I recently traded a front-load washer and dryer made by Frigidaire for 24 cans of Lucky beer. This set was reasonably new, but out of warranty. The dryer apparently was working fine, but the washer had given my neighbor problems ever since he bought it.
It would work for a while and then fail for some reason or another. The last time it failed, he was told that it would need a new controller board, at a cost almost as much as a new washer. He decided to buy a new washer and dryer, and he moved the Frigidaire set into the garage. Instead of taking it to the dump, he offered it to me. We hooked the dryer up immediately, and it worked flawlessly, as advertised.
I was busy with other things, so I let the washer sit for a month or so until I had a chance to attempt to repair the controller board. I decided that, since the repair man had determined that the controller was shot, I may have to redesign the board completely instead of paying the price for a new one. I figured that a redesign would be fun and educational and would still cost a fraction of the replacement cost of a new board.
When I finally got around to looking at the washer, I focused on the controller. After removing many screws from a very flimsy chassis, I was able to look at the controller. It looked good. Nothing seemed overheated or damaged. A closer examination of the panel revealed what looked to be a reed switch tucked away in a corner of the panel -- right where the detergent drawer was situated.
I looked at the drawer, but I couldn't see any magnet, or even a place for a magnet. I partially assembled the washer, plugged it in, grabbed a magnet, and applied power. Sure enough, the washer worked. Problem solved. The washer has worked fine ever since. It cost me a few hours of work and $20 for a case of beer.
I was surprised at the simple repair, but I was even more surprised that, when I was finally able to download the service manual, there was no indication that there was supposed to be a magnet anywhere near the detergent tray. There was a switch indicated in the schematic for the drawer, but I don't recall anything about it being a reed switch. The troubleshooting guide did not mention this problem. It did mention that if certain codes came up, then the controller board must be replaced. In this case, it would not have helped.
This entry was submitted by Clint Millett and edited by Rob Spiegel.
Tell us your experiences with Monkey-designed products. Send stories to Rob Spiegel for Made by Monkeys.
I think there are two different discussions here. Rob and tekochip ended up discussing how features do (or don't) end up in a product. But the missing magnet is not a feature: it's a design flaw. Jim and I were talking about what are, in effect, organizational structures that can blur the lines between brands, in the context of situations that dilute responsibility for product QA and testing and lead to the problem discussed in the article, the design flaw of the missing magnet.
Whereas TekoChip seems to have very passionate defense of the practice (per the lengthy exchange between he and Rob) It looks to me like a white-washing of the issues. (Pun appropriate and intended).
So that means they are trying to anticipate features their customers will desire before their customers are able to articulate that desire. Are the engineers involved in the process to determine what features to develop?
Tekochip -- Do these tend to be technical people within marketing who are writing the specs (former engineers)? Or as they simply sales people who are repeating what the customer wants?
In my experience Marketing writes the specification of what the device does and Engineering determines how to make the product. Features don't come from Engineering they come from Marketing. Certainly, there is a relationship between the two departments and a product benefits from technical and non-technical people brainstorming on what to include in the latest widget, but the specification on what a button does and where the button is located comes from Marketing.
Is that common, Tekochip, that with retail products marketing makes the final decision? On what basis would they make the decision? Seems the needing it out in the market is not a sufficient reason to make a determination that the product is OK to produce ship.
Perhaps you're right, Tekochip. Yet sometimes it doesn't seem like they've tested their systems sufficiently. Sometimes it seems they haven't worked out all of the quality issues with their equipment. Otherwise there would be no Made by Monkeys column. It could be that manufacturers have worked out most of the bugs, and then faulty components lead the system to fail.
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