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[Mullet Master]

This is a suggestion game.

It is the year 1959. After the last great war , the newly formed Socialist Republic of Kodaslozhia (SRK) was elected to become an industrial hub for the new alliance of socialist republics. It was chosen due to it's close proximity to iron reserves and rail lines. As most of the rolling stock of the rail lines was destroyed in the last war, the ruling party has chose trucks to become the new prime form of transportation for goods and started building roads near the old rail lines.

As this is a state industry, you hold a distinguished military reputation and a penchant for order but almost zero manufacturing experience.

On October the 1st, you take a tour of the grounds.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1 October 1959
I have arrived via motor car to the new factory. On this site near the northwest end of Kodastochey a large single story metal hangar stands, likely 30-40 years old. The metal walls have been painted in a most appropriate military brown (#447) but some appear to have rust spots. There is a large green star made of tin hung on a post near the entrance to the building, approximately 5 meters above the ground. Inside you see the sparks of industry, and hear the hammering of drop hammers. There  is a small outbuilding, approximately 10 meters by 5 meters, made of red brick with two chimneys jutting out at an angle. That is the office site where I will sit.

My desk is of metal construction, of olive green (#500) in color and contains sufficient space for documents.

 - Commandant

Personal files may or may not be relevant to gameplay

 

Your day afterwards consisted of interviewing your employees, and learning about the truck your factory produces.

The K-101 Truck
The K-101 is the first SRK designed truck , designed for civilian goods movement. It has 4 wheels, with the rear two wheels being driven. It has a 7.5 liter gasoline engine with 70 horsepower, driven through a 3 speed manual transmission. The clutch is said to be able to be operated by only the strongest of men with military experience.

It was designed in 1950 by the Glorious Designers of the Mother Country and licensed to be produced by the SRK in 1958. The SRK did a slight redesign to accommodate light-gauge steel to be the primary body material, rather than the wartime body made of light armor plating.

Currently your factory produces 1 of these trucks every 5 working days.

You receive a few pieces of mail.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

19 September 1959
Commandant
When you settle into your office please look into these matters immediately.

The accounting bureau tells me this factory consumes 20,000 kg of metal for each truck produced, but the truck only weighs 5,000 kg. Can you verify this?

The production is only 1 truck per every 5 days. We will not meet our national goal of 1000 trucks per year unless this is remedied. Please review the conditions, and consult the labor board.

 - General Arkadey Melchoir

 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1st October 1959
Commandant
I am the chief engineer, Baryshev Milomir .
There are two teams working under me. The Fox Team of engineers is 3 experienced engineers with vehicle design experience, and the Hound team is 2 inexperienced engineers with some manufacturing experience. Please send their assignments to me.

Their current projects;
Fox Team : Designing dual wheels for rear wheels of truck, to improve traction. Many farmers cannot drive these trucks after frequent rains. 3 months remaining for design.
Hound Team : Building chassis jig so welding of chassis takes 1 day instead of 10. 6 months remaining for design & construction.

This is a suggestion game. It is recommended, in spirit of the game, that you post actions in the form of correspondence, using the official SRK font (georgia) and include your character name, and why the Commandant may listen to them. As the commandant learns more details, the amount of information available in any given post will be greater. Turns will be time-scaled, as appropriate.

Some passages will be written in first person as the commandant, others will be written as correspondence to others.
The GM gets final control of Commandant but you can feel free to suggest actions.

[Mullet Master]

<Reserved in case I want to do all company status updates here>


Encyclopedia of the SRK

Spoiler: Cities (click to show/hide)

Kodastochey This has been the capital city of the SRK no fewer than 4 times in the past. Bombed into ruins during the great wars, the majority of the city is still rubble 15 years later. Once home to 100,000 people, it now is roughly 10,000 people living amongst the relatively intact rural outskirts. There are only two businesses of note, one of the last functioning steel mills in the SRK and the newly commissioned truck factory. There are several small workshops throughout the town supplying parts to the truck factory, including the cast engine blocks and machined transmission pieces.
 
Vekka An agricultural hub, many agricultural products are stored and distributed from here. Most notably most of the SRK's vegetable oil blends come from this city.

