Fine, sign off on every single bolt then
I worked as a lead tech in a specialized hydraulic assembly plant for about six years. The management there was always looking for ways to "optimize" or whatever buzzword they picked up at a weekend seminar. Our shop floor ran like a well oiled machine because we knew what we were doing, but then we got a new logistics director who thought we were bleeding money on small parts like seals, bolts, and specialized grease. About two weeks ago , he decided to implement a "Material Integrity Protocol" which basically meant nothing leaves the tool crib without three separate signatures from upper management.
He told us in a morning meeting that even a single M12 bolt needs to be tracked because "shrinkage adds up." I tried to tell him that waiting for three guys in suits to sign a paper while a five ton press is sitting half-disassembled is costing us way more than a five cent bolt, but he just hit me with that "rules are rules" look. Fine. You want accountability? You got it.
The very next Tuesday, we were mid-build on a custom power unit for a mining client. One of the high-pressure fittings had a tiny nick on the O-ring. Normally, I’d just grab a new one from the bin and keep rolling. Instead, I shut down the assembly line, logged the defect, and walked over to the offices. I needed the logistics director, the shop foreman, and the plant manager to sign the release for a two cent piece of rubber.
Of course, the plant manager was in a "strategic planning" meeting and the director was out for lunch. I told the guys to take a break. We sat there for two hours. When they finally signed, I went back, installed it, and then "realized" I needed a specific grade of threadlocker. Back to the office. By the time I got the second set of signatures, the shift was almost over. The client was screaming because their deadline was blowing up, and we had a massive backlog of parts just sitting there.
I did this for three days straight. Every time a shim was off or a washer looked slightly bent, I stopped the whole process and went on a signature hunt. By Thursday, the plant manager came down to the floor looking like he hadnt slept in a week. He saw four of my best guys playing cards because they were waiting for me to get a signature for a tube of lithium grease. He asked what the hell was happening. I just pulled out the new manual and pointed at the highlighted section about material control. I told him we were just making sure there was no "shrinkage" on his watch .
He snatched the clipboard out of my hand and signed the next ten pages of blank requisition forms right there. The next morning, a memo went out saying the three-signature rule only applied to items over five hundred bucks. I still have a copy of that original "protocol" in my locker just in case someone else gets a bright idea about saving pennies while losing dollars. My coffee was cold by the time we finished that unit anyway.