mo--ns running the I.T. Efforts at Collins

Well I won't name names because that will result in the post being yanked... but essentially the heads of technology within Collins have made the decision to yank IT support at most of the plants. Yet, have failed at implementing any sort of realistic approach.

It was a HUGE mistake for Collins to outsource IT in the first place. Then instead of hiring those contractors that had proven their worth, Collins just pulled the plug on the contract period. Some sites have another contractor thrown in the mix, with no actual orientation or preparation in terms of how the network is setup.

There are soo many issues with the way Collins is handling their IT, this post could go on and on into a 3 page dissertation. It's almost like they are setting the plants up to fail purposely. The whole concept of shared network accounts being limited to certain computers, and then their failure to update the accounts when requested. The USB exemptions being as limiting as they are, the proxy not allowing basic email such as hotmail or gmail but the network is overloaded and lagging with employees on FACEBOOK. The failure of department managers to stay on top of computer refreshes, causing Collins to hemorrhage money leasing outdated machines. Very few sites with an actual INTERNAL IT person who can activate / deactivate accounts on the network, instead allowing contractors only a limited view through the ARS system and no real ability to make changes... the list goes on and on of stupidity within Collins IT... specialized software packages with no one really overseeing it's implementation or engineers to stay on top of it.

Ace personnel running around doing whatever in the name of 'continuous improvement' without actually consulting with the departments and managers their changes will affect. 10 Brand new computers installed along hallway walls at the lease price of approximately 150 dollars per machine per month with the sole purpose of running Auto Time

I mean, this stuff is so absurd it's beyond just making up fiction.

By the way, it's not all that hard to work around the USB exemption nonsense for those of us that are truly computer savvy. What exactly is Collins IT attempting to accomplish other then to be a counter effective force for the company?

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I work at the WV plant, and the new guy they brought in is impossible to get a hold of. Didn't he used to work here directly for Goodrich and then was terminated? Now he is back as a temp? The former technician was so much better and actually knew what he was doing.

It certainly hasn't gotten any better in the last three weeks since Collins has yanked on site support here. What is wrong with the people overseeing desktop IT?

I guess I will just try to add some memory. Thanks for the info you have provided here

Until the employees at Collins rise up and take a stand regarding all the subcontracting of Collins needs, things won't improve. Then they need to on the other side of the coin do their share to improve production output. Its a dual edged sword, but yes the subcontracting garbage, in computer support needs especially, needs to be stopped. I too have come to realize how pathetic the current leadership of the Desktop support team (and thats the one effecting us internally on the plant floors the most) is. This whole premise of subcontracting doesn't work, never has. Information doesn't make its way effectively from Collins to its subcontractors, plus since they aren't internal they aren't thoroughly trusted. This bring contractors in, and then just dismiss them on masse and contract with another company approach is short sighted and stupid. It will take months for someone to get acclimated to the network setup at any plant, coming in green like that.

"Can I just buy an ssd and some ram on Amazon?"

Answer: You'll need the Onsite technician to reimage the computer. If you can install the drive and get the onsite technician to reimage the computer (once you back all your stuff up on a network drive) , yes sure. But you'll need someone with administrator credentials (the local IT guy) to put the Collins Image on the new drive once it's installed.

If you were to do that the computer would be SOOO much faster. It doesn't even matter if it's an AH series machine. The slow down on 90 plus percent of the Collins computers is the hard drive.

In terms of what kind of drive, a Sansdisk 256gig solid state drive with the standard ATA connectors should be fine. Last I checked that drive and others like it go for 40 dollars or less on Amazon. So yes, that would solve the drive speed drive problem, but you'll need the technician to put the image on for you.

What a horrible thing they are doing to its employees.

Can I just buy an ssd and some ram on Amazon?

This thread is so on the money. Collins has about the worst approach to computer support I have ever encountered. The rocket scientists overseeing Collins networking infrastructure should be out on the pavement. KUDOS to the DXC technician tried to make a difference by updating those computers with Solid state drives versus the leased dinosaurs . I had heard of the Union WV technician making huge strides to improve things there.. Why on earth didn't the plant hire him direct?

be sure of what you are getting before going out to get your own upgrades (or letting some go-getter do it for you)
for example, don't source your parts from Huawei

I have thought about upgrading my computer with my own cash, but haven’t done so based on principle. Collins wants to increase productivity but gives us the worst computers on the planet, and it has a huge impact

The company is literally bleeding money leasing computers with super old hard drives, which could be updated for like 30 or 40 dollars each. That's the intelligence level we're dealing with here. So all the employees have to wait on the machines to come up and the super slow reboots following the continuous mandatory software 'updates', No thought is given to the lost employee hours (literally hours over a period of weeks,not to mention months or years) waiting for the pcs to boot. The tech who took it upon himself to update those computers should be RUNNING Collins computer desktop support, not out of a job.

This is a perfect example of the shortsightedness of Collins and why we are going downhill fast, meanwhile the company blames all its recent problems on COVID.

You're waiting a hour because in Collins wisdom, the computers use old mechanical hard drives (1990 technology) . A Dxc technician at our site in WV took it upon himself to start replacing the drives with solid state drives and increased boot up tines by 500 percent. The difference in speed was night and day. From what he told me, he initially invested some of his own money to make this huge difference and help put plant run better. Collins should of hired this GO GETTER directly, instead he was let go with the contract termination. Further examples of Collins stupidity

Thanks for the insight. Some things make sense now. I have always wondered why a company that makes so much money leases computers with such terrible specs. We can barely do our jobs with what is provided. Sometimes I wait an hour for my computer just to restart. Terrible, and like you said there is no support. They preach about Ace and all of the other c-ap but they don’t provide the basics

Thread regarding Collins Aerospace layoffs

mo--ns running the I.T. Efforts at Collins

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