On 19 December 1991 the Federal Labor Court decided a case about musicians of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The dispute was about pay for a short strike. In its reasoning the court described the duty of an orchestra musician. To perform his services properly, he needs individuelle Vorbereitung durch häusliches Proben und Üben, individual preparation by rehearsing and practicing at home, in order to meet the orchestra’s quality standard. The collective agreement did not say this anywhere. According to the court, the parties to the agreement took it for granted, selbstverständlich.
The Claw Left on the Track
In the night before 12 April 1999, a crew worked on the track of the Wuppertal suspension railway. A steel claw fitted for the work was not removed. The first train of the morning struck it and fell into the river Wupper. Five passengers died, and at least 37 were injured. Before the line was released, three supervisors each had to check on their own that the track was clear. The regional court convicted them. It acquitted five other defendants. It reasoned that each worker could rely on the others, under the Vertrauensgrundsatz, the principle of trust. On 31 January 2002 the Federal Court of Justice overturned four of these acquittals. Where the danger was obvious to everyone working there, a worker had to make sure that his colleagues had done the work given to them.
The Banana Principle
German customers, especially software users, speak of the Bananenprinzip, the banana principle. Bananas are harvested green and ripen later. In the same way, a product is delivered unfinished and matures over time through customer feedback and the maker’s repairs. The saying is Das Produkt reift beim Kunden, the product ripens at the customer’s. The term is negative. A user who speaks of Bananensoftware is unhappy with it.
One definition adds a detail. The customer receives the unfinished product ohne entsprechende Hinweise, without being told.
Words for Clean Work
gründlich — thorough. The word comes from Grund, the ground. To be gründlich is to go down to the bottom of a thing.
saubere Arbeit — clean work, the common praise for a job done well.
handwerklich sauber — clean in its craft. It is said of a law, an article or a piece of engineering when the work was done properly. A law can be handwerklich sauber and still be politically wrong.
schlampig gearbeitet — sloppily done. The verdict is about the method. It can apply even when the result turned out fine.
Pi mal Daumen — pi times thumb, a rough estimate. The speaker uses it to mark a number that was not properly worked out.
Planning, Carrying Out, Checking
The training regulation for mechatronics technicians says that apprentices shall be enabled to do qualified work die insbesondere selbstständiges Planen, Durchführen und Kontrollieren einschließt, which includes in particular independent planning, carrying out and checking. The next sentence says that this ability must be proven in the examinations.
Work That Stands Up to Every Test
The company book Fünfzig Jahre Bosch 1886–1936, Fifty Years of Bosch, opens with sayings of its founder, Robert Bosch. One reads: “Es war mir immer ein unerträglicher Gedanke, es könne jemand bei Prüfung eines meiner Erzeugnisse nachweisen, daß ich irgendwie Minderwertiges leiste.” It was always an unbearable thought to me that someone testing one of my products could prove that I deliver anything inferior. “Deshalb habe ich stets versucht, nur Arbeit hinauszugeben, die jeder sachlichen Prüfung standhielt, also sozusagen vom Guten das Beste war.” I have therefore always tried to send out only work that would stand up to every objective examination, that is, so to speak, the best of the good.
The Dike Master
Theodor Storm’s novella Der Schimmelreiter first appeared in April 1888. Hauke Haien becomes the Deichgraf, the official responsible for the dikes. The old dike is damaged. Ole Peters plays the danger down and the workers grumble. So Hauke does not carry out a full repair. With great pangs of conscience, he settles for patchwork. Later the dike breaks at exactly that spot. Hauke plunges with his horse into the raging water and cries: Herr Gott, nimm mich; verschon die andern! Lord God, take me, spare the others!
Words for Finishing the Job
Nägel mit Köpfen machen — to make nails with heads. To do a thing properly and completely.
Wenn schon, denn schon — if at all, then properly.
Ordnung ist das halbe Leben — order is half of life.
Ein Schnellschuss — a quick shot. A decision or product made at short notice, without thorough preparation, and the word is a criticism.
Trust Is Good, Control Is Better
Vertrauen ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser, trust is good, control is better. It is a common German saying. It is usually attributed to Lenin. The saying does not appear in his works, and the attribution cannot be documented.
Registering concerns
German construction law places a duty on the contractor: where he has concerns about the intended method of execution, about materials supplied by the client, or about the work of other trades, he must notify the client immediately and in writing, and preferably before starting. The provision is § 4 Abs. 3 VOB/B.
Doing so releases him from liability for defects arising from those points. Failing to do so leaves him liable for consequential damage he did not cause.
The obligation runs the wrong way for a contractor’s own interest, and it is the law.