Everything I need to know about engineering, I learned from Star Wars
[embed width="180" height="231" class="right" thumbnail="http://www.industryweek.com/site-files/industryweek.com/files/uploads/2015/10/Arena-Dark-Cover.png?r"]http://www.industryweek.com/site-files/industryweek.com/files/uploads/2015/10/Arena-Dark-Cover.png[/embed]If you are a nerd like me, then you've spent countless nights debating the plausibility of Star Wars technology with like-minded geeks. Arena Solutions has taken this speculation a step further and developed a Star Wars parody ebook titled "Engineering Lessons From the Dark Side." The ebook explores seven Star Wars stories of how Arena PLM improved new product introduction and new product development for several of the film’s iconic characters. Stories include:
- Engineering Lessons from the Dark Side
- Building R2-D2: The Wild Years
- Help Us PLM...You’re Our Only Hope
- Darth’s Too Sexy for His Suit
- Find the Droid Parts You’re Looking For
- Bogus Parts Make You Sith Your Pants?
- Luke, I’m Your Father...(sigh) and Uncle
Here is an excerpt from the ebook:
"The Galactic Empire is a tragic example of an enterprise-size organization that — because of a failure to foster a culture of collaboration and implement a holistic enterprise-wide quality management solution — suffered from catastrophic quality failure.
The Galactic Empire’s Death Star was shipped to market with a single design flaw that resulted in costly and time consum ing scrap and rework...as well as serious damage to the Dark Side brand. “How can you expect to instill fear throughout the galaxy and squelch a rebel uprising when your ultimate weapon has a flaw so glaring that it can be exploited by a one-man X Wing Fighter?” said Death Star scientist and quality manager Rorax Falken.
Sadly, the Death Star failure could have easily been avoided; however, the Galactic Empire — like many large companies — failed to integrate a quality management system (QMS) with its design and development processes to more effectively reduce
supply chain oversights, employee missteps and design errors."
Click here to download your free copy of "Engineering Lessons From the Dark Side."
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
Connect with Alexis on LinkedIn