Tag Archive for 'manufacturing problem solving'

The Hard Story of the Soft Cylinders

A story based on a true case

The last day of September began just like any other day in the hi-tech factory up in the green mountains of the Gallillee.

Itai, head of the final quality control process, made sure that the testing system was properly adjusted. He checked the temperature guage of the huge cooling cell in which the unit had been tested overnight, and nodded to himself satisfactorily - everything was ready for the final testing procedure, the last stage before shipping the product to the customer.


One click on the red button, and the checking process began.

It took only a few seconds for Itai to realize that something was wrong. The rotating sound of the pistons didn’t sound quite right. Instead of a rythmic ticking, he could hear a screeching sound every now and then. Even before he had the chance to decide what to do about it, the system came to a screeching halt and the words “FAIL” flickered in bold red letters across the test screen.

An hour later a similar malfunction occurred in another system… Pandora’s box had been opened!

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