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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/alwaus on 2024-09-30 14:35:45+00:00.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The plant got a day paid to do nothing, i got the new boss off my back and he got reamed all to hell for losing a days production.