Posts by H in The Hague 937 publicly visible posts • joined 17 Jan 2013
"... there was a fire axe in the cabin crew equipment."
One of my pilot friends got grief in the US because she had some small scissors in her hand luggage. She did point out that in another few minutes, when she got into the cockpit, she would have access to an axe - but no, that argument was not accepted.
"One Asian factory I visited had a full room full of coveralls, ...."
One of my European customers acquired a factory in Asia. First thing they did was to issue all the factory workers with safety boots and insist on them wearing those, instead of the flip-flops they were used to.
"not in-house as a lot of the benefit comes from a mixed classroom where there won't be consensus on "how it's always been done")."
Umpty upvotes for that. Although it would be more convenient and cheaper for me (self-employed) to opt for e-learning I always like to go to classroom courses - often you learn as much from the other trainees as from the trainer.
"You'd think black would be more highvis against white then fluorescent yellow..."
Unfortunately folk - especially those whose approach to H&S is box-ticking rather than critical thinking - are too focused on hi-vis. I think that was originally designed when working near motorways, etc. i.e. needs large reflective panels which make the wearer visible to drivers, at night. But that's not always the best choice for daylight operations. During the day, and away from vehicle headlights there are more effective solutions such as https://www.engelbert-strauss.co.uk/jackets/e-s-forestry-jacket-kwf-3132090-60172-1299.html?itemorigin=SEARCH (developed for forestry but I also wear it on industrial sites).
"I'd be curious to know if the employee(s?) who made the mistake is still in the Company."
Why not? That's one mistake they're not going to make again.
As one of my customers in the heavy lifting industry noted "Sure, we could fire the guy who screwed up, but there's no guarantee the new guy is not going to make any mistakes."
This is your resident pedant speaking.
"Is this a Risk or Hazard?"
Hazard: what can go wrong (fire, electric shock, etc.) and the magnitude/impact of that.
Risk: hazard x probability of the hazard occurring.
So a meteor strike poses an extreme hazard x extremely low probability = low risk
Working on a tall ladder in a gale after imbibing a pint or two poses a high hazard x high probability = very high risk
You can go back to imbibing now -->
(yes, I did get an embarrassingly high mark for my last health and safety exam)
Seriously, understanding hazard, probability and risk does help us think about safety and protecting people. And gives you a tool to explain to box-ticking folk that there is usually no need to wear high-vis inside a building where there aren't any vehicles operating.
"Beyond a certain size*range, the battery will outweigh the payload."
Not really, plenty of heavy tractors are now available as EVs, with a GCW up to around 100 tons or so:
https://www.terbergspecialvehicles.com/en/news/
And the new RoRo tractor prototype handles up to 150 tons I think. Apparently the main challenge when developing that was to cram the battery packs into a chassis which has to be short, given that it has to operate inside ships.
For these applications the higher torque of EVs and reduced noise and particulate emissions make them very attractive, especially when operating inside ships or warehouses.
"I recommend you do, I am at 24.2.5.2 and supports both."
I just updated LibreOffice.
Two issues:
- yes, it can generate a barcode, but gives you no choice of the barcode type (and doesn't even tell you what type it uses)
- you can't easily toggle between the barcode/QR code and the underlying plain text
Almost that time of the week again -->
"1 - get a Code 39 font;"
Please bear in mind that Code 39 only supports uppercase letters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_39
If you use MS Word you don't need to download a barcode font - might help to avoid security issues. The Word Help file explains how to insert bar codes & QR codes and switch between the code image and plain text. Basically, you insert a field, then enter the data for the bar code and metadata (described in Help) to indicate the barcode type, size, etc.
See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/field-codes-displaybarcode-6d81eade-762d-4b44-ae81-f9d3d9e07be3
For example: Ctrl-F9, two curly braces will appear, place the following text between them: DisplayBarcode "El Reg 123" CODE128 \d \t
For a QR code: DisplayBarcode "El Reg 123" QR \q 3
Then right-click the field to switch between displaying the barcode and the text (Toggle Field Codes).
Also works with Excel and mail merge I think, but haven't tried that.
Couldn't find a similar function in LibreOffice Writer, so in that case you would have to get a barcode font.
Used to tinker with this a few decades ago - thanks for the trip down Memory Lane.
"I hope they thawed the chicken first!!"
This is probably apocryphal:
A few decades ago the folk working on high speed trains decided they needed to test the windscreen for resistance against bird strikes. So, taking inspiration from aerospace, they fired chickens at it, which always shattered the windscreen, however strong it was. Finally they asked their aerospace colleagues for advice and were told "Thaw the chicken first."
A good weekend to all Commentards -->
"Could have been in the Nederlands, it used to be illegal to exceed working hour restrictions there."
Note from your humble correspondent in NL: even if you're right I've never heard of somebody being locked up for that. And that would only be possible after they'd been convicted by a court. So not in NL, methinks.
Still, almost that time of the week again -->
Peripherally related to this item:
Many years ago a chemical plant had a scheduled shutdown for maintenance and the installation of some steelwork, by welding. When they wanted to start the plant up again they discovered that the stray currents from the welding had burnt out a rack of instrumentation, which took several weeks to replace :( Very costly loss of production.
