Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Cormier
Yeah, I am in the Industry where we use documents to build and of course, we are humans and make errors. But, in this case I still feel it is highly inexcusable. FIRST pays some engineers to design the game and documents. They know, 1800+ teams need those documents to build what FIRST has designed. How is it possible that there can be different dimensions in different documents, AND have totally WRONG dimensions in the documents at first then update the later after a week in a team update? It is embarrassing.
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Like I said, this kind of thing is
normal not only in any industry, but FIRST.
It's
easy to end up with conflicting dimensions and tolerances on the same drawing, let alone across separate documents prepared by a staff. The manual likely isn't written at the same time or by the same people who prepare the field drawings. A minor miscommunication, last minute change or just a straight up typo is all it takes. Catching these errors requires careful proofing and, as has been pointed out, FIRST has neither the time nor the staff to catch all errors. All you have to do to deal with these situation is designate the preferred document and refer to that, in this case the field drawing. In general, drawings are going to be updated and proofed more often then a manual or other document.
For instance, most production drawings have an production manual or guide that goes along with it. This contains general information about the part or assembly like preferred processes for certain features, general tolerances, material selection etc. But when it comes time to build the part, the dimensions, tolerances, surface finishes etc. are always pulled from the drawing.
If in doubt, refer to the revision number and date. The manual may or may not have this, but the drawings will. Use the latest revision you can find. FIRST's website will always be up to date. Most drawings will also have a revision block, detailing changes.
We've been dealing with unclear or incorrect field documentation since the 90's. Part of the challenge is that field elements can and do change in detail as the build progresses, and sometimes even during regionals.