Confessions from quality control - The Frontera factory
Discussion
The Crack Fox said:
Next book well underway. A much meatier piece of work, liberally sprinkled with the same flavour twaddle as the first.
You are spoiling us 
Can't wait.
CF, have you read "Back from the Brink" by Sir Michael Edwardes?" It's a great book about how he was parachuted into BL in 1977 to try to basically save the whole shooting match.
I'm a moderate lefty, and come from a socialist household - however even I was appalled at the level of obstructive militancy and trade union defiance, rampant in the industry at the time. I really felt for Edwardes, he was really tying hard to sort it all out, but was blocked and barracked at every turn by a breathtaking level of arrogance and ignorance.
It's no surprise that it all collapsed, and frankly the way the unions handled it, meant that they bloody well deserved to become architects of their own demise.
Anyway, it's a good read if you haven't seen it before!
I found my copy under a pile of unread mail my wife had dumped on my desk in the study last night and read it on the ferry crossing from Holyhead to Dublin today. Fantastic read and I had a lot of laugh out loud moments while everyone else was busy being sick as it was a rather rough crossing. What's more, my younger stepson was very impressed with the lovely inscription, thank you very much indeed CF 
I would love to be part of the kickstarter for the next one as well and can also offer proofreading if you wish (I found a couple of typos, sorry! but then I even found a mistake in the 38th edition, then the latest, of Gray's Anatomy when I was a medical student!).
I would love to be part of the kickstarter for the next one as well and can also offer proofreading if you wish (I found a couple of typos, sorry!
but then I even found a mistake in the 38th edition, then the latest, of Gray's Anatomy when I was a medical student!). Tonsko said:
Rich, my PDF has random sentences in bold and changes formatting from page to page. Font is not easy to read on kindle either. It's not a massive issue, just something to think of for the next book. Content is good though 
Mine did the same, but it looks ok on my PC, so assuming it's maybe an issue with Kindles and PDFs (I don't think I've ever loaded a PDF to mine before).Loved the book and would definitely back another.
As an aside I hadn't heard of the "When Rover met BMW" series before (a bit before my time really), but youtube has given me a taste of what I've missed out on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEkIo5OrAms
Strela said:
I just read the Michael Edwardes book, one of the few detailed accounts of a fascinating period for the British motor industry against the backdrop of huge social change. Although it was only relatively recent, it is almost impossible to believe how such a destructive mentality towards such a huge source of livelihoods for so many people had taken hold of the nutters in charge of the unions. Edwardes' efforts to persuade both the government and the unions to get a grip on reality were a remarkable endeavour. Tony Benn comes across as absolutely bats
t crazy, and it is terrifying to think he came as close as he did to having genuine influence and power (STRONG MESSAGE HERE - as a certain Labour leader said recently).
His message boiled down to - co-operate or die. I mentioned the book to my father, who was a manager at Rolls Royce in the 70s. He pointed out that, despite the title "Back from the Brink", the whole thing ultimately failed, for the reasons people have mentioned on this thread.
I had just previously read John Egan's book about running Jaguar at a time that overlapped with Edwardes. I would also recommend reading that.
And, CF, I haven't forgotten about our arrangement. I am trying to set up a meeting at the museum with someone who can tell me more about the Rollers, so hopefully I can furnish you with some more detail.
Indeed. The depressing bit about the Edwardes book was that BL never learned from their mistakes after he'd left. You can trace all of it back to the day Austin and Morris merged to form BMC and the destructive inter rivalries. The Leyland merger just made it worse. In retrospect, closing Austin Morris in 1977 would have been the best move.t crazy, and it is terrifying to think he came as close as he did to having genuine influence and power (STRONG MESSAGE HERE - as a certain Labour leader said recently). His message boiled down to - co-operate or die. I mentioned the book to my father, who was a manager at Rolls Royce in the 70s. He pointed out that, despite the title "Back from the Brink", the whole thing ultimately failed, for the reasons people have mentioned on this thread.
I had just previously read John Egan's book about running Jaguar at a time that overlapped with Edwardes. I would also recommend reading that.
And, CF, I haven't forgotten about our arrangement. I am trying to set up a meeting at the museum with someone who can tell me more about the Rollers, so hopefully I can furnish you with some more detail.
The Crack Fox said:
Thank you, W00DY.
39 chapters in the next one already, plus lots and lots of decent pics, it'll be full colour this time.
I'm considering recording "confessions from quality control" as a podcast, hosted on my website. I wonder if folks would like that? I am told that I sound like a posh Brummie (I'm from Leicestershire).
A podcast would be great!39 chapters in the next one already, plus lots and lots of decent pics, it'll be full colour this time.
I'm considering recording "confessions from quality control" as a podcast, hosted on my website. I wonder if folks would like that? I am told that I sound like a posh Brummie (I'm from Leicestershire).
cj2013 said:
It's a shame that the wasters from British Leyland probably just got jobs in another manufacturer, for them to inevitably cause the same damage there too.
The comment above, and those from RLY, still ring true in some companies today. There's a certain type of 'older' factory worker who still, very proudly, wears these chips on his shoulder, and acts in the same way. If given enough oxygen they then start to influence those around them...It's not just automotive, either (although I've met more than a few in automotive) - we've got a couple here...they make trying to keep a lid on things tricky, even if you have very transparently good intentions - they just don't believe you and spout poison at everyone else...
havoc said:
It's not just automotive, either (although I've met more than a few in automotive) - we've got a couple here...they make trying to keep a lid on things tricky, even if you have very transparently good intentions - they just don't believe you and spout poison at everyone else...
This is true across all sectors and disciplines, much less so with younger generations but I've found these people can be highly disruptive. They seem to spend half their time working out ways to steal time or material from their employer and work on the basis that the company they work for operates on exactly the same principles. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff