Case file · D06 · investigation

Ridgeline Outfitters · eleven days, one root cause, three helpers · scene A · the clues

Why 212 orders shipped to the wrong address

“The label was right and wrong at the same time.”

The bench sample rack · clues → verdict

Orders affected
0 → 212
Days before anyone noticed
0 → 11
Root causes
? → 1
Contributing causes
? → 3
Cost (reships, refunds, labels)
$0 → $6,340
Days to fix once found
— → 2

Pick a flask, then a flask or the beaker, to pour. Levels add, colours mix. The precipitate forms when the root cause is in, the red herring is out, and the burner is above half.

The clues reagent labels · weight = liquid level · colour = kind

Status: OPEN

Lab notebook

The label was right and wrong at the same time: right street, no unit. The sync cut address line 2 at 20 characters, and “Apartment 14, Building C” is 24. The label template then hid the empty line, so the label looked clean. Support had a macro that blamed the carrier, so 212 customers were told to check with the depot.

The fix took two days. The finding took eleven, and that is the real defect: a return-to-sender spike is now an alert, and “check with the carrier” is no longer a macro.

Actions

  1. Sync keeps address lines whole (limit raised to 120 characters, test added).
  2. Label template prints “—” for an empty line 2, never hides it.
  3. Return-to-sender count over 5 per day pages the ops lead.
  4. The carrier macro is deleted; replies must quote the label.
  5. All 212 customers got a reship and a note; 31 asked for a refund instead.

Reagent label sheet evidence · source · proved

EvidenceSourceProved
212 labels, no unitlabel archivethe symptom
20-char fieldsync code, line 88the root cause
“—” never printedtemplatehow it hid
RTS spike 9 Marcarrier reportthe 11 days

Scale printout bench scale · thermal tape

Bench 4 · scale 02case D06 · 2026-03-20
basecamp orders find --rts --since 2026-03-01     # 212
basecamp sync fields address2                     # max 20 → 120
basecamp alerts add rts --threshold 5/day --page ops-lead
exit