K
[email protected]
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
I didn't say I don't express an *interest* and offer *suggestions*
regarding other aspects of a project. But, I only "answer for my
assigned responsibilities".
My "assigned responsibilities" are cradle to grave.
If the mechanical engineer wants to route the ribbon *through*
a sensor instead of using an alternative scheme that I've
proposed, so be it. If customers complain about how difficult
it is to change the ribbon... <shrug> "I told you so".
As I said, a very narrow view of one's responsibilities.
*My* assigned responsibility has nothing to do with the ribbon,
mechanism, etc. Sure would be pretty arrogant to *insist* that
someone else do *their* job the way *I* think it should be done!
Especially when *he* is ultimately held responsible for that
aspect of the design!
Your ultimate responsibility *is* the ultimate function of the widget and,
yes, even the sales of said widget. If anything jeopardizes that, it *is*
your responsibility.
Nope. I probably have more knowledge of entire projects than even
the project manager, in most cases. And, tend to stick my nose
into places it's not intended to be! ("Why are you getting involved
in the design of the *case* for this product? This isn't your job...")
Sure sounds like that's your attitude.
But, all I take *responsibility* for is my interfaces to the aspects
of the project that border on my portion of the design. If I'm
designing a board, I make sure it fits in the geometric envelope
provided and the power budget allocated. I make sure my choice
of (external) connectors fits with the Industrial Designer's
vision of the product, the case design and the requirements
of the field (sensors, actuators, etc.) to which they connect.
I make sure the software folks have the resources they want/need
on the board. I make sure I can hit my targeted component,
labor and warranty costs. Etc.
I might offer an opinion as to what *color* I think the plastic
skin resin should be. Or, whether it should be a textured vs.
smooth finish. Or, the arrangement of the buttons/keys on
the control panel. Or, the wiring scheme for the safety
interlocks. Etc. But, those aren't my *responsibility*. If
the individual(s) responsible for those decisions end up making
bad choices, it's "not my problem" -- even if the product fails
as a direct result of those changes!
(Is the purchasing agent who ordered the screws -- per the BOM
prepared by the Mechanical Engineer -- responsible for determining
if they are suitable for the job? If the product falls apart
because it should have been solvent welded together instead of
fastened with screws, is the purchasing agent to blame? Should
he feel some moral obligation to "take an interest" in this
decision??)
Doing otherwise amounts to tilting at windmills. Might make you
*feel* good ("We did the right thing!") but you'll typically end up
just alienating a client and/or his staff -- and setting yourself up
to be the scapegoat when something *else* goes wrong.
"Feeling good" has nothing to do with it. It's part of the engineer's job,
even if it isn't spelled out.
Email is a great tool for this! Previously, having to put things
in writing -- just to go "on the record" (even if informally) -- would
draw too much attention to your actions: "Why is he sending me this
information in a *letter* instead of just *telling* me?" OTOH,
email correspondence is easily archived. It lets the client
dig back through your comments long after you've made them and
review *exactly* what was said. He can review that material
and raise the issue again, later, if he starts to see your
(ahem) "predictions" coming true -- without the awkwardness
of the "I told you so" scenario (because you never singled out
that aspect of your conversation as, in any way, "special"...
it's just "yet another email")
Now it sounds like CYA. Sometimes that's necessary but not as a starting
point.
I've watched too many projects (and companies) fail because they
made bad choices -- in how they used or applied their resources
(whether it was "to the business, itself" or just "a product").
At least things that *I* am responsible for I have ultimate
control over -- and can point to and say, "It does everything
it was supposed to do, the *way* it was supposed to do it".
Which is why the engineer takes *responsibility* for far more than the
schematic.