• TOPICS
    • Design
    • Manufacturing
    • Inspection
    • Heat Treating
    • Lubrication
    • Materials
    • The Gear Industry
    • Gears by Type
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Departments
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Subscribe
  • VIDEO
    • Gear Technology TV
      • Ask the Expert Live
      • Revolutions
    • Industry Videos
  • BLOGS
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • NEWS and EVENTS
    • Product News
    • Industry News
    • Events
  • ADVERTISING
    • Brand Awareness
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
    • Response & Lead Generation
      • Online: Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • Online: Buyers Guide
    • Print Advertising
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • Print: Specifications
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
    • Online Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • Online: Buyers Guide
      • Online: Specifications
    • E-mail Advertising
      • E-mail: E-Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: AGMA Industry News
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Specifications
    • Special Promotions
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
  • CONTACT US
  • AGMA
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Education
    • Emerging Technology
    • AGMA Media
    • Standards
Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Blogs » Gear Talk With Chuck » Are You Worrying About the Right Thing?

Gear Talk With Chuck
Gear Talk With Chuck RSS FeedRSS

Charles schultz
Chuck Schultz is a licensed engineer, Gear Technology Technical Editor, and Chief Engineer for Beyta Gear Service. He has written the "Gear Talk with Chuck" blog for Gear Technology since 2014.

Are You Worrying About the Right Thing?

May 4, 2017
Charles D. Schultz
No Comments
“I used to worry about rich and skinny until I ended up poor and fat…”                                                             Delbert McClinton Over the years, some of the things that cost me many hours of sleep never actually happened. I bet your experience is similar; you toss and turn trying to think of something else but your mind keeps returning to a situation that upsets you. It might be a relationship issue, a family or health concern, or even a minor incident that you know you are blowing all out of proportion. I enjoyed leading an engineering team despite the sleep some of my teammates, or more correctly their performance, robbed me of. Previous blog postings have recounted my schemes to evaluate their results in a logical and dispassionate manner. It did not always work out as planned — but I think it helped me sleep better. On the non-people side of my worries, I try hard to stick to the things I can actually control and let the rest of the problem go. Checklists are great for this, as are step by step process plans. Every item on an aircraft pilot’s checklist, for example, got on the list because someone at some time forgot it and bad things happened. ISO quality plans always include a “list of lists” because they are just so fundamental to insuring good results. When I first started work at one job shop I was surprised to find they were adamantly opposed to written process plans. “Our people are craftsmen,” they argued. “It is insulting to suggest that they need a list of operations to make a good part.” It took our accountant tracking scrap and rework to finally convince the “dead-enders” that there was no shame in “making a list and checking it twice.” If it is good enough for St. Nick it ought to be good enough for you. I find that making lists and step-by-step plans is better than counting sheep when it comes to fighting insomnia. Recently, several nights of rest were disrupted by worries over our house possibly not selling for many months and messing up a planned relocation. Then the place sold in three days and an entire new batch of checklists and plans have to be developed. You can only control so much, after all, and half of that is unlikely to be needed. Good process plans are never wasted; you can recycle them for the next set of worries.

Recent Comments

Thank you for this - Happy Saint Patrick's...

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment

Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
FEATURED VIDEO
  • Helios1
    Forest City Gear Taps Helios Gear for Custom Cutting Tools
January 18, 2023
RECOMMENDED
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • State of the Powder Metal Industry

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_30_Image_0001.jpg
  • The Afterglow of Furnaces North America 2022

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • AGMA
Powered byAGMA
Copyright © 2023 Gear Technology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact