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When I was a young EE I did some calculations for transformer sizing at a new manufacturing facility based on equipment my employer was building. The numbers went to our customer, and then on to the local hydro supplier. There were some 'questions' as the hydro supplier thought the numbers were a bit high for the size of the facility, but it went ahead because my customer told them the numbers were calculated by an 'engineer'.
About two months later I realized I had missed a step. At one point I should have divided by the square root of three, and I did not. As a result, the transformer size was about 1.7x larger than needed. We were too far down the road to go back, so I kept my mouth shut and hoped no one would notice. This added costs to the electrical service were significant, six figures for sure.
About a month before the plant was to open, the work was transferred to a different facility 100 miles away, and my error was hidden forever. I believe the building that I mis-sized was never used by our customer, it was sold to a transmission manufacturer. I tell myself the huge power service available made the sale easy...
Sometimes you get lucky and your big errors stay hidden.
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"A machine you build yourself is a vote for a different way of life. There are things you have to earn with your hands."
Last edited by 1990C4S; 09-27-2023 at 06:32 AM..
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