State of the art Chinese spark plug factory...
Discussion
I have no idea if this is real or a re-post.
A discussion raiser to be sure!
http://www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1063782
A discussion raiser to be sure!
http://www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=1063782
I'd have said that's pretty reasonable for a factory doing volume production on manual tools.
The truth is that turning makes swarf. One may or may not have a sweep up during the day, but certainly at the end of the day. The main reason to have a sweep up, is that the swarf gets in the way of the machine.
The odd thing is what looks to be a huge pile of swarf under the bench. I'm guessing that they don't have anyone yet to take the waste products away.
Old wooden stools are common on a production shop floor. They're better than comfy office chairs. Swarf won't stick, like it does to tweedy fabric. Sitting on swarf isn't pleasant. No wheels is good too. One would typically kneel and perhaps stand on a stool, and wheels make it easy to fall off.
The guards are usually an impediment to efficient progress. If you're willing to risk it, you can often double your output, by ignoring health and safety. The risk is nowhere near as high as you might think. People really don't understand the implication of H&S on competitiveness. I always think the person doing the job should decide on their own safety. They may be under pressure to work without the safety they want, but I wouldn't say so from those pictures.
If you do repetitive work with metal, it's common for your skin to "wear". A small piece of tape is replaceable and saves a lot of pain.
TBH I couldn't see a lot that was wrong in those pictures. The only odd thing was the bank swarf under the bench. A skip out the back is a much better solution. Sweeping up a couple of times during the day wouldn't have gone amiss however.
There's no doubt in my mind however. That factory is a part of why we're in recession.
The truth is that turning makes swarf. One may or may not have a sweep up during the day, but certainly at the end of the day. The main reason to have a sweep up, is that the swarf gets in the way of the machine.
The odd thing is what looks to be a huge pile of swarf under the bench. I'm guessing that they don't have anyone yet to take the waste products away.
Old wooden stools are common on a production shop floor. They're better than comfy office chairs. Swarf won't stick, like it does to tweedy fabric. Sitting on swarf isn't pleasant. No wheels is good too. One would typically kneel and perhaps stand on a stool, and wheels make it easy to fall off.
The guards are usually an impediment to efficient progress. If you're willing to risk it, you can often double your output, by ignoring health and safety. The risk is nowhere near as high as you might think. People really don't understand the implication of H&S on competitiveness. I always think the person doing the job should decide on their own safety. They may be under pressure to work without the safety they want, but I wouldn't say so from those pictures.
If you do repetitive work with metal, it's common for your skin to "wear". A small piece of tape is replaceable and saves a lot of pain.
TBH I couldn't see a lot that was wrong in those pictures. The only odd thing was the bank swarf under the bench. A skip out the back is a much better solution. Sweeping up a couple of times during the day wouldn't have gone amiss however.
There's no doubt in my mind however. That factory is a part of why we're in recession.
Edited by dilbert on Friday 26th February 16:01
soad said:
f
k me that looks bad, but probably as expected and normal.
It's not that it's a sweatshop, that's what productive, profit making, engineering looks like.k me that looks bad, but probably as expected and normal.I mean there are no Coke cans around, and the walls look a bit bare, but other than that....
As an unemployed person, I'd take a job like that, in a shot. I'd rather do that, than work in a call centre!
Edited by dilbert on Friday 26th February 16:17
I can't see the problem. I've worked in far worse conditions in the UK. Thankfully stty feckin freezing cold dirty factories are behind me now.
Mind i'd rather work with equipment like the high voltage "spark plug tester", than have yet another nannying Health & Safety bod showing me how to sit in my chair and the correct way of lifting boxes yet again!
tty feckin freezing cold dirty factories are behind me now.Mind i'd rather work with equipment like the high voltage "spark plug tester", than have yet another nannying Health & Safety bod showing me how to sit in my chair and the correct way of lifting boxes yet again!
The absence of machine guards aside I worked in places not unlike this in the seventies.
even with macine guards we would get worn down hands...
But the swarf everywhere would have been cleaned up ten or more times a shift by the "labourer"
And yes when I was stupidly young I've been known to wear Good Stuff for work if I wanted to show off
But the places "like this" I worked in were something like 150 years old, not 1990s industrial workshops like that one and most of them are now expensive industrial loft apartments in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter
or museums
we sent manufacturing abroad, there's no way we could get it home again and be able to make money and it will take years before the Chinese feel the need for ROSPA equivalents
even with macine guards we would get worn down hands...
