Crews Letter #2006 04
The
Industrial Revolution is Just Starting
Two Nations
Separated by a Common Language.
- Winston Churchill
Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen:
Perception has four steering
systems: 1)port wheel,
2)starboard wheel, 3)Autohelm and 4)emergency
tiller. The first three are independent
to the quadrant on the rudderstock. The
emergency tiller bypasses the quadrant and connects directly to the stock. Three out of four were functional throughout
2005.
When living in another
people’s culture, one should be slow to make judgments or find fault. Language, customs and expectations are very
different. On the
other hand, it has been nearly a year since the jerks at Whitlock Steering,
parent company Lewmar, both British, did everything they could to screw up our
season. See "World Class"
Organizations Revisted for an initial and
shortened statement of the problem. Or read below for the whole kit and caboodle.
.
In early May,
2005, we discovered some oil under the port steering columns. Like oil on the garage floor, it had to come
from somewhere and it was not a good sign.
The local technician and general yacht guru said he had never seen
anything like it and agreed that asking Whitlock was appropriate. We emailed Nautilus, the Lewmar Distributor
for
George at Nautilus was quick
to reply and responsive throughout the process. The problem part was identified as WRG-10, Whitlock Reduction Gear, size
10. Elan forwarded our email to Jerk #1,
the Whitlock Distributor for
From:
Bas Peute [mailto:BPeute@Lewmar.nl]
Sent:
To: 'Luka Kepec'
Subject: RE: Whitlock Steering
Dear All,
The bevelboxes are filled with grease.
It is possible that on some occasions the 'liquid part' of the grease sweats
through the bevelbox covers.
This is nothing to
worry about as there will remain enough grease in the bevelbox and it is only the 'liquid part' of the grease
that sweats trough. Normally spoken this sweating stops
after a while, if not than tension the scews a bit
tighter to get more pressure on the cover.
In case this does
not help please let us know.
Best regards,
Lewmar North
Bas Peute
“Nothing to worry about”,
but WRG-10 had been sent to the factory in
Factories make terrible
service centers. The problem is
focus. Factories concentrate on
maximizing profits by completing and shipping the most goods with the highest
margin ( or gross depending on how management measures
performance) in each accounting period.
Toward the end of the accounting period quality, customer promises,
schedules, all are forgotten. Maximizing performance is the only
consideration. Whatever management
measures the factory manager by is the focus.
A single WRG-10 for a customer in
Maybe a sketch and some
pictures would help to visualize the system:
At Lewmar Steering Division in
On a weekly basis we asked for an update. In Late July, the first answer from Jerk #2,
From:
Nautilus Info [mailto:info@nautilus.gr]
Sent:
To: Phyl & Fred
Subject: RE: Email Connect
George
We
are moving the factory to new premises at this time so I have not been able to
locate the WRG10 as it is probably packed and on it's
way to the new site.
We
will re-open the factory on the 8th August and I have asked Chris Marks to
locate this when we are back.
Kind
regards
Graham
A Smith
Product
Manager Lewmar Steering Division
Little wonder the
Chinese own the last British carmaker.
Some nations are just
not suited for industry.
The
Bye, bye, General Motors.
Chris Marks, Jerk #3, was never heard from.
When your boss, Jerk #2, makes a mess, it is usually best to maintain a
low profile.
August came and went with no
new revelations from that little island on the far side of the Channel
appeared. In September, it was time to
get Perception out of
This time Fred bypassed the
distributor and the factory. Don’t you just hate going over people’s head?
From:
Phyl & Fred [mailto:fred@svperception.us]
Sent:
To: info@lewmar.com
Cc:
Subject: WRG10 SV Perception
Hello
Lewmar: Is there anyone home?
Is there anyone at
the Steering Division with vital life signs? Do they understand
urgency? The importance of a steering system on a
yacht? Concern for "Customer Service"?
Please find
attached an email sent two weeks a go. To date there is no reply.
