Confessions from quality control part 3 - Dagenham!
Discussion
anonymous said:
[redacted]
How do you pay people according to quantity and quality where something complex is being built on a production line? The guy who fits the wheels may be diligent but his work can be slowed down by the guy fitting the doors holding people up or the person supplying the wheels being slow or providing the wrong sort. He also doesn't want to lose pay because a car has come off the production line misbuilt with the wrong seats in it, a fault that's nothing to do with his workmanship.
I don't work in manufacturing but I have worked for a company where productivity is very heavily monitored to the point where the company times how long people take to go to the toilet. Staff are demotivated and don't last long in their jobs to the point where there are high sickness levels and staffing is low because many people have left. Diligent workers have been told to work faster at the expense of quality because their quality levels have been above target while productivity has been below. That shows little regard for customer satisfaction.
If a company is employing people to do a job it should be employing people it can trust to do that job right. Orwellian type monitoring, threats, penalties and punishments demotivate diligent workers who are capable of doing a job well because the targets tend to be set by people who don't understand the work and don't, in practice, care about the quality of the product and the satisfaction of the customer. The targets become an all consuming part of the job and the way the work is done tends to be more about massaging the figures than being truly efficient.
When I were a lad in the late 70's, I was doing an apprenticeship as an auto electrician.
The local main British Leyland dealers in town didn't have a sparky and our little garage was sub contracted to do their work.
I used to see an awful lot of Maxis, Marinas, Princesses, Montego etc with only one wing drilled & fitted with a side repeater.
That would drive the flasher unit crazy and fail the dealer PDI.
The local main British Leyland dealers in town didn't have a sparky and our little garage was sub contracted to do their work.
I used to see an awful lot of Maxis, Marinas, Princesses, Montego etc with only one wing drilled & fitted with a side repeater.
That would drive the flasher unit crazy and fail the dealer PDI.
loved the Welsh one, more please!!!These posts are wonderful, I'll add my voice to the chorus crying for more.
I currently work regularly in an old Transit factory in Wales that is being reincarnated as film studios, your pictures look very familiar! I guess the factory structures, colours, and so on, were the same company wide. There are plenty of faded, hopeless, motivational/instructional memos and posters still stuck to inscrutable control panels, and on the walls of drab little offices. It's fascinating to explore, visualising characters like Tefal marching around..!
I currently work regularly in an old Transit factory in Wales that is being reincarnated as film studios, your pictures look very familiar! I guess the factory structures, colours, and so on, were the same company wide. There are plenty of faded, hopeless, motivational/instructional memos and posters still stuck to inscrutable control panels, and on the walls of drab little offices. It's fascinating to explore, visualising characters like Tefal marching around..!
Blakewater said:
How do you pay people according to quantity and quality where something complex is being built on a production line? The guy who fits the wheels may be diligent but his work can be slowed down by the guy fitting the doors holding people up or the person supplying the wheels being slow or providing the wrong sort.
He also doesn't want to lose pay because a car has come off the production line misbuilt with the wrong seats in it, a fault that's nothing to do with his workmanship.
I don't work in manufacturing but I have worked for a company where productivity is very heavily monitored to the point where the company times how long people take to go to the toilet. Staff are demotivated and don't last long in their jobs to the point where there are high sickness levels and staffing is low because many people have left. Diligent workers have been told to work faster at the expense of quality because their quality levels have been above target while productivity has been below. That shows little regard for customer satisfaction.
If a company is employing people to do a job it should be employing people it can trust to do that job right. Orwellian type monitoring, threats, penalties and punishments demotivate diligent workers who are capable of doing a job well because the targets tend to be set by people who don't understand the work and don't, in practice, care about the quality of the product and the satisfaction of the customer. The targets become an all consuming part of the job and the way the work is done tends to be more about massaging the figures than being truly efficient.
In my experience of manufacturing the best way to motivate any worker is to have the quality of the product as the main driver. Once you have a worker that takes pride in the quality of their work then an increase in productivity should follow.He also doesn't want to lose pay because a car has come off the production line misbuilt with the wrong seats in it, a fault that's nothing to do with his workmanship.
I don't work in manufacturing but I have worked for a company where productivity is very heavily monitored to the point where the company times how long people take to go to the toilet. Staff are demotivated and don't last long in their jobs to the point where there are high sickness levels and staffing is low because many people have left. Diligent workers have been told to work faster at the expense of quality because their quality levels have been above target while productivity has been below. That shows little regard for customer satisfaction.
If a company is employing people to do a job it should be employing people it can trust to do that job right. Orwellian type monitoring, threats, penalties and punishments demotivate diligent workers who are capable of doing a job well because the targets tend to be set by people who don't understand the work and don't, in practice, care about the quality of the product and the satisfaction of the customer. The targets become an all consuming part of the job and the way the work is done tends to be more about massaging the figures than being truly efficient.
It only takes one worker not giving a f
k to destroy any chance of making progress, if you can't change the worker, change the worker 
I used to work nights and saw the difference between the two day shifts. One shift were real team players, if they had a good night they would 'give' me some of their production and in turn I would do extra to help make their numbers look good. The other shift were lazy and would only do the bare minimum required, they were mostly ex British Aerospace with a bloody minded 'them & us' attitude.
