Mimimum Viable Concept

10000 foot view

Work smarter not harder

De-feature

De-risk

DFx

FMEA

Accelerate schedule

Be more aggressive on schedule

Pull in the schedule

Concurrent design/engineering

Cloud

Prioritize

Industrial Design

User experience

Stand up meeting

Scrum (sprint...)

Of course used appropriately most of these can be fine and dandy, it's the miss use &/or over use that's the issue.

Game changer

Cross-functional team

Ping (a person)

Build a framework

I gotta stop right there, I'm getting nauseous.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

parallel path
rainmaker

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies to make the best use of these Forums?

5S ... stupid starts with an "s", does that make it important ?

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

BFO has always been my favorite learned from my Chem 101 professor in the late 50s... It's still applies today.
BFO = Blinding Flash of the Obvious

• http://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=7e8663f5-d95c-4b12-b5b0-aa

There is a very good piece up on the internet about jargon.

The Underground Grammarian

A Handout of Material

--
JHG

Right Sizing

Reach out to you (normally a business person talking)

Hey, these words are good for engineers to know. When you need help to make something happen, and explaining a concept takes two or more sentences, just mix a bunch of these words in there and POOF, it makes sense.

Example: We need to work smarter not harder, a hole punch for each employee will keep them chained to their desk so they can multi-task and keep their eyes on the prize, and not disrupt workflow.

"Great idea, now THAT is some forward thinking. Let's see what resources we can re-allocate to make it happen, this could streamline the documentation process."

Share best practices. Not worst practices, but best ones.

[I took some dramamine for the nausea]

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

MOC
HazOP
CDR (Critical Drawing Review)
EJR (Engineering Job Review)

These have all become code for "I'm not taking the blame for anything".

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.
The plural of anecdote is not "data"

Elephant in the corner

Best practice

Reuse ([GNNN]but not when it comes to GUIs[/GNNN])

GUI looking tired ([GNNN]but not when it comes to reuse[/GNNN]

Fresh looking GUI ([GNNN]so what happened to reuse?[/GNNN]

How good is that

Research by FITA...

- Steve

please, make "new normal" go away. . .

f-d

¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!

Data mining
Drilling down

GRANULAR

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Transparency
Executive Summary
Phase 1 (as nothing ever gets fixed in Phase 2)

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies to make the best use of these Forums?

At the end of the day

Analogy equating purchase of complex equipment to purchasing an article of clothing.

Or that the issues affecting the Federal Budget can be equated to those of a typical American family.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Bottom Line

Out of the Box

share of the customer's wallet

the spend

core values

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

"Can I get" instead of "can I have".

I always want to say "Yes, if you come here and get it yourself" whenever I hear someone ask "can I get".

I don't really have the bandwidth to spend time posting.

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”
-Dalai Lama XIV

Win-win

Assume make an "#$%@ss" out you and me.

What is wrong with you Yanks needing to $@%"@ instead of writing the word ass? It means "Asinus, a subgenus of Equus that includes the donkey and other asses."

There's still a few 'Puritan' genes in our DNA...

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

I suppose that also explains "two little duckie birds" instead of "two little DICKY birds".

"#$%@ss" makes it past the spam/porn/hate-crime/sexual harrassment/we-offend-nobody/we are stuck-up prigs/this computer is for work only/Big Brother/playtime filter on the company computers. Oh, and don't EVER send the name of a prescription narcotic pain killer in any context. Sent my own self a reminder e-mail from home to work: "Pick up mom's hydrocodone at the CVS." That earned me a half-hour visit with the HR weenies. I had to convince them that I wasn't dealing drugs out of the office.

Back on topic:

Take ownership

Hold accountable

MBWA (Manage By Walking Around)

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Ach du lieber! My apoligies to the site admin. If you get any calls from the DEA regarding my last post, feel free to give them my contact info.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

George Carlin had his "The Seven Words You Couldn't Say on TV". Now we need someone publish the "The 'N-number' of Words That You Can't Write in an E-mail".

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

From Poetry Corner in the most recent Private Eye.


Lines on the
70th anniversary of
the Dambusters raid

So. It is
Seventy years
Since 617 squadron
Carried out its
Daring raid on the
Ruhr Valley
Dams.

Let us remember
Those brave
Men. But
Forget the name
Of Guy Gibson's
Dog.

