Chapter 12

Week 6 - Wednesday

Missy even took time to have breakfast with me in the cafeteria, when we got to work.

As we were eating, I said, "You know, I don't think the VP of Engineering is a good title for me. I think I should be called, The Crisis Manager."

Missy laughed. "Has it been all that bad? I'm afraid I've been so involved in this new design that I've been ignoring what's going on with you."

I laughed. "I guess it isn't all that bad. The biggest problems so far, have been with our personnel. Those should slow down or stop, as we get things shaken down. Then it'll be the usual boring, everyday things to take care of."

"Ed, my love, I think you thrive on the challenges. I suspect that you'd go bonkers if you were stuck with the boring, everyday things."

"Maybe so," I grinned. "Thank God I have one thing in my life that will never be boring."

"What's that?"

"You."

I got a call from Marty Dunn not long after I got in my office.

"Ed, I've evaluated the system here and I'm ready to come home," he said.

"Okay, Marty. How does it look?"

"Brown."

"Brown?"

"Yeah. Everything is covered in mud. The flood waters came in fast, but they receded slowly. They left about a half an inch of mud on everything. There's still three to six inches of muddy water on the floor of the warehouse and we've been sloshing around in it for two days."

"Is anything salvageable?"

"I don't think so. Every slot controller that we opened has mud inside it. The old case we used for it is not tightly sealed and the muddy water covered even the ones that were highest up. The terminals are filled with mud and the mud is so thick on the desks that the keyboards look like just a bump on the desk. You can't even make out the keys."

"Okay, head back ASAP. Missy says they are making great strides on a replacement system."

"As much as I'd like to come straight home, if you don't mind, I should go by GM over in Atlanta and check on Abdul Kafir. He's our programmer for the new sort controller and I understand he's never been in the field. I think I'd feel better if I could see him work for a day in the field."

"That's fine, Marty. Missy seems to be doing okay with being in charge in your absence. I think she's working a little too hard on the slot controller, but every engineer I've ever known has done that on occasion."

Marty laughed and said, "Yeah, I think you've got yourself a ball of fire there. Okay, I'll go to Atlanta, today. I'll probably get back to the office sometime on Friday. I'll send Jerry Cogburn on back to the office today."

Missy joined Brenda and me for lunch. I told her what Marty had said and she just nodded.

"How do you like being in charge?" Brenda asked.

"It's not been too bad, so far. Marty left everyone with plenty to do, so I haven't had to worry about that. I've got one guy who is sneeringly calling me 'boss lady', but I'll slap him down if I have to."

"Don't let him get away with too much, honey," I said. "He'll lose respect for you if you do."

"Okay, I can see that. Why is Marty wanting to check up on Abdul? I don't know him at all, really, but I've heard he's a good programmer."

"I think it's just because Abdul has never been out in the field. It's a different world out there, kiddo. Not only do you have to do your own programming, you also have to be sure you don't interfere with the customer."

"I can see that. I foresee some of that when we do Libby. I expect I'll have to be on site there at least part of the time."

"Yes, and I miss you already," I said with a grin.

"Cut it out," Brenda declared. "You guys have already had your 'lovey-dovey' for the day."

The afternoon went quickly, and Missy came home on time. I asked her about her project.

She said, "Most everything that's left to do is in programming. Bob is doing the programming for the PC, and Mike Kane is doing the firmware for the slot controllers. I really can't do anything else until Marty has approved my design."

"Then you'll get a board laid out?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's a fairly simple board. The worst thing about it is that it has to be laid out so it can fit in our current slot controller case."

"Good deal," I said as I held her close. "Maybe you can spend some time with your new boyfriend."

"I think I'd like that," Missy sighed.

Week 6 - Thursday

Missy and I were still at breakfast in the cafeteria, when I heard the paging system calling for me. I excused myself and went to the phone just outside the cafeteria. I called the receptionist. She said she had a frantic Marty Dunn on the line, and that she'd transfer the call to the phone where I was.

"Good morning, Marty. What's up?" I asked.

"Ed, we've got big time troubles. There was a huge lightning storm went through last night. It wiped out the sort controller and several of the PLCs. We haven't managed to evaluate everything yet, but they don't have enough spare parts to even start making repairs."

"Okay, what do you need?"

"First off, I need people. Anyone that Gene can spare. I'd also like for Missy to help out. Jim Driscol -their installation engineer- is beside himself, and he's about to drive me nuts. Do you think you could call him and try to get him off my back so I can get something done?"

"I'll do better than that, Marty. I'll be on the same plane as the engineers we send. You're in charge, but I'll work with Driscol."

