Mind if I vent on a Monday?

[CelticDesignServices]

OK, I just need to vent a little here.

Let me give you a little background as to why.

I run a small, currently struggling (hint: I could use more business) design house.

I have a client that had hired another, nationally known and respected design house to engineer and create a bunch of models for a project. They then hired me to pick up where that firm left off and detail the models.

The client was assured the models were all set and ready to build.

Well, I start detailing the models and as usual, I eductae myself on each as to what their function and applications will be, etc. Basically knowing where each will be installed and used within the top level assembly and such.

Note: the contract I have for the client is to simply do drafting work and rate and time frame is set accordingly.

In very little time, I noticed something just wasn't right with the models. Holes that should be threaded weren't, holes that were suppose to be clearance holes, were at size of fastener, structural shapes that should be to standard, weren't, etc.

So here I am having to either fudge the drawing callouts and dims by inserting manual text over-rides or fix the models. I mean come on....if you have a 1/2-13 bolt going thru two parts, the back one needs to be threaded and the front part needs to be a clearance hole for such bolt...duh. No, not these, both holes in this case are in at ...wait for it....1/2 diameter! Nothing like a press fit for all your boltup needs huh? This is pretty much typical on all the models. Mind you, not all of them, just most of them. Meaning I have to go theru and inspect each and every hole in each and every part model. Along with comparing them to the assembly model to verify which should be threaded, etc.

Structural shapes? Well, typically in Inventor I use Content Center for all of mine as I know they match up perfectly with Ryerson. Not these, no, most of these were drawn manually and extruded and to top that off, they are not all to spec. I'm talking basic angles and C channels, etc.

Anyways, being the type of professional I am....or try to be, I am now forced to correct all these models and do it all on my own dime. Thanks major, well known design house who does a LOT of government projects for who I will not name but should. Thanks for costing my thousands of unchargable work, i just love working for free - NOT!

And yes, I did make sure I contacted my client and told them do NOT build any parts based on the models until I get them corrected.

[blair]

I would contact the client and have a sit-down with them explaining why they must hold back on production and problems with the modeling errors from the other vender.

If all a person is doing is simple drafting, correcting the modeling errors should be extra. Who knows what other errors are going to show up as you dig deeper.

[dgorsman]

Gold star for professional behavior: notifying the client of problems found, instead of just passing the buck.  I hope the client appreciates the approach and moves more work your way.

[mcgyvr]

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@CelticDesignServices wrote:

 I am now forced to correct all these models and do it all on my own dime.

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No.. you chose to correct them on your own dime.

Your "contract" should have been written so that additional cost would be incurred as the result of situations like this..

Or

You should have immediately contacted your customer and discussed the issues and proceeded billing accordingly if required..  Your customer might have wanted to immediately notify this "bigger company" and require them to fix their issues. 

[LT.Rusty]

What McGyvr said.

[CelticDesignServices]

mcgyvr,

I agree with you and typically that would have been the case, but this client is already up against the wall on costs for this project and can't afford more (it's already been discussed). They are friends of mine and a start-up so money is very tight. Plus this is a contract for them as well and as I stated, the funds are already spoken for.

I am documenting everything I'm having to fix in hopes they might go back and try to get a refund from the design house that made the models, but even that might cost them money to fight for it if the design house refuses.

I have kept all the original files as is, mainly because the design house failed to number them correctly, and can show easy comparisions between them and what I had to make it to be correct.

My only hope is it can somehow be made up along the way but right now, as it stands I have no more than 40 hrs of billable time and I estimate I have at least 60-80 hrs of work to do.

[mcgyvr]

Whatever.. Its your money..

Personally as the client, the second I got a call from you stating the problems/issues you encountered is when I would have immediately got the other design house on the phone and discussed/complained,etc... 

Not immediately alerting them to the problem is where you/they went wrong.. Who knows it might have just been "oops we sent the wrong files.. we will send the new ones out right away... sorry for any confusion"

Communication is the #1 key to a successful project/business,etc..  The includes verbal communication as well as "clearly" stating design specifications/requirements/expectations,etc... 

If a company didn't deliver what was promised its your clients responsibility to immediately communicate with them to get it resolved..  Worst they could say is "no..get lost".. But like I said above the response could have been "oh sooooo sorry..here ya go"

communication...communication...communication

[CelticDesignServices]

Ummm...I did communicate with my client right off the bat and have been in constant communication on each part on a daily matter on these issues. As a matter of fact I'm in the middle of a discussion right now on an assembly I'm once again, having to fix due to incorrect modeling from the design house.

