shane_perry29•1mo agoProlific Poster

Talking to a new guy about torque wrenches changed how I think about training

I was showing a fresh apprentice how to torque a landing gear bolt last week in the hangar. He asked me why we don't just use the same setting for every bolt. I started explaining, but then I realized he had a point - we rely so much on the click and never really think about why the setting matters. It hit me that I've been just following the manual for 7 years without questioning the physics behind it. Has anyone else had a moment where a junior guy made you rethink a basic task?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lisa1mo ago

That apprentice asking why you can't use the same setting for every bolt is actually a really smart question. It gets at the whole idea of torque being about the specific material and thread pitch of each bolt, not just a number. I had a similar moment when a new grad asked why we prime IV lines the way we do instead of just hooking it up - it made me realize I'd been doing a task by rote for years without understanding the whole air embolism prevention logic behind it. Sometimes the most basic questions can actually show you where you've stopped thinking and just started performing.

barbara_sanchez881mo ago

Ha, nothing like a rookie making you feel like an overpaid robot for a decade!