It’s the late 1990s, and this programmer pilot fish for a midsize manufacturer is also the onsite IT support guy for the parts-distribution warehouse.

“The order-packing area had a workbench on one side, with terminals and a variety of printers,” says fish.

“The power distribution to that hardware was probably not up to code. Two power strips were zip-tied to a vertical support column. One power strip was plugged into an outlet on the column and the second power strip was plugged into the first.

“Additionally, the workbench and the resulting tangle of power cords, backed up to a narrow area where forklifts would pass carrying pallets.

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