For at least a couple of months we were informed that the optics lab would be shut down for the two weeks surrounding Christmas, mostly because Copenhagen is not coating glass fast enough - a couple of weeks ago I had two days off because no glass was available. And, somehow, one shipment of glass went to Pittsburg instead of New York, so one of the techs had to fly down to get it.
The project managers wanted to catch up, if possible, so a couple of weeks ago one asked me if I'd be willing to work "a couple of days" during the shutdown. I said sure. Then a memo came out listing 12/18-23 and 12/26 as possible workdays, asking who would be available on which day. The memo added, "We would not work all of these days even if it were possible." Since it was only going to be a couple of days, I said, "Whenever." Then the actual schedule came out and it was for all of the days, which meant I'd be working 13 straight days.
I didn't mind the 13 days as much as having been told it would be a couple of days, and then having it become full-time plus Sundays, which are usually off. Naturally I threw a hissy fit or two, or three, as is my wont, but then I calmed down. Getting double pay will be nice, anyway.
As it happened, I had the last two days (Monday & Tuesday) off because of a problem that caused several broken layers of glass. That's taken care of now, and FM2 is getting glass again. FM1 is off for the holidays. I'll be working Christmas Eve morning (after coffee and the newspapers, etc.), so I won't have to go in at 4 AM on 12/26.
Everyone seems to be panicky that we might not "make schedule," whatever that is. The launch isn't until 2/3/2012, so the optics will be done almost a year in advance, even if a couple more disasters happen. I guess the U.S. Government is really picky about getting things done in a timely manner.
I know this is kind of boring. I'm working on a bloggier blog, at least in my mind.
1 comment:
The glass broke after it was glued onto the mirror? How does that get fixed? Does it damage the layers below?
I'm speaking out of my hat here (well, not as cool as the one you bought recently :-) but I suspect that when management makes seemingly unreasonable requests, it's because they're panicked about some downstream consequences they haven't shared with you. (I don't know any of the details on this project, so for all I know, your management are all sadists and just like to do it, but I doubt it.)
On most projects, the people doing the work never have any idea what the overall schedule looks like or why management is pressing them to get done faster. One of the best project managers I worked for took over a big blank wall and posted the schedules, updated at least weekly, so we could all see where the problems were and who was on the critical path. I knew some people who liked to be on the critical path because they craved the extra attention they got, but I always thought those people were nuts.
The pressure can become pretty intense in the science satellite business. The projects all try to do too much with too little money and time. (As a taxpayer, would you want anything less?) I've seen lots of frayed tempers, some divorces, and more than one person leave the field due to the stresses that inevitably occur. Don't let the stresses get to you! Life is too short.
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