On 02/03/18 09:02, The Other Mike wrote:

But with self checkout the stock control can go mad and order a million quids
worth of brocolli and yet the shelves of 80% chocolate, macadamia nuts and
saffron will be empty.


My favourite computerised stock control story was General Electric and
their mad adherence to a mad six-sigma quality standard.

https://www.isixsigma.com/new-to-six...hat-six-sigma/

"Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for
eliminating defects (driving toward six standard deviations between the
mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process €“ from
manufacturing to transactional and from product to service."

Story I heard somewhere was that they were shipping thousands of light
bulbs between far locations in Europe.

Their computer program ran. Lorries were loaded, drivers were hired, and
the delivery got under way for, say, 40000 florescent lamp tubes.

For some reason, only 39999 tubes actually got sent. One was missing.

No problem, computer program ran again. One lorry was loaded, a driver
was hired, and the delivery sent, this time as urgent to fulfil six-sigma.

Yup, one 40ft truck and a single fluorescent tube thrown in the back.

...



It arrived broken :-|

--
Adrian C