All together now,
Da-da-da
Da-da
Di-da-di-da
Etc...

- Steve

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002027/Da...

Dambusters dog to be renamed Digger for remake of iconic film... because N-word might offend Americans

----------------------------------------

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

I don't think I saw these:

Opportunities not problems

Be a manger not a reporter

We have them all over the place!!

I actually like the freudian slip above - "Be a manger." Isn't a manger a device for holding fodder, the first stage of horse**** or bull**** (being careful to not offend the p****** that might read this post). Seems very fitting.

"minger", perhaps?

- Steve

"Dialog" used as a verb

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

oops! To fast to type I meant MANAGER.

Is utilize overused?

I believe in you magoo2.

See 2nd paragraph:

Hemingway on "utilize"

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Breaking news - just found out that a turbocharger failure can result in "liberated compressor wheel material." Also learned that the cheap way is a "cost informed option."

Compressor wheel with a full set of basic human rights, and cheap options who are self aware.

I see a future in science fiction writing.

and
data analytics

and from the IT community - technology agnostic!

"liberated compressor wheel material"

Love it!!

My compressor wheel material liberated itself quite recently. An amusing sound (after quite a lot of 1st order whine over a few weeks). Takes me back to 80's F1 (Oh no, he's blown his turbo). I assume I left a big smoke cloud behind me as the ECU kept the fuelling up as I tried to regain any power.

£1300

Ouch.

- Steve

In keeping with the recent 'flavor' of the posts in this thread, I thought this might be of interest:

http://machinedesign.com/editorial-comment/behind-...

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

how about

a real game-changer

or

ubiquitous

I love the word 'ubiquitous'. Besides, if you use often enough, it becomes self-fulfilling

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

headcount

One of my old bosses actually referred to us with that word right in front of us. Often.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

We regularly have headcount reports and proposals for headcount reduction. We could reduce headcount if we got rid of the headcounters.

----------------------------------------

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

- Review meetings
- zero defects mindset
- Positive attitude
- Keep up the good work
- Capabilities
- Leverage
- One team concept
- Vision 20XX
- Networking
- Company Values
- Take the ownership
- Customer is happy ?

The most disgusting one: ...He walks the talk

He is a Type 3 Manager

Please enlighten me Rotaryworld. What is a Type 3 Manager?

When I was in management training back when I worked for McDonnell Douglas, it was Type X, Y and Z 'Managers'. I've never heard them being given numerical designations before.

http://petervenn.tripod.com/brochure/complete/xyz....

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

I heard it a couple of times at board meetings. The reference was to a guy who quietly lets projects get totally out of hand (disaster), then comes loudly to the rescue so all can praise him, but I'm not sure where it comes from.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Bias for action [gag a maggot] [measure once, cut three times] [see Dilbert for many more]

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Thanks JohnRBaker. I've just read the link and I'm pleased to say I was a Type 3 or Type Z manager without even knowing it before I retired.

Me too, but I moved from management to a staff position when I joined the R&D group several years ago (I came from pre- and post-sales support). Right now I have all the perks and none of the responsibility of management, which suits me just fine. I did my share of hiring and firing and having to listen to the woes of subordinates, with respect to both personal and professional issues and don't miss any of it. Fortunately, I work for an organization which compensates you more for your contributions and NOT necessarily where your name appears on the org-chart.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Forgot to list these:

culture shift

drink the Kool-Aid

"Don't use the word, 'Utilize,' use the word, 'Use'." - My Dad

(in response to a post above.)

f-d

¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!

Metrics

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Look no further:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743269098/ref=pd...

That reads just like a Sir Humphrey (Yes Minister, Yes Prime Minister) monologue.

LPS, CheckerHater. My copy is on the way.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Did anybody mention "negative clearance"?

"Drive sales" as in:

We are hiring three new vice presidents in order to drive sales in this competitive markets.

I hope they don't drive into that negative clearance.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

my personal is the 'you know'....

No, I don't know, if I did know, I wouldn't be standing here listening to you telling me that I already know what you are talking about !!! YOU KNOW?

Aggghhh!! :D

___________________

www.airpumping.co.uk
You pour it - we'll pump it!

AirPumping...
IMHO it is a nervous condition some people have when they have difficulty with speech… You know!
G-pa Dave

My boss used to have a habit of saying "To tell the truth, bla bla bla". Made me wonder if all the other times he wasn't telling the truth!

