The civil engineer Cláudio Manfrini was the principal consultant in Water Treatment at Comasp (now Sabesp). It was no small feat; we were building the Guaraú system, with the Guaraú Water Treatment Plant of the same name, with a capacity of 33m³/s, one of the largest in the world, aside from the others in Greater São Paulo. In 1972, during a work visit to the ABV Water Treatment Plant (at the time 8m³/s), we were walking through the filter control gallery when Manfrini noticed a burnt-out bulb in the ceiling fixture. He asked for a ladder and a new bulb, climbed the ladder, and changed the bulb himself.
Seeing that, chemical engineer Guilherme Von Atzingen (known as Guigui, from the Treatment Division of Comasp, an internal consultant) provoked: "Manfrini, is this what a consultant is for?" And Manfrini responded: "Guilherme, pay attention to this story:"
"... Once upon a time, there was a breeding bull on a cattle farm. Between the bull and the cows, there was a barbed wire fence, and the bull and the cows would talk to each other until they couldn't take it anymore. Then one cow had an idea: 'Why don't you take a few steps back and jump over the fence? We’re here waiting for you...'
The bull got excited, took a run-up, prepared to jump over the fence, galloped toward it, and bam! He jumped the fence... However, he scraped the barbed wire, and let's say the bull's 'documents' got caught on the fence. A tragedy. The vets managed to save the bull's life, but that was it. Three months later, the bull was there again, inconsolable, talking to the cows, and seeing a new bull arriving in a truck. He asked the cow who had suggested the jump: 'Now what do I do?' And the cow replied: 'Now you stay on as a consultant...'
Do you understand the definition of a consultant now?"
Guilherme fell silent, and the then recent graduate who is telling you this story also remained silent to this day.
Miguel Fernández, consulting engineer, columnist, and writer
Rio de Janeiro, published in the ABES Bio Magazine, on March 13, 2017.17.
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