Funny stories somewhat related to noise control
By Jim Thompson
I am not sure how funny these stories are to others. I hope they are at least mildly amusing and perhaps there are some nuggets of information buried within the descriptions.
Visiting Japanese OEM Proving Ground
Many years ago, I was visiting the proving ground of a Japanese auto original equipment manufacturer (OEM). We had an up and down history with them. I was there because they had a new top-of-the-line car for which tire noise improvements were needed. I got to the proving ground, and they immediately took me to their noise test lab next to their test track. It was explained that the plan was a subjective ride for me to hear the noise they were concerned about. They had prepared a prototype with all production level components. It had just been detailed ready to be used for photo shoots later that day. We were waiting for the top manager to arrive because he wanted to demonstrate the noise to me.
When he arrived, there was a lot of etiquette. Evidently, he seldom visited the lab and was at a high level in the company. There were four of us in the car and the boss insisted on driving. We were on a short road that led to the test track. In front of us was a chain across the road to prevent people from randomly driving on the test track. I guess the boss did not see it. The chain hit the hood about midway up and began to gouge paint and creased the hood. Following Japanese etiquette everyone was completely silent except the boss. I could have probably learned some Japanese profanity that day, but my translator did not dare speak.
Eventually, we backed up the car up, unlocked the chain, and went on the track. This was the quietest test drive I ever participated in. Only the boss and I were speaking, fortunately he spoke English. In the end he said goodbye to me and left the lab. All the other personnel were completely quiet. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then the lab supervisor sent a technician out to be sure the boss was gone. When the technician came back everyone heard the story in Japanese – I had no trouble understanding what they were talking about especially with dramatic reenactments and screeching sound. Some people in the lab were laughing so hard tears were running down their cheeks. One guy fell out of his chair. I will admit I was laughing along with them.
Certainly, there are some lessons here about prestige, etiquette, saving face, and knowing when to speak up. After this incident, we were awarded the business on this vehicle. For some reason, the demand for quieter tires seemed to disappear.
Gathering Vibration Data
I was working for a large chemical company at the time. There were two groups focused on noise and vibration. Our group was primarily focused on noise and vibration related to noise. The other group focused on high-speed rotating equipment primarily concerned with monitoring, balance, and similar issues.
In one case, the rotating equipment group needed our help to measure vibration on new equipment at a plant in Texas. We sent an engineer and technician down to get the measurements. It was a real rush, the plant was about to go into production, and the data was needed to sign off the equipment.
The guys arrived, and the new unit was having problems. They spent three days trying to get the required data, but the plant kept having upsets. In one case the unit had to be evacuated due to a gas leak. In other cases, there were equipment failures, process segments with runaway temperatures, etc. On the fourth day a tropical storm came in and was predicted to last at least three days. I should have mentioned this turbine and compressor train is about 30 feet off the ground completely exposed with no shelter. The test equipment would not work and might not even survive exposure to the high winds and rain.
Eventually, the guys came back to the tech center and turned in the data. I did not find out until days later that the data acquisition process was a little irregular. Unable to get the measurements specified, these guys attached the accelerometers to the bed springs in their hotel room and jumped up and down on the bed. I never saw the data and did not want to see it. However, it had to have been obvious that this was not data from a 40,000-rpm turbine.
The funny part is that the other vibration group accepted the data, and we never heard a word of protest or a question about the data. Maybe they were too mad to even talk with us. I suspect that the data was filed away and never checked.
Again, there must be some lessons here. Maybe checking data from someone else is a good idea. I know I had a short but definitive talk with these two about never doing something like this again. Maybe someone should have checked with the plant to see how the startup was going before sending people to take measurements. Yes, several times after that these two offered to help when we were having measurement difficulties by going to a hotel in Texas.
I would like to hear your thoughts about these two cases. Were they funny to you or just to me? Do you have similar stories hopefully with some lessons learned.