Good one, magoo2.

I was waiting the other day at a tire shop for an install, and there were Inc. magazines laying around. So I picked one up. Thought I was gonna die. I won't bother with all the new buzzwords I learned, but here's an example:

Seagull: A boss from afar who doesn't know enough about your project to be worth a dang, but he has to do something because he's the boss. So he zooms in, poops on you, and flies away.

On the darker side, one of the cover stories was about how one guy (entrepreneur, funded by private equity) had to leave his Mexican resort vacation to return and lay off 1/3 of his people. An investor had called him and told him to "keep the growth steady." The whole article was about how the guy survived and kept the company going without all those workers. Greed.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Good contributions - as always, Dave.

"So he zooms in, poops on you, and flies away."....
Thanks a lot.

some others:

- Inclusiveness (Consider it the subject of a sermon delivered by a HR at her/his office).
- Strong contributor
- Role Model

The whole article was about how the guy survived and kept the company going without all those workers. Greed.

No, it's not greed, it's lean manufacturing in my opinion.

A Rose by any other name...

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

From someone who was pooped on by seagull boss very recently, a star.

"And I mean it"

GrahamBennett,

I'll agree with you in this case:

Company X is making no profit, beginning to show a huge loss, and then implements lean manufacturing just to stay in business. There are 100 positions eliminated, but it's done with kindness and lots of placement assistance. Nicely done!

However, I don't recall reading any Company X stories even through the recession -- but I'm sure there were a bunch.

I cringe at these:

Company Y is making $100 million profit, after taxes. Company Y's owner desires to make $110 million profit instead. So he orders lean manufacturing to be implemented and eliminates 100 positions. Out the door they go with nothing but some new roller skates to make their way to the unemployment office quicker. That's greed.

I'm also sure that there are many Company XY stories out there over the past five years, folks in various stages between the good side and the dark side of business.

My overall series of rants, which probably turns up with a simple search of DRWeig, is based on the MBAs who forgot a very important part of Econ 101.

The part they remember: "The goal of the corporation is to maximize the wealth of the shareholders."

The full definition: "The goal of the corporation is to maximize the wealth of the shareholders within the social, ethical, moral, and legal constraints that society chooses to impose on it."

So during a recession, do you put people on the street to keep the company afloat, so that at least some will still be employed? Sure you do. That one's cut and dried.

During that same recession, do you demand a larger income and put the people who made you wealthy on the soup queue to get it? I'd have to put that one into the "...social, ethical, moral..." no-no category.

Let's say I'm Company Y's owner. I'm making 15 percent on my invested capital, as opposed to 1.5 percent I could get in a savings account. I want 20 percent instead, but it will cost 100 of my staff their ability to feed their families. What should I do?

I could also reduce my return on investment for a while. What if I just take home 10 percent, and hire 100 unemployed veterans with the difference? What should I do?

I'm mighty wealthy. I've been taking home $100 million a year for many years. I wonder if I could survive if I only took home $50 million for a couple years, and then I could hire 500 unemployed people of all types.

Nah, call HR and tell 'em to get the pink slips in the printer...

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

And my belated apologies for driving the thread so far off-topic...

Back to the OP, from the Inc. mag that I read:

Whale hunter (a business looking for that one big score)

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Bi-yearly

Apparently it means both “twice a year” and “once in two years” at the same time.
I am not losing my sleep over “flammable” and “inflammable” meaning the same, but here I would draw the line. What if I die before having my next bi-yearly check-up?

Just because it’s in the dictionary, doesn’t mean it should ever be used.

(in)flammable might have it's origin where dutch people started speaking English
In Dutch, (in)flammable = "ont"vlambaar
the "ont" part is used in different words such as ontploffing (explosion), ontwikkeling (development) etc.
the word without "ont" usually doesn't exist.
"on", however, means "not" in dutch.
(on)-mogelijk=(im)-possilbe for example.

Since both sound so alike, they got mixed up, lost in translation. Just like people nowadays still don't know the difference between then & than, their/y're/re or your/'re

Another possible influence of Dutch in English is the word "yankees", being a merger of two very popular dutch names: Jan & Kees. Though this could be made up.

NX 7.5.5.4 with Teamcenter 8 on win7 64
Intel Xeon @3.2GHz
8GB RAM
Nvidia Quadro 2000

This morning from the CFO: We only raised margins by 100 basis points.

