Brass razoo's

On Thursday I look forward to Ele's quiz over at Homepaddock I usually can determine the theme and then try and craft answers to questions I don't know around them, today Ele left it up to her readers. Which brings us nicely to brass razoo's and to Sailworld and a sobering warning. I work in the marine industry

" I remember reading, following the Space Shuttle Columbia crash, that the finger of blame could be PowerPointed at a slick 'sales pitch' which took precedence over earnest engineering evaluation.
Vital diagnostic information was glossed over in PowerPoint and a briefcase-sized piece of foam struck the wing, compromising the thermal tile protection … and it was all over, Red Rover, for the crew. 
Similarly, it took only a failed O-ring to turn the ill-fated Shuttle Challenger into a cumulus cloud. 
The field of engineering is littered with such tales of the $2 part causing catastrophic failure to a machine worth many thousands, and ultimately costing lives. Race car drivers have been let down by parting nuts, boat races have been lost with the breaking of a shackle. The difference is, these failures were accidental. What if a someone knowingly used an inferior part that caused a vehicle to crash or a boat to sink? What if they did it just to save a few dollars, or euros?? 
Queensland-based naval architect Peter Brady claims that it’s happening in Europe with the use of inferior skin fittings and seacocks in production boats. 
Apparently the CE Standard was rewritten in 1998 to require that fittings need only be corrosion resistant for five years. Some boatbuilders quickly began using common brass instead of DZR brass, silicon bronze, stainless steel or composites for skin fittings and valves. 
Common brass is much cheaper."
 

Life is worth more than a brass razoo.