Years ago, when I was an environmental, health, and safety (EHS) manager at a chemical plant, I learned that appearances matter-especially during tours. Executives firmly believe that if a plant looks bad, it means that plant employees and managers don't care, and that product quality inevitably will be less than optimal. Whenever a tour was imminent, I witnessed a lot of fresh paint being applied and (in the case of a poorly performing wastewater clarifier) fresh gravel being spread to cover recent "equipment malfunctions." Later on, when the old, below-ground clarifier was finally upgraded, I discovered that it had started life as an above-ground unit. The scene was like an archeological dig: I could identify the number of plant tours that had occurred by counting the alternating bands of gravel and muck.
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