--------
Original Message --------
Subject: WRG10 Reduction Gear Box -- SV Perception
From: Phyl & Fred <fred@svperception.us>
Date: Wed,
To:
Dear Mr. Smith,
The purpose of this email is to request that you expedite
the WRG10 reduction gear box
that you are holding in
If it were not so sad, this situation would be quite
comical.
Lewmar has had this gear box off
the boat throughout the sailing season of 2005. It was first sent to the
Lewmar distributor in
It has been lost in shipment between
It has been found in
It has been shipped to
It has been packed away for the
relocation of the plant.
It has been lost.
A replacement has been built.
And now, you are sitting on it.
We are leaving
Lewmar has had it for more than four months. How much
longer can it take?
Sincerely,
G Fred Denton +30
There has been no
reply. Email and phone calls are ignored.
I discussed by phone today the situation with the Greek Distributor, George Saklas. He is as bewildered as I am.
We are now in
Sincerely,
G Fred
Actually, the replacement
probably had not been built, so it couldn’t be lost.
The next day, the phone came
alive with phone calls from Ian Stevenson and George from Nautilus. Graham Smith was on assignment in the
-----Original Message-----
From: Alison Roberts [mailto:ARoberts@whitlocksteering.com]
Sent:
To: 'fred@svperception.us'
Cc: IStevenson@lewmar.com
Subject: WRG10
Good Morning Fred,
Sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday I have been trying to ring
you on the number you sent on your email but with little success. I have good
news for you though we can ship this part to you on Monday so can you please
confirm the delivery address and mode of shipping you require and I will make
sure this happens and email you to confirm.
Again
please accept our apologies for the delays you have encountered. If you have
any questions or need further information please ring me at any time.
Best Regards
Alison Roberts
Logistics Manager Lewmar
Steering Division
Tel +44
(0)1582 404400
Direct
Dial +44 (0)1582 816332
Fax +44
(0)1582 400331
E-Mail ARoberts@whitlocksteering.com
Web site www.lewmar.com
Fred called and emailed that
the replacement should be sent to Nautilus in
-----Original Message-----
From: Phyl & Fred [mailto:fred@svperception.us]
Sent:
To: Alison Roberts; Ian Stevenson
Cc: George; luka.kepec@elan.si; BPeute@Lewmar.nl;
Subject: SV Perception's Whitlock Steering System is Functional Once
More
Hello Alison and
Ian;
Thank you.
There are vital life signs at Lewmar and Whitlock Steering Division. You
two have demonstrated them.
By a somewhat circuitous route, the WRG10
caught up with us here in
Sunday was our
last sail of the season. We are now into the put up and lift out process
to be completed before we journey back to
For the record and
future reference, the "off the shelf" WRG10
is not an exact fit for the Elan 45. Because the mounting bracket that is
used to attach it to the boat fits under the gear box,
the clearance between the turning arm and the bracket is only 6 mm. This
is not sufficient for the Allen head screw that came with the part nor is it
sufficient for a nut and washer. In normal operation, the arm must pass
two of the four mounting screws. To make it work, I ground 2 mm off the head of two hex head screws. It
works.
You two and I
did not know of this technical issue. Graham Smith probably does.
In
Thank you,
Fred
Nowhere in the Whitlock or Lewmar website is there any information on this subject. Not a year ago, when it happened. Not now, a year later. You can conclude, they did not think it was a problem.
Elan documentation does not say anything about the WRG-10 being a custom built, non-standard part. The original part itself had no part or model number. It did not even identify the manufacturer.
To have an industrial
nation, you must have industrious people.
Outsourcing is not an
alternative.
Lessons Learned:
Even after a year trying to gain perspective, jerks are jerks!
Aversion to writing documentation is not limited to computer programmers. Actually, engineers are the most averse. Business people are a close second.
We will walk into the next trap as blindly as we did this one? Probably!
The Joys of the Cruising Life Never Cease to Amaze and Amuse,
Phyl & Fred
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