Engineers and administrators sometimes express contempt for administrators. However, three administrators have uncovered a dangerous engineering flaw in a new automobile — and they risked their lives to do it. The case is described in an April 7, 2007 report (with a photo) in The Detroit News:
Credit Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally with saving the leader of the free world from self-immolation.
Mulally told journalists at the New York auto show that he intervened to prevent President Bush from plugging an electrical cord into the hydrogen tank of Ford’s hydrogen-electric plug-in hybrid at the White House last week.
Photos of the critical moment imply that the discovery should be credited to US Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as to US President Bush and Ford CEO Mulally.
BACKGROUND: The common complaint, from engineers and scientists, is that too many administrators lack real knowledge about, or skills related to, the technology they oversee and champion. This new case should clarify the situation.
UPDATE: Investigator Lois Rogers writes about the value of experience: “Please note that President Bush refueled a hydrogen powered minivan on May 25, 2005. He has more experience with hydrogen fuels than most people.”
UPDATE: Several days later, administrator Mulally said that his claim was not accurate, that it was merely a case of joking, that administrator Bush did not almost, by accident, reveal a possible design flaw in the apparatus.