Tags: Funny Management Story Moral Life Lesson Tests Testing Windshields Airborne Aircraft Aeroplanes Airplanes Jets Airliners Aerospace High Speed Trains Bird Hits Strikes Engineers Scientists Internet Broadband Connection Reviews Consumer Feedback Positive Charges Installation Costs Router Security Deposit Subscription Payment Data Limits Companies Corporates Organisations Science Products Safety Problems Solutions Challenges Disaster Destroy Project Simulation Travel Gun Dead Chicken Freezer Success Results Published Research Papers Articles Feedback Pioneering Work Specifications Methodology Resistance Smashed Technology Inputs Advice Suggestions Reports Defrost Home Office Pressure Tasks Relax Reflect Activities Check Outcomes
When we take a new internet connection, what is it that we try to do first? Check its reviews of course. If the reviews and consumer feedback pan out to be reasonably positive, then we may want to opt for the internet broadband connection. But then again, we do not want to jump into it for a stretch of several months in the beginning itself unless we test it for at least a period of 1 month. Even then, we do not want to pay any unnecessary charges like installation costs, router costs and security deposit. So we start off with a bare-bones connection without any charges except the upfront subscription payment for 1 month. Only if we are satisfied that the broadband suits our requirement do we go further... like renewing it for minimum of 3 months to take advantage of lower subscription payment and higher data limits.
It works much the same way in companies and organisations too. Testing is a very important component in every field of science to ensure that the end product meets all safety requirements and does not create more problems than it solves. So here is one such story involving the challenge of bird hits on airborne aircraft and high speed trains.
As we are all aware, one of the major challenges faced by aerospace companies and airborne aircrafts are the effect of bird strikes on the wind shields of numerous jets and airliners. When an aircraft is in motion, an innocuous bird hit can actually turn out to be a disaster and destroy the safety of the aircraft. Therefore, a group of engineers in one of the major aerospace companies got together on a project to simulate the effects of birds striking an airborne aeroplane travelling at high speeds. To do this, they developed the concept of manufacturing a powerful gun which would fire dead chicken (from freezer) at the wind shields. After a battery of tests and several phases, the engineers declared that the tests were finally successful in that the simulation with the gun firing the dead chicken had worked effectively. The results were published through appropriate research papers and articles talking about the suitability of wind shields vide the tests done approving redesigned wind shields for aircraft.
At the same point of time, in another part of the world, another group of scientists were conducting a similar study to assess the impact of bird strikes on wind shields but on high speed trains (instead of aircraft). These scientists had heard great feedback on the pioneering work and tests developed by the aerospace engineers group. Hence, they approached them and requested the necessary specifications for conducting tests with a powerful gun with dead birds on wind shields of high speed trains. The aerospace engineers were only too happy to cooperate and supported the scientists with all requisite details on their pioneering studies and the methodology followed to test suitability of wind shields. Armed with the specifications, the scientists group developed their own simulation of birds striking the wind shields of high speed trains. However, when the tests results were examined, the results that came out were shocking!
The wind shields of the high speed trains that were expected to provide high resistance to bird strikes were literally smashed into pieces! In fact, not a single wind shield that was part of the tests survived and all of them shattered along with the test booth itself. The scientists were naturally horrified with the results. They were highly concerned on the safety and technology for high speed trains. Therefore, they approached the aerospace engineers with their failed test results and asked for their inputs, advice and suggestions. The engineers went through the test reports and came out with a conclusion. They sent a brief reply to the scientists, "You need to defrost the chickens first..."
➤ Life Lesson: There are many times that we put in a lot of hard work into completing a project or test either at home or office. In that endeavour, sometimes, the small things are taken for granted and we overlook the small details (probably on account of time crunch or pressure) that are crucial to making the task successful. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to relax and reflect on all the activities that need to go or have gone into the task and double check if anything has been missed. If we do that, the outcomes are bound to be positive and successful.
No comments:
Post a Comment