[Grovenet] Ever been stuck in an elevator...

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

I spent a number of years working for Defense Contractors such as Lockheed
Aircraft, Lockheed Missiles and Space and Sylvania's Electronic Defense
Laboratories. Contrary to John Glenns' comment as he rode into space, in my
experience important jobs seldom went to the lowest bidder. Performance on
previous projects, the backgrounds of the staff who would hold key
positions, etc., all played a significant role in choosing a contractor, in
addition to price. The likelihood of a successful end result was a key
factor. 

Indeed, one of the problems back in the 60's (and it seems true today) is
that there are so few contractors for major jobs whose performance record
qualifies their bids for consideration. There always those who would submit
lower bids in earnest, but they didn't get the contract because they didn't
have the track record to prove their ability. For them it was a genuine
"Catch 22". 

What I find disturbing about this story is that it wasn't (apparently) a
hardware issue at all, but a programming issue. Everything from our toasters
to the airliners we fly in will work properly only to the extent that the
programming is correct and bug-free. Bug-free programming seems an
impossible dream, but every day people bet their very lives on just that. 

But, as a society, we seem to have the idea that a software crash will, at
worst, be an inconvenience. Where there is a redundant hardware backup,
often the people involved aren't trained in it, so dependent are they upon
the software-based systems. At least one Airbus crash has been blamed on
just that. When a bizarre fire killed power to the electronic cockpit, the
pilots found that they couldn't see the instruments well enough to navigate.
The airplane crashed into the sea, killing all on board.

In the early 1990's I sailed as a civilian contractor aboard the Navy's
hospital ship, USNS Mercy. I was there to calibrate their radio direction
finding equipment and run other tests while we steamed off the coast of
California on a "shakedown" cruise after a major retrofit in the shipyard.
My duties kept me on the bridge where the navigation equipment was located.
I noticed that the Captain dispatched two of his officers out onto the
bridge wings with sextants where they were doing sun shots and then spending
time doing figures by hand on a notepad to determine our location. I asked
the Captain if the Navy still routinely had its officers demonstrate
proficiency with such navigation in a ship filled with satellite
communications, long wave communications, GPS, LORAN, RADAR and a dozen
other ways to determine its position. 

He smiled and said, "Son. The day we're at war and we have to know exactly
where we are, only a fool would assume any of that stuff you're calibrating
will still be working!" 

Clearly, he didn't get all the gold braid for stupidity. Perhaps more of us
should question the impact of "high tech" failures on our lives. 

Ron D'Eau Claire 



-----Original Message-----
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
Behalf Of David Morelli
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 8:23 PM
To: Forest Grove local interests list
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] Ever been stuck in an elevator...


Just remember, it was built by private industry, not a government  
agency.  So, that means it must be the best that can be built for the  
lowest cost.

David

On Mar 5, 2007, at 7:41 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:

> ...and had to "go"???
>
> Here's America's latest aircraft, the F22, but they forgot to put a 
> door handle on it.
>
> And we think we've got problems with a PC that hangs occasionally...
>
> http://www.counterpunch.org/bryce05032006.html
>
> Ron D'Eau Claire
>
> _______________________________________________
> GroveNet mailing list
> GroveNet at rdrop.com http://www.rdrop.com/mailman/listinfo/grovenet

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