Spoiler: Vehicles (click to show/hide)

K101
Configuration : 4x2 , 3 speed manual transmission
Wheelbase: 3.5 meters
Overall length: 6.2 meters
Weight : 5000 kg (estimated)
Engine : 7.5 liters, gasoline
"The K-101 is typically made with a shallow wooden bed for transport of produce or small implements of industry. This truck is the only readily available truck in the SRK so it is typically repurposed by the end user. Some modifications include grain hoppers, tractor plates for pulling trailers, and box beds for goods which cannot take much abuse from the weather. It should theoretically be inexpensive, but supply problems keep the prices outrageously high. Many SRK citizens are still using horses to pull loads as there just isn't enough trucks to go around"

[Kashyyk]

Commandant

Knowledge is power. I highly recommend you discover the exact work flow of your factory, what steps are taken to convert raw steel to automotive brilliance and the costs at each step (both in time and materiel). In this manner you will discover your bottle necks,  your inefficiencies and your wastefulness. Then you will know what stands between you and manufacturing  excellence.

K. Ashyyk
Board of Manufacturing and Industry

[Mullet Master]

3 Oct 1959


K. Ashyyk

I have reviewed the line and taken the most careful of notes.

Inside the workshop, there is a great mountain of steel pieces. Plate, tube, scrap metal from previous vehicles, pieces of what appear to be other cars. I was told some was donated by the board of industry. Shipments of steel arrive every week, regardless of production status. The steel mill providing material has been told to ship 20000 kg of steel in various types, for delivery first thing every Monday.

The frame and suspension is constructed of a large amount of hand cut rectangular tube. Each workman does multiple jobs, including fabricating brackets and cutting tubes to length. Most all pieces are fabricated as needed, and the equipment provided for fabrication is crude.  There are two crews working frames at any given time, and each crew takes 10 days to complete the frame. They typically don't produce a frame on the same date. Let us call these the A and B crew workmen.

The interior pieces, engine, transmission, wheels, and tires all come in separate crates. Once there is a frame to assemble these to, it takes 1 day for the crew to put it together. There is only one assembly crew right now.  The crates are partially recycled - some go into making of the bed of the truck & floorboard, and the rest is burned for heating the facilities.

There is a large stamping press which is used to make body pieces. Each truck requires a hood, two fenders, two bed sections, and a fuel tank.  When the assembly crew is not working on assembling the truck, they stamp the parts required to make 10 trucks each time. This typically takes two days. There are currently sufficient stores to make 34 trucks, and the stamping press has remained idle for many days.

I have attached a summary of the crews and their assignments to this correspondence.

Crew A , numbering 15 men.  Building frame serial number 44
Crew B  " "               15 """.  Building frame serial number 45
Crew C , numbering 10 men, Finishing truck 43

With all good luck we will be rolling out Truck 43 to the people of SRK in two days.

It seems there should be an answer in this to increase production.

Commandant

[Kashyyk]

Commandant

I am sure you have noticed the first bottleneck yourself. Team C is wasting their time producing excess body pieces or even standing idle whilst they wait for Teams A and B to complete their work. When Team C does not have a truck to assemble and has body parts to spare, they should assist the Teams A and B in their efforts. They may not be as skilled as the existing workmen, but many hands will lighten the load.

Yours
K. Ashyyk
Board of Manufacturing and Industry 

[Mullet Master]

10 Nov 1959


K. Ashyyk

I have moved 7 men from Crew C to support Crew A and B. 
The remaining 3 men will focus on only assembly, and can assemble a vehicle in two days. It appears the men were spending a great amount of time engaging in non-state authorized activities, including drinking of vodka and dancing in circles as the proletariats beside them labored long days.

Crew A , numbering 20 men.
Crew B  " "               17 """
Crew C  " "               3 " "

We have had 30 workdays since our last correspondence.
We have completed 7 trucks total.

Current serial number is 52.

Commandant



10 Nov 1959 I have been at this facility for a little over a month now. Thanks to suggestions from K.Ashyyk, we have increased our output by nearly 17%. This was a good success for the SRK, but we are not meeting our quota of 4 trucks per day. We should have ample space, and an ample labor pool, but we need a fully realized plan.

The engineers reported out today.
Fox Team : Designing dual wheels for rear wheels of truck, to improve traction. Many farmers cannot drive these trucks after frequent rains. 2 months remaining for design.
Hound Team : Building chassis jig so welding of chassis takes 1 day instead of 10. 5 months remaining for design & construction.

We have produced 52/1000 trucks for this year.

I have been instructed to read these glorious objectives for the SRK to all members of the factory and advisors.

