I got an email from the customer service manager at a well-known boiler manufacturer whose name I will keep to myself. His email made me think of the laws of physics and how they sometimes hide behind our fears. It also made me think of job politics and how telling the truth is always a good thing, even though it might hurt your business. Life is funny that way. Here, listen: "Good morning, Dan. I hope all is well? I have an installation from hell and I'm hoping you can help. The contractor installed one of our steam boilers in a bank and he said it leaked from day one. He then installed a second, identical boiler in the bank and it, too, leaked. Imagine that. Upon reviewing and discussing the way the contractor had piped the two boilers, we noted that neither the first nor the second boiler had swing joints to the steam header. The contractor was reluctant to change the near-boiler piping because the design engineer had shown it to be exactly the way he had installed it. The contractor figured nothing could go wrong if he followed the plans and specs as written, but that wasn't the case here. He, of course, began to wonder if he'd get paid for the work we were now telling him he had to do to make it right. As far as he was concerned, it was right. The engineer had told him so.
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