Forget Me Not

Chapter Fourteen

Korn's workload had doubled since they started overhauling the machines. If he thought he'd had to write a lot of reports when things weren't going well, that was in the past because he was writing even more than he'd ever thought possible. They were constantly testing and retesting the new equipment. Checking if the system was able to handle the modifications and improvements without putting a strain on the older machinery still working with the old specs.

The QC department had started giving Korn daggers. P'Song no longer offered to buy him lunch and it wasn't just because she didn't have the time. She was pissed off at him because they were forced to work overtime just to check every item that came off the factory floor against the old standards and the new requirements that had come down from management.

"Do you know how many product lines we have?" She asked him at the end of a day they had all spent doing more troubleshooting than actual production.

"Uhm..."

"You don't, do you?" She answered before he could think of anything to appease her. "We have to check every single one of them. Every. Single. One. Do you understand how long that takes?"

"A long time?"

She harumphed and didn't talk to him for a few days. That was the extent of their interaction. Korn didn't mind it. It was a relief not to need to keep up with office politics. And his focus was still on making their workplace as safe as possible. He didn't care if everyone hated him, as long as they did their part to ensure a positive outcome.

The extra work left everyone stretched thin. the situation was dire enough that the interns were redirected to their department. It meant Nack was back in his sphere. Luckily, he wasn't any less busy. Korn only had to deal with him staring longingly after him whenever he happened to cross the bullpen set up to accommodate the interns and any temporary staff members.

It was busywork. Dotting their I's and crossing their T's. It was also necessary.

Any trouble they went through to ensure they could keep up with an evolving market, and still be competitive, would carry the company forward for years to come. If they did it right, there was every chance they would not have to do it for a very long time.

"Did these manuals come with the original casting moulds," Korn asked holding a box with several large binders.

"We didn't design them, they were bought from a company in Bangkok?" P'Dan informed him.

"Do you know if they are still operational?"

"Why?"

"If we can subcontract some of our needs to a company that already does this, it might reduce our overheads."

"I doubt it."

"You doubt they are still in business?"

"I doubt we'd make a saving." He said shaking his head. "Check the two last pages. Part of the reason the machines were in such disrepair was because they were so expensive to maintain. If they charged that much just for an annual service, imagine what they would charge for anything brand-new."

Korn checked the file and sure enough, the maintenance costs were almost the same as the cost of replacing each unit. There were service receipts tucked into the back pocket of the folder and Korn realized they had paid the company a hefty sum every year. That is until it had been decided that redirecting the budget to marketing was better than spending it on machines that broke down more and more often.

"What was the service contract with the company? Do you know?" Korn had a sinking feeling in his gut and he wanted time to look into it before he came to any conclusions.