I'm not sure why you think I haven't been communicating with them, again, these are personal friends of mine that I've known for about 10 yrs who are attempting to keep a start-up company going. They are also a 10 minute drive from my office and I am on site at the least once a week.

The issue is there is only so much funding allocated for the drafting work, none for the redesign I'm having to do.

I don't know if they have contacted the design house yet on these issues, I would think so but I'm not sure. Considering the extra work having to be done, I'm sure they will.

The fact of the matter is, they contracted a major design house to do the modeling and that design house did a very poor job. Luckily I was able to find out prior to them creating parts based on the models.

I mean come on, who puts in a Ø.50 hole for a Ø.50 dowel pin or how about a 11/16-12 threaded rod end to fit into a 3/4-16 female thread? Now, don't get me wrong, I can understand some things being lost if a part is translated and such, but those issues are not the case here. I've been in this field for over 34 yrs, I think I can tell BS when I see it.

[CelticDesignServices]

Let me also add that Structural Tubing is NOT solid, yet for whatever reason that's how all these were done, whether they were round, square or rectangular, the models were solid. Even those few that have end plates to be welded onto them to actualy close them off, were modeled as solid and the end plates overlapped.

Nothing like having solid tubes in a model where weight is a factor.

I also can't get over how I'm being made out as the villian here as it seems. I'm clearly the one attempting or should I say, tasked with having to fix these screw ups. Or should I just do as so many people tend to do and kick the can down the road hoping some other person does the right thing and fixes them?

Sadly that seems to be the norm these days in this field.

I'd rather lose a few $$ and know that I did the job correctly than risk the product failing and injuring or killing the end user or at best, having my client produce bad parts from known incorrect models and have them wastes thousands of $$ in scrap. Guess I take too much pride in my work.

[blair]

If I was your customer, I would be looking for some for of reimbursement for this job from the design house. Either they correct the design errors or pay back a portion of the design fees they collected.

[mpatchus]

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@CelticDesignServices wrote:

I'd rather lose a few $$ and know that I did the job correctly than risk the product failing and injuring or killing the end user or at best, having my client produce bad parts from known incorrect models and have them wastes thousands of $$ in scrap. Guess I take too much pride in my work.

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I'd offer them two options.

Option 1 - Fix the parts and detail them for additional fee.

Option 2 - Detail the parts EXACTLY as they are receieved.

Anything other than that is beyond the scope of your contract.

You fix them for free and it will be expected that you do the same in the future.  A bad precendent to set.

Just my opinion for what its worth.

[mcgyvr]

I just don't understand why your customer (a personal friend) didn't immediately contact this "design firm" to fix their mistakes (at the cost of the design firm..not yours..not the clients)...

I'd be venting because a "friend" of mine just gave me the shaft instead of "growing a pair" and contacting the design firm immediately.  

[MikahB]

I own a similar type of business to what the OP describes and I appreciate some of the tight spot he's in.

It's all well and good (and even right) to say that the client should go back to the first design house and demand partial refund and/or improved models, but there is a good chance the agreement between the client and that shop was:

a) Verbal in nature

b) Poorly documented as to the "quality" requirements of the models

c) Documented as it relates to model quality only by the big design house's wording which relieves them of any responsibility in the absence of other signed documents detailing quality requirements

So there's a very good chance that trying to place responsibility where it lies would come back on the client (who either did not understand the need for these types of details when they hired the first shop to do the work or understood it but didn't document it).  More specifically, there is probably only a small liklihood that another tactic by the OP would lead to a better resolution.

Chalk this up to lessons learned and next time make any estimate contingent on first seeing the models in question AND being able to specify some of your own verbiage about the required quality of input models.

Kudos for deciding to provide a solution where excuses would be the easier and more morally satisfying alternative.

[CelticDesignServices]

Again,

I am documenting everything I'm having to do to the models along with the time involved in fixing them.

This will all be presented to my client once my end of this is completed. They are aware of such and have asked me to make things right. As most of us in the business know, time schedules are key. So this job needs to stay on schedule as well as on budget.

I can only hope that my client will then take the next step and contact the design house about these issue (if they haven't already) and go back to them with proof in hand as to where they messed up, thus requesting the partial refund. But again, I don't know just yet, I will be sure to ask though.

I'm just not holding my breath that they or I will ever see a refund from them. I, on the other hand have full trust that my client will make things right as far as the extra time I'm having to spend. I just don't see it happening any time soon.

Again, I have a vested interest per sey in seeing my client succeed as it will in turn bring me more work and hopefully enough to where I can hire back some of my old workers. I doubt they will be using that design house again, that's for sure.