<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4134.600" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT color=#000080></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=baldyam@sk.sympatico.ca = href="mailto:baldyam@sk.sympatico.ca">jolly roger</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> September 11, 2001 2:48 = PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Quality = Control--the long answer</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DL> <BLOCKQUOTE><FONT face=arial color=#000080> <DD>Well, again I ramble, so will close....</FONT> <DD><FONT color=#000080> <DD>Del<FONT color=#000080> </DD></BLOCKQUOTE></DL> <DIV>Hi Del, A good post on what really happens.   I might = add that  factory Jigs and Templates have a way of wearing out in use.   Nobody is made responsible for checking them, untill = there is a problem reported from the field,  before you know it, a = critical element is way off tolerence.  And possibly hundreds of nightmare = pianos get out of the system.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>And when factory jigs break or get warn they are repaired by a = maintenance shop that knows nothing at all about the piano or how it should be = built. This is what happened with the ribs being feathered backwards. The = maintenance shop had repaired the jig and put the top few planer guides on backwards. = </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>No one noticed even though it was quite visually obvious. And, with = the boards all nice and new the acoustic problems didn't show up in the = factory even though each instrument was played and evaluated before being shipped. = The symptoms started showing up six months to a year later as sustain = problems through roughly the upper third of the scale. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But, as Ron has pointed out, these were all voicing problems. = They couldn't possibly be soundboard problems.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV>Most of the workers have no understanding of what they are = fitting together, they are just doing as instructed.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>Yes, they are doing exactly what they've been instructed to do. And = that may not be what they are supposed to do. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When I'm in a factory I pretty much discount any and all complaints = about the workers. The company's management team hired that workforce and/or = keeps them on the payroll. For the most part the workers will do precisely = what management expects and requires of them and what it equips and = trains them to do, be that good or bad. The floor performance of any work force is = usually a good reflection of management competence.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Del</DIV> <DIV> </DIV></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>