Why do they make me Google stuff? He could have said 1 percent.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

"He could have said 1 percent." That would be wrong. The correct thing to say would be "raised by one percentage point". This common error/ambiguity is probably the main reason for using the jargon "basis points".

I think inflammable is simpler than that - just means that it's capable of being inflamed.

A.

I graciously accept the correction, Compositepro! I forgot that this was a language and grammar skills forum...

I still don't like basis points though. I don't like SEF and I don't like SEO.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Here's where George Carlin, may he rest in peace, could have helped us out

George Carlin:

"Flammable, inflammable & nonflammable... Why are there three? Don't you think that two ought to serve the purpose? I mean either the thing flams or it doesn't!"

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Just to set the record straight, I didn't care much about "flammable", but rather "bi-yearly"

I see what you're sayin'...
Ya feel me?

vini vidi fishi...or golfi.

For me it's

"run it to ground"
"put it to bed"
"get from point A to point B"
"irregardless"

I want to slap people when I hear "irregardless" which is way to often!

Rehash maybe, but I heard all the following in an executive meeting on Friday:

Reach out to marketing
Don't forget to ping the CFO
Go for the low-hanging fruit
It's a no-brainer
Show a bias for action

Nausea pill, anyone?

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Its possible by it no longer being a set of single cores but rather a semi-molten lot of uranium and zirconium plus more that goes past critical. Still not very likely.

http://www.eng-tips.com/threadminder.cfm?pid=1529
Use translation assistance for Engineers forum

Note the rules include No Student posting

cloa are you sure that this response is in the correct forum?

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Chill
Chillin'
Chill space
In chill mode

After working as 'access control' at Oracle Openworld right across from the gigantic overhead displays and DJ playing 'chill music', I'm really hating all things chill. Chill music is just today's equivalent of experimental jazz. That noodly sh!t that fails to make a point, absent of melody line, and devoid of rhythmic sense.

If you are offended by the things I say, imagine the stuff I hold back.

When last year's results come in (usually before end of January):

"We had a great year thanks to your contributions, but we are facing big challenges ahead"

To justify an apparently radical reorganization (or re-disorganization, as I like to call them because it will change again due to the exact same reasons):

"These changes are necessary to align ourselves to better serve our customers"

And the mother of all euphemisms:

"This cost structure does not lead to a long term sustainable profitable model for our investors"

saludos.
a.

In design and development: "We have to work toward more organic design". (to mean more flowing curves and other features to make it as difficult as possible to manufacture without hard tooling every single sheetmetal part)

"Well, gee, sorry boss, the grade of steel we use doesn't contain enough carbon to technically be considered organic"

I'm afraid one day it's going to slip and I'll say it out loud, seconds before loudly and obnoxiously proclaiming my immediate resignation.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

New manager announcing that Chris as manager has been replaced by Jim. Chris moves to a lead warehouse man spot...... Real memo, a month back, kept in my special files. Some deletion of places where there was actual information content in the memo.... i.e. I just kept the good parts. kcj



In order to improve service levels to our internal and external customers, utilize top talent to it's fullest, and continue down the lean journey of a self directed work groups managed by exceptions using visual communications; Jim xxx will be located where Chris yyyy previously resided.


Chris yyy skills will be used to offset spiked demand load, backlogged functions, special projects, train the trainer, heavy and large material unloads, be the top talent used as the baseline for "Standard work documentation", and spend a majority of his time in the shipping operations. This will allow for improved accuracy of items shipped to our external customers and bring consistency to our processes.

Thanks kcj. Lean journey --

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Thanks to KJC . By the way, WTF does "managed by exceptions using visual communications" mean?

Public hangings...

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Public hangings...


:)

‘First Practical’ Jetpack

"The undercarriage can withstand a fairly reasonable arrival..."

Apparently "crash landing from a 20 foot free-fall" did not pass marketing's litmus test.

one stop shop.

"So, the path forward is..."

Saying "so, moving forward" instead of "ummmm..."

Teamwork.

Outwork. I hope (almost daily) that its a term that has only infected my current employer and is not prevalent (certainly I'd not heard of it at any place prior) in the wider engineering community.

I do get tempted to substitute potentially inappropriate words instead of the culturally accepted lingo and see who notices.

