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Instrumentation FAIL! -- examples of how not to do industrial instrumentation


Disclaimer: I do not know the origins of some of these photos, and so cannot properly credit the photographers. The photos have been posted here for humorous value, and also for serious learning purposes: it is important for students to see for themselves just how crazy some situations are in the industrial world. The locations of these atrocities will remain a secret, for I do not wish to cast shame on the perpetrators.

If you ever find yourself working at a facility where you witness something as awful as what you see here, you have a professional obligation to take some corrective action. Even a ``small'' gesture such as bringing it to the attention of someone who can devote resources to the problem's correction is not wasted. Whatever you do, though, please do not contribute to the chaos!


The next examples are not of instrumentation, but rather of poor personal safety practices in industrial worksites. As far as I know, all these examples come from workplaces outside the United States.


Instrumentation WIN! -- examples of things done right

Sadly this is a much smaller collection of photos than the ``FAIL'' archive . . .

These next examples are of excellent wiring practices. May all your installations look this clean!