Re: How much?
Not knowing your situation, but I've been in similar meetings, and they can be super important. If the risk is your bolts failing and your part falling off an aircraft, then $1000 to get 10 engineers in the room and decide on the best screws to be used is definitely worth the cost. Same goes in the Space Biz - You screw up there and you cant exactly fix it at a later date.
Oh and 10 bolts might sound like nothing, but if your series production is rated in the millions, a few cents saved per screw can add up pretty quickly.
So such meetings can definitely have a use. They can also be a complete waste of time, but i rarely find thats the default setting. Unless upper management is involved of course, then they're guaranteed to be a waste of time... ;)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
