You ever just get tired of the bullshit?

[mrblaine]

What are the repercussions and/or penalties for making mistakes? I.e. "Last warning: if you do this one more time, then _ is going to happen." What fills in that blank?

I'm going to give you massive amounts of crap and ridicule you.

 

[Sundowner]

I'm going to give you massive amounts of crap and ridicule you.

That works with some people, causes problems with others, and doesn't impact the rest in any way whatsoever. That said, it seems that he's not really feeling anything other than a social correction that he may not care about: no hit in the paycheck, no enforced time off, etc. Thus, from his perspective, there may well be no penalty whatsoever for making the mistake...and if he's the kind of person that needs a penalty in order to amend behavior, there's no chance of improving things via your otherwise-stellar crap-dishing. The system of parts movement and organization you described is pretty simple to follow, so it's not a process error: it's a a behavioral problem, just like his refusal to wear his glasses when he knows that he needs them.

 

[Mike_H]

The system of parts movement and organization you described is pretty simple to follow, so it's not a process error: it's a a behavioral problem, just like his refusal to wear his glasses when he knows that he needs them.

Disagree. I'

Two identical rotors and boxes with the only difference being the part number on the end of the box. 1 is 67022 and the other is 67045. We prepack those into Medium Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes so all we have to do is slap a label on them and toss them on the outgoing stack.

The process is to set up the USPS boxes, slip a rotor from a stack into them, seal them up, and then put a small sticker on the outside with either 67022 or 67045 to indicate what is in the box.

The two rotor numbers are in two different locations, the stickers are on two different sheets, the packed rotors go into two different locations on the racks. The only way to do what he did would take the equivalent of intentional effort to mix them up. They are not packed at the same time.

The nutserts only have outward color difference to tell them apart without threading a bolt into them.
1 color is in one large bin
1 color is in another large bin.
They go from large bulk bin into final packaging with labels indicating the kit. In this case it would be a 2 for SAE, or 2M for the metric versions. The 2 has a yellow label, the 2M has a green label. They sit side by side on the shelf as do the others. 1, 1M, 2, 2M, on up to 8 and 8M.

If the rotors are identical, why do they have different part numbers?

For the nutserts...How easy is it to switch the bins around? I might try putting all the SAE together in order, than put the metric together in order. Theory there is that he's working "automatically" and just grabbing from the "2" bin. He's not paying attention to 2 or 2M. He may still pick a 3/8 over a half inch, but there is a chance he'll detect the difference in size. People are pretty tactile, when something "feels" different they tend to snap back and look to see whats going on. The difference between a 1/2" and 12mm nutsert isn't as great and you probably won't feel that.

People don't pay attention 100% of the time. They just don't. As managers, its our job to try and mitigate that issue as much as possible. How can you make the process so robust that it can withstand that lapse in attention.

The other thing you might try (and maybe you have) is just simply asking him, "what would help you NOT make this mistake." Sometimes just asking that question is so powerful. Involving him in the solution will give him buy in and make him want the process to work...so he may try harder.

 

[mrblaine]

That works with some people, causes problems with others, and doesn't impact the rest in any way whatsoever. That said, it seems that he's not really feeling anything other than a social correction that he may not care about: no hit in the paycheck, no enforced time off, etc. Thus, from his perspective, there may well be no penalty whatsoever for making the mistake...and if he's the kind of person that needs a penalty in order to amend behavior, there's no chance of improving things via your otherwise-stellar crap-dishing. The system of parts movement and organization you described is pretty simple to follow, so it's not a process error: it's a a behavioral problem, just like his refusal to wear his glasses when he knows that he needs them.

Firing him and telling everyone why he was fired would be far less painful than the ridicule or the beating he gives himself for screwing up.

 

[mrblaine]

If the rotors are identical, why do they have different part numbers?

They are identical for the purposes of packaging in that there is no readily discernible difference to be noted without measuring the overall height which is .220" different between the two to compensate for the difference in 90-99 unitbearings and 99-2006 unitbearings.

