Friday, 4:55pm
Alex: Can you just sign this off? The client wants it tonight.
To the Checker.
Rex's first year · Story 9
The rubber stamp
Drawing 042 is finished at five to five on a Friday. The client wants it tonight. The Checker wants to go home.
Rex's diary
Rex's diary, before this story. Week 14. Learning to check drawings in my own team. Somebody's just asked me for a signature. It's 4:55 on a Friday.
Signed, not checked
Friday, 4:56pm
The Checker signs it without opening it. Checked in under a minute. A personal best.
Friday, 4:57pm
Funmi (design lead): Did anyone review it? … It was checked, wasn't it?
Approved anyway, shared, and on its way to site.
Monday
Dave: The drain goes straight through the foundation.
Rex: "But it says CHECKED."
The rest of the week
A redesign, a new pipe and a digger standing still for a week.
The result
Three signatures on the drawing. Nobody actually looked.
Three signatures. No checks.
Find out how checking should workLesson 9 · The Checkpoints, then the same story done the right way.
Meet the CheckerNever the maker. Checks it's made properly before it goes anywhere.