Oops... I didn't think that would happen...

I've learned a lot about screwing up over the past 19 years. Not that I'm calling myself a screw-up, but I have messed up a lot throughout my entire life. I think we all have.

For example, something my older brother used to say when he was growing up was "oops, I didn't think that would happen..." He was an adventurous fellow. My parents used to say (all in good fun, for those of you who might think my parents are terrible people), "well, we only have to get him to 18, then if he does something stupid, it's his own fault."



As many of you know, I started a new job this summer. I'm currently an engineering intern at Innotec in Zeeland, MI. It's really a major blessing, because it's a job I can get back over future breaks, too. It's exponentially (for you art majors, that's another way of saying a lot) better than my previous two jobs: one in a warehouse and one at Craig's Cruisers ("family fun center"). At Craig's, it was just a crummy "high schooler" job, and they didn't even give me any hours. At the warehouse, I literally weigh-counted screws and other fasteners into boxes, moved the boxes onto a new skid, and put labels on them. For eight (often more) hours a day. But now, I'm working a job related to my field, with people that actually enjoy their work. That makes all the difference in the world.

Where I'm at now, we make the overhead consoles for Dodge Rams (with the reading lights and all that good stuff). While it would be considered an engineering job, it is fairly hands-on manufacturing. We have two IMM (Injection Molding Machines) that mold the plastic resin. In each IMM is a molding tool. There are two cavities in each tool (so it makes two parts with each cycle), and on each cavity, there is a fragile surface that we call the A-surface. Think about the plastic in your car; it has a bunch of tiny ridges and bumps, right? Well, that's what the A-surface makes. Even though the tools are made of solid steel, it's still extremely easy to take off those ridges with a rag.

Anyways, all this information leads me to a story. Since I have never been around molding machines or all this manufacturing equipment, I've had to take a crash course. I've learned a lot in not a ton of time. A couple times, this has led the person training me to assume that I know how to do something I don't actually know how to do.

One day, when I was learning how to start up production in the morning, I screwed up. Part of starting up is purging the tool. We have to clear out all the old, hardened plastic from the day before. to do this, we charge the barrel (put plastic into the barrel) and push the screw forward (launch the plastic through the tool). I'd never actually done this before, but the guy training me, Will, thought I had, so he said, "ok, purge as usual."  So I charged the barrel and pushed the screw forward, not putting the purge guard between the plastic and the A-surface like I was supposed to. As soon as I had flipped the switch for the screw, Will shouted (in an "oh  no, what's going on?" voice), "NO!" I immediately flipped the switch to neutral, stopping the screw. Basically, I had just ruined a $10,000+ tool. Not really, but I can extremely close. But the point is, after the initial shock of "Oh no, what's happening?!?" everyone in my area was so nonchalant about it. That wasn't a one time deal, either. There were other times when I really screwed up, but pretty much every time, I've been almost impressed by how easily the other 4-5 guys just brush it off.

Why were they so easy-going about it? Because they had made stupid mistakes, too. Will, the guy who trained me on start-up, had put the purge guard in the IMM and closed the tool. He flattened the purge guard and probably made the tool need to have work done, too.

What am I saying here? I guess I'm just saying that before you chew someone out about screwing up, think about yourself and what you've done. If you're honest with yourself, I'm sure you can think of plenty of ways you've screwed up in the past. Seriously, I don't know about the rest of you, but making mistakes is one of the best ways I learn to do something. I can say with 99.999% confidence that I will never make that same mistake. At this point, I'm so paranoid about it that I always double and triple check myself.

Bottom line:
People screw up.
You've screwed up.
Don't be a jerk to people that screw up.

I guess that's most of what I'm getting at. I mean, there are cases where people screw up because they're messing around and other similar situations, but in general, people don't try to screw up. And I guess that my "bottom line" wasn't really the bottom line. Oh well.

There you have it. Lots of words, choppy thoughts, and a bullet pointed summary.