"General Arkadey Melchoir , chief of all industry in the SRK have issued these following objectives from our various bureaus.

1) Production of 1000 truck units within the next year. This is critical to the economy of the SRK.
2) Design of 6x4 ( 6 wheels, 4 wheel drive)  heavy truck unit for upcoming military objectives. First unit shall be produced in 1962.
3) Consumption of 100000kg steel per week, to ensure those in the steel mill have beneficial industry.

Failure to do so will mean treason against the SRK and the ideals of the proletariat, and is punishable by firing squad. We will conduct a six month review in April 1960. "

[TopHat]

Commandant

Congratulations on your first success, the first of many I hope!
I was interested to note in your report that your workers are each performing various tasks. Perhaps production could be speeded, and more bottlenecks discovered, if each worker in a team was assigned a specific task (cutting tubes to length, for example).
I would also reccomend that you discuss with your workers as to any problems they may have noted with the production procedure as it stands, as they are likely to be more intimately acquainted with the system than yourself.

Yours,
T. Oppat
Production Advisor to the Commandant

[Fniff]

Hello papa Commandant

I've been having difficulty operating the taps in my personal washroom. I can turn them on and wash my hands but I am unable to turn them off. The sink is overflowing with water and I have no idea what to do. I've tried asking the workers what to do and they just laughed at me.

Please respond promptly as this is an urgent matter.

With love,
Anya
xxxx

P.S. I think I might have located the cause of the missing metal. I saw one of the engineers chatting to a gentleman in robes who seemed to be a monk. The gentleman then got in one of the delivery trucks loaded with metal and drove off. I followed him to a dillapitated church. When he discovered I was trailing him he was rather aggressive towards me and broke my car's windshield with a stick, so I'll put this investigation on hold for now.

I'm pretty sure that was real, but it might be that I crashed my car and my medication acted up. I'll forward the cost of repairs to the treasury. It would be amazing if you looked into this matter, though.

P.P.S. Is the coffee machine broken? I tried making tea in it and it sprayed me with scalding milk.

P.P.P.S. Thanks for the job papa!

[Knave]

Greetings Commandant,

I am pleased to hear that you have increased output since taking over your new position. However I am concerned by General Melchoir's assessment that 20,000 kg of metal is consumed to construct a single 5,000 kg truck. Perhaps you can verify with the engineers if the accounting department's numbers are correct, and if so, discover a way to reduce waste or reuse discarded metals for increased efficiency. The more metals the mills are able to churn out and provide the better, but we do not want to waste precious resources when they could be re-purposed.

Best,
V. Knavikov,
Committee for Industrial Efficiency, and Waste Reduction

[Mullet Master]

Commandant

Congratulations on your first success, the first of many I hope!
I was interested to note in your report that your workers are each performing various tasks. Perhaps production could be speeded, and more bottlenecks discovered, if each worker in a team was assigned a specific task (cutting tubes to length, for example).
I would also reccomend that you discuss with your workers as to any problems they may have noted with the production procedure as it stands, as they are likely to be more intimately acquainted with the system than yourself.

Yours,
T. Oppat
Production Advisor to the Commandant

Messr. Oppat

I have organized the men of crew A into each performing a specific set of few tasks. The first fwo men will saw two  main rails into 5 meter lengths. The next two men will each cut a length of tube 1.25 meters long and create the rudimentary rectangle of the frame and weld it fast. This will go on soforth, with each two men performing a specific task. I anticipate good results, however have not observed much for the day. I will report back later.
Thank you.
Commandant

Hello papa Commandant

I've been having difficulty operating the taps in my personal washroom. I can turn them on and wash my hands but I am unable to turn them off. The sink is overflowing with water and I have no idea what to do. I've tried asking the workers what to do and they just laughed at me.

Please respond promptly as this is an urgent matter.

With love,
Anya
xxxx

Dearest Anya,

I find it most troubling that you are having difficulty with the washroom. Likely, should you continue to have difficulty, this letter will not reach you before your entire building is flooded. Rest assured the SRK will provide new quarters to you in the next work housing you are placed into.

I have thoroughly investigated claims of a broken coffee machine in this facility. However, all we have is a pot to boil potatoes in for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. Could you describe the location of the coffee machine to me? Are you sure you aren't on vacation in Arstotzka ?

I find your description of the monks and the metal disappearance nothing short of sedition. It is surprising the censors even allowed this letter through.