MIL-DD-41 (Make It Like the Damn Drawing For Once!)

Right Sizing

Off Shoring

Knowledge Capture

Knowledge Transfer

Silver Bullet

Telepresence

24 Hour Design Cycle

Paperless Process

I like MIL-DD-41! Never saw that one before although I used to have a sign in my office that said Just Make it to Print and Quit Bothering Me.

----------------------------------------

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

Just Make it to Print and Quit Bothering Me.

Now, now... Do you want to but all those Liaison Engineers out of work?
As far as I know, nothing has ever been built to print... at least not in my lifetime.
Maybe the Germans... They are always trying to do it perfectly, but I doubt it.

Charette (meaning: forget about going home for dinner)

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Lots of things are made to print. Billions every day. To me, one of the signs of a good design is that it can be produced cheaply and consistently. This is not to say that any of the holes are round or the planes are flat or the right angles are perpendicular, that only exists in CAD systems. Making a part to print does not require it to be "perfect".

----------------------------------------

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

"...produced cheaply and consistently."
And that my friends is why all the plastic parts on today's motor cars don't last and then break. Do motor car folks use any metals today?
Thank goodness you have high tolerances on those billions of part or they would be rejected by the billions.
Those process changes screw you up every time.
I just purchased a front license plate frame, made of plastic of course... cheap and dirty. Cost me $50.
Injection molding probably less than 5-cents. MOPAR crooks... Part of GM now(Government Motors)

Not necessarily just cheap plastic parts with big tolerances. We lap millions of (metal) parts flat within 3 micron tolerance with 6 sigma Cpk over 2. Robust process. They go into parts that have to work exactly the same for 600 million cycles, we regularly test to over 1 billion, they are still working to spec. Look at the million of integrated circuits produced to incredible tolerances, most of them are still working just fine when we throw the device away because we are tired of it.

If you bought a cheap plastic part for $50 dollars just because it said MOPAR whose fault is that? You just got suckered by some marketing guy.

----------------------------------------

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

Quote:

MOPAR crooks... Part of GM now(Government Motors)

Say what? Mopar is part of GM?

Maybe this is why you overpaid for it, LOL.

Sorry, but MOPAR is still part and parcel of Chrysler Corp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mopar

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

I think his point was to do with the government intervention in and partial ownership of Chrysler.

Though I believe the US govt sold its last share to Fiat a couple of years ago.

KENAT... Right on. GM to me means Government Motors after Obama bailed out the unions and screwed the bond holders.
Chrysler Corp. and MOPAR are/were apart of that bailout. The tax payers are still owed monies from these takers.
Ford or foreign cars will be my choice in the future.

Sorry I upset so many GM folks...

So GrandpaDave, do you hold Banks & other financial institutions to the same accounting?

Presumably you have no bank accounts, loans, investments/IRA's/401K, insurance, credit cards... that are in any way linked to banks helped out by TARP etc.?

Let's see... If I'm not mistaken, the federal government pushed the financial institutions into backing subprime investment years ago.
And in 2008 when the bubble popped everyone acted surprised... Hence along came TARP. As taxpayers we are always left holding the bag.
Anyway, who has kept accounting on all these monies... Uncle Joe?

Quote (GrandpaDave)

Ford or foreign cars will be my choice in the future.

It has been reported that the real reason that Ford did not go through bankruptcy was because the only alternative for them would have been either total liquidation or selling the company outright (actually they sold of much of it which I'll cover later on), which to some extent is what happend with Chrysler when Fiat came into the deal. The reason for this situation at Ford is because the heirs for Henry Ford earn their living almost solely from the dividends paid by Ford Motor Company. If the company had gone bankrupt that source of income would have halted and the heirs, as well as the Ford Foundation, would have been in dire straits. They would have demanded that the company either be sold or liquidated so that they could get sufficient hard assets so as to continue to maintain their current lifestyle. That was NOT the case with either GM or Chrysler, not that there weren't people depending on the dividends that they paid, just tha there was not the concentration of dividends being paid to one family/foundation which could wield undue influence, as was the case with Ford. Also Ford had acquired several outside brands in the years leading up to the financial crisis so they were in a somewhat better position of owning some salable assets (since these brands, such as Volvo, Astin Martin, Land Rover, Jaguar, etc, were not being manufactured or sold through Ford's traditional factories and dealers, they could be more easily sold off without desrupting normal operations, something which was impossible with GM and Chrysler).

