America must
do better
By
DW Hamilton
Americans pride themselves on
being a “can-do” nation. We are
willing to tackle any job, and
gosh darn if a little elbow grease
and bailing wire can’t pull it
together. Unfortunately, we are
so immersed in our own
self-perceptions that when the
results of corner-cutting, shoddy
materials, poor design and bad
engineering decisions come back to
haunt us with disastrous results,
the light bulb never goes on as to
what allowed it to happen in the
first place. I don’t blame this
on the American worker, who really
has little say in the overall
quality of their product, but on
shortsighted, profit-driven
management.
It is
actually embarrassing. With the
space shuttle Columbia disaster in
2003, and now the flooding in New
Orleans due the failure of the
levies, we in the USA have to
pause and ask our American
engineers, “Whatever happened to
rugged, dependable and built to
last forever?” They will in turn
point to stingy taxpayers who
nevertheless have high hopes for
ridiculously under-funded
projects; budget decisions made by
accountants, not engineers;
“teams” and “panels” of experts
who never get to maintain complete
control of their projects from
top-to-bottom or beginning-to-end;
and unreasonable timelines imposed
for political reasons. Like a
reading circle for Engineering
for Dummies we stand around
pointing to one another, saying,
“Gosh, I wonder why it turned out
so bad.”
“Can-do” has become “make-do.”
“Nothing but the best” has long
been replaced by “It’s better than
nothing.” Rather than patiently
wait for the best long-term
solution in our product design,
all to often we cater to the low
side of the mass market – people
who buy what they can afford, only
to end up spending more over the
long run as they must replace it
two or three times. Worldwide,
America is credited with coining
the phrase “built-in
obsolescence.”
Of
course, with any blanket
statement, there are exceptions.
Boeing, for instance, considering
the grueling and constant use of
its airplanes, has an enviable
position on safety and quality.
Say what you will about Microsoft,
their products form the backbone
and nervous system of our
information economy day in, day
out. And certainly, Starbucks is
conscious of quality from
tip-to-stern. But what of the news
that Ford just issued the fourth
largest automotive recall in
history, over some cheap little
part which can cause an SUV to
burst into flame hours after the
engine has shut off? Chances are
that the part wasn’t even made in
America, but since Ford is
perceived as an American company,
our national reputation for
quality takes a hit.
As
Governor Gregoire noted after
returning from her trade mission
to Europe, we need to invest in
churning out top-notch scientists,
mathematicians and engineers from
our school systems, or we will
fall further behind economically
as the global marketplace turns
its nose up at our products in
favor of better crafted ones.
Taking
a look at our crumbling
52-year-old elevated highway in
Seattle (ironically named after
the thousands of years-old Roman
viaduct) it is easy to see why we
need to do better now, not later.
It is time to pull our heads out,
and realize that if we want
something good, it is worth paying
more. We need to do it for our
safety, our pride, and in order to
compete in a global market that
thinks “Brand America” means cheap
and short-term, while “Brand
Europe” means top quality
materials, design and
craftsmanship. “Brand America”
should mean top-notch innovation.
Let’s collectively make that our
standards and values, or suffer
the long-term consequences.
©
2006 All content property of European Weekly unless where otherwise
accredited
