In article , Wayne Bengtsson
says...

1. Convert everything to metric. You will still get mistakes, but they will
be different mistakes. A change is as good as a rest, right?
2. Threaten to convert everything to metric, unless they learn to read their
tapes properly. Most people intensely dislike change, even if it may be for
the better.
2. Do the buddy system. For critical measurements, on person marks it out,
then another person checks it. After the the second person checks it, the
first person pop marks it (if appropriate). All marks that are NOT popped,
are not to be trusted.
3. Better living through technology ELECTRONIC digital tape measure. As
to who pays for it, that's something I think you have to work out with your
own employees. Maybe, if they buy the tape, you supply the batteries?
4. For jobs where you can afford mistakes, the person who makes a certain
feature a certain size, records the actual measurement on a second drawing
supplied with the job, or an "inspection record".

Yes. All of these (well, with the possible exception of the
'metric threat') are excellent ideas.

Most shop require critical dimensions on finished parts to
be personally accountable to one operator. Where I used
to work at night, each part had five or ten dimensions that
were toleranced, and every ten parts every one of those
had to be measured, and written down, and initialed.
Some of this stuff was +/- 0.005 mm btw. In nylon)

Because most of the jobs were long enough, they outlasted
a shift, and the new shift coming on would immediately
double check the outgoing shift's measurements.

The most important thing for managment to do when dealing
with metrology issues of any kind is:

1) provide accurate, calibrated measuring tools that are
2) easy to use and simple to read.
3) identify those who cannot use them and either
4) train them, or
5) remove them from jobs requiring measuring.

and most important, foster the concept that the
MOST important thing is not ship out-of-tolerance
parts. There has to be an enviroment where anyone
can call out wrong-sized parts, and be sure they
won't get yelled at.

Where I used to work, even if a guy worked all night
long making parts, and on the *last* one, realized
he did the previous 500 parts with an incorrect
dimentions, he KNEW that it's better to call the
foreman and leave a note, rather than try to cover
it up somehow.

Call and say, 'hey I screwed up' was met with a
much better reaction than if the outgoing inspection
revealed the problem, or heaven forbid, they missed
it, and the *customer* called and said - "hey this
stuff don't FIT!!"

Jim

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