So the bottom line is that you shouldn't assume that somehow because Ford didn't declare bankruptcy but GM and Chrysler did, that this somehow meant that Ford was producing better cars or that management was doing a better job of running their company. No, things were a lot more complicated than that, much more. And besides, who's to say that Ford actually benefited from this as compared to say GM. Have you looked recently at some of the reports of first time quality and owner satisfaction among the major automatkers?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/06/1...

How about recent awards?

http://www.cadillac.com/cts-sport-sedan.html

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Nice story... but I've been a Ford guy for 72 years, hence Grandpa.
Back in 2003 I bought a Sebring convertible and it's been one problem after another.
So, you know what they say about first impressions. They last a life time.
Screw me once shame on them. Screw me again shame on me.

Can anyone actually tell me what in gods name "value add"/"value added" means? It must be the most overused term this decade.

The specific definition is "The enhancement a company gives its product or service before offering the product to customers". I swear I've heard it used in so many different context's than that. "It depends how much value add can be brought to the table" "value added skills" "value added data". Ironically I've heard it used so much that it has has very little value to me when I hear it now.

Sam
Brisbane, Australia

Young Engineer. American old west enthusiast

"Value added" is used to explain/justify some unnecessary feature/skill that is so silly/irrelevant that nobody would actually pay for it, but somebody thinks it should be mentioned anyway.

Cup holder on the roof rack, now that's value added!

A manager that also coaches high school football, that's value added!

Mopar always gets beat up on by bowtie pilots and Fomofo's, excuse me, Fomoco lovers. (pun intended )

All auto makers are prone to cheapening up the processes and materials, but I would be correct in saying that every single Ford product that I've owned has been plagued with electrical issues, but that might be an unfair assumption to the brand as a whole. Do they deserve a 7th or 8th chance, who's to say? I probably won't be giving them the chance to fool me again. To be fair I hate the mileage that I'm getting with my (chrysler product) 5.9 roller cam engine. Should be 20 to 30% higher, so they may not be getting another chance, also.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

cloud

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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

Holding hands
Getting into bed with (probably comes after holding hands)
Touch base with..

LOL Andries, that almost sounds not-safe-for-work!

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

A couple from my military days:

Deconflict
Living document
Implied task

remqnf, I got burned by a living document not too long ago. Gag!

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

On Linkedin a guy describes himself as a "technology de-mystifier and Game Changer"

What?

Andries

Sounds like enough to make my rhoids inflammable. Maybe that's where the idea arose from in the old Tucks commercial.

ID10T error.

My worst nightmare:

"It is what it is."

"Will work for (the memory of) salami"

It is, isn't it...

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

It is, until it isn't.

Qu'est que c'est?

- Steve

"there is no 'I' in team"

Andries

Andries ... Oh yes there is.

"there is no 'I' in team"

No, but there's an 'm' and an 'e', and that spells ME.

CorBlimeyLimey and TenPenny,

You guys are really into "out-of-the-box" thinking!

Andries

Excersise

a "get together meeting"

"On the ground"

STF

"center of excellence"

someone already had "game changing"

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

Wow I thought value added was a bad buzzword but theres some real cynics here!

Maybe sign language should be the new Lingua franca for the workplace?

Least there would be less gossip

Sam
Brisbane, Australia

Young Engineer. American old west enthusiast

The Head of the Defense Systems Group of a well-known aircraft company on their effort to stay in the fighter market:

"We've put a full court press on how we break from the pack of other defense companies"

I think that this one deserves special mention.


Andries

Re: sign language - every country has a different standard. There is no international standard on sign language. Also many of the words are spelt out and you have to be fast enough to read the spelling. There are one and two handed versions of the alphabet.

"arguably"

Anything that ends in -able, doable, manufacturable, any word that seems to be ableable - these are not words!

Recently in the UK we had a spate of "going forward" at the end of almost every sentence, kind of replacing the full stop. Going forward.

Awful.

www.jcb.com
NX 8.5 with TC 8.3

"going forward" is a language infection. They flare up within groups and then die away. Infection period isn't normally too long, just long enought to become annoying. Worst such infection I remember was "basically". We are having an "effectively" outbreak where I work at the moment.

- Steve

"going forward" seems to be a popular one in the last few years, everyone's using it.