In other words, you can't tell them apart by looking at them.

For the nutserts...How easy is it to switch the bins around? I might try putting all the SAE together in order, than put the metric together in order. Theory there is that he's working "automatically" and just grabbing from the "2" bin. He's not paying attention to 2 or 2M. He may still pick a 3/8 over a half inch, but there is a chance he'll detect the difference in size. People are pretty tactile, when something "feels" different they tend to snap back and look to see whats going on. The difference between a 1/2" and 12mm nutsert isn't as great and you probably won't feel that.

People don't pay attention 100% of the time. They just don't. As managers, its our job to try and mitigate that issue as much as possible. How can you make the process so robust that it can withstand that lapse in attention.

The other thing you might try (and maybe you have) is just simply asking him, "what would help you NOT make this mistake." Sometimes just asking that question is so powerful. Involving him in the solution will give him buy in and make him want the process to work...so he may try harder.

I can force myself to remember the parts that go in a brake kit. It is far easier to get the book, open it to the picture and use the picture. Works perfectly every single time and in 100's and 100's of brake kits, it has been flawless.

I'll look at the bins and see what can be done. I know the error is not paying attention. I will ask him what he thinks will work and hopefully get an answer other than, "I think my brain is going".

 

[Mike_H]

They are identical for the purposes of packaging in that there is no readily discernible difference to be noted without measuring the overall height which is .220" different between the two to compensate for the difference in 90-99 unitbearings and 99-2006 unitbearings.

In other words, you can't tell them apart by looking at them.



I can force myself to remember the parts that go in a brake kit. It is far easier to get the book, open it to the picture and use the picture. Works perfectly every single time and in 100's and 100's of brake kits, it has been flawless.

I'll look at the bins and see what can be done. I know the error is not paying attention. I will ask him what he thinks will work and hopefully get an answer other than, "I think my brain is going".

I don't know how many skus you have, but the picture thing sparked a thought. Would it be possible for you to create a fixture that is arranged exactly like the photo? So, he gets his fixture, looks at the photo and puts the parts in the fixture so its identical to the photo.
Taking it a step further, you might even include bolts in the fixture to ensure the right nutserts go in the kit. THAT would almost guarantee the right parts, but it may slow the process down too much.

With things that are visually identical, like the brake rotors, the only real chance you have is physical separation. In other words, One set of rotors is on this side of the room, the other type are on the opposite side. You pack the first type, then you pack the second type. Don't do them at the same time.

 

[Sundowner]

Firing him and telling everyone why he was fired would be far less painful than the ridicule or the beating he gives himself for screwing up.

I know a lot of people that do exactly what you just described, but they keep making mistakes...because it's still not effective correction. I have to agree with Mike; asking the guy "what's going to help you, here?" and giving him some responsibility will force him to own the problem, and by default, own the responsibility. That gives you some pretty powerful leverage down the road, if need be.

Have you sat him down and said "Hey, I know the issue is you just not paying attention, so what's going on?" It sounds like you have, but I thought I'd ask, anyway.

 

[mrblaine]

I don't know how many skus you have, but the picture thing sparked a thought. Would it be possible for you to create a fixture that is arranged exactly like the photo? So, he gets his fixture, looks at the photo and puts the parts in the fixture so its identical to the photo.
Taking it a step further, you might even include bolts in the fixture to ensure the right nutserts go in the kit. THAT would almost guarantee the right parts, but it may slow the process down too much.

With things that are visually identical, like the brake rotors, the only real chance you have is physical separation. In other words, One set of rotors is on this side of the room, the other type are on the opposite side. You pack the first type, then you pack the second type. Don't do them at the same time.

