Just realized most people at my firm are over-dimensioning their detail callouts by at least 0.02 inches, which adds up to a huge waste of material over a 500-unit production run.

I caught it after reviewing a set of old prints from a supplier in Toledo and comparing them to our current standard, so has anyone else found a specific tolerance that's commonly over-specified in your shop?

4 comments

4 Comments

spencer_coleman1mo ago

That whole pallet of aluminum thing hits home. We had a client's blueprint once where the spec for a vent cutout was written in centimeters but everyone in the shop read it as inches. They made about twenty giant, totally useless panels before someone caught it. Just a total paperwork meltdown.

max_torres441mo ago

Reminds me of a time our shop wasted a whole pallet of aluminum on a decimal place error.

ruby_henderson367d ago

Yeah, that feeling is the worst (like your stomach just drops out). I once ordered ten times the laminate we needed, which was... not my finest hour.

murray.jana1mo ago

Oh man, that "decimal place error" is the worst kind of gut punch. It's such a simple thing on paper that just explodes into real, expensive waste. I've seen a whole batch get scrapped because someone read .125 as 1.25, and you just stand there looking at it. That sick feeling when the mistake clicks is the same for everyone, I bet.