I Recall When We Cared About The Soldiers
A Marine I follow on Facebook posted this about a helmet recall:
The Pentagon is recalling 44,000 combat helmets that are already in use with deployed soldiers and Marines in combat because they don't met standards for blast protection. They were made by Federal Prison Industries. Ok so we know your're a crook and can't be trusted, but we trust you make combat helmets? WTF!!
Not sure I want to blame the use of prison inmates just yet. The ArmourSource spokesperson hints at the root cause being faulty design and not manufacture. Where they state that the second round of test were beyond the initial specifications. The engineers/managers messing up the specifications of a product can't be blamed on manufacturing.
vlad at May 28, 2010 9:15 AM
Paul Garcia, ArmorSource spokesman, said the helmets passed all of the company’s standards, the Army’s tests and independent testing. The subsequent tests were beyond the scope of the contract specifications, he said.
vlad at May 28, 2010 9:18 AM
Let's hope they aren't packing their parachutes too!
Feebie at May 28, 2010 9:41 AM
Well, all those old license plates were just sitting around...
Eric at May 28, 2010 10:19 AM
Ditto on the design dig.
Consider: no matter how much you pay or threaten them, employees cannot improve your physical product.
A definitive book about this is The Deming Management Method, by Mary Walton (Amy, feel free to link to it in Amazon). Deming is the SOLE reason Japanese products dominate.
Radwaste at May 28, 2010 12:46 PM
This is what happens when the customer changes their mind after the product ships.
brian at May 28, 2010 12:49 PM
I worked in a contract defense plant for over 30 years, so I am not unfamiliar with the hazards of doing business with the government.
Some years ago, there were complaints about hammers that cost hundreds of dollars, when the local hardware sold good ones for $10.
My attitude was, if you could sell them to the government for $10, or even $50, your fortune would be made.
You didn't just make a bunch of hammers and ship them. You had to do metallurgy tests; color tests; weight tests; certify the dimensions. You also had to submit papers that you were complying with various and sundry social issues.
Of course, we didn't sell hammers, but high tech electronics.
Many of the military products were unique to them. But, sold some generic products to both military and civilians.
I think they said the cost of goods sold on the same box shipped on government paper work ran about 30% higher, due solely to the extra Mickey Mouse we had to do on the paperwork.
Of course, just having two different sets of paperwork inherently is more expensive.
irlandes at May 28, 2010 1:26 PM
> Deming is the SOLE reason Japanese
> products dominate.
Overwrought. Their adherence to his principles is admirable, but let's not suggest their own culture has nothing to do with it.
B'sides, in the week when Cupertino's Apple overtook Redmond's Microsoft, what do you mean by "dominate"?
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at May 28, 2010 9:09 PM
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