The Crack Fox said:
Jodyone said:
I currently work regularly in an old Transit factory in Wales that is being reincarnated as film studios, your pictures look very familiar! I guess the factory structures, colours, and so on, were the same company wide. There are plenty of faded, hopeless, motivational/instructional memos and posters still stuck to inscrutable control panels, and on the walls of drab little offices. It's fascinating to explore, visualising characters like Tefal marching around..!
I don't think they ever made vans in Wales, the Tranny van plant was in Swaythling, Southampton. It has since shut down. Lots of other defunct car/component plants in Wales though. Anyway - yes - I love these faded, desperate old places too. Jodyone said:
These posts are wonderful, I'll add my voice to the chorus crying for more.
Thank you. I really appreciate that. I'm quite tempted to write a book, maybe crowdfund it with a free copy to supporters, or something. I wonder if anyone would go for that? Fiat was crazy. I even got robbed. Maybe I'll do that when I get a moment. More on my blog.
I'd buy the book! Hell yes. Maybe kickstarter if that isn't burned out by now..?
The Crack Fox said:
Thank you. I really appreciate that. I'm quite tempted to write a book, maybe crowdfund it with a free copy to supporters, or something. I wonder if anyone would go for that? Fiat was crazy. I even got robbed. Maybe I'll do that when I get a moment.
More on my blog.
Crowdfunded and published on Kindle would be a good read. There was a chap on here who did the same with his advanced driving book.More on my blog.
Tango13 said:
In my experience of manufacturing the best way to motivate any worker is to have the quality of the product as the main driver. Once you have a worker that takes pride in the quality of their work then an increase in productivity should follow.
It only takes one worker not giving a fk to destroy any chance of making progress, if you can't change the worker, change the worker
I used to work nights and saw the difference between the two day shifts. One shift were real team players, if they had a good night they would 'give' me some of their production and in turn I would do extra to help make their numbers look good. The other shift were lazy and would only do the bare minimum required, they were mostly ex British Aerospace with a bloody minded 'them & us' attitude.
I've been in a situation in the past where I've known I can do something right by taking time over it and that will prevent future customer queries and future work, but my instruction has been to work fast and simply process off individual work items now rather than worry about the bigger picture. So long as the quality control was just the right side of the threshold, that's all that mattered. I'm diligent and seeing corners cut and customers annoyed just for the sake of doing things fast with the bare minimum of staff makes my teeth itch. That and endless corporate jargon and silly acronyms.It only takes one worker not giving a f
k to destroy any chance of making progress, if you can't change the worker, change the worker I used to work nights and saw the difference between the two day shifts. One shift were real team players, if they had a good night they would 'give' me some of their production and in turn I would do extra to help make their numbers look good. The other shift were lazy and would only do the bare minimum required, they were mostly ex British Aerospace with a bloody minded 'them & us' attitude.
The Crack Fox said:
I saw that. I really ought to get my finger out. Thanks.
I started to write what I saw at Fiat but no-one will believe it. It starts nicely with a hot summer and a friendly Lancia driving Italian colleague, it finishes with Albanian beggar women and an afternoon shouting in a Police station.
I recon that sounds like a good read. The Fiat bit I mean!I started to write what I saw at Fiat but no-one will believe it. It starts nicely with a hot summer and a friendly Lancia driving Italian colleague, it finishes with Albanian beggar women and an afternoon shouting in a Police station.
With regards to the book, there are plenty of self publishing options available to you.
The Crack Fox said:
The Moose said:
I recon that sounds like a good read. The Fiat bit I mean!
With regards to the book, there are plenty of self publishing options available to you.
Thanks. Amazon is a bit of a bugger to fathom but I'll get there.With regards to the book, there are plenty of self publishing options available to you.
Fiat! A tiny snippet, then; I was at a company who made wiring looms, a big old dirty place with bags of rubbish piled against the wall and rats everywhere. Horrible. The production manager took me on a tour and proudly announced that they made looms for every leading car manufacturer in Europe. As we were walking I noticed one loom where the wires were damaged and not soldered/fixed into the connector properly. I picked up it up and asked what the problem was. He looked at me, holding this a handful of frayed cables, like I was an idiot. "Problem? No! Eeez only for Fee-at!"
Absolutely cracking stories there Crack Fox, I've thoroughly enjoyed them all - I do hope there's more to come!
Possibly a poor analogy, but I do find your writing akin to things like 'Boys from the Blackstuff' & 'Auf Wiedersehen Pet'... the right balance between tragedy, black humour & genuine laugh-out-loud comedy.
I genuinely believe you will go on to greater heights, you deserve it sir!
Possibly a poor analogy, but I do find your writing akin to things like 'Boys from the Blackstuff' & 'Auf Wiedersehen Pet'... the right balance between tragedy, black humour & genuine laugh-out-loud comedy.
I genuinely believe you will go on to greater heights, you deserve it sir!
The Crack Fox said:
Book is now WIP. I'm tempted to publish it as 'a work of fiction' so I don't end up with Ford's lawyers bumming my dog.
Each chapter is named after a company and factory location. I've got about 20 already.
Well done, OP. I've noticed also the URL of your website -- it appears on the "website" line of your Pistonheads profile -- and you are indeed a prolific chap. Inspiring! Each chapter is named after a company and factory location. I've got about 20 already.
The Crack Fox said:
The book will feature chapters on most car factories, some were worse than others. This isn't a comprehensive assessment of the quality control of every line of every factory I visited in the world, more a loose collection of stories of the balls-ups, bodges and funny stuff I encountered on my travels.
Brilliant, looking forward to it! 
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