As always, I find your mental state troubling and am happy I have taken this position and will be at this factory for a long time.

Please write again, this time to :
Ministry of Morale
Kurtog 4, Stalag 10
Socialist Republic of Kodaslozhia

Be sure to include your current whereabouts and hair color.

Papa

Greetings Commandant,

I am pleased to hear that you have increased output since taking over your new position. However I am concerned by General Melchoir's assessment that 20,000 kg of metal is consumed to construct a single 5,000 kg truck. Perhaps you can verify with the engineers if the accounting department's numbers are correct, and if so, discover a way to reduce waste or reuse discarded metals for increased efficiency. The more metals the mills are able to churn out and provide the better, but we do not want to waste precious resources when they could be re-purposed.

Best,
V. Knavikov,
Committee for Industrial Efficiency, and Waste Reduction

Prof. Knavikov

I believe the accountancy department does not know what they speak of. We have over 200 tons of metal that is waiting processing - I do not earnestly believe any metal is gone. Perhaps check some of my correspondence to K. Ashyyk . We have a fixed delivery contract from the steel mill to deliver an economical amount of steel. We do not have capacity to turn all 20,000kg of that to trucks every week.

I have attached a draftsmen's depiction of the steel pile.
  /---------\     ^
 /               \    8m   
/                 \   v
|<---30m--->|


[/quote]

[Ghazkull]

Comrade Commandant,

I have noticed that your more important Research Topic has been given to Hound Team. Currently however more efficient output of trucks is vastly more important, i suggest reassigning Research Team Fox to deal with the Welding Problem and Hound Team to deal with the Wheels.

Signed,
Commandant of Stalag 10
Wilhelm Laster

P.S: Your Daughter has safely arrived at Stalag 10 she makes marvellous coffee, thank you again for sending me such a capable secretary.

[Knave]

Commandant,

Thank you for your letter, I am glad to hear that the metal is all accounted for, and the General will be pleased as well I'm sure. We must always remain vigilant to ensure that waste is kept to a minimum. When do you expect that we might see an expansion of the production line and labour pool so that you might take advantage of the (admittedly beautifully illustrated) growing pile of materials you are accruing?

I understand Commandant Laster has suggested a shuffling of the research teams to take advantage of Team Fox's experience. Might I suggest instead of swapping projects completely, you instead swap some members of Fox and Hound? Moving an experienced engineer from Fox to Hound, and vice-versa will allow both projects to be completed with few delays while allowing the less seasoned members of your teams to gain useful insight from their more seasoned comrades.

Keep up the good work, Commandant!

Best,
V. Knavikov,
Committee for Industrial Efficiency, and Waste Reduction

[Mullet Master]

12 Nov 1959

Comrade Commandant,

I have noticed that your more important Research Topic has been given to Hound Team. Currently however more efficient output of trucks is vastly more important, i suggest reassigning Research Team Fox to deal with the Welding Problem and Hound Team to deal with the Wheels.

Signed,
Commandant of Stalag 10
Wilhelm Laster

P.S: Your Daughter has safely arrived at Stalag 10 she makes marvellous coffee, thank you again for sending me such a capable secretary.

Comrade Commandant,

Wilhelm my old friend, I am glad that my daughter provides a capable employee. She has been a worry for many of a years at my household . Please do not allow her unfettered access to the sugar, if you have any on ration this month.

As far as the engineering team problem, I send attached a copy of my letter to V. Knavikov,
-Commandant

Commandant,

Thank you for your letter, I am glad to hear that the metal is all accounted for, and the General will be pleased as well I'm sure. We must always remain vigilant to ensure that waste is kept to a minimum. When do you expect that we might see an expansion of the production line and labour pool so that you might take advantage of the (admittedly beautifully illustrated) growing pile of materials you are accruing?

I understand Commandant Laster has suggested a shuffling of the research teams to take advantage of Team Fox's experience. Might I suggest instead of swapping projects completely, you instead swap some members of Fox and Hound? Moving an experienced engineer from Fox to Hound, and vice-versa will allow both projects to be completed with few delays while allowing the less seasoned members of your teams to gain useful insight from their more seasoned comrades.

Keep up the good work, Commandant!

Best,
V. Knavikov,
Committee for Industrial Efficiency, and Waste Reduction

Per your recommendation, I have made teams Fox and Hound more or less equally competent in terms of experience. I hope that they will progress quickly upon assigned tasks. I do not know of this "welding jig" they plan on making, but I am assured it will make every frame exactly the same. I will give you details as it completes. I expect a full status report out in a weeks time from both engineering teams.

