THE RIDICULOUS 6”x 6” CUBE

EXCERPT FROM FAB2 SECURITY MEMORANDUM:
01. SAFEKEEPING OF BAGS, LUGGAGES & OTHER HAND-CARRY ITEMS

2.1 As a general rule, bags, luggage and other hand-carry items of SPML Employees that do not fit inside a 6”x 6” cube shall be deposited with the Luggage Check-in Counter and should not be brought inside the building.

Reading this yesterday is enough to ruin my day. The 6’’x 6’’ figures are constantly in my head, animated, in full colors, mocking me, the thought made me shook my head several times. A 6’’x 6’’ cube is ridiculously small for an office bag. How can I fit the stuff I normally bring to the office in a bag that small? We are talking about A "work appropriate bag” here people, not a bag you bring on a date, it’s an office bag for Pete’s sake!

The security won’t allow ALL employees to go inside the building if you carry a bag larger than a 6”x 6” cube… Writing the phrase made me shook my head, AGAIN. BUT if you have a laptop you can carry a backpack or a larger bag, without any questions from the guards. Come on! Not all people in the workgroup have a laptop (yet) and again a 6”x 6” cube is RIDICULOUSLY small. PAMBIHIRANG BUHAY NAMAN O!!!!

I wrote the most assertive and polite letter of complaint and sent it to my boss, he understood my concern. Of course he emailed the security head expressing agreement to my concern. The reply was HILARIOUS!

These are some of the funny things he said…

HE SAID: The 6”x6” cube is large enough to contain personal stuff like toiletries, extra shirt, hand towel etc., that are needed by employees to work comfortably in the work group or inside the Fab.

MY TAKE: 6”x6” cube and the word LARGE when used in a sentence is ridiculous! Is he from a planet where there is no FEMALE species? The so called personal stuff of an average office girl cannot fit and will never ever fit in a 6”x 6” cube. What t-shirt are we talking about my 1 year old sister’s shirt?

HE SAID: With due respect, not being issued a laptop or a similar tool of trade issued by the company is not equivalent to being allowed to bring big bags into the building instead. In fact it’s a great responsibility being issued a laptop because it can be waylaid in transit compared to a desk top which is safely left in the office and compels you to work only while you’re in your work station. This should not be interpreted also as being “LUGI” on the part of some because we’re only trying to put things in their proper places.

MY TAKE: Really? Not allowed? Why don’t you freakin stand in front of the main lobby and see for yourself? Isn’t a back pack a big bag? Its where most of the young work group people put their laptop, and all they have to say to your guards is the word laptop so they can go inside. Responsibility? Yeah that’s right change the topic! Man you’re the SECURITY HEAD your RESPONSIBILITY is to keep us safe and secured, not force us to jam our important stuff into an incredibly small box! Trying to put things in their proper place? What a funny guy! Why would people put things in their bag to work if it’s not necessary?

HE SAID: Finally, you will agree with me if I say that employees also complain when they are delayed boarding their buses, hence, they leave their workplace 30 minutes prior to time. One big cause of the delay is due to the queuing at the security inspection area where bags are inspected thoroughly by our guards, aside of course from the manual time keeping. If we don’t have so much to inspect because there are no bags and luggage, employees can take their time going out of the building without the feeling of being pressured, hurried or harassed.

MY TAKE: The employee’s complaint is about the single chronology that they provided. It’s the main reason why there’s a queue at the main lobby, because the smart guys from the security office provided a single chronology for the WHOLE FAB2 PLANT! I hope he’s not on drugs, what if it’s raining and I brought an umbrella, obviously it won’t fit into his magical box, when it’s time to go home, I’ll be standing in queue waiting to log out with the SINGLE chronology that the smart people from their office has provided, and then fall in line again at the baggage counter just to get the umbrella. Isn’t falling in a long e line twice makes people pressured, hurried and harassed?


MY FINAL TAKE ON THIS: I understand that the manufacturing people cannot bring personal things inside the FAB, coz it’s a clean room. But we are not working inside the FAB, we are workgroup people, we bring stuff to work because we NEED it, so leaving it in the baggage area a hundred meters away from the office is pointless. FAB1 allows employees who have an office to carry bags why can’t we do it here in FAB2? They say they are requiring us to carry a smaller bag to avoid employees stealing stuff and taking home things from the company, I actually understand the idea. But the 6”x 6” cube has to go! My planner cannot even fit to that requirement. I’m hopeful they use common sense and think outside the box - a box larger that a 6”x 6” cube.