Jim Elwell wrote (extract)
Oh, and it is a very rare decision that is as trivial as "metrication
increases
the chances for survival." Any decision such as metricating a company
has to take into account a myriad of factors, such as:
...
* which customers will accept metrication? which will not?
* which subcontractors will accept metric work? which will not?
* will any sole-source parts be able to be metricated?
* will any sole-source vendors be able to be metricated?
...
I could certainly go on, but most of you will get the point: there is no
one in the
world who knows the answers to all these questions except the business
owners
themselves, and even then the answers to many questions are, at best,
educated
guesses.
These issues can only really be tackled by a Nationwide program of change.
Individual businesses cannot do it own thier own. Companies cannot be
expected to invest money on metrication and rely on a reasonable return
unless they know that customers and suppliers, and all related aspects of
the business world, will converge to the same common metric standards within
the forseeable future.
It's hard to see how a gradual change over many decades will create an
environment that allows this to happen.
Phil Hall
