone losing their life or being injured due to an unqualified worker.
As a contractor, I have zero tolerance for incompetent phonies. I have fired people for misrepresenting their skills and not showing an ability, or were unwilling, to learn the proper way to do things. I have even thrown such people off my job sites when I had no direct authority to fire them, subcontractor crew, etc. On the other hand if someone comes to me and says, they don't know or are not sure how to do something, I'll gladly show them how or get them the information they require. There is no shame in not knowing only in pretending you know when you don't.

 

[markba633csi]

It seems there is a general trend to discourage folks messing with "specialties" like electricity, chemistry, engines, etc.
Maybe that's part of the reason that high school shops have mostly disappeared- encouraged are the "clean" pursuits like
computer programming but not the down and dirty, dangerous stuff. Got to have special training- no self-taught folks allowed
Not allowed to repair your own stuff anymore either- even if you could which is getting harder all the time with disposable products these days

 

[strantor]

It seems there is a general trend to discourage folks messing with "specialties" like electricity, chemistry, engines, etc.
Maybe that's part of the reason that high school shops have mostly disappeared- encouraged are the "clean" pursuits like
computer programming but not the down and dirty, dangerous stuff. Got to have special training- no self-taught folks allowed
Not allowed to repair your own stuff anymore either- even if you could which is getting harder all the time with disposable products these days

Now, I hear you, but that's not what this is about. I'm self taught, and I would never discourage anyone from trying something they weren't trained to do (within reason, would not support DIY brain surgery). That is how we improve; try, fail, learn.

I mentioned the "other guy," the other maintenance tech which is not the subject of this thread; he made some mistakes too, but I didn't send any emails about him because I can tell he put some thought into it and just was unfortunately wrong in some of his assumptions.

But this guy I sent the email about, I see no logic in the mistakes he has made. There's no evidence any thought went into it or any consideration of the consequences of what could go wrong.

Imagine you hire a landscaper to maintain your property and come home to find he watered half your yard with bleach, and he can't explain why, or what his objective was. And when you explain that grass doesn't like to be watered with bleach, he acts like a teenager who you met coming in the door after curfew and is just waiting for you to STFU and get out of the way so they can go to bed. If you fire this guy will it won't be because he lacks a Master's degree in landscaping; it will be because he's an idiot. Keep the guy who used mulch instead of fertilizer because he didn't know the difference, just teach him. But get rid of the guy who bleaches lawns for no reason.

 

[strantor]

Well I just got a reply to my email. I won't copy/paste it here but it can be paraphrased as the following (just add corporate wording):

"I agree, and I'm already trying to get rid of him. This email will help, so thank you. He won't be around much longer."

 

[markba633csi]

I'm self-taught also; I was speaking in defense of it- it just seems frowned upon now by the higher powers that be- I guess because
there are a lot of self-taught idiots out there- village variety and otherwise
Good that they are taking steps to remedy the situation- the guy will find another job somewhere I'm sure- a better outcome for everyone
Poor helpless transformers- poor little defenseless drives

 

[Dabbler]

Now, I hear you, but that's not what this is about. I'm self taught, and I would never discourage anyone from trying something they weren't trained to do

In your original post you were wondering if you 'did the right thing' - Frankly, as a person of conscience, you had to do something. What you do and how is the only thing to concern yourself with. It was not your decision to fire the individual. If he had anything going for him, they would have re-homed him to a more suitable position.

As an outside vendor, you have to let you client know of the unusual maintenance issues, and the consequences of continuing to operate that way. It is their choice to act in any way appropriate, and regardless of your recommendation, they are free agents and can act appropriate to their situation.

I am mostly self-taught, despite studying Engineering in university. It is commonly believed that once you get your degree, you can start to learn your engineering discipline.