BEA key check
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BEA key check
I wonder if any former BEA/BA people would be able to tell me anything about this ? I came across it quite recently,and can only assume that it was passed to me by his widow when my friend and neighbour, Tony Fisher,died a few years ago.Tony worked for BOAC/BA all his working life,apart from National Service,first as a radio/radar engineer,before finishing his career as managerof the B737 sim. at Cranebank. Apologies,title should have read TOOL CHECK rather than key check.
Join Date: Jan 2014
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Tool Checks were issued to engineering staff as a means of identifying who had borrowed tools from the stores. When a tool was loaned from stores the operative would leave an ID tag in exchange.
Engineers and fitters would be issued with maybe half a dozen of these brass discs or "tool checks" each with the same unique ID number linking them with the owner. These would be exchanged for specialist or calibrated tooling at the line, hangar or workshop stores, that you wouldn't be expected to have in your personal toolbox, on a day to day or shift basis and returned when the tooling came back into the stores when finished with. Stores staff could tally which items of tooling had gone to whom and at the end of the check or maintenance input it could be determined if any were outstanding.
Nowadays the same process is done by barcode or RFID chips.
Nowadays the same process is done by barcode or RFID chips.
Funny old world, isn't it? A simple, effective and foolproof system is replaced for no very good reason by a computer-based system with a far higher risk of going wrong, simply because computers can and do go wrong, whereas a solid brass disk hanging on a hook tells the storeman everything he needs to know, instantaneously. I bet it was an MBA who decided that brass disks were just too, too old-fashioned.
Retreats into dynosaur cave, muttering "sodding kids with spreadsheets, f**king up anything that works well......."
Retreats into dynosaur cave, muttering "sodding kids with spreadsheets, f**king up anything that works well......."
Funny old world, isn't it? A simple, effective and foolproof system is replaced for no very good reason by a computer-based system with a far higher risk of going wrong, simply because computers can and do go wrong, whereas a solid brass disk hanging on a hook tells the storeman everything he needs to know, instantaneously. I bet it was an MBA who decided that brass disks were just too, too old-fashioned.
Retreats into dynosaur cave, muttering "sodding kids with spreadsheets, f**king up anything that works well......."
Retreats into dynosaur cave, muttering "sodding kids with spreadsheets, f**king up anything that works well......."
Paxing All Over The World
Today at work (in an unrelated field) a number of folks were relating how a particular person has risen through the ranks and become a senior manager - yet never been involved in the day-to-day work at the bottom. That is, has NEVER done the job and been face to face with the customers day in and day out. Not even a few weeks to get the feel of it.
Call me old but you have to have done a job before directing people how to do it.
Call me old but you have to have done a job before directing people how to do it.
Call me old but you have to have done a job before directing people how to do it.
Then you know everything about everything and allot about nothing.
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