Charter Plane down- breaking news

Cnut. Oh, and ding bloody dong.

May I just say, in my defence, that you have to be a bloody genius to
understand div and curl, which was what did for me.

 

Yep!

 

Mainly because its fucked. No trained staff, no money, maintenance
backlog, massive under budgeting for major projects. No crews for basic
engineering trains, as the freight companies are struggling to supply
engines and crews for their bread and butter customers.

In an effort to make things more efficient (cheaper) within the passenger
companies route and traction knowledge have been curtailed.

I used to know, up until 97/98, nearly every type of diesel locomotive in
use at the time and regularly worked engineering trains (ballasts). I no
longer do so. Yet trained crews are short.

 

You've still got them, haven't you?

 

And the safety case on CSR in Glasgow expired in umm... 2000? IIRC since
they didn't have the code for the radios and the company supplying them
had 'gone' (I think it might have been another crowd in Derby whose name
escapes me at the moment).

They really need to sort those systems out because frankly they're both,
what, 15-20 years old and I'd suspect that spares supply is becoming a
problem.

Which is probably why they are recruiting/have recruited a team to put
an "EIRENE" system in place (if I can remember my acronyms correctly).
I was approached about a Programme Management job to put that system in
place in the summer (9 year contract!) but figured two people from the
Railway industry posting to UKRM was quite enough thankyou.

 

But it was done in such an underhand way. IIRC the government withdrew
support and then took them back into public ownership to "save them from
insolvency" when it was the government's actions that risked making them
insolvent.

Had they been upfront and said "you're not capable of running the
railway infrastructure and consequently we're taking you back into
public ownership" that would have been different IMO.

It's not the fact they're in public ownership that matters to me; the
sharp practice was the way it was carried out.

Well that's possibly true; I don't know enough to have an opinion.

 

I can't remember what div and curl were but think I used them in
Classical Control Theory... which I got 96% in my finals for.

 

The HoFE was raised and refurbed, and renamed "Flushing Range". It was
broken up about a year later.

http://business.unisa.edu.au/cobar/corpresp/case_studies/study3.htm

http://www.aviation.unsw.edu.au/readings/avia2100/AVIA21005.ppt

 

Well, yes. But only one of them. Cab Ride 53, Leeds to Manchester I
think.

 

Ooo, possible NDT man error. Mined ewe, contamination with oil would kill
the fluorescence of the penetrant and I don't know why it wasn't done with
eddy current inspection.
My story:
The Manchester air disaster was caused by one or more of the engine burner
cans breaking up and flying out of the engine and into the wing fuel
tank - same engine as story above =:-o
Shortly afterwards all 737 engines of this type had to be radiographed to
detect cracking in the burner cans in the combustion chamber. I was
working at Luton Airport doing this for the 2 airlines there (no names
etc.).
One of the engines had to be mounted [1] immediately after inspection as
they wanted to use it for a flight and they said to us "tell us the
results after the plane has taken off". After seeing the radiographs and
noting about 5 cracked cans, we told them immediately!
They had to delay the flight until they could get another engine tested.

[1] Do you know only about 3 bolts hold the thing onto the wing?

 

Vector differentiation. I assume they accounted for the 4%.

 

Quite possibly, I have forgotten almost everything I learnt and did by
now.

Still, it achieved its goal.

 

spouted the following in

HMG Were not giving you any more of the publics money.

RT But we won't be able to pay our directors fat salaries and bonuses.
Or our investors dividends.

HMG Tough shit, if you can't run the business on your own two feet the
clawback clause is activated. It was there in the small print when you
fell over yourselves to jump in.

RT Aww, no more gravy train.

 

That wasn't my perspective of what happened at all.

 

SWK obviously. I just think that if the long awaited report recommended
ATP then thats what should have been fitted.

 

ATP was recommended for fitment by Hidden (Clapham Enquiry 1988). On a
cost per life saved Cecil Parkinson (IIRC) ruled it out as too expensive.

Given the number of accidents it would have *prevented* since it would
have been a fucking bargain.

 

Does your best jacket have a hood?

 

No, but it's got lots of pockets for notebooks and pencils.

 

The ones with hoods are good. You can put the notebooks and pencils in the
airline bag along with the sandwiches and the thermos of tea.

 

IME it works something like this:
Board: Here is our business plan for the coming [insert time frame here, it
really doesn't matter how long or short it is], make it be so!
Manglement team: Righty-ho, we'll do what we can with what we've got but you
do realise that we're going to need to spend some dosh to make some of this
happen don't you?
Board: Of course we understand that you scurvy curs, bring us your fully
costed recommendations and make it snappy!
Manglement team: [Doffing forelocks] certainly, at once!
Manglement team: [Much scurrying about, setting out projects, putting staff
in motion to achieve the near impossible] [Start research and costing
exercise for the actually impossible] Blimey we're stretched, and the staff
are near to breaking point.
Rogue member(s) of manglement team: [Whispered aside] I know, if we sit back
and do **** all then we can blame the others for wasting everyones' time
when the board change their minds
Manglement team members who are stupid enough to carry on trying to do the
job their paid for: Right you are, here are our costed recommendations
Board: You stupid fools! We didn't ask for that! We told you that we wanted
this [something completely different from what the manglement team were told
at the start of this process is now discussed]
Rogue member(s) of manglement team: [Sucking up] Ooooh these other people
are so crap aren't they?
Board: Away with you and bring us proper costed recommendations
Manglement team: Erm, OK, if you say so.
[Meanwhile back at the ranch staff now don't know which way the wind will
blow from one day to the next and morale is hitting rock bottom]
Manglement team: Here are our new recommendations
Board: Rubbish! We've seen [insert dirt cheap but thoroughly useless Mickey
Mouse product here] and it is of course The One True Way! Tsk! We don't know
why we pay you people! Now go away and implement this. (Not said this way
etc...)
Manglement team: Well...
Board: Do it!
Manglement team: [Thinking about mortgages and stuff like that] OK, will do.
[Time passes]
Board: This product you have implemented doesn't do the job you said it
should (not that *we* ever said it would do anything at all you understand),
why are you so crap? (Again they never actually admit it this way, but it
amounts to much the same).
[Meanwhile staff are to be seen regularly reading the situations vacant
sections of appropriate trade publications]
Board: Ahah! We have found [person-x who probably plays squash with one of
the directors or summat like that] s/he will step in above you all and sort
this mess out! Behold the wonderment that is the genius of [person-x]. You
are not worthy.
Eventually: **** this, I'm off, what's the package? Bye!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you think I'm cynical?
Basically I've seen this sort of thing twice in the 15 or so years that I've
been working, and it was really most frustrating both times.

ZK - might actually start looking for a job tomorrow