But the swarf everywhere would have been cleaned up ten or more times a shift by the "labourer"
And yes when I was stupidly young I've been known to wear Good Stuff for work if I wanted to show off
But the places "like this" I worked in were something like 150 years old, not 1990s industrial workshops like that one and most of them are now expensive industrial loft apartments in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter
or museums
we sent manufacturing abroad, there's no way we could get it home again and be able to make money and it will take years before the Chinese feel the need for ROSPA equivalents
Western consumers want to pay Chinese prices for goods, so that's how the factories are going to be from now on.
The Chinese bosses won't invest their profits in nice shiny new factories as they need to run their nice shiny new Porsches.
I kind of agree with some of the sentiments expressed here WRT spark plug production, but what if you found your brake pads or airbags were being made in a similar environment? You might be a bit more concerned about the quality control maybe?
Well, that's where it's all heading I'm afraid.
The Chinese bosses won't invest their profits in nice shiny new factories as they need to run their nice shiny new Porsches.
I kind of agree with some of the sentiments expressed here WRT spark plug production, but what if you found your brake pads or airbags were being made in a similar environment? You might be a bit more concerned about the quality control maybe?
Well, that's where it's all heading I'm afraid.
I spent three years working in China, visiting many many factories such as this.
The low pay reflects the low cost of living, and the 'new clothes' that the staff are wearing in the pictures probably are their own, it's very, very cheap to buy a new pair of trainers.
As for the Health and Safety aspect, they get along just fine without being nannied.
Just take that testing box for example. The story says "ooh, dangerous, exposed electrics", whereas the factory would said. "Well, it's live electricity, no one is going to be stupid enough to put their hand in their, so why bother guarding it?"
Reminds me of a time I went to a factory that made insulated copper wire. We went into a huge room, with machines running the length of the floor, at either side, with massive empty space in the middle.
"Let's go see the process at the other end of the room" says my tour guide.
"OK", I reply, heading off down the centre of the room.
There's immediately shouts and I'm grabbed and stopped from going any further.
When looking closer, there's actually hundreds of threads of fine diameter copper wire criss-crossing from the machines on one side, to those on the other that are spinning them into multicore wires.
I'd have looked like I'd been through that laser tunnel in Resident Evil had I taken a few more steps!
The low pay reflects the low cost of living, and the 'new clothes' that the staff are wearing in the pictures probably are their own, it's very, very cheap to buy a new pair of trainers.
As for the Health and Safety aspect, they get along just fine without being nannied.
Just take that testing box for example. The story says "ooh, dangerous, exposed electrics", whereas the factory would said. "Well, it's live electricity, no one is going to be stupid enough to put their hand in their, so why bother guarding it?"
Reminds me of a time I went to a factory that made insulated copper wire. We went into a huge room, with machines running the length of the floor, at either side, with massive empty space in the middle.
"Let's go see the process at the other end of the room" says my tour guide.
"OK", I reply, heading off down the centre of the room.
There's immediately shouts and I'm grabbed and stopped from going any further.
When looking closer, there's actually hundreds of threads of fine diameter copper wire criss-crossing from the machines on one side, to those on the other that are spinning them into multicore wires.
I'd have looked like I'd been through that laser tunnel in Resident Evil had I taken a few more steps!
I don't see what is wrong with them.
It is just men in sheds on a large scale.
The safety bandage is similar to my "safety bandage" IE Electrical tape.
The HSE haven't gone in and tried to stop all work, so no safety guards and no safety goggles
The "dirty" stools? Really?!
The man has dirty top on! They should see my overalls after working in a glass bottle factory!
Conduit on the floor and no panel backing? - This is scraping the barrel a little.
If this is an example of a factory in China, then it looks all fine to me.
Just need an apprentice to be cleaning up.
It is just men in sheds on a large scale.
The safety bandage is similar to my "safety bandage" IE Electrical tape.
The HSE haven't gone in and tried to stop all work, so no safety guards and no safety goggles
The "dirty" stools? Really?!
The man has dirty top on! They should see my overalls after working in a glass bottle factory!
Conduit on the floor and no panel backing? - This is scraping the barrel a little.
If this is an example of a factory in China, then it looks all fine to me.
Just need an apprentice to be cleaning up.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff