Decimal points matter ...

[Cheshirechappie]

Spain has had a new submarine designed and built. Unfortunately, it's 70 tons too heavy - and may not surface again if it dives. This happened, apparently, because someone put a decimal point in the wrong place whilst doing their calculations.

https://o.canada.com/news/spain-builds- ... -too-heavy

They now have a very expensive follow-up project investigating how it can lose some weight without losing anything essential ...

Somebody's annual bonus might not be very large this year!

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Spain has had a new submarine designed and built. Unfortunately, it's 70 tons too heavy - and may not surface again if it dives. This happened, apparently, because someone put a decimal point in the wrong place whilst doing their calculations.

https://o.canada.com/news/spain-builds- ... -too-heavy

They now have a very expensive follow-up project investigating how it can lose some weight without losing anything essential ...

Somebody's annual bonus might not be very large this year!

I had nothing to do with it, I promise!
No hablo Espanol

 

[novocaine]

Helium.

Except we are in a cricise apparantly.

 

[marcros]

Somebody's annual bonus might not be very large this year!

Depends where the decimal point is.

 

[Trevanion]

I'm kind of curious about what you can miscalculate that would make it 70 tonnes overweight.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The weight.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A late acquaintance, a pharmacist, pointed out that a huge number of prescription drug overdoses wouldn't have happened if the measurement was still imperial - no decimal point errors.

 

[Garno]

I'm kind of curious about what you can miscalculate that would make it 70 tonnes overweight.

The thickness of the inner skin of the sub maybe, instead of 1.75mm it is 17.5mm

 

[novocaine]

3% error on overall weight.
Same sub was also to big for its dock last year.

Guess they made it to big.

 

[novocaine]

I'm kind of curious about what you can miscalculate that would make it 70 tonnes overweight.

The thickness of the inner skin of the sub maybe, instead of 1.75mm it is 17.5mm

That would be more like 700 tons.

 

[Garno]

I'm kind of curious about what you can miscalculate that would make it 70 tonnes overweight.

The thickness of the inner skin of the sub maybe, instead of 1.75mm it is 17.5mm

That would be more like 700 tons.

Well it was a guess

 

[Bm101]

I worked on a new building in the City where a big building firm you have all heard of apparently quoted 7 thousand for scaffolding instead of 70 thousand. Had to suffer it as was part of a far more lucrative contract. Chump change really in those markets. But still! Someone went to the gallows.

Bit of initiative and fit some windows in it and use as a boutique underwater hotel off of a coral reef. 8)

 

[Cheshirechappie]

3% error on overall weight.
Same sub was also to big for its dock last year.

Guess they made it to big.

One of the proposed solutions was to increase the boat's length, thus increasing its buoyancy.

S'pose they'll have to buy some picks and shovels to make the dock bigger, too.

 

[RobinBHM]

Spreadsheets are known to be one of biggest causes of errors in estimating.

It is very easy to introduce an error in a big spreadsheet and triccy to audit.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Bit of initiative and fit some windows in it and use as a boutique underwater hotel off of a coral reef. 8)

I know you do rope work for high window access, Chris - do you have aqualung training too, by any chance?

 

[Bm101]

Bit of initiative and fit some windows in it and use as a boutique underwater hotel off of a coral reef. 8)

I know you do rope work for high window access, Chris - do you have aqualung training too, by any chance?

Put it in the Maldives and I'm your man CC.

 

[Rich C]

A late acquaintance, a pharmacist, pointed out that a huge number of prescription drug overdoses wouldn't have happened if the measurement was still imperial - no decimal point errors.

Aren't prescription drugs usually measured in mg, hence no decimals anyway?

 

[Duncan A]

I know a nurse who on at least two occasions stood between a medical person and her son and refused to let them inject him with drugs that were 10 times the required dose. On both occasions he would have died if they'd gone ahead. No idea about decimal points but I guess similar numbers don't always register as massively different unless you look at the zeros carefully.
Duncan

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Aren't prescription drugs usually measured in mg, hence no decimals anyway?

Milligrammes, microgrammes ......... decimals of a gramme.

 

[Trevanion]

I know a nurse who on at least two occasions stood between a medical person and her son and refused to let them inject him with drugs that were 10 times the required dose. On both occasions he would have died if they'd gone ahead.

I would've thought surely a medical professional would know X amount is a lethal dose and there would be no reason to give someone that much. Kind of disturbing really, most people like myself wouldn't even question it.