About a decade ago I was hired to be a worker at a plant start up in
Northern Ontario. Lots of government money etc (typical). The management
treated the workers terrible, there was some semblance of training (first
aid etc). Jobs were rotated on a daily basis, so no one actually knew what
they were doing. The amount of drug abuse and alcoholism was also very
high.
The line up of prospective workers was so long that we were constantly told
how replaceable we were and to stop complaining.
Needless to say I didnt last long there, the plant lasted less then 3
years - even with the millions in government money. And regular visits from
politicians for photo ops.
The point is plant start up is difficult. Expectations are very high, and
if you are under a massive public scrutiny at the same time, not likely to
be successfull.
----- Original Message -----
From: "High Tech Coatings" <rick@hightechcoatings.com>
To: "bl" <bricklin@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2004 1:44 AM
Subject: Re: Bricklin Special
> > However, the selection and training of the labor is the responsibility
of
> > management, and is something that you have to take into consideration in
> > planning the business.
> >
>
> I personally know a couple of people that were recruited by bricklin, went
> to the factory , stayed a couple of days and left. both said the same
> thing," the place was so disorganized it was surprising that one car a day
> could be built." there was absolutely no one there that knew what they
were
> supposed to do or what to do if it didn't work like it supposed to, not
> management, not workers. there was no training, just throw a bunch of
people
> together and say build a car. There were also security issues. one guy
told
> me when he was there more stuff left by the back door than the front door
if
> you know what I mean. I'm not saying Canadians are crooks or lazy, but
like
> all workers we need a bit a training and to be told what to do. lets be
fair
> they take a bunch of fishermen and said build a car, surprise surprise
they
> needed some guidance. sorta like taking a bunch of pastry chefs and say
> build us a space shuttle.
>
>
>
>
> > Another factor to consider here is that the management structure and
> > business planning of the company were disastrous, and that will ALWAYS
> have
> > a negative impact on things like employee confidence and commitment.
Kind
> > of a Catch-22.
> >
>
> all the ex-employees I have talked to said they didn't know from one day
to
> the next if the plant would even be open let alone if their check would
> bounce, not a good way to instill confidence or commitment
>
>
> > In any case, I really didn't mean for this to turn into a Canada vs. US
> kind
> > of discussion. My original comment was that Terry's comments had that
Can
> > vs. US feel, and what he said was WAY too general and inappropriate.
> Funny
> > how the engines in the 75's came from Ford's plant in Windsor, ON!
> Somehow
> > Ford was able to overcome the innate laziness of Canadian workers, eh?
:)
> >
>
> when I worked in the ford Windsor plant in 77-80, we had the highest
> quality and productivity of any auto assembly plant in north America. We
> also had the highest absentee rate, I'm sure I helped contribute to the
> later.
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