Thursday, December 13, 2018
Automatic assumption of automatic
Though I spend a lot of time and words fighting the myths of "autonomous" driving and other software solutions that remove you from reality, I'm not immune to the myths!
The local trash trucks have a complex hydraulic setup that grabs the wheelybin in a giant claw, lifts it, pivots, dumps it into the truck, then pivots and lowers and unclaws.
I had ass-u-me-d the mechanism was automatic; figured the driver only needed to locate the truck correctly at the start, then push a button.
Wrong!
Last week and this week, the sequence has been screwy. The driver tried two or three times to get the location, then tried two or three times to get the claw around the bin, then nearly dropped the bin into the truck, then clumsily released the bin sideways, then knocked it over with the claw.
Forced me to realize the system is NOT automatic, and forced me to respect the skills of the TRAINED drivers by contrast with this month's NEW driver.
Labels: Experiential education, skill-estate
¶ 2:56 PM
