Poor Planning and other problems.

ysu65 submitted 606 days ago

I was working as a process engineer doing experiments on lead free solders. My manager and I did a rough draft of the samples required for a complex test on my blackboard and we came up with 216 samples. I told him that it was a very complicated plan and that I would do a spread sheet to verify the numbers before I started the test. I came up with 180 parts and I verified this with a coworker. I ran in to my manager to tell him the good news and he went ballistic. "Where did the other parts go? Where is the difference?" He rated me unsatisfactory for "Poor Planning"

After the build, I ran fatigue tests on the parts. Normally after 50% of a population fails, the fatigue life of the population can be accurately determined. My manager wanted me to run until all parts failed greatly extending test time by months without learning anything. The projections at 50% fails were the same as the 100% fails data within experimental error. He wanted me to cross section the fails. I cross sectioned 45 parts. 44 were perfect, but I got one at an angle and missed the corner joint. He rated me unsatisfactory for "Workmanship" even though we learned nothing from the 44 good sections.

I pulled all of the research data together for a formal presentation, 48 pages of figures, photos, graphs, and charts and submitted them to my manager for review. He sent back a two page note telling me exactly how to organize the data and what to present. It was total crap. There was no organization, he just jumped all round without developing a theme. It was statistically incorrect because he wanted to use very sketchy data to show 95% confidence limits. I tried to redo it to get in some of his demands but still satisfy my professional standards. No dice, �Follow my plan� or else. I said I could not do it and walked out. There is more but you get the picture.

I was canned the next week. And I was working between 50-60 hrs a week for this toad, even running samples on Christmas and Memorial Day. I never felt better than the day I packed up my stuff and left.