What do you do when you don't trust your boss?

[PhilipFry]

My boss (stress analyst) has made several assumptions that have been flat out wrong. It appears to the rest of the team that these assumptions have been made in order to reduce our calculated stresses. Word of SOME (not all) of these assumptions have reached upper management and we've been instructed to re-analyze 9 months of work. This, along with several other factors have lead the team to feel that his work isn't trust-worthy. However, he wants to sit down with each and every one of us individually and go over our calculations. He has made it clear that he does not want us conversing to one another about our calculation proceedures. I believe that I am following ASME code to the T, and am worried that he will throw them out to get lower stresses...thus passing the part to the shop. When I told him that I was using ASME code, he told me that I should be following his calculations, not using "bogus" references. What should I do?

 

[JAE]

Stick to you guns and use proper procedures, calculations, etc. that you definitely know. It may be that his experience can offer alternative, or augmented ways of calculating, but I would, however, not follow the request to not converse about the calc procedures with other engineers. This is because a huge part of engineering is using other engineers to "bounce off" ideas, practices, and procedures. We don't(or shouldn't) practice in a vacuum. He's basically asking you to 1) do your calcs without anyone else's imput, 2) follow his procedures instead of industry standards, 3) cover his tail.

I would remain respectful, but if you aren't personally convinced that his alternative ways of doing things are correct, simply stick with your opinion, suggest to him that you are simply in disagreement (respectfully) and then let him do what he feels he has to do.

If you have a safety issue, and disagree with him, I would not ignore it as you have an ethical responsibility to protect the welfare and safety of those who use your product. So you may have to go above him to report what you believe is a safety issue. That may cost you your job. Document everything you do.

 

[MintJulep]

Update your resume.

Look up the phone number of your state engineering board.

Document ALL conversations with your immediate boss, and his bosses.

Pull out your past work and make sure that your calculations have not been "over-ruled".

Good luck.

 

[waross]

When I told him that I was using ASME code, he told me that I should be following his calculations, not using "bogus" references. What should I do?

If you can support this statement, you may bring it to the attention of upper management for verification. Be careful, it is a situation in which good reputations may be tarnished and careers damaged no matter what you do.
A memo asking for clarification as to which codes or procedures are appropriate may be productive, even though it may go unanswered. If it is answered verbally then record the conversation asap in the diary that you should be keeping of all conversations requests and directions. As well as dating it it is not a bad idea to also enter the actual time of the conversation and the time and date on which you recorded it.
Good luck
respectfully

 

[DaveVikingPE]

Man, that's scary.

First of all: you're getting paid to look at the last nine months, so you've got some job security there.

Secondly: This is a nightmare situation - for your boss.

There are "senior moments" - and I'm "only" 43 - when I forget how to do stuff. This is why I keep a lot of books, papers and other resources at the ready. It's also why, many years out of school, I continue to do problems outside of work just to keep up with things. Example: I've spent nearly the last year not doing connection design, yet now it's time to design some welded and bolted connections. Gotta catch up and it's more embarrassing to have someone up the chain call me out than to take "too long" and sharpen up the pencil with a bunch of homework problems.

Did you "follow" your boss' calcs? What did he do wrong? What did he do right? Are you and your team 1000000% sure the boss is wrong? Did he really use the word "bogus"? Why isn't he following ASME code?

Anyway, as everyone is saying: document all of your work, keep copies of your calculations and always, always cite references used pertaining to siad calculations.

If you can prove that 100% you did the right thing and yet your boss did something else, your boss will either be fired or promoted to project management.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Keep a detailed diary. Notepad works pretty well for this. Hit <f5> at the start of every paragraph for a handy time/date stamp.

Don't keep the diary (only) on your work computer. Keep it on the USB flash drive that you carry in your pocket.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[PhilipFry]

"Secondly: This is a nightmare situation - for your boss. "

I agree. He is under a lot of pressure to prove than his assumptions won't matter in the long run. You know, no harm no foul. That worries me and I take everything he says with a grain of salt.

"Did you "follow" your boss' calcs? What did he do wrong? What did he do right? Are you and your team 1000000% sure the boss is wrong? Did he really use the word "bogus"? Why isn't he following ASME code?"

Yes I did follow his calculations....at first. He neglected a few shear terms and a tensile stress owning them to be negligible. Each term was relatively small, but added together, they were significant. The term "bogus" was used when he found out that my hand calculations were not significantly less than the FEM. He accused me of "inventing" my own procedure and that I shouldn't be calculating von mises stress because it was "bogus" and not to refer to text books for answers. His stance did not change when I informed him that I followed ASME code XX.X and the in house stress manual. I believe his methodology is loosely based on the ASME code, but does not follow it exactly...I don't have an answer for you as far as to why it isn't followed exactly.

We have since met with his bosses about our concerns. Something may or may not change this week...or ever.

 

[DaveVikingPE]

" The term "bogus" was used when he found out that my hand calculations were not significantly less than the FEM. "

Ugh. Man, if my hand calcs - for the first, simplest case - don't near-match a computer's numbers, something is wrong.

I've never had a boss like that. I've either worked for someone who could pick up my error (omission, wrong assumption, didn't understand the mechanics of the situtation, etc.) right away or someone who would meticulously check my calculations. Right now I work for someone who *has* to see the hand calculations side-by-side with all my computer results.

I don't envy the agony of your situation.