Why we check the process ALL the way through

Flashback to the 1980s, when this pilot fish is doing on-site It support at a warehouse that'southward very loftier-tech: The daily "pick sheet" is on a floppy deejay.

"The warehouse had an office in the heart of the building for managing the inventory," says fish. "The warehouse director copied the option sail, list what items were shipped out that mean solar day, to a 5-1/iv-inch floppy diskette. He so sent this diskette to the corporate role."

And that system works fine -- until it doesn't. Ane day fish gets a report from corporate that for the past two weeks the data on the floppy has been corrupt and they can't read the file.

That means the warehouse managing director has to print out and then fax the multiple-page listing to the corporate office, where it has to be manually keyed into the system -- which is exactly what the automation is designed to prevent.

Fish knows there are multiple potential points of failure in the procedure -- perchance the floppy bulldoze has gone bad, or the bulldoze's head is muddy, or some of the floppies are getting worn or have even been damaged in transit.

But when he gets to the warehouse and observes each step every bit the warehouse director prepares the pick-sail disk, it all looks fine. The floppy disk doesn't have dents or other visible impairment. The file writes without errors. Fish confirms the disk and file are both readable, and fifty-fifty makes sure there's no dust in the diskette sleeve.

The problem has to be somewhere else, fish decides. But equally he'south leaving the office, he catches a glimpse of the warehouse manager putting the disk in its sleeve -- and and then hears a loud thunk.

And back at the warehouse managing director'southward desk, he finds the disk stuck to the side of a filing cabinet -- with a large magnet.

"He said he kept losing the diskette, so he brought in a magnet from habitation," fish sighs. "He could then come across it when he left the office and would put information technology in the corporate mail out folder.

"Subsequently trying to explain magnetic media to him, I taped an envelope to his filing cabinet and told him to put the diskette in it each mean solar day. The diskette stuck out the acme to remind him to mail it out."

Haven't yous got something to mail to Sharky? Sure you do -- your true tale of It life. Ship it to me at sharky@computerworld.com. Yous'll snag a snazzy Shark shirt if I apply it. Add your comments below, and read some bully sometime tales in the Sharkives.

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