The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.
Hubert Humphrey

I recall a situation more than twenty years ago when it was commonplace to simply write out "work orders" to specify what needed to be done. One such work order asked for the replacement of some 180-foot of welded steel condensate piping spread across fifteen stories of a structure. The first attempt required about a week. Shortly after the first attempt, it was determined that the desired objective of the work order was not achieved so a second attempt was initiated. After that a third and a fourth and a fifth attempt was made. In all, seven attempts were made. People were busy and work was being done three shifts a day and seven days a week so it was easy to lose track of a job that was thought to be very simple. Finally, someone noticed the continual draw on resources and asked what the person who initiated the work order was trying to achieve. It turned out that the line was plugged in a portion of the piping system close to the bottom. This portion of the system had never been changed in any of the seven attempts.

Work Order:

A work order is the element of a work management system that is used to:

• Identify the problem and the task(s) needed to correct it.

• Obtain approval from appropriate authority for expending the resources being requested.

• Identify the specific equipment involved...