It could be one tiny part in your process that ruins everything when it isn’t operating smoothly.

它可能是你工作不顺时，毁掉整个项目的一个很小部分。

youdao

We'd better not talk about starting up a new company before the first one is operating smoothly, or we'll be getting into deep water.

在第一个公司未能顺利运作之前最好不要谈论建立一个新的公司，否则我们会有新的麻烦的。

youdao

About the same time that Galileo is supposed to begin operating, assuming all goes smoothly, the U.S. will be readying third-generation GPS satellites for launch, sometime between 2008 and 2010.

FORBES: Europe Reinvents GPS