"Thank you, Ed. I didn't want to ask you to come, but it sure would be a big help."

"I'll talk with a few people here, and try to expedite getting things shipped to you. Call Gene when you have at least a partial list of what you need. He'll start working on getting things to you."

"Okay. Ask Gene if he can get copies of the latest PLC programs. Some of the PLCs are completely frapped."

"Will do, Marty. Remember, a lightning storm isn't our fault. Try not to let Driscol fluster you."

"Will do, boss."

"I'm going to have Gene take over R&D until either you or Missy gets back up here, so don't worry about your department."

"Thanks again, Ed."

I called Gene's number, not really expecting him to be in yet. He was though, so I asked him to come down to the cafeteria, ASAP.

Brenda had joined Missy at breakfast when I got back.

"What's up?" Missy asked as I sat down.

"How would you like to make a trip to Atlanta?" I asked her.

"It depends. Why?"

I filled her and Brenda in on what was going on.

"How many people are going to be going?" Brenda asked.

"I don't know how many people Gene will have available, but Missy and I will be going for sure."

Brenda grinned and asked, "Do I book one room or two for the two of you?"

"One," Missy said emphatically.

Gene came in before anyone could say anything else. I filled him in on what was going on.

"How many electrical engineers can you send?" I asked him.

"I have four guys in the office right now. All of them are working on projects, but we can put those projects on hold. The PLC programs shouldn't be a problem. They're all stored on disk. I'll have each of my guys take a laptop."

"Okay. I'm going to depend on you to expedite any parts that are needed. I'll call Phil before I leave, and get him to give purchasing a heads-up. All parts are to be shipped 'counter to counter', at the airport."

"Can do," Gene said.

"One other thing: I told Marty I'd have you take over R&D until he or Missy gets back in town. Is that a problem?"

"No, I can handle it for a few days."

I called Mike and told him what was going on.

"I'm leaving around noon, and I'm taking several electrical engineers with me," I told him.

"I'll talk with sales. This isn't covered by any of our maintenance agreements. We'll have to negotiate something so that we're reimbursed at least for our costs on this."

"Okay. I know that has to be handled, but I don't want it to delay our working on it."

"I'm sure that GM is just as anxious as you are. We'll have something signed by the time you get there."

Brenda told me she had reservations for everyone who was going. She handed me a key and said the tickets would be in the travel agent's lockbox at the airport. I told her I'd leave the key in the lockbox.

I called Missy, and she said she'd meet me at home in a few minutes. I took off so I could start packing.

We really had to move to get to the airport on time. We met the other engineers there, and I passed out their tickets. When we got to the counter to check our luggage, I asked the agent if there were any first-class seats available. She said there were. I got mine and Missy's tickets changed to first class, with a couple of the many "upgrades" I had accumulated over the years. Missy was ecstatic. It was a pleasant flight. The most pleasant thing about it was relaxing in the wide first-class seats, talking with Missy and occasionally holding her hand.

Brenda had reserved three rental cars for us. One was for Missy and me and the other two were for the engineers. We had directions to the site, so Missy and I headed on out there, before finding our hotel.

Marty was right. Jim Driscol was frantic. I had worked with Jim on several jobs at my last place of employment, but I had never seen him in such a tizzy. I finally got him calmed down a little. I then suggested we sit down with Marty Dunn and the electrical installer, to see where we were.

Missy was just standing there, so I introduced her to Driscol as I saw Marty coming toward us.

"Marty, we need to sit down with Jim and go over where we are. Is there anything Missy can be doing?"

"Could you go to the airport in about an hour, Missy? We have a bunch of things coming in on 'American'."

I handed her the car keys and said, "Would you get the flight info, then check us in at the hotel? We may be here for a while."

Missy gave me a big smile, then got the information from Marty. Sol Eacles was the electrical installer on site. Marty rounded him up, while Jim found us a quiet place where we could talk. Sol was one of our most experienced installers. Although I didn't know him except by reputation, I was glad he was on site.

"So, where are we?" I asked Marty after we were all seated and had a cup of coffee before each of us.

"We have four PLCs where the processor won't fire up. We have to assume the processors on those are fried. We know we have half a dozen I/O modules that are fried. There may be more, but we won't know until we get the new processors installed. The sort controller is fried. Luckily we had a sort controller in the plant that had just been completed, so they are sending the entire rack from that one. That's about all we know, so far."

"How long will it take to install the new sort controller rack?" I asked Sol.

"I'd say around six hours. There are a lot of wires to terminate. It won't take long to install the PLC stuff. Marty will have to load the programs in though," Sol said.