I really like Urban Dictionary's definition

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=goi...

The second one seems to be the most accurate.

Sam
Brisbane, Australia

Young Engineer. American old west enthusiast

It's an odd one, what other way could we possibly go, laws of nature and all that.

Language infection, I like that definition. Wonder if I could create my own...

www.jcb.com
NX 8.5 with TC 8.3

Infectability

Minimize one's social bounce

I've heard that one several times in the past months.

On the "going forward" issue, I always remember Dilbert thanking the pointy-haired boss for ruling out time travel.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

"Going forward" sounds ever so slightly better than saying "ummmm." Most people forget just how small an improvement it is.

please, can we stop the insanity ?

you had me at "paradigm" ...

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

"helicopter view"

"If you want to acquire a knowledge or skill, read a book and practice the skill".

"From all corners of the globe"

(Heard on TV. Not on engineering topic, but the idea of cornered globe was astonishing nonetheless)

terrific job

"If you want to acquire a knowledge or skill, read a book and practice the skill".

"Decomplexitize"

Brilliant because it's a complex way of saying "simplify" and needs 'decomplexitizing' it's self.

Designer of machine tools - user of modified screws

I like that, TED7. Good one.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

Reminds me of a quote, from an early aircraft designer, Bill Stout (though often attributed to Colin Chapman)
"Simplicate and add more lightness"

This was said to one of his his subordinates, who had a tendency to complicate his designs, and add more weight.

STF

"Human Capital"

Good one Andries. Goes well with headcount.

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

"world class"

i.e. world class facility

Evidence based design.

"World Class"? Is that not simply a euphemism for "mediocre"? If one believes in dictionaries, the literal translation would seem to fit.

"high level"

"If you want to acquire a knowledge or skill, read a book and practice the skill".

From "Red Vs Blue" (so I can't take credit)

Simmons: There's no "I" in team...

Grif: Oh yeah? Well there's no "you" either! So I guess if I'm not on the team and you're not on the team,
then nobody's on the 60dd@mn team! The team sucks!

"Metal Health'll cure your crazy
Metal Health'll cure your mad
Metal Health is what we all need
It's what you have to have"

-Quiet Riot
Bang Your Head (Metal Health)

Face-time

"Metal Health'll cure your crazy
Metal Health'll cure your mad
Metal Health is what we all need
It's what you have to have"

-Quiet Riot
Bang Your Head (Metal Health)

There is an I in Team, see attached.

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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

• http://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=dee95dec-c397-4d07-959d-4d

"Data Curator" - i mean who the hell here is NOT a data curator???

Toothsucking. Not that people say "toothsucking", it's people actually making toothsucking noises that I've heard enough of after one time.

Found this in my own company literature: "Descoped"

...meaning "now removed from the scope of the project plan, though we thought it would be necessary before".

STF

OK. I shall not use English any more.

It is obvious that I don't have the right background and experience. I really had no idea that there were so many words that you shall not use. And what about those that haven't been listed above? Is there a list? And, are there any words left to use?

Not easy for a non-native to use english. Better stick to my Swedish. There, I have a fair chance to avoid making a fool of myself. Tack för ordet.

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

Skogsgurra,

I think you would be missing a lot of fun. Just because English is your natural or unnatural language doesn't mean that you can't garble the message. Yogi Berra was one of my favorites, with phrases like "A verbal contract is not worth the paper it's written on." Or maybe check out "Spoonerisms".

[....Should behave according to the "walk the talk" principle...]

I was hit by it before lunch so I could manage to not surrender the food (breakfast).

"If you want to acquire a knowledge or skill, read a book and practice the skill".

Is walk the talk anything like putting your foot in your mouth?

Yes, you are quite right, urgross (German? Dutch?) I didn't want to be such a grumpy old fart and say what I actually think about this kind of activity where "overpopular" and worn out words and expressions are listed.

But, I say it now. We have that, too. To a much higher degree than elsewhere. There are bloggs that collect expressions like "walk the talk", "drill deeper", "our most valuable asset" and much more like that.

And then, there are lots of individuals that have nothing better to do than point out when others use those banned expressions. One example: I was lecturing about certain problems in speed/torque control and used the perfectly legal word "loop" to describe a control loop. I couldn't finish the sentence because one smart guy in the audience told me that words like "loop" was bad sales jargong.

