How to cover yourself in a bad situation 7

[TurbineGen]

I'm sure many people have issues like this, so I am asking for opinions on what I should do about my situation. I am a young engineer and therefore I am looking for advice of those more experienced and wiser than I am.

A little background:

I have headed up a new department at work for producing mobile substations. The job isn't easy and neither is the product. As an engineer, I have no direct reports. Instead, I must ask other departments for support and they lend me people that they can spare. The transformer department designs and builds the transformer for me (or they at least do most of it) and I build the substation around it. This usually works out ok from a manufacturing/operations standpoint (don't ask me how, though). It seldom works out from a materials or an engineering standpoint. However this time everything failed.

The problem:

The transformer department did not properly fill the unit and it needed more oil. I needed to move the unit over to a fill station by the end of the first shift to get it filled in time for shipment. This requires a heavy haul truck which I do not have, nor do I have access to this. As luck would have it, the field service group got me a truck and driver to help but he only had a 1 hour window... during the company Christmas party. Thus the driver and I were the only one's moving this 10 axle behemoth.

While moving it out, the unit clipped the bay door of the building which damaged the door. The substation was also damaged. The damage was surprisingly minimal and thus I continued and moved the unit to the filling station.

At this time I was quite stressed and frustrated, so after verifying the unit was secure, I went back to my office and sat down and wrote and Email to my boss and the manufacturing supervisor about what happened. I informed them that I took full responsibility for the damage and that it was minimal. I also informed them that it was ready for oil fill and that I would be taking a walk around the parking lot to decompress as it was aggravating some health problems that I have. I also informed them that I would still be able to have the unit ready for shipment on time.

The result:

I ended up with a disciplinary action form for "poor leadership" and that "A leader should not ever walk away from his responsibilities".

To me, this is garbage. It appears (and I admit I could be wrong) that my boss is attempting to cover his behind. He's relatively new and while I have had great experiences with my former supervision, he and I do not mix well. Admittedly, both of us are trying to work together. Unfortunately I don't see it working out in the long run as we have greatly different personalities.

My questions:

What should I do about this? Should I write him a letter and ask to discuss it with me when he has time? Should I just document it to cover myself for future reference? Should I ask about changing departments?

I am professionally immature in these areas and I am very stressed out about this. On one hand I am producing great results. The mobile substations are coming out with the highest quality ever and are coming in well below budget. On the other hand I am losing my mind due to lack of support and it's showing.

One of the great reassurances I have is that I do run a small side business developing sUAS (small unmanned aerial systems) that is doing very well right now although it is new so I am uncertain about the future. Part of me wants to drop the full time job and dedicate to my side business.

Any advice given would be greatly appreciated.

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If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.

 

[JedClampett]

First of all, take care of your diverticulitis. My wife was diagnosed with it but she hadn't followed up with the remainder of the tests due to procrastination and that the tests are somewhat uncomfortable. Long story short, it ruptured while we were at Disneyland and she needed emergency surgery to save her life.
Luckily, she's OK now, but she's scheduled for more surgery. All in all, a very unpleasant experience. And she missed going on a lot of rides.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

And she missed going on a lot of rides.

;-) Priorities...

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[TurbineGen]

I thank you for your comments. Lesson learned. I can't do everything myself. Sometimes I get hard headed and just keep on pushing.

Oddly, the outcome was fairly positive. It seems the incident brought the lack of product support to the forefront of the heads of the company and now I have a lot more cooperation. The situation with my boss will be determined in the future. I think he finally realized how hard I push myself and that if anything, he needs to apply the brakes, not push harder.

On another bright note, the substation arrived early today and the customer was extremely happy with it. All is well that ends well I guess.

Thanks again

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If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.

 

[TenPenny]

From what you've written, the reason you were written up is that you took a walk to cool down, and your boss's perspective is that you should have stayed there and supervised the work being done, even if you were upset. He has a point - if the job is so critical to get done that you need to use untrained people to operate heavy machinery, then it would suggest that as a team leader you should be there, on the spot, the whole time. I can see his point.

And yes, putting out an email that you had to go for a walk to cool down is unprofessional; it's fine to go for a walk, but generally speaking, putting that in an email is whiny.

 

[btrueblood]

"putting that in an email is whiny."

Whatever Mr. Scrooge.

 

[vc66]

Have a more nobel-sounding reason for your absence.

Yea, like you were curing a disease.

Seriously, bigTomHanks has it right. I wouldn't worry about it, and I definitely wouldn't tell about the "sanity-break". It may very well be politics at work here, but all you can do is do your job well. Those who work hard and do the right thing tend to be OK.

Good luck.

V

 

[supercub]

You did what you had to do to ship out in time. Shipping out means getting paid. Put in under your belt that you can make things happen when the everthing is against you, and relay that to your boss.

 

[Wareagl487]

As a wise man once told me.... Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff... Sage advice.

Looking back on my career I do wish I had kept a journal of promises and incidences that were made/happened to me along the way. Memory is fleeting - especially with your direct superiors.

 

[miningman]

I'd be curious as to what was the $$$ value of the required repairs to the unit and the door. My perspective derives from an experience many years ago when I was working outside of the mining industry, and therefore not within my prime area of expertise, and I was being formally criticised for a relatively minor error that I had made, and the words " Do you realise this could easily have been a $5000 f*** up" were directed at me As I sat there, the thought " In the mining field, I could organise three $5000 f*** ups before coffee break, and not feel that guilty about it" crossed my mind.

Similarily on another job, where I had screwed up big time to the tune of $65,000, and when I reported to my boss (company vice president) he could see how upset I was, his words of wisdom were " Try not to take it personally , sometimes s**t happens"
Read between the lines and form your opinion as to my opinion of the calibre of these two human beings.

 

[ports394]

Turbinegen, best advice I can give you... Attack it all calmly. The work needs to be done, and you've been tasked to do it. Take the time to learn it, and do it properly. Don't operate equipment you aren't certified for... especially if you're a licensed EIT or PE.

And restroom breaks are a great way to get a few minutes of peace. But if you tell people you need a minute, they see it as weakness, and they'll take advantage of that..