A lot of this red tape goes back to the eary days of quality control in government enterprises. Some bureaucrats needed more control so they started QA sections in the enterprises. We as workers would not put good technicians into the sections so we transfered all the dregs.
These "dregs" did not know much so we created check lists for them called "procedures guides". This meant that they had to know even less. No more than how to tick a box.
The idea pleased the department heads because it meant they also had to do less work (more time for socialising etc.). The situation has escalated to the stage where everything can be pronounced complete as long as all the boxes are ticked. This also lead to the creation of a couple of extra levels of bureaucracy to absorb the useless members of society.
That's my story and I will stick to it!
Barry
