A Visit to a Phone Manufacturing Factory
This post was originally written in Chinese and published on Qzone.
Preface:
On July 11-12, 2011, I participated in a social practice at Guangzhou Chuangqi Communication Equipment Co., Ltd. I’m writing this log to document the experience. I’m grateful to each member of our group; they made the activity more interesting, fulfilling, and less lonely. They are: Xiang, Jian, Qing, Yun, Ru, Jun, Le, Hua, Da, Hui, Wen, and Neng. I also want to thank Manager Tan, the vice president, and the general manager of Chuangqi, as well as the three guys who chatted with me while we worked.
Main Body:
As soon as I got off the bus, the symmetrical blue building immediately caught my eye. The sunlight shimmered on the blue glass. Looking around, I saw flowers, trees, and rows of oak and mango trees. Inside the workshop, there were rows of operating machines and workers. The people here were just like the environment. The workers, dressed in blue uniforms, were working hard on the front lines of phone production. The leaders were very kind and welcomed us to practice here.
Upon entering the production workshop and joining the production line as an employee, I encountered some challenges. Modern industry relies on mass production, or assembly line operations, which embodies the concept of division of labor. Some employees are responsible for surface mounting, while others are responsible for assembly. Within the assembly process, there are further divisions of labor, with some assembling one component and others assembling another, all to increase production efficiency. I was assigned to the packaging department. At first, I found the packaging quite interesting, researching how to package faster. After continuous improvement and familiarization, I could even package the products with my eyes closed. The leaders would have been puzzled how the factory hired such a nimble “blind” person. Thinking of this, I smiled, and my mind continued to wander. After a while, I opened my eyes and found that the boxes on the assembly line had become sparse, compared to the original density. If this change in density happened in the population of China’s coastal cities, it would be quite gratifying. However, this happened on the assembly line, affecting the team’s efficiency. It can be seen that this type of production relies on close cooperation and division of labor. The team’s efficiency depends on the slowest process. Therefore, to maximize efficiency, each employee must concentrate and maximize their productivity. Then, by adjusting the number of employees needed for each process, the efficiency of each process can be balanced. After understanding this, I began to meet the challenge, focusing my attention, concentrating on production, and cooperating well with my “comrades.”
During a conversation with the vice president of Chuangqi, some things particularly resonated with me. By that time, we had been working in the workshop for a morning, and everyone was more or less tired of the mechanical work. When I asked the vice president about his career, he said that he had worked in the workshop for eight years. I was so surprised that I forgot about my planned nap. This confirms the old saying that every successful person has a history of hard work. While we complain about how mechanical the work is, some people are thinking about how to improve the mechanical work. While we complain about how boring the work is, some people change their attitude and find joy in their work. While we complain about everything, some people are thinking about how to improve efficiency, do outstanding work, and win the boss’s approval. They work diligently day after day. They are a down-to-earth and progressive group. They have ideals and are willing to give everything to achieve them.
This practice also made me realize that I have many areas that need improvement. For example, my attitude towards work and study should be more down-to-earth. I should not complain about my current situation, but turn the boring into interesting, and understand the meaning of learning and working. Also, in terms of communication, I need to learn how to persuade others, how to make them willing to do what you ask, and how to describe things clearly and concisely to avoid misunderstandings and improve efficiency. I hope I can apply these gains to my life. Practical activities are only meaningful and valuable when they truly improve your life and increase your abilities.