When arc welding you have to connect the ground/return close to the point where you are welding. If you use long cables and have a considerable distance between the grounding point and the welding point you can get nasty stray currents. And I imagine the long welding cables carrying a high current could also induce current in nearby cabling.
Apparently any further extensions of the steelwork on that plant were done with bolts or clamps, not welding.
"For last years Basel English Panto Group production... we had a huge cauldron made of papier maché. It took some maneouvering to get through the door to our rehearsal room - and out again."
I was told "Panto in The Hague [several decades ago], one of the keen volunteers built a rowing boat as a prop. Only to discover that it was about 10 mm too wide to fit through the door [hoistway on the second floor]. Eventually we cut through the timber of a window frame so we could take that out and lower the boat down on a rope [across the road from the harbour - must have puzzled a few passers by]. Then screwed the [now structurally compromised] window frame back in place. [I think it blew out in the next winter storm.]"
"They went through the door OK at an angle, it was just super annoying that IT was treated badly by artichokes ('tects) yet again."
In the UK many buildings are built without architects being involved.
This sounds like something a 'value engineer' would do. Unfortunately those folks tend to focus more on costs than value obtained :(.
"Had that myself with a PC where they had very nicely made the slim power button blend in as an underline for the case logo."
And me when I got a new PC years ago, turned you just press the front of the case to operate the power button. But they forgot to put any sticker or engraving to that effect on it. Suppose it looks tidier that way.
Here's one for the weekend -->
"As somebody with an eternally messy office"
A friend once told me the following story:
"I went to visit a colleague in his paper-strewn office. His phone rang - and he couldn't find it under all the paperwork. Apparently the Health & Safety department later condemned his office as a fire hazard."
"I agree, ban books."
Well, the new coalition government in NL is already planning to bring books, concerts, etc. under the high VAT rate (21%), rather than the current low VAT rate (9%).
And planning to bring back duty-free red diesel for farmers.
No, I did not vote for them :(
"This is, of course something that certainly needs a citation given it's not at all cheap and windfarms have been cancelled as they're uneconomic."
A quick web search on 'windpark zonder subsidie' will take you to at least 3 unsubsidised offshore wind projects in the Netherlands. The current market conditions, specifically price increases, mean that is now more difficult. However, such price increases will also make conventional power stations more expensive.
Incidentally, as someone who started his career in oil & gas, and is currently occasionally involved with wind and nuclear projects I'm not impressed by your use of the term 'scumbags'. I haven't really come across such language in discussions since leaving the primary school playground behind. But perhaps you feel using language like that makes you come across as more credible and adult. Or perhaps not.
"My Numatic "Charles" wet-vac is pushing 15 years of heavy use."
Yes, excellent bit of kit and easy to fix.
"Made in the UK, all spares available."
A while ago there was a documentary about their factory on the telly, might be available online. They seemed to do most of the production (injection moulding, etc.) in house.
My Dyson on the other hand, well it certainly challenges my creativity when I have to fix it. Latest thing was the hose tearing close to the handle. Not usually a problem on a vac, the hose is held in place by two rings, you pop them off, cut the hose off and refit it. Only Dyson had glued it into one of the rings so you have to cut it out, being v careful not to damage yourself or the ring in the process. I refitted it without glue and it seems to work fine, so no glue needed. Never buying that brand again.
"The hype has become so bad that I'm almost considering giving up correcting people when they say "AI" that they mean "ML"."
A thousand upvotes for that!
A while ago somebody mentioned Kagi a new, paid-for search engine. Has anyone used that? Trying it out is on my to-do list.
"automatic transmissions are comparatively rare in HGV vehicles .... Almost all HGV's in the U.S. are manual transmissions (usually 9 to 13-speed) and I believe it is the same in the EU"
Different in Europe. Quote from page 87 of the January issue of Truck & Driver "... you can't get a full-size manual tractor unit anymore. DAF was the last manufacturer to offer one, and Scania has discontinued its manual R-series this year as well." And buses, shunter tractors and municipal vehicles have long had automatic gearboxes
"Switching' to 'low speed mode' isn't something that software can do"
Oh, yes it can. On some units (e.g. refuse collection vehicles) personnel can travel standing on the back* when the vehicle is in low speed mode (say, max. 20 km/h). So triggering low speed mode (basically engaging a speed limiter, not necessarily anything to do with the transmission) while driving at high speed is both possible and highly undesirable.
*Permitted in mainland Europe, but not in the UK where safety standards are higher and RCV loaders have to travel in the cab - which is why you see more low-entry cabs in the UK. And now Dennis Eagle have a factory in the US building them as well.
Interesting article. I recently interviewed a customer who makes similar equipment. They stressed that their software development is compliant with UN ECE regulations 155 (Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regards to cyber security and cyber security management system) and 156 (Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regards to software update and software updates management system).
Those regulations aim to prevent the scenarios discussed here. Complying with them took my customer a fair amount of effort but they now think they have a safe system. Incidentally, switching an HGV to low speed mode while it's driving on the motorway was one of the threats they mentioned.
