Bert, That Bloke From Maintenance June 21, 2014
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Joke.trackback
A toothpaste factory had a problem. They sometimes shipped empty boxes without a tube of toothpaste inside. This challenged their perceived quality with buyers and distributors.
The CEO assembled his top people. They decided to hire an external engineering company to solve the empty boxes problem.
The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, request for proposals, and third-parties selected.
Six months (and £2 million) later they had a fantastic solution – on time, on budget, and high quality. Everyone in the project was pleased.
They installed a high-tech precision scale. Whenever a toothpaste box weighed less than it should: a bell sounded, lights flashed, and the line stopped.
Someone would walk over, remove the defective box, and press a button to re-start the line.
As a result of the new package monitoring process, no empty boxes shipped out of the factory. With no more customer complaints, the CEO felt the £2 million was well spent.
At the end of the first month, the CEO reviewed the line statistics report and discovered the number of empty boxes picked up by the scale in the first week was consistent with projections, however, the next three weeks were zero!
The estimated rate should have been closer to a dozen boxes a day.
Puzzled, the CEO went down to the factory floor, viewed the part of the line where the precision scale was installed, and observed that just ahead of the £2 million solution sat a £20 desk fan blowing empty boxes off the belt and into a bin.
He found the line supervisor and asked, “What’s with the fan?”
“Oh, that,” the supervisor replied, “Bert, the bloke from maintenance, put it there because he got tired of walking over, removing the box, and re-starting the line every time the bloody bell rang.”
Aah . . . that’s better!
Source: e-mail from unknown author (sent by Granny1947)
HAHA! This is great!
Hope your day is filled with surprising solutions.
🙂 Wonderful!
Nothing like a bit of ingenuity.
fabulous!
Necessity is the mother of invention . . . especially if we’re feeling lazy.
This is so great. My husband runs a warehouse operation and he is going to love this!! Have a great weekend, Nancy.
Yay! Hope he gets a kick out of it, Barbara.
He did! I heard him chuckle in the other room and mutter “So true!”
😀
Simple and cheap usually works best!
Yup. There are two kinds of people in this world ~ those who throw money at problems . . . and those who reach into their pockets for a paper clip, rubber band, or safety pin. 😎
or duct tape!
Exactly!
Knew you would enjoy this one!
I did! Thanks, Kathy.
😀 Nice!
I wonder if the CEO gave Bert, that bloke from maintenance, a big fat raise?
Love the thinking that goes with this one!
I can see this scenario happening in factories and office buildings around the globe.
Go Bert!
Long live the Bert’s of this world showing us ingenuity and common sense!
Sometimes common sense is not so common. 😎
Oh, good grief – that’s hilarious and so typical. The simpliest solutions can often be the best.
Yes! Hmm . . . maybe CEO’s earn big bucks because they can waste £2 million without blinking an eye?
Great stuff, Nancy! I can always count on you for a laugh! 🙂
Thanks, Jill. I think you hit a homerun with Eric’s spotlight this week. And he has some new fans.
Thanks, Nancy! I think you’re right…how could anyone resist not following Eric after that post. 🙂
I don’t know, Jill. Eric’s a tough act to follow. 😎
Ah, what twenty bucks can solve . . . 🙂
Thinking outside the box pays dividends . . . especially when your scouting for empty boxes.
Oh, this made me laugh so much 😀
Me too, BB. It reminded me of someone I used to work for who created problems out of thin air ~ I’d rather work for Bert.
Reminds me of that apochryphal story from the days of the space race – The Americans designed at great cost a pen that would write upside down in zero gravity. The Russians used a pencil! Fun tale Nancy and how true of large companies everywhere 😉
Yes! Perfect example, Martin. A pencil is the $0.25 solution.
Great job Bert!
Bert, Bert . . . he’s our man!
If he can’t do it, the peptides can!
Go team!
But how will they get 2 million quid in next year’s budget if the problem is solved? Efficiency sets a very bad precedent!
Especially if you’re writing grants.
Now that you mention grants… I have this silly walk I’ve been developing…
I think the Ministry of Silly Walks is looking for proposals.
Wonderful! 😀
Bert would tip his hat to you if he saw what you’ve done to the RUC.
I’d say that’s working smarter, not harder!
Me too! It’s great when shortcuts allow us to be lazy efficiently.