Critical thinking

6/8/21, 9:20 PMTrouble in the Truss Construction Shop

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Trouble in the Truss Construc!on Shop

Two weeks ago, during a quality assurance load test, the truss being tested fragmented along its horizontal

axis and splintered, causing a large piece of the truss to break apart and fall on a crane operator who was

helping to conduct the test. The crane operator sustained head injuries and is in cri!cal but stable condi!on

at a local hospital. This accident sent shock waves through the Truss Construc!on Enterprise division

because the company has heavily invested in a new engineering and manufacturing process to produce a

cost-effec!ve truss for new homes. This process and its trusses have been touted to be on the cu#ng edge

of construc!on technology, especially for low-cost housing in overseas markets.

The company safety officer, QA manager, and engineer have signed statements that the test being

conducted pushed the load tes!ng slightly beyond the high threshold of acceptable load bearing, though the

extra load was not expected to cause the truss to fail. In fact, the trusses were adver!sed to meet "high

commercial load" requirements.

Employees in the engineering shop have been asking if the manufacturing or engineering process is flawed

and if the trusses that they are building could fail at even lower loads. Company memos have focused on

produc!on and on con!nuing the tes!ng at lower thresholds. Produc!on managers are direc!ng employees

to con!nue the current produc!on schedule to meet orders for the trusses.

The sales department is keeping an eye on the situa!on. They are concerned that if there is any delay in

shipping, customers will pull their orders, which would be disastrous for revenues.

Obinna Faruch, a produc!on line worker, leaked the details of the accident and test thresholds to the press.

Two weeks later, she was terminated for documented poor performance, according to managers.

The company public rela!ons department has issued a general statement that the company has taken all

ac!on to ensure that this type of workplace accident would not happen again. They are planning a campaign

to communicate the facts of the accident and what the company is doing to ensure a safe working

environment.

Sales is asking PR to monitor social media for nega!ve comments and to prepare a similar statement about

the quality and safety of the truss product line in case it is needed.

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