But as these are UNECE (UN Economic Commission for Europe) regulations it could be that only European manufacturers are covered by them.
--> As it's almost that time of the week (but never when driving) and a good weekend to all Commentards.
"... is mostly form over function — the form looks high quality, which we tend to think implies that the content is high quality as well, but that's not the case."
Yup, same problem with machine translation: it looks OK, most of the words and grammar are OK, but the content might not be OK.
Now, in the translation industry they use Machine Translation Post-Editing. But if you're under pressure due to the low rate and are not familiar with the subject of the translation I would think it's going to be very difficult to spot mistakes. I have seen MT leave out a little word like 'not', and that does rather change the meaning.
All this ML stuff would be a lot more useful if you could train it on just your own documents, instead of on a large chunk of the web. Funny, thing is, that's rather like the Computer Assisted Translation some of use have been using for a decade or two. That does work well, and makes translators more efficient, without distracting you with irrelevant stuff.
"a pitot tube (how a physical, non-GPS/Radar altimeter works)."
As far as I'm aware the pitot tube measures airspeed.
The altimeter is basically a pressure gauge/barometer (adjusted so the current atmospheric pressure at ground level corresponds to an altitude of 0 ft).
"Old cars were light weight, had narrow tires, and they had a lower steering gear ratio. "
A few decades ago I went to pick up quite a large hire van. I was used to driving those without power steering, bit heavier than the Austin Maxi I had at the time (great car). That time they gave me a new model, so when I pulled hard on the wheel to make a turn when leaving the hire co building I discovered that it had power steering and came close to crashing into the petrol pumps. Fortunately it also had upgraded brakes so I just managed to stop in time. Next time I picked up a van I noticed that another customer had been less lucky and had indeed crashed into the petrol pumps.
Warning the customers about power steering was apparently beyond the wit of these folk.
"AI is clearly going to be the time wasting,expensive and useless buzzword based clusterfuck of the next year or two."
A good opportunity for the oldies among us to dig up some reports we wrote a long time ago, search and replace 'fuzzy logic' or 'expert system' by 'AI', and then be congratulated on our quick response and insights :)
"Electronics are (despite what people say, and iff designed correctly) more sturdy and way more flexible than a mechanical solution (though I really do like ingenious mechanical devices)."
Hmm, not sure about that. One of my customers makes materials handling equipment used in demanding environments and one of their selling points is that they have fewer electronic systems than their main competitor, and rely more on hydraulic systems. Another customer is a user of extremely heavy handling equipment and they asked the manufacturer of the kit to fit fewer electronic systems to improve reliability.
"The great thing about Foyles was that if you willing to mount an expedition into the darkest recesses of the buildings there was no knowing what treasures you might find"
Many decades ago, on a school trip to London, I spent an hour or so wandering around the old Foyles and got myself a few books, including one on analytical chemistry which is still in the bookcase behind me and still useful. A bookcase which now holds more technical technical books than the entire engineering department of Foyles when I last visited them - which made me feel very sad indeed, old fossil that I am.
I propose a toast to all the technical bookshops some of us had the privilege of growing up with, which often guided our careers.
"Don't take my word for it ... go and check the OED. It caused me to have a serious re-think."
OED tends to use z-spelling and the Collins dictionary (which I prefer, for various reasons) tends to use s-spelling.
I think it's got to do with transcribing words from Ancient Greek into English.
" Yearly tasks are a pain to schedule"
Alas they are. I know of the voluntary group where the new secretary or treasurer didn't apply for a grant in time so the group was ineligible for it. That made a hole in their finances though fortunately they'll survive.
So when I friend recently became chair of a similar organisation I advised them to make sure that any time-limited grant applications are a task of the secretary or treasurer, but that everyone on the committee should note those dates in their diaries and check if the applications have been filed. Better to learn from other people's mistakes :(
That time of the week again, 'cheers' to all Commentards.
I'm not sure there's much point attempting to reason with you, but here goes:
"and more libertarian ones elected, eg The Netherlands recently. Of course Wilder's is described as 'far-right', but that's as always relative to the person's PoV, so if you're on the extreme left, like the Bbc, any libertarian is going to look like they're far to the right of you."
In my view, the parties which had recent electoral success in NL are certainly not libertarian, more authoritarian. Mr Wilder's election manifesto includes quite a lot of 'nice things for ordinary people' which are going to be costly - that's more like traditional socialist policies. Furthermore his party did not submit their manifesto for an assessment to the NL equivalent of the Office for Budget Responsibility - unlike many other parties. Being a fairly fiscally conservative bod with a distaste for unfettered public spending that leaves me thoroughly unimpressed. Lastly, being of a certain age, with a fairly conservative upbringing I believe in taking responsibility for once actions and considering future generations - i.e. not destroying the environment we live in. So I object strongly to the plans to scrap a range of environmental protection programmes which in my view are incompatible with a responsible/conservative approach.
Incidentally, Mr Wilders' party is not a party in the usual sense - it has only two members: Mr Wilders and Mrs Wilders. In other words, party supporters cannot influence its policies. I guess it's one way of interpreting 'one man, one vote'.
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