As far as labor and machinery, I have full authorization from the SRK Bureau of Industrialization to requisition whatever production machinery and labor resources I require. I am not quite capable of performing a full study at this time, and have been requesting suggestions from other bureaus who may have more calculation resources than I have. I have a multiplication table from numbers 1 to 12, but no one at my facility seems exceptionally competent at doing the required laborious tasks.  I do know my target has been set at 4 vehicles per day, but I am not sure how many more crews will be required. Furthermore I am concerned about kitchen space. I think that equals another shipment of potatoes per day - and as you know, they are always in short supply.

I do not mean to trouble you with my troubles. If you can, pass long the problem to another bureau. I produce 1 car every 4 days with a crew of 20 men. How can I achieve the goal of four cars per day?

For the good of the Republic,
-Commandant

[TopHat]

Commandant

Excellent news; I await your report on the performance of the new system with high hopes.
I would, however, provide a word of caution against various peoples' advice to switch the projects of your engineering teams - partly due to the inherent wasted potential of having experienced vehicle designers working on manufacturing equipment (and vice-versa), and partly as I fear a change of personnel mid-project may result in lost time. Perhaps discussions with chief engineer Milomir would be illuminating on whether such a change is advisable?

Yours,
T. Oppat,
Production Advisor to the Commandant

P.S. Please ignore the blotted sections of this letter. I am afraid that by the time I finished writing much of the advice contained within was no longer relevent.

[Fniff]

Spoiler: Dearest papa-commandant, (click to show/hide)

I am loving it at Stalag 10! I've never seen a place with such high walls. I especially love [CENSORED BY THE MINISTRY OF MORALE DUE TO SEDITIOUS CONTENT] but the [CENSORED BY THE MINISTRY OF MORALITY DUE TO EXTREME CONTENT] is extremely distracting.

Wilhelm Laster is such a gentleman. He loves my coffee and my typing skills. I do wonder why he's always dragging people into rooms and walking out alone covered in ketchup. I suppose he has lots of dinners with people who like wearing black bags on their heads, eating messily, and screaming "I don't know anything, I have children, please"?

Anyway, I was considering something I saw in the paper. Some workers in the Vekka district were arrested during an inspection.  They claimed they were making over a hundred thousand liters of cooking oil a day when in fact they had only ever manufactured one vat of the stuff - they simply filled whatever vat the inspector was inspecting and drained it when he moved onto another vat.

What utter traitors to the nation! Coming up with such a brilliant deception that didn't really harm anyone. Surely you'd never do something like that by, say, going over the Arstotskan border, stealing trucks, replacing the license plates, and pretending they've been manufactured at the plant! I mean, you could, since I have a valid passport and lots of spare time. And it would save you lots of hassle and give you some breathing room if you could get the inspectors off your case so you can focus on making trucks instead of battling with bureaucracy. But you wouldn't do that. Definitely not.

Speaking of, it's been a while since I've had a vacation. Thinking about it, I'd love to go to Arstotska - I hear Paradizna is lovely this time of year.

And has lots of unguarded trucks.
Love,
Anya xxxxxxx

P.S. The coffee machine is fine and definitely not to be investigated as it isn't an evil altar to a dark god. I'm okay and not having another nervous breakdown.

Spoiler: T. Oppat, (click to show/hide)

I am not an employee at my father's factory, but I've been investigating it on my own time. There is something deeply odd going on with the workers. I found them late at night in the storage room, surrounding what I thought was a coffee machine but what now appears to be some sort of an altar to an unknown pagan deity. I transcribed their prayers but I didn't catch all of it.

The metal shall bend,
the oil shall burn,
Olknehk, bless the hammers,
your spirit dwells in our tools!

Like any non-traitorous member of our glorious republic, I respect religions as long as they don't impede the advancement of the SRK, but I think having ceremonies when they should be working the late shift is not on. Would you be able to stage a talk on religion in the workplace? Perhaps tell them to do their creepy ceremonies away from the factory floor? That would be excellent.

RSVP
Anya
Secretary to Wilhelm Laster
P.S. Please don't tell my father about this, he's worried enough as it is.

Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)

I'm supposing it's okay to talk to other players in-character?

This is really neat, by the way.