There are other examples. I cannot tell everyone that they should mind their own language and let mine alone. But I certainly am temted to on many occasions.

So, when we have collected a few thousand words and expressions that are not allowed to be used any more - what remains? Silence? P. C. individuals? Yes, I'm afraid that is where we are landing. The beeps on TV are just a beginning.

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

Gunnar,

From one grumpy old fart to another: There is a difference between using the same word to convey information and to conceal information.

It is not the words, that cause the outrage, it's the BS.

And when it comes to smart guys from Internet generation - don't worry about them. Turn off electricity and they won't have their opinions anymore.

I agree checkerhater

As a young and boundlessly optimistic fool with very little work (and life) expirience I can be guilty at times of using the odd buzzword, but its always to convey a specific meaning

A few weeks ago at a business conference (of all places) I got a slight chuckle from another guy for using the word "ecosystem". The context in which I used it was how, bar israel, the US has a more advanced "ecosystem" for entrepreneurial ventures than anywhere else in the world, the ecosystem being the network of research unversities, venture capital/financiers, IP lawyers, skilled labour force, etc etc, within a concentrated geographical region (Silicon valley, Boston, Austin). I thought this was ok, as I really couldnt think of any other term to describe what that was. Tech hub maybe?

There are the typical arcane ones, paradigm, synergies etc, but there are some that do actually mean something when used properley.

Sam
Brisbane, Australia

Young Engineer. American old west enthusiast

Checkerhater: "It is not the words, that cause the outrage, it's the BS"

Agree.

The problem is that soo many people didn't get that. They use the lists randomly, haphazardly and without knowledge or understanding.

That is why I think that these lists, amusing as they may be, shouldn't be compiled in the first place. Let all and everyone (is that on the list?) use hers/his language the best she/he can. That is what I do. Live and let live.

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

Very interesting.

It looks like we have people of different cultural / language backgrounds here.

I have a feeling that all the cultures around the world have some version of Boy who was crying "wolf!" story.

And this is exactly what is happening. The powerful words are de-valued from too much use by BS-ers.

As a result, concerned professionals cannot use words like "loop" or "ecosystem" when it's appropriate.

So, what do you guys think should be done to prevent overuse of otherwise useful words?

Some powerful words will never be overused or corrupted, and are spelled or pronounced almost exactly the same around the world. "Beer" comes immediately to mind.

"So, what do you guys think should be done to prevent overuse of otherwise useful words?"

First, say "misuse" rather than overuse. We need to call out the people misusing the language. It can be as simple as asking "can you clarify what you mean by synergistic restructuring of globalization goals?"

Quote (urgross)

Some powerful words ... are spelled or pronounced almost exactly the same around the world. "Beer" comes immediately to mind.

Not really.

Vodka on another side...

Quote (btrueblood)

First, say "misuse" rather than overuse

You can call cat "cat" of "feline" - both are correct.

But if you stick "feline" into your every conversation it makes you look like a d-bag.

Overuse, not misuse.

Perhaps, but in the end, misuse is the greater sin as it destroys the meaning of the word irrespective of how often it might be used. Words are only effective if we all understand and agree as to what they mean and what it is that we're trying to say when we use them. Misuse can only undermine that situation.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Digital Factory
Cypress, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Quote (CheckerHater)

Very interesting.

It looks like we have people of different cultural / language backgrounds here.

I have a feeling that all the cultures around the world have some version of Boy who was crying "wolf!" story.

And this is exactly what is happening. The powerful words are de-valued from too much use by BS-ers.
...

My 1835 copy of Lord Woodhouselee's Universal History starts by talking about the "sacred and profane" historians. Clearly, this phrase does not mean to us what it did to Lord Woodhouselee.

The problem is that we emphasize things by exaggerating. We exaggerate by selecting strong words. As time goes by, we have to make up new strong words. Think of the word "idiot". This used to precisely describe people who were developmentally handicapped. Idiot, and any other word that indicates low intelligence, makes a useful insult. Terms like imbecile, moron, and mental retard also indicate low intelligence, and are used extensively as insults. This limits their use as clinical terms, especially in these politically correct times in which insult terms become offensive. Of course, when clinical psychologists come up with new terms for this, the new terms will become insults, and politically unacceptable.

We are not talking about technical documents. This is ordinary conversation.

--
JHG