We're getting the right nutserts in the kits. The problem was getting the right kit that matched the invoice. A fixture won't help that in any way that I know unless it is just something to ridicule him. As in, I take a picture of the 2 and the 2M, blow them up to poster size and put a note that says "one of these is not like the other" under them

 

[mrblaine]

I know a lot of people that do exactly what you just described, but they keep making mistakes...because it's still not effective correction. I have to agree with Mike; asking the guy "what's going to help you, here?" and giving him some responsibility will force him to own the problem, and by default, own the responsibility. That gives you some pretty powerful leverage down the road, if need be.

Have you sat him down and said "Hey, I know the issue is you just not paying attention, so what's going on?" It sounds like you have, but I thought I'd ask, anyway.

We have "the chat" every time it has happened. I can tell he is bothered and he is very much like I am in that he strives for perfection knowing that it is unattainable. He owns up to the mistake and responsibility, he just hasn't quit making the little one with big consequences. As I stated, I know mistakes will be made. Just not those mistakes. When I told him the rotor mistake cost me almost 150 dollars to fix, he was pretty sad about that. Slightly disbelieving, but still sad. We bend over backwards to fix our screw-ups. We shipped the correct rotor to the customer Next Day.

 

[B252]

It has to be the time of year, just has to be.
I hear of a customer who posts some crap on his FB page.
Essentially he lives where it is salty, freezing bitter cold, and had a rear brake pad lose a chunk out of it.
His post said, this is what you get for your money when you buy from BMB, I expected much better after 30,000 miles.
That is followed by a whole bunch of folks and their associated bullshit, tell us who it is so we never buy from them type crap.
Screenshots were forwarded to me and I want to fix the problem if I can. I reach out to be accepted as a friend so I can address the problem. Send email, call and can't leave a message since his mail box is full.

He finally calls me later yesterday. I tell him I understand you have a problem and I need to get it worked out since one of two things is true. Either the rig has a problem or that set of pads does and I don't sell junk so I need to figure out which and get it taken care of since that sort of thing is not an inherent trait of the pads and if it were, I wouldn't sell them.

You don't have a warranty.
Yes, that is correct. No brake pads have a warranty except the cheap junk you buy at Autozone and similar. That doesn't mean I can't do something when it is warranted though.

You're contradicting yourself, you say no and then you say they do, which is it?

I repeat myself and tell him to listen to the whole sentence.

You're still contradicting yourself.

No, I'm not. I'm just pointing out that only low priced pads sold by parts store sometimes have a warranty, typically some sort of lifetime bullshit that doesn't mean much.

Look, I'm just trying to fix this and need a way to do so since I can think of 4 or 5 ways a pad can be damaged and cause this. If the parts are good, then it may be a problem with that set of pads and we just need to figure it out and get it fixed.

That and a phone call or email with a heads up would get me to check it out and see what is going on to see what I can do since we do care about our customers.

I'm not going to beg you for a warranty.

I'm not asking you to beg me for anything, just some sort of contact or heads up so I can help if at all possible. If I can find anything that says this is the pad's fault, I'll take care of it.

Please send me some pictures of your rear caliper, rotor, sliders that the pads ride against and we'll get this figured out and handled for you.

So I have to send in my calipers, rotors, and brake pads before you'll do anything?

NO! I just want you to send me pictures so I can make sure if I do send out pads, the same thing won't happen again due to some issue with the brakes and this is just a pad problem.

Please accept my friend request so I can address the problem and get it handled.

No, we aren't friends and all you are doing is bullying me.

Bullying you? Fuck off. click.

My dad told me once. The offspring of the type of person here should be thrown against the wall at birth and not givin' the chance to reproduce. I thought that was mean at first. As I grew up and had to deal with nit wits like this. I understand what he meant.

 

[astjp2]

My dad told me once. The offspring of the type of person here should be thrown against the wall at birth and not givin' the chance to reproduce. I thought that was mean at first. As I grew up and had to deal with nit wits like this. I understand what he meant.

Eugenics is no longer considered acceptable, just like Blackface or any of the other socially objectionable concepts because of these sensitive types.