Hi,

This guy is describing some Chinese workers as 'above average '
(About half way through the article)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/op...e-is-over.html

Workers in dorms getting rousted out at midnight seems like above average sweatshop to me. No mention of whether they got a share of the 'costup' for this type of response.

Apple has been getting beat up over using this vendor, and I dislike Apple, but I doubt that this type of deal is any different from most.

Just a little food for thought,

hj

 

It's called "competition", and Chinese workers and the Chinese people in general have never lived better. That's completely forgotten when working conditions there are discussed.

The US is still very competitive in manufacturing, but the smart way to do that is get rid of as many workers as possible and automate production.

U.S. productivity gains stifle job creation - USATODAY.com

 

2go, that is a pretty insane story. I have to agree that a US factory would have little luck with that kind of flexibility, which is food for thought. I really have no opinion yet on whether it's a good or a bad thing, just interesting. The Chinese are hard workers, no doubt about that! I'm glad I don't have to work where they do.

Wrench, I seem to remember a few threads ago you were pretty adamant that you didn't believe in free markets, so I'm surprised at your response here. Not to minimize what you said, though, it's certainly true. I'm always trying to find ways to automate my job, because I believe I will ultimately be better off for the innovation although my employment circumstances may change in the short term. Even if I end up with a relatively small share of the increased wealth that results from any innovation, I'm still better off than yesterday.

 

Without sweatshops etc the US would never be the powerhouse it is today.

Modern workers wouldn't care much for the environment on the Model T Ford assembly lines or their conditions of employment, but they were a huge improvement in their day!

 

The key isn't to "automate production". The key is to find the waste in your processes and eliminate it. It's called "Lean Manufacturing" and it's something that the Japanese perfected in the years following WWII. That's how they got the upper hand on the American companies. The article gives a perfect example of Lean where it says:

Remcon rethought how it did business — restructuring the workplace, for example, so employees didn’t have to walk as far to do their tasks. A plastic part that once had to be made by six workers now needs three. It can be produced faster.

That was a reduction in motion, and excess motion in the workplace is waste. The idea is to remove, or minimize as much as possible, the non value added activities that your workers have to perform during the day while producing your product. The customer does not want to pay for your worker to walk 20' to get his wrench. It adds no value to the product. That 20' that he travels to get his wrench comes right out of the profit, meaning less money for the company. You would be amazed at some of the cost savings from reduced motion. Those three extra guys that you have from the reduction of motion? You deploy them somewhere else that needs help. They were utilized incorrectly in the first place....oops, another waste reduction.

Lean isn't about laying people off. It's about reducing waste and doing better with what you have. For too long companies have just thrown more people at a job instead of thinking about the process. To be competitive, you have to fine tune your business.

I am a production manager for one of the largest oilfield equipment manufacturers in the United States. We've been leaning out our processes for the last five years and I am proud to say that, during the economic crunch, we were able to keep most of our work force and we kept layoffs to a minmum. That's because we didn't get top heavy to begin with.

 

In some industries workers are skilled trades who are versatile and whose tasks can't be automated.

In other cases workers are a burden.

Man vs. Machine: Behind the Jobless Recovery - WSJ.com

 

Chain saw bars are pretty simple to make, so yes, automation is probably key there. We have several automated processes in our plants.

In the example above, it gives another example of Lean. He knows that he only needs six more workers. How does he know that? He mapped his value stream and he knows what each process takes, how many operators it takes, and how long it takes. He has a plan and he's working it.

If the American workder wants to stay competitive himself, he's going to have to keep up with the learning curve and be able to worked in that automated factory. He's also going to have to learn to spot waste and come up with ways to eliminate it.

 

As much as I'm pro-union and believe that people need good wages to live a good life, the unions are the single biggest road block to streamlining work processes.

 

Yep, you're right. I'm dealing with that exact issue in one of our plants up in the rust belt. They've just about priced, and road blocked, themselves out of a job.

 

I was a non-union employee in a mostly unionized workplace a few years back, and it was a miserable experience. Anything that ever went wrong was automatically blamed on non-union employees, who got no raises whatsoever during the 4 years I was there. Several of the union employees openly slept and abused drugs at work (this was a law-enforcement job) with no consequences.

It seems private-sector unions have trouble grasping the concept that money is limited and it's not as if employers are simply hiding a huge pile of money from the workers, out of sheer greed. A lot of union tradesmen I know are rather "difficult" individuals because even in casual conversation they're always going off the hook about perceived "injustices" and "unfairness" where none exists.

It's a mindset. And we can no longer afford it as a nation. (a NSHO, I know)

 

I'm very sorry guys, I didn't intend to derail this thread turn this into a union bashing.

 

Sorry, Tim. Will re-read OP.

Does anyone know how much money the Chinese workers make every year or on an hourly basis? Pretty sure it's peanuts compared to US workers, but a hella lot more than 10 years ago. At least that's what I've heard.

 

It's not your fault sir, it's mine.

 

Damn. Just bought a Toshiba laptop. Need to see where THEIR sweatshops are located.....

 

I guess the difference is, Apples still cost a helluva lot more than comparable phones and computers........Which is how they consistently break their own profit records year after year.........

The Toshiba P755 I just bought for a whopping $450 from Best Buy is every bit as good as anything Apple puts out.........And costs less than half the price. Go figure.