Monumental work cockups
Discussion
I sit on the other side of the fence, I'm in IT sales b2b. The last 3 companies I've worked at, have ALL had very strict rules about what you can or cannot do with customers and they all have anti bribery training which you HAVE to take and pass the exam on.
This training almost always contains a distinct differentiation between government (NHS) employees and corporate. It's pretty much banned for me to do anything for a government customer more than maybe buy them a cofffee without first declaring it or signing it off.
No way anyone got bribed with hot tubs in recent years. They were probably birthing pools
If you are going to float your new Rig up an estuary out to sea, it's a good idea to check the height of tides, and the height of the Rig, oh yes, and the clearance of the suspension bridge it has to pass under.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12115524.Erskin...
or it may add to project costs
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12476592.Rig_br...
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12115524.Erskin...
or it may add to project costs
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12476592.Rig_br...
DJFish said:
Are we sure 'höt tûb' isn't Welsh for 'birthing pool'?
It's bwthng pwl you 'tard
I suppose I should add a contribution here: as an architect I've not seen too much that constitutes 'monumental' cock-ups thankfully (though the constant possibility haunts us all...)
- But some things on site do turn out to be deeply funny, and the one I remember fondly - because I was young, naive and so immediately thought at first I'd dropped one - was the contractor building the fold in a drawing.
It was one of the first bits of work I did post-qualification, a revamp on a pretty large department store just off the M40 for a chain never knowingly undersold; a massive post-hoc hackabout of a store that had then been open about 10-12years.
One of the elements of the work was infilling a few recessed 'bays' on the site to create a huge open-plan ground floor workspace for the management, with a new customer restaurant above. Not a problem, fun job. I get to site one day well into the construction programme to find the open-plan office space seems a funny proportion, and a gang of brickies busy erecting a nice bit of fair-faced blockwork in the middle down the long axis; they're about 2m up - second lift - it's going well, but it just doesn't look right. Check plans...
Ah.
Turns out the PDFs I'd issued were more-than-double handled by the contractor's site team - printed at A1 for reference on a stick, yet zapped down to A3 for site use (rather than just printed as such) The relevant setting-out plan had been reduced on the copier, piecemeal; and a couple of generations of loss had transformed a simple fold onto the original through the middle of this lovely space into a neat double line. And without any annotation, set-out dims nor specification call-outs to identify it, the site team cracked-on...
It's not just that they had to take it all down; it's also that we had no fair-faced blockwork anywhere else on the job!
I'm surprised we haven't spoken yet of the massive cock up that is Berlin Brandenburg Airport yet.
That's one expensive mistake.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Brandenburg...
I got a call from my boss back in 2011/2012 if I spoke German (I don't) and could go out and help at Tegel and Schoenfeld airports. We had been awarded a contract to provide service at Brandenburg with the other two airports due to close down, all the old service provider companies had been given notice and we moving out but, all of a sudden, Brandenburg wasn't going to be open 'for a few weeks, maybe a couple of months' according to what we had then been told. Could we go in and do our work for them across the two sites because the old companies weren't hanging around.
5ish years later, we are still doing both old airports and Brandenburg still isn't anywhere near ready, and Schoenfeld is now in fact expanding to continue to meet the demand.
That's one expensive mistake.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Brandenburg...
I got a call from my boss back in 2011/2012 if I spoke German (I don't) and could go out and help at Tegel and Schoenfeld airports. We had been awarded a contract to provide service at Brandenburg with the other two airports due to close down, all the old service provider companies had been given notice and we moving out but, all of a sudden, Brandenburg wasn't going to be open 'for a few weeks, maybe a couple of months' according to what we had then been told. Could we go in and do our work for them across the two sites because the old companies weren't hanging around.
5ish years later, we are still doing both old airports and Brandenburg still isn't anywhere near ready, and Schoenfeld is now in fact expanding to continue to meet the demand.
Edited by Shakermaker on Saturday 19th November 00:10
Huff said:
It was one of the first bits of work I did post-qualification, a revamp on a pretty large department store just off the M40 for a chain never knowingly undersold; a massive post-hoc hackabout of a store that had then been open about 10-12years.
Somewhere between junctions 3 and 5 perhaps?Vaud said:
Countdown said:
If you're giving somebody a bribe then, unless you're a complete amateur, you would have to be pretty stupid to send the bribe to their place of work addressed to them personally.
ETA - best way to bribe a procurement or contracts manager (depending on the size of the contract)
Throw in extra goods FOC (eg buy 10 HP printers, get 2 free)
Throw in food hampers, boxes of chocolates,for each order over a certain value
Send the procurement/Contract Managers crates of whisky at Xmas
Invites to sports events (Old Trafford, Wimbledon, Lords)
Give them massive discounts on work for private work (driveways, fencing, kitchen extension)
Free invites to "conferences" in Barbados, the maldives, Singapore, Dubai (usually including a +1)
Bribes can range from stuff that can be justified as "Corporate hospitality" at the lower end, to out and out cash payments into the wife/mistress's bank account.
For most companies these days accepting those would be a dismissible offence.... (and rightly so)ETA - best way to bribe a procurement or contracts manager (depending on the size of the contract)
Throw in extra goods FOC (eg buy 10 HP printers, get 2 free)
Throw in food hampers, boxes of chocolates,for each order over a certain value
Send the procurement/Contract Managers crates of whisky at Xmas
Invites to sports events (Old Trafford, Wimbledon, Lords)
Give them massive discounts on work for private work (driveways, fencing, kitchen extension)
Free invites to "conferences" in Barbados, the maldives, Singapore, Dubai (usually including a +1)
Bribes can range from stuff that can be justified as "Corporate hospitality" at the lower end, to out and out cash payments into the wife/mistress's bank account.
Edited by Countdown on Friday 18th November 18:20
Biggest issue was the person who was supposed to have received the present never knew about it as they were confiscated by reception, so you didnt know to thank the customer.
eltax91 said:
I sit on the other side of the fence, I'm in IT sales b2b. The last 3 companies I've worked at, have ALL had very strict rules about what you can or cannot do with customers and they all have anti bribery training which you HAVE to take and pass the exam on.
This training almost always contains a distinct differentiation between government (NHS) employees and corporate. It's pretty much banned for me to do anything for a government customer more than maybe buy them a cofffee without first declaring it or signing it off.
No way anyone got bribed with hot tubs in recent years. They were probably birthing pools
I haven't seen outright bribery in years.This training almost always contains a distinct differentiation between government (NHS) employees and corporate. It's pretty much banned for me to do anything for a government customer more than maybe buy them a cofffee without first declaring it or signing it off.
No way anyone got bribed with hot tubs in recent years. They were probably birthing pools
When I first started in IT (80s) it was absolutely rife. Contract awarded? Nice new ride on lawnmower appears from nowhere on IT Manager's lawn. (I knew the guy who paid for that one. Viewed as the cost of doing business....)
Not the only incident, either. Buyers would practically ask for something.
Things have become significantly more honest and straightforward since then, in my experience. To the point when my old firm genuinely wanted to thank a person in a client's purchasing department whose vigilance prevented us both from being defrauded of £50K they wouldn't even accept a tin of biscuits. In the end I accidentally left them on a desk when I left. I assume the accountants did eat them...
A previous company I worked at, we dealt with a big Chinese company. This was about 8 years ago so no doubt things have changed. They'd always been rather upfront about "gifts", sending a list before any visit. One year they asked for £6,000 cash. I'm really glad I wasn't involved in that decision making process...
Condi said:
Last year work decided to 'confiscate' all our Christmas gifts from customers and then raffle them off so everyone in the business could get a chance at a Christmas gift instead of some people getting a lot and others non. Cue a lot of phone calls and personal addresses being given out!
Biggest issue was the person who was supposed to have received the present never knew about it as they were confiscated by reception, so you didnt know to thank the customer.
Where I worked part of my apprenticeship the managing director was allowed to run the company pretty much how he saw fit with very litle oversight from the actual owner.Biggest issue was the person who was supposed to have received the present never knew about it as they were confiscated by reception, so you didnt know to thank the customer.
Come Christmas time all the gifts went straight to the MD's office for all to see, this was in the late '80s when bribery and gifts were rife so there was a table heaving under the weight of wine, whisky, beer, chocolates etc.
Half an hour before everyone was due to finish for the holidays there was a raffle, it was the most blatently fixed raffle ever!
Everybody on the shop floor somehow 'won' their favourite tipple or a couple of bottles of wine etc. The apprentices even 'won' some cash as they were too young to drink...
Another time the purchaser was gifted a bottle of Wild Turkey Bourbon by a supplier, he immediatly passed it onto the MD. The MD opened the bottle, had a curious sniff, a curious sip and promptly gave it straight back to the purchaser
Don said:
I haven't seen outright bribery in years.
When I first started in IT (80s) it was absolutely rife. Contract awarded? Nice new ride on lawnmower appears from nowhere on IT Manager's lawn. (I knew the guy who paid for that one. Viewed as the cost of doing business....)
Not the only incident, either. Buyers would practically ask for something.
Things have become significantly more honest and straightforward since then, in my experience. To the point when my old firm genuinely wanted to thank a person in a client's purchasing department whose vigilance prevented us both from being defrauded of £50K they wouldn't even accept a tin of biscuits. In the end I accidentally left them on a desk when I left. I assume the accountants did eat them...
They still sort of go on in the private sector. Nothing outrageously obvious like brown envelopes or big outlandish gifts. However I've personally been on 3 trips, where we invited the customer for 3 days of 'appliance testing' to our office in the south of France. The testing consisted of about 3 hours in the office over the 3 days. When I first started in IT (80s) it was absolutely rife. Contract awarded? Nice new ride on lawnmower appears from nowhere on IT Manager's lawn. (I knew the guy who paid for that one. Viewed as the cost of doing business....)
Not the only incident, either. Buyers would practically ask for something.
Things have become significantly more honest and straightforward since then, in my experience. To the point when my old firm genuinely wanted to thank a person in a client's purchasing department whose vigilance prevented us both from being defrauded of £50K they wouldn't even accept a tin of biscuits. In the end I accidentally left them on a desk when I left. I assume the accountants did eat them...
On one occasion, All on expenses, the sales girl and I rolled out the red carpet. I hired a 7 series, picked him up from home and drove him to the airport, she had lounge passes for us when we arrived, he went business class (we were further back, made up some excuse about availability but we were cost trimming), there were plenty of expensive restaurants and the customers choice of drinking establishment.
Thankfully he was a top bloke, despite being a scouser, so we spent one night in a scummy Irish bar watching Liverpool on a tiny telly.
it was no chore that's for sure. As someone (a competitor) said to me a few months ago - "the problem with you lot is you're a bit too straight. Give your customer what they want - they want strippers, take them to the strip club; they want a girl for the evening, buy them one of those too. That way you'll get the business."
The world of 'corporate entertainment' is the business' way of putting some money back in the pockets of their customers and suppliers, all totally legally. Trips to Rio for the world cup final? Yes, we'll have those. Rugby world cup in Japan - our Japanese customer will sort out a box. Skiing weekend? At least one or 2 a year.
Not me, unfortunately. Not high enough up the tree for that, but its viewed as a normal part of doing business. The brown paper envelope to be part of a fraud job was a little too far though. That one was declined.
The world of 'corporate entertainment' is the business' way of putting some money back in the pockets of their customers and suppliers, all totally legally. Trips to Rio for the world cup final? Yes, we'll have those. Rugby world cup in Japan - our Japanese customer will sort out a box. Skiing weekend? At least one or 2 a year.
Not me, unfortunately. Not high enough up the tree for that, but its viewed as a normal part of doing business. The brown paper envelope to be part of a fraud job was a little too far though. That one was declined.
