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Flashback to one of Detroit's "Big Three" automakers in the 1970s, when almost half the new cars coming off its assembly lines have steering column electrical problems, says a pilot fish engineer who was there.
"Each steering column wiring harness was supposed to be tested manually in a sub-assembly area next to the line, and then sprayed with a white dot to show that it passed," fish says.
"After a bit of casual observation, it was discovered that some of the workers would actually test just one, spray five or ten, then go back to reading a magazine."
Management decides on a high-tech solution: an automated test system for each assembly plant to walk the workers through each test step for every steering column, and record the results on the plant's mainframe.