Are We, As Engineers, Willing to Admit Mistakes? 1

[vpl]

This is a takeoff on JOM's post in thread765-64959. He asked "Would it raise hackles to suggest that engineers are not too ready to admit they can and do make serious mistakes?"

Seeing as I work for the feds and my job involves verifying the adequacy of engineering work done by others, I have my own perspective on this. I also know that it is the subject of many an internal discussion ON THE WORKER LEVEL (on the line of "who guards the guards" - or how does my organization know that we're doing an adequate job.)

I know the people I most admire are the ones who are willing to acknowledge their humanity (that they do make mistakes); however, I'm an iconclast here and not always in my management's best favor.

So opinions, please?

Patricia Lougheed

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[IFRs]

I always admit my mistakes.

If I don't find them, other surely will somewhere down the line (drafting, fabrication, installation, customer review). It's much better to come clean and move on that to try to hide or blame others.

Of course, if I'm not totally to blame, I make that clear also.

My attitude also helps others in our comapny willing to admit their mistakes. No one get's beaten down for it. No one is afraid.

It helps that those above me practice the same attitude.

The harsh light of day and all that...

 

[swertel]

I admit my mistakes. Mainly because then it is quicker, easier, and less expensive to correct them.

But, as far as mistakes go, you rarely stand alone. There are many eyes and hands that touch a product before it reaches customers' hands, be it a report, drawing, analysis result, manufactured good, or anything else. Throughout the process, many people have a chance to speak up about a problem, a potential problem, or something they consider a mistake. Everyone in the process that missed noticing the mistake is just as guilty as the originator of it.

--Scott

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[GregLocock]

Working in the automotive industry gives me a slightly different perspective. We KNOW we'll make mistakes (or, more charitably, don't understand all the interactions in our design), that's why we build prototypes. It would, I suppose, be possible to design a car that didn't need prototypes, but it would not be cost-effective to do so at high volumes. That is, we design systems that are not technically robust, and fix the problems that occur in practice.

When we find a mistake the root causes should be identified and a new procedure added to prevent it recurring. That is the penultimate step in our little-loved problem solving procedure.

To find the root causes ultimately you have to identify what mistakes have been made. This pretty much points the finger. The good news is that the guy who made the mistake is probably in the best place to identify a better way of preventing it.

In practice of course there can be a lot of ducking and weaving at a political level, but at an engineering level the real truth is usually known - it has to be to get embodied in the "prevention of recurrence".



Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[leanne]

I can admit I made a mistake & I'll clean up my messes - of course, I prefer to clean them up quietly.

BTW, if anyone here ever tells my hubby I admitted to making a mistake - I'll deny it.

 

[sc]

I don't hate making mistakes and don't mind admitting to them, even when they do cost me a dollar. What I hate though is clients and builders that would rather bite heads off than find a solution.

On the good side I have made a mistake on a cantliever verandah design, which was picked up by the builder at the start of construction (he invited me onto the "diving board&quot. The builder did not rip my head off, the owner understood and asked how was I going to fix the problem. I fixed and paid for the solution. As a consequence I now have two new clients that are excellent to work with.

Mistakes will always happen and are not the end of the world.

regards

sc

 

[JOM]

Well, personally, I learn from my mistakes.

I can now repeat them perfectly.

Cheers,
John.

 

[TheBlacksmith]

Mistakes are the result of pushing the envelope or trying new things. If you never make a mistake, you're stuck in a rut. Prompt admission and a solution should work, its not easy, but discovery later on is much harder to explain. In both my military and civilian career I've seen many a plan or design mucked up because of ego - the boss wouldn't admit to a mistake, so we continued down a flawed path.

Blacksmith

 

[leanne]

Didn't a famous inventor once say something the effect of he didn't have invention failures, he merely ruled out stuff that didn't work? I'm someone here has the exact quote but I'm too tired to look it up after a 15 hour day today.

Sometimes "mistakes" end up being a good thing - thye don't work as intended, but there are other excellent applications.

 

[IRstuff]

There's this one attributed to Edison:

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

along with a bunch of others:

http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_failure.html

TTFN

 

[Bbird]

I would say engineer as a profession is more readily to admit mistakes than others. If the scientific evidence goes against us there is no way we can defend it.

The problem is pride and the worry of the consequence may inhibite our readiness to declare our mistake openly.

The problem will get muddled when the legal people are involved as they would prevent us admitting any mistake.

On a personal level, I don't find admitting mistake a problem especially having put in the best effort, making sure the mistake if occur would not afftect the overall situation materially and knowing others could probably have committed even more errors.

To err is human.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I think that part of being a professional is recognizing and admitting when we make mistakes, as we all do. I know I've made my share. It is a reflection of honesty, and that in turn feeds credibility.

To me, the issue is not whether to admit the mistake, but to whom and when is it safe to make such an admission. The world is full of those who will spin such an admission into places that none of us want to go, and thus we have to be careful to whom we'll be totally honest with. It boils down to whom can you trust with the knowledge of the mistake, especially if it's before the error has been rectified.

 

[electricpete]

I agree with Cajun. It depends on the organization, the situation, the politics etc....

If you have the (mis)fortune of being the sole technical expert in a specific area within a large organization, and no-one else really has the time/interest/knowledge to judge your work thoroughly, then management will glean most of the information on the success or failure of your previous efforts based on what you tell them of the results. Puts you in a bit of a quandry.

I have seen conclusions on root cause analysis etc shaded in many subtle ways to reflect favorably on previous actions and statements of the person reaching the conclusion.

I have long thought that trying to do the right thing without worrying about how it looks will pay off in the long run. I am starting to change my views to focus more and more on the politics of the situation. Although it is never a one-dimensional decision.