>In the software world, I enjoyed 10 years of keeping the production line going for Toyota/General Motors, at NUMMI in Fremont, California. The first three months I was there 6 people died of heart attacks between 0600 and 0605 (May, June and July of 2000). Shift start was 0600. My cubical mate on my left died at age 50 in 2005 and my mate on my right at 39 in 2009. As long as 1000 cars and trucks were produced each day all was well. Telephone calls at 2 AM, weekends, and during vacations and holidays were common. Working on Christmas and New Years was expected - like working 20 hour shifts.

I was lucky, then, to never work in such environment. The only time I was anywhere near a production line, I was telecommuting, and then the production was run by people with "XVII century minds, trying to recreate their century on computers" (as my then boss put it).

I was 50 in 2005 :).

>After enjoying my first day on the job, my son and daughter rented a DVD titled "Gung Ho", which they showed me when I finished my first shift. It looked just like NUMMI! The next day I discussed the DVD with my supervisor. It turns out that the movie is based upon NUMMI when Toyota took over the plant.

Life imitates art imitates life, eh?