When I Know it’s Not Right

Abstract

Carl and Fred discuss a question brought up at recent conference: what do you do when you are supposed to do something that you know is not the right thing to do? The context was reliability engineering and management.

Key Points

Join Carl and Fred as they discuss how to react when your customer or your management requires a certain method or approach that is not correct, and does not appear to be open to discussion.

Topics include:

• Always maintain your integrity
• What to do when you are required to use MTBF, and there are better ways
• What to do when you are required to use MIL-STD-217, and there are better ways
• Reference final two chapters from our book “The Process of Reliability Engineering”
• Learn the soft skills: listening, formulating your ideas, communicating, presenting, summarizing, and others.
• Clearly communicate *why* there is a better way
• Consider doing it both ways: the right way and the mandated way: balancing budget
• Importance of influencing others
• Look at things from management’s point of view
• Be willing to move outside your comfort zone
• When to “lay your body on the track”
• Work on the source of the conflict
• “Checklist” mentality
• Style vs principle: Thomas Jefferson quote
• Learn to know the difference between style and principle; stand for principles
• Ask, what is the purpose? What are you trying to accomplish?
• Regulatory compliance: what if the regulation is not helpful?

Enjoy an episode of Speaking of Reliability. Where you can join friends as they discuss reliability topics. Join us as we discuss topics ranging from design for reliability techniques to field data analysis approaches.

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Show Notes

 

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