She walked out into the rain. The bell on the door jangled.

But the parts would survive. And so, eventually, would you.

The new control limits widened by 14%. Points 14, 15, and 16 were still out of control—but now you knew why. The process was fundamentally unstable. You’d need to shut down the line for 48 hours. Replace a bearing. Retrain the third shift.

“No. That’s the cost of not losing everything. That’s the cost of a second chance. That’s the cost of knowing that the person who came to this booth before you—a plant manager in Ohio—didn’t pay. He thought he could out-Excel the problem. Three months later, his line shut down. He now sells RV insurance.”

Your boss would scream. You might still get fired.