Large Scale Central

QC or the lack of it!

General Discussion
#21

Although it is no excuse, I have come to expect manufacturers to indulge in self flagellation, um… errr self exaggeration, um … self indulgent BS in the hope that the muggins in the market will believe all the hype and spend, spend, spend.

I can even get used to those same manufacturers denying that a problem ever exists. That is to be expected if there is a problem and they cannot fix it because there are no parts or, even more likely with some so called super dooper patented gizmo, the design is all wrong to start with.

What I cannot ever get used to are the shills that immediately jump in saying they have never ever seen the problem with their pet toy. Most of them have no idea whatsoever and probably only exist to toady up to the manufacturer in the hope some crumb may drop from the table.
Either that or they are being paid to preach the “word”.

We all have a duty to expose claptrap where it can be proven. I will continue to do my bit, as apart from making R/C stuff, I am also a consumer who wants to buy stuff I know will work, be reliable and not fall apart as soon as someone looks at it.

I refuse to ever buy a first run anything ever again. Been bitten too many times.

#22

Then there are the big boys who find a way round it .
"No , Mr Morgan , your Jeep Grand Cherokee , £35000 , does not have a design fault with its brakes . No , the discs do not warp when braking occurs causing heat . The noise you hear is the anti lock unit .
We do , however have a redesigned set of brake discs , luckily here in the showroom on hand . Would you like them ? If you fit them yourslf and give feedback , you can have them FREE "---- And , ---------
"Mr Morgan , your vehicle security system remote works the same as any other , you have to press the button with the key right against the windscreen , but we will check to make sure " 10 minutes later----
"There is nothing wrong with the system , try it " and surprise , surprise , it works from 25 feet .
"If there is any suggestion that the sensor was fitted upside down , we shall deny it "
Mike

#23

Kirk -

I spent 8 years working for a software developer, first in Tech Support, then Sales Support and finished up as Director of Operations after the business had dwindled from 50 to 5 employees. What you describe is EXACTLY what went on during the re-write of their flagship product. Only difference id they delivered 2 years late but still included all the bugs and with missing pieces labeled as future enhancements. I left 5 years later and they still had not fully completed the project - and sales showed it!

JRad

#24

I just read a short note over on another forum; where Tony asked a simple question about DCC compliance…OH BOY…sure enough some TWITY TWIT, had to bad mouth Tony, about his view that it was wrong to ask such a question, and that Tony was always picking on any competitors…hmmmmmpicking on them by asking a simple question…hmmmm
THANK GOODNESS…the twits are over there…

Tony.......I'd still like to see them actually answer your question.......!!!!

   I would also like some of those TWITS realize that all we the consumers want is a level playing field........state FACTS, not hopeful statements......then this leads to the QA question.......
Most seem to call it "Quality Control".....we were taught at one time, that to control quality, it had to start at the conception phase.....and after that it was "Assurance", that at each stage, QUALITY was assuredly built in....of course after a few weeks, each foreman set his/her own standards and the whole thing went belly up.

The whole “Quality” thingy is a cultural in it’s self. Human error has to be built into every product; but at what point do we refuse the product as consumers.

I hate to promote the downfall of any manufacturer, who may be closer to the bottom line than is commonly known…BUT; anyone buying an Aristo product with that gearbox, “Greater than Mother’s Milk” drive that is the mainstay of the Aristo loco fleet…is the biggest culpret in the war against POORLY DESIGNED stuff.

I’m guilty of purchasing Aristo wide radius switches, with their guage problems…only because they can be corrected with very little effort…and they are the least expensive product of their type…BUT I AM GUILTY of contributing to the problem…I have had my moments of conflict with Young Lewis Polk, over such design flaws and lack of Quality, to the point that I’m not a welcome person in the Aristo Family Park…even the bear is very cautious when in my company…!!!

We all have our cross to bear…but at least on this forum we are free to state problems, and offer solutions.
Have you noticed that most contributors over here, offer POSITIVE insights to problems; and are not just complainers…
Keep up the positive approach…we may see improvements in the future.

Fr.Fred

#25

Fred,
When faced with the reality that someones pet product has in the past had advertising that could possibly be construed as misleading, the normal knee jerk reaction is to shoot the messenger.

The message stays the same.

Some manufacturers are more concerned with the “sizzle” in the sausage, rather than how good the ingedients are.

#26

Nicely put , Tony . The sizzle has long gone out of my sausage , but I know precisely what you mean .
Mike

#27

Well I must say this discussion has been most educational. I must say the whole situation described reminds me of GM and Chrysler back in the 70’s when design flaws and quality control issues were bleeding the companies dry, but the official stanze was deny deny deny and continue producing crap-mobiles and hope their line was believed. Unfortunalty you can only shove so much down someones throat before they get angry with the whole situation and buy another product. I was looking forward to A/Cs reissue of the Delton C-16, however if its going to use the same new bread-n-butter driveblock that has all the loose-wheel issues on it, I’d rather dig around on e-bay for an older version.

Reminds me of the old saying, If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

#28
Jon Radder said:
What you describe is EXACTLY what went on during the re-write of their flagship product. Only difference id they delivered 2 years late
My boss (not in IT) recently attended a project management seminar (just because he's interested) and the presenter suggested that, in all liklihood, if a project is managed the way I described it will STILL come in late, even though everyone claims to be sticking to schedule. One obvious reason is that all the garbage just keeps getting shoved into the next bucket, and eventually has to be dealt with.

Our project deals with that problem with an ill-defined, post roll-out phase called ‘Stabilization’. While this is labeled as the phase where “little problems we missed or deferred” are treated, I believe it is more accurate to say that this is where the real requirements are actually discovered. Ensuring the highest possible overall cost of the system, of course.

Hopefully we don’t develop commercial aircraft this way, or I’m a dead man.

This thread has been of more value than I could have imagined–I learned two totally new words: shill and muggins. This is great.