The Big Eye
- PDF / 102,897 Bytes
- 2 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 23 Downloads / 180 Views
EDITORIAL
The Big Eye Michael E. Stevenson
Published online: 27 October 2012 Ó ASM International 2012
This editorial marks the close of my first full year as Editor in Chief of the Journal. Though I had written a couple of guest editorials, this year has underscored the point that writing an occasional editorial is much different than writing one every two months. It is also a significant challenge to follow Mac Louthan, who somehow managed to find a relevant lesson for failure analysts in everyday life, every two months, for a decade. Recently I was fortunate enough to be reminded of what I think is one of the best, and perhaps simplest, lessons I have ever learned in failure analysis. I was reminded of this lesson while on family vacation at Walt Disney World. While there were probably better lessons to be learned in the study of failures, though not the engineering variety (trip planning, choice of attire, choice of what ride to ride
M. E. Stevenson (&) Engineering Systems Inc., 6190 Regency Parkway, Suite 316, Norcross, GA 30071, USA e-mail: [email protected]
first, last and twice), I was reminded in tomorrow land of my favorite character that is relevant to my everyday professional practice. Mike Wizowski is the character voiced by Billy Crystal in the animated story Monsters, Inc. Though his name was not terribly memorable, his body—a very large eyeball—has always reminded me (with a laugh) of an early career discussion I had with a colleague. That colleague, a biomechanical engineer, made a passing comment while we were investigating a mobile crane collapse: ‘‘Let’s not get the big eye about this.’’ I found the comment funny, and it was, at the time, a useful reminder not to become too smitten with the working hypothesis we had developed. That particular hypothesis was a good one, as it turned out, but it had not yet withstood the scrutiny of our own analysis and the critical review that is necessary of any engineering inquiry. Testing, either analytical or physical, was the crucial next step for our investigative team. That hypothesis testing needed to be rigorous and well reasoned. Most importantly, it was crucial given the particular fact pattern that we consider and evaluate alternative hypotheses before we could accept our own as reasonable and most probable. In the early phases of investigations, ‘‘Big Eye Avoidance’’ is key. Failure to keep the big picture in mind before data gathering is complete can prejudice the exercise and make an accurate investigation impossible. Certainly, there is nothing remarkable about the position I have taken, as investigators in many disciplines ground the process in the scientific method which requires the feedback loop I have described. What I do think is important is that we all remind ourselves after that first moment where the initial working hypothesis crystallizes in our minds. In the movie, Wizowksi (The Big Eye) had an initial goal to scare children. For me, I use the amusing picture of a large eye with feet to remind me not
123
582
to sacrifice th
Data Loading...
