What to do when the boss is wrong

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jumper said:
I guess I can be a bit of a jerk in these situations.

I say my piece or email as noted above.

Then basically ignore the problem and just wait to see if Darwin's survival theory prevails.

Prolly not the nicest thing, but......<insert shrugging smiley>.
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For future use: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Here is the lab room I set up at our place where we test out theories or train people. There are COUNTLESS exposed 120V level terminals all around this room. I have covered as many as I could to be as safe as possible, but it's really a never ending job because the setup changes monthly.
PWOC.jpg
The key difference from what this thread is about however is that this is a LOCKED room and there is restricted entry. Only me and two other Engineers have the keys, so one of us HAS to be there with whomever goes in. That's totally different from just having exposed terminals on a desk. Cleaning people could inadvertently start a fire or get injured (this room is off limits to the cleaning crew, so we have to clean it ourselves).
 
luckylerado said:
I would not be concerned at all except that he was unable to make his own cord. Shows a level on incompetence that would be concerning but offering up a GFCI to plug it in to would be a quick compromise that would put my mind at ease.
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this
done all the time
help him, grounded cord, insulate any hot spots, etc

does he report to you or is he a peer?
if a peer him going to his boss was his only recourse
inless he went to yours (unless one and the same)
he has a job to do too

you think this bad?
you should see the crap done in a coal mine to keep production going
 
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ramsy said:
Basic Military training requires accepting orders from younger peers. If you adapt, without rolling a grenade under the CO's desk, you'll make it to the next exercise.

Like the Military, the workplace can be one mans miserable gauntlet, and another mans playground for flushing miserable people.
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I was a 22 year butter bar
my plt sgt was a 35 year old combat vet
I always solicited his input
I made the final call
we were on the same page >90% of the time
and yes, he changed my mind sometimes
I may be an idiot but I'm not a moron
 
Ingenieur said:
I was a 22 year butter bar
my plt sgt was a 35 year old combat vet
I always solicited his input
I made the final call
we were on the same page >90% of the time
and yes, he changed my mind sometimes
I may be an idiot but I'm not a moron
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Secretaries really run the company, and NCO's really run the army. Any army.
 
Fulthrotl said:
if it was me, i'd send an email to my immediate superior,
and copy the forkwit on it. explain that it has come to your
attention that an unsafe, and potentially lethal workplace
condition exists, and due diligence requires you to report it.

then, say nothing else. you are done.
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Yes. Document and move on. You can't fix stupid.

If there was imminent danger, decide how much it is worth for you to fight for truth, justice, etc. Doing the right thing against the rolling tide is often rewarded with punishment. Such is life.
 
Fulthrotl said:
... if it was me, i'd send an email to my immediate superior,
and copy the forkwit on it. explain that it has come to your
attention that an unsafe, and potentially lethal workplace
condition exists, and due diligence requires you to report it. ...
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If the objective is to establish a safe culture, not just CYA, I would follow this up with a paper copy, hand delivered to the boss. E-mails are easy to ignore.

Jraef said:
... "EE/CS" degrees ...in which 120V is called "high voltage". ...
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If the hazard level is the basis for naming voltages, it's reasonable to call anything above 48 volts "high voltage", 48v being the voltage that's almost assured of being nonlethal.
(this is also the naming practice in the automotive industry, where 300-plus-volt busses and battery packs have been recently introduced into a culture where everybody works barehand)

hbiss said:
... back when I was 12 years old ... Audio amps had 500v B+. If you had any intelligence at all you quickly learned what to not touch ...
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Current safety & health protocols should not be dictated by dumb & dangerous practices of the past.

The point about cleaning crews is well taken. It's not reasonable to expect every person wandering through an office to have electrical-safety training & awareness, and that's the whole point of the NEC -- making electrical installations safe for people who aren't specialists.
 
Ingenieur said:
I was a 22 year butter bar
my plt sgt was a 35 year old combat vet
I always solicited his input
I made the final call
we were on the same page >90% of the time
and yes, he changed my mind sometimes
I may be an idiot but I'm not a moron
Click to expand...

gadfly56 said:
Secretaries really run the company, and NCO's really run the army. Any army.
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Even a Captain , Major, or even a Lt Colonel will often listen pretty seriously to what the Sergeant Major has to say.
 
kwired said:
Even a Captain , Major, or even a Lt Colonel will often listen pretty seriously to what the Sergeant Major has to say.
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I notified the safety director and we agreed that he (the engineer, not an IT or Electrical engineer) should do this in my fenced in test area.

My boss put in his two weeks yesterday.

Thats how it ended
 
Tbrzezicki said:
I notified the safety director and we agreed that he (the engineer, not an IT or Electrical engineer) should do this in my fenced in test area.

My boss put in his two weeks yesterday.

Thats how it ended
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Wow! Was the boss already planning to leave or was he "encouraged"?:eek:hmy:
 
Tbrzezicki said:
I notified the safety director and we agreed that he (the engineer, not an IT or Electrical engineer) should do this in my fenced in test area.

My boss put in his two weeks yesterday.

Thats how it ended
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Amazing. Merry Christmas!
 
We had some interns a couple years ago and 2 were EE seniors. I was somewhat amazed at how little they knew.

That said, I have wire nutted exposed wires for experiments many times and don't see it as a problem. My jigsaw has a wire nutted power cord
after I cut through it one day. I have never got around to replacing the cord and may never do so. Not worth losing sleep about in my opinion
and this doesn't prove the guy is an idiot.
 
Jraef said:
Here is the lab room I set up at our place where we test out theories or train people. There are COUNTLESS exposed 120V level terminals all around this room. I have covered as many as I could to be as safe as possible, but it's really a never ending job because the setup changes monthly.
View attachment 19180
The key difference from what this thread is about however is that this is a LOCKED room and there is restricted entry. Only me and two other Engineers have the keys, so one of us HAS to be there with whomever goes in. That's totally different from just having exposed terminals on a desk. Cleaning people could inadvertently start a fire or get injured (this room is off limits to the cleaning crew, so we have to clean it ourselves).
Click to expand...

off topic

jraef, its incredible how you manage to browse and contribute to every notable engineering forum and then construct this beaut of a testing lab! :thumbsup: i swear every time i research a problem, it seems you have already encountered it and provided feedback to someone online.

we have a plc rack set up in the print room. the terminals aren't exposed tho.
 
gadfly56 said:
Secretaries really run the company, and NCO's really run the army. Any army.
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gadfly56 said:
I never had the privilege to serve, so my statement was based on the observations of others with actual experience. I wait for enlightenment.
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I would agree that NCOs do run the Army. Major decisions are made at a higher level but the day to day running of the machine is carried out by NCOs. The average soldier may never even talk to an officer during his daily routine.

As far a cooks running the Army I will agree that the Mess Sergeant can be a more important position than many people would assume. But that's because he does run the Mess Hall or what has become know as the Dinning Facility.
 
I would have given him the pigtail.

I'm not OSHA, if someone wants to bench test something knowing full well they could possibly shock the crap out of themselves, well hold on a minute, I'll go get you a pigtail.:D
 
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