Family Identity and the Emerging Concerns
On the big stage of society, Tom plays the technically - demanding role of an automotive engineer. However, in the warm and cozy small world of his family, he has an even more important identity - the father of an 8 - year - old boy. This little boy is in the second grade of primary school. Like a young sprout breaking through the soil, he is full of vitality and hope, and also in need of meticulous care and guidance.
People can't help but wonder if Tom's family life is different from that of other families. In fact, in essence, Tom is no different from other fathers. Every father is like a guardian angel on their child's life journey, caring deeply for their children. Especially when it comes to their children's physical health and safety, they are constantly worried. Tom is no exception. At this moment, he is frowning, pondering over all the possible situations that might occur on his child's way to school.
A detailed analysis of the risks of going to school
Tom's thoughts were like a fine net, constantly spreading out as he thought about his child on the way to school. First of all, he considered that children are naturally fond of playing. On the way to school, they are very likely to be attracted by the little flowers and grasses by the roadside or novel small objects, and then indulge in playing. Once they start playing around, they are extremely likely to be late for school. You know, being late at school will result in punishment from the teacher and also delay the normal learning progress. Based on his own experience and understanding of children, Tom thought that the possibility of this situation occurring was relatively high. He mentally gave the occurrence degree (O) of this situation a score of 5 or 6.
Meanwhile, a place that the children must pass on their way to school popped up in Tom's mind - a road that they had to cross. There was a constant stream of vehicles on the road. Although the traffic rules were clear and the vehicles all followed the instructions of the traffic lights, there was still a possibility of traffic accidents, though the probability was relatively low. After much deliberation, Tom determined the occurrence level (O) of this situation to be 3 or 4 points.
Of course, children may also encounter some other minor situations on their way to school. For example, they may stop to look at a lost little animal they suddenly come across, or be dragged by a mischievous classmate to play some small pranks. However, in Tom's view, the likelihood of these situations occurring is very low. The occurrence rating (O) is probably only 1 or 2 points. So he decides to ignore these low - probability events for the time being.
Next, Tom began to analyze the levels of risk that would arise if these possible situations occurred. Regarding the matter of being late for school, although it would have a certain impact on the child's learning, the overall risk was not very high. He determined its risk coefficient (S) to be 4 or 5 points. However, traffic accidents were completely different. This was a major problem that could cause serious harm to the child's body. Tom firmly set its risk coefficient (S) at 9 or 10 points.
A clever solution has emerged
Now that the risks have been analyzed, Tom naturally won't stand idly by. He began to actively look for countermeasures, hoping to avoid these situations or minimize the losses after they occur. Tom knew very well that the best way was to personally send his children to school every day. In this way, he could ensure the children's safety throughout the journey and also prevent them from being late due to playing around. However, reality dealt him a heavy blow. Due to work, he simply couldn't spare enough time to pick up and drop off his children every day.
However, Tom is, after all, an experienced automotive engineer, and his wisdom played a huge role at this time. On the spur of the moment, he came up with a good idea. He would write a note every day and ask his child to take it to school and get it signed by the teacher. In this way, Tom could clearly know whether his child arrived at school on time every day. In Tom's opinion, the detectability of this method is very high, and he determined the detectability (D) to be 3 or 4 points.
Tom also has his own way to deal with the risk of traffic accidents that may occur when jaywalking. He carefully studied the route his children took to school and finally found a new path that didn't require jaywalking. After choosing this new route, the possibility of the children getting involved in a traffic accident was greatly reduced. Tom determined the new occurrence level (O) as 1 point.
When the child saw that his father had gone to so much trouble to arrange all this for him, he couldn't help feeling very puzzled. So he curiously asked his father why he was doing this. Tom told the child mysteriously that the method he was using was the Potential Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, which was very popular in the automotive industry, and its English abbreviation was FMEA. After hearing this, the child looked blank, thinking that his father's words were a bit beyond his comprehension. He then curled his lips dismissively, but still obediently followed his father's method.
Have effective methods for monitoring academic performance
In addition to the safety of his children, Tom is also very concerned about their academic performance. Due to his busy work, he doesn't have much time to personally take care of his children's studies. In order to keep abreast of his children's learning situation in a timely manner, Tom came up with a unique way - drawing a curve graph for each of his children's exam scores. He patiently explained to his children that this is called an X - R control chart, which is a type of statistical process control (SPC).
After hearing his father's words, the child was still confused and didn't understand what this chart was useful for. Tom smiled and explained to the child that this chart was like a magical detector, which could be used to monitor the changes in academic performance. Through it, problems could be detected early and preventive measures could be taken. For example, if there were points beyond the control limits on the chart, or if several consecutive points showed an upward or downward trend, then in - depth analysis of these situations was needed to find out the reasons behind them.
After hearing this, the child found it a bit funny and innocently asked, "If my grades keep rising, doesn't it mean that my study has improved? What else is there to analyze?" After hearing what the child said, Tom looked at the child seriously and explained earnestly, "Even if your grades keep rising, you still need to conduct an analysis. The purpose of the analysis is to find out the reasons why your grades have improved, and then fix these good methods and habits to form a standard. Only in this way can you keep your academic performance at a good level all the time." The child nodded half - understanding. Although still a bit confused, he still believed that what his father said must make sense.
Skilled in guiding extracurricular activities
The extracurricular activities of the child are also a key concern for Tom. Once, the school organized a handicraft competition. Each child was required to make five handicrafts, and detailed production standards were provided. It was stipulated that the works should be submitted on Friday. The child made a handicraft with great enthusiasm. Just as he was about to make the remaining ones, Tom stopped him.
The child looked at his father with a puzzled face, not understanding why his father was doing this. Tom patiently told the child not to rush to continue with the subsequent handicrafts. First, take the one he had already made to school tomorrow and let the teacher check it. Then, wait for the teacher to confirm that it was qualified before continuing to make the remaining four. After hearing what his father said, the child thought his father was being overly cautious and couldn't help laughing at him.
Tom wasn't angry. Instead, he said to the child seriously, "Kid, it's not that I'm being overly cautious. This is called Production Part Approval Process, abbreviated as PPAP in English. Before doing anything, you have to make sure the first step is correct. Only in this way can you avoid unnecessary mistakes and losses later. As the saying goes, 'Caution is the parent of safety'."
After hearing his father's words, although the child was still a bit reluctant in his heart, he still followed his father's instructions. As a result, the child's work was a success. However, several classmates in the class didn't make their works according to the standard, so their works were unqualified and they were disqualified from the competition. Seeing such a result, the child finally began to admire his father whole - heartedly.
End-of-term recognition and reasons for success
Time flies. In the blink of an eye, the end of the term has arrived. Little Tom has performed excellently in various aspects such as study, safety, and extracurricular activities, and has been praised by the teacher. When the teacher and classmates asked Little Tom to share his success experience, Little Tom was originally overjoyed and wanted to promote the knowledge like FMEA, SPC, and PPAP that his father had taught him. However, due to being too excited, his mind suddenly went blank, and he couldn't remember those once - familiar knowledge at all. Finally, Little Tom blushed and said, "Because my dad is a car engineer." Although this sentence is simple, it is full of Little Tom's deep respect and gratitude for his father.