Back at my old firm I certainly benefited from two trips to Palmer Sport ...
I used to buy out backup tapes from a certain manufacturer - primarily because they were the best, but they were also keen to keep our business, as I was spending not insignificant amounts of money - lunch at the local was common ...
I was good friends with their European Sales Manager - they, like us had an office in Germany. If i was heading out that way I'd often call him up and see if he happened to be in Geemany that week. Amazingly, ;0), he often was so we'd meet up in the evening for a meal, and this would be at a fairly decent restraunt - ahh, good times.
Also went to a real flight simulator at Garwick paid by a supplier.
I used to buy out backup tapes from a certain manufacturer - primarily because they were the best, but they were also keen to keep our business, as I was spending not insignificant amounts of money - lunch at the local was common ...
I was good friends with their European Sales Manager - they, like us had an office in Germany. If i was heading out that way I'd often call him up and see if he happened to be in Geemany that week. Amazingly, ;0), he often was so we'd meet up in the evening for a meal, and this would be at a fairly decent restraunt - ahh, good times.
Also went to a real flight simulator at Garwick paid by a supplier.
Edited by mph999 on Sunday 20th November 01:08
I used to be a SAP contractor at a global company in the UK. I was tasked with training one of their young IT ladies. She was very good and I eventually got a bit complacent in checking what she was up to. One day I was tasked with changing the data in a field within the customer master data of some customers, so I gave it to her. She managed to accidentally change the shipping terms of every European customer in the database. It was an horrendous cock up and totally my responsibility. I was there 'til midnight sorting it out. I was expecting to be shown the door once I'd fixed it but no, they kept me another four years!
Chris_H said:
I used to be a SAP contractor at a global company in the UK. I was tasked with training one of their young IT ladies. She was very good and I eventually got a bit complacent in checking what she was up to. One day I was tasked with changing the data in a field within the customer master data of some customers, so I gave it to her. She managed to accidentally change the shipping terms of every European customer in the database. It was an horrendous cock up and totally my responsibility. I was there 'til midnight sorting it out. I was expecting to be shown the door once I'd fixed it but no, they kept me another four years!
Aargh! SAP! (makes sign of cross, waves bulb of garlic) When they installed it at my work it rapidly became known as 'Stop All Production'. I've no doubt it's a very powerful tool but using it is a total PITA. Luckily my exposure to it is mostly recording my hours worked, and the occasional expenses claim - occasional enough that every time I use it I'm basically starting from scratch.Halmyre said:
Aargh! SAP! (makes sign of cross, waves bulb of garlic) When they installed it at my work it rapidly became known as 'Stop All Production'. I've no doubt it's a very powerful tool but using it is a total PITA. Luckily my exposure to it is mostly recording my hours worked, and the occasional expenses claim - occasional enough that every time I use it I'm basically starting from scratch.
Hate SAP with a passion. It's the least intuitive bit of software I've ever used.Halmyre said:
Aargh! SAP! (makes sign of cross, waves bulb of garlic) When they installed it at my work it rapidly became known as 'Stop All Production'. I've no doubt it's a very powerful tool but using it is a total PITA. Luckily my exposure to it is mostly recording my hours worked, and the occasional expenses claim - occasional enough that every time I use it I'm basically starting from scratch.
redddraggon said:
Hate SAP with a passion. It's the least intuitive bit of software I've ever used.
I absolutely loved SAP. It enabled me to retire at 53 as I was lucky enough to fall into it at the peak!!! Fortunately I never had to use it as a 'user'.Jasandjules said:
S11Steve said:
I've recently come into contact with the GPs and "notional rent".
I have a friend who is a GP and partner. There is a lot more cash to be made than that............But part of the reason why it is so hard to recruit new GP's is that typically they have to invest in a partnership, but current locum rates are far more lucrative short term and without the up-front investment. The sums involved nationally are staggering.
te. So much is linked ot it in our systems.Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff