Engineering Drawings For Minor Works

Jun 28, 2023 | ENGINEER & COMMUNICATE, Uncategorized

Engineering Drawings For Minor Works

How often are small, seemingly minor jobs instigated with only verbal instruction or the simplest of hand sketches and with no detailed Engineering Drawings for the minor works?
Why is it so? – To use a well known phrase or saying
Well…… There are many reasons given –

•  It’s a very simple, basic job and doesn’t need a drawing
• We don’t want to spend time or money on a detail drawing for such a small job – it is not justified
• Why spend time, effort and money on a small job which the fitter/millwright/skilled worker/contractor can do without a detail drawing and in fact they have done similar jobs many times before
• We don’t have a drafter or the ability to produce an Engineering Drawing
• All of our Engineering staff are currently fully occupied on other major work
• We don’t know what we want – but its pretty simple and we want it fixed and we are sure that the fitter/millwright/skilled worker/contractor can come up with something – they always have in the past
• We always use contractors – we tell them the issues and they figure it out and fix it
• And other similar reasons

The reasons all follow a similar pattern.
However the bottom line is – If there is no Engineering Drawing – How on earth do you know what you are going to get – it’s just like signing a blank cheque. You may get a very good fix or you may not.
And that fix will come at a cost – and not always in money.

Verbal instructions with no detailed Engineering drawings can have widely differing interpretation

I fully expect that there will be some people who will say – “its all very minor stuff – not worth spending much time or money on – JFDI (Just Flipping Do It) –
However, there are many potential traps and follow up questions – such as –

Does the finished work ……

• Comply with all of the relevant statutory external Standards
• Comply with all internal company standards
• Comply with all of the relevant OH&S requirements
• Suit the ergonomic requirements
• Actually provide a suitable solution to the problem
• Provide an “ongoing fix” or will it fall apart very quickly
• Become a “band aid “fix for a problem which will keep returning
• Become a temporary fix which “looks like a temporary fix” and will never get a proper fix – the problem with these types of fixes is that it becomes the accepted norm and they can get progressively worse.

Verbal instruction with no Engineering Drawings for Minor Works. Who knows what the “fix” will be

And of course – There is no permanent record of specifically what has been done, so that if there is a recurring or similar problem – a different fitter/millwright/skilled worker/contractor will need to start again from the beginning. Maybe a different fix – maybe better – maybe worse – who knows? as the work is not being recorded or managed

With no detailed Engineering Drawing there is every chance that a Band Aid solution could be put in place and stay in place until the next breakdown

Most companies are trying to instill a culture of excellence and continuous improvement in their staff. However, it can be counterproductive when questionable fixes are put in place for small jobs and particularly if they stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Sometimes all work is done by outside contractors – I have seen major companies close down all of their internal engineering capabilities and outsource everything – as a cost saving measure.
Whilst this may show a cost saving in one area of the financial accounts in the short term – it is very likely to create a much larger expense in other areas of the financial accounts. And this cost is quite often not captured or immediately obvious.

This can be a very dangerous practice for a number of reasons – However the people who make these decisions are generally very removed from the day to day running of the business and can be quite oblivious to the problems and costs encountered by the people “at the coal face”

I have worked as a contract Engineer/Drafter at a number of companies over the past 50 years or so and have seen many of these issues “first hand”

I will briefly touch on a few areas.

Does guarding which was fabricated and fitted “on the run” comply with statutory standards

• Temporary repairs to pressure piping which have been in place for years – just forgotten about – but will burst eventually with the possibility of serious ramifications.
• Machine Guards which have been fabricated and installed “on the run” which do not comply with safety standards.
• Stairs, Steps, Hand Railing and Platform repairs etc are all likely candidates for non complacence and in danger of being trip or fall hazards

Some companies have regular safety audits and these get picked up.
In other companies these dangers are just part of the working environment – until something goes wrong and there is an incident.

I would also comment that in several companies I did contract work for, the maintenance fitters would keep their own detailed records of machine issues and repairs, typically hand written in note books. Generally they were very protective of this information. In their eyes they owned this data and it was not to be shared with anyone. This went some way to protecting their positions at the companies. And as long as the machines ran OK – this was not an issue with senior management who generally where focused on other issues. I my view it was poor practice – but it seemed to work for them. – Most of the time!!

See attached links for some typical examples –

• Verbal Instruction – “In Line” Machine Guarding

I recall one case at a large company when Verbal Instruction was given…..

• Verbal Instruction – Fixed Machine Guarding

I was working at a factory which had an old Flexographic printer. A Safety Audit picked up exposed moving parts…..

• Verbal Instruction – Copy Existing Machine Components

I will briefly touch on a problem which can occur when issuing verbal requests to outside contractors…..

•     Verbal Instruction – Replace “Like with Like”

Verbal Instruction to replace “Like with Like” has many traps…….

Not Only – But Also……

When there is a need to take a deep breath and take a break

• Looking for “A Better Way” – Go to – Engineering the 3R Way for an overview of the 3R Philosophy                                                Review – Refresh – Reset and link to the full list of topics
• Then Take A Break – With the List Of Pages – Engineering Nostalgia for pages of Old Engineer Memories from Engineering practice in the 1960’s/70’s/80’s – with a bit of armed forces and medieval trivia thrown in
• Or check out Engineering Odd Bits for more odd subject matter – including humor and comment
• Challenge yourself and your colleagues with an Engineering Quiz

Engineer & Communicate – Engineering Trivia Quiz – Engineering Nostalgia – Engineering Odd Bits