Crane Cable

[mowens]

We have two 25 ton cranes in the AFP lab. Some guys just came by to check our cables. They said domestic steel crane cable is $6 to $8 dollars a foot and foreign steel cable is $2 a foot, so, naturally, purchasing has been buying foreign produced cable.
Unfortunately, there have been instances of the foreign produce cable breaking under load. With well over a hundred cranes throughout the facility, they have been going to each one to check the cables.
Ours checked out ok.
The mechanic said "you guys should have no problem".
I expect it to break the next time we put it under heavy load. 

[Zoffen]

We have two 25 ton cranes in the AFP lab. Some guys just came by to check our cables. They said domestic steel crane cable is $6 to $8 dollars a foot and foreign steel cable is $2 a foot, so, naturally, purchasing has been buying foreign produced cable.
Unfortunately, there have been instances of the foreign produce cable breaking under load. With well over a hundred cranes throughout the facility, they have been going to each one to check the cables.
Ours checked out ok.
The mechanic said "you guys should have no problem".
I expect it to break the next time we put it under heavy load. 

OMG that is insane. I don't see how you could buy anything but the best for safety related things like this. I can't imagine the cost associated with the scrap and injury related to a crane cable breaking. I would also assume that this is a HUGE liability if anyone gets hurt. Maye you can get it break and just crush a toe and then you are set for life?

[mowens]

Yeah and sometimes they are moving entire aircraft sections (fuselage, cab sections, etc)

I don't know if any of those have been damaged but it would be expensive if they did.

[jstell]

Must be the same foreign supplier of the door plug bolts.   
Haven't they learned anything?!?  Or, this is just for internal use so "no one will ever know"?

[mowens]

The bolts were fine. They just weren't installed.

[jstell]

Sorry, I know that, but if you had non-existent cables you'd probably know since they're out in the open, and then the joke doesn't work.
But seriously that's crazy.  I've seen some less-than-ideal material handling 'methodologies' but usually in small scrappy shops that 'are just going to do it this way the one time' - I just figured if you're hauling around millions of dollars of aerospace stuff you'd maybe have the proper equipment for the job.

[Newbeeee™]

OMG that is insane. I don't see how you could buy anything but the best for safety related things like this. I can't imagine the cost associated with the scrap and injury related to a crane cable breaking. I would also assume that this is a HUGE liability if anyone gets hurt. Maye you can get it break and just crush a toe and then you are set for life?

Yehbut purchasing are in another buildings waaaayyyy over the other side of the site faaaarrrr away from any whippy cable accident so lets just look at the spreadsheet which shows allll the money they saved whoop!

[Here's Johnny!]

Get the purchasing department to stand underneath a testing load to show faith in their decision...

[mowens]

Purchasing is a little out of touch sometimes.
The carbon fiber we use comes in strips of .125 wide, .25 wide, and .5 wide.
We were doing development work for a new program. The testing parameters called for .25 wide tape. Apparently, no .25 was available at the time so someone in purchasing thought it was okay to just by .5 wide tow. Without telling anybody. And it was a lot of material. There were many unhappy people. We ended up having to use the .5. It changed our whole approach to the testing.

[Zoffen]

Purchasing is a little out of touch sometimes.
The carbon fiber we use comes in strips of .125 wide, .25 wide, and .5 wide.
We were doing development work for a new program. The testing parameters called for .25 wide tape. Apparently, no .25 was available at the time so someone in purchasing thought it was okay to just by .5 wide tow. Without telling anybody. And it was a lot of material. There were many unhappy people. We ended up having to use the .5. It changed our whole approach to the testing.

So THIS is why airplanes are so expensive!

[Newbeeee™]

So THIS is why airplanes are so expensive!

No. THIS is why I hate flying!!!!

[mowens]

So THIS is why airplanes are so expensive!

No, that would be me and my coworkers. 

[Incogneeto]

No, that would be me and my coworkers. 

  I would be more concerned of the cable flying around and decapitating someone.

[Zoffen]

Fortunately, most likely this will all be caught on security cameras.

UN-Fortunately, the footage will be mysteriously corrupt for liability reasons.

[Incogneeto]

Fortunately, most likely this will all be caught on security cameras.

UN-Fortunately, the footage will be mysteriously corrupt for liability reasons.

Someone will leak the footage.