posted
If anyone could explain to me how shoes are mass produced in factories, I'd be very, very grateful. I'd be even more grateful if someone would tell me the conditions of those factories et al.
posted
Conditions of all factories everywhere, from a guy who has worked in factories (but not shoes):
Very hot, humid, noisy (from machines everywhere: you have to yell to be heard). People very loud, outspoken, typical "white trash" types. Profanity abounds, as do sniping, back-biting, and power trips.
posted
The particulars depend on what kind of shoe, and the balance of human/machine work.
Basically, you need a cutting stage and an assembly/sewing stage, just as you would need for any type of garment. Almost all the cutting can be done by machine (and some of what falls in that catagory practically must be done by machine, such as the soles of most modern sport/activewear shoes). Most of the assembly/sewing has to be done by humans, though specialized sewing machines and glue guns have a prominant role.
In the cutting/stamping area, you have lots of large, dangerous, and noisy machinery. The exact kind of noise depends on the power source used by the machines, as does much of the environmental quality. One thing that makes a huge difference is whether the machines are computer controlled. A non-computerized, steam powered leather cutting floor can be nearly as bad as a meat packing plant. A computerized cutting area needs to be far cooler, drier, and cleaner. It will also likely be quieter. So conditions here can obviously vary radically.
The sewing/assembly area is pretty much going to be rows and rows of people stitching and gluing things into shoes. Conditions won't usually be great, but what machinery is involved will be quieter, smaller (mostly hand-held or nearly so, almost always man-portable at least), and much less dangerous, so conditions don't have to be that bad.
But conditions vary. Generally, in the States, factory workers are of a very low social strata, and they aren't hired for looks or personality either. The looks and personality thing tends to be true most places (and you don't want to work places where they demand the out-of-public workers need to be pretty and friendly), but in some countries the low status thing is far less true. Also, a surprising number of shoes (and other garments) aren't made in factories at all, at least not the final sewing/assembly bits. Since the needed machinery is virtually always single-user equipment anyway, much of it is done in private homes as "piece-work" (labor laws in the States and Europe discourage this, but in Asia it is a fairly common practice, and in the Third world countries people do what they can for a living).
In this case the only part of the shoe making that happens in a factory will be the bits that are really "factoryish", with big machines stamping and cutting stuff. But where this obtains the actual factory workers are likely to be regarded as more skilled and will not be low status socially (in Third world areas, those workers will often be imported and maintained at a standard of living far higher than the local norms).
Basically, this is all to say that there is no single "how", and the conditions vary immensely.
posted
I did a google to see what I would find. One interesting site had a whole pamphlet - it's historical, not current. You click on a page, then click on it again to magnify so you can read it. Very cool...
I shall have to do more research before approaching my next short story. It's going to be much, much darker than my last two, so much so that the idea of writing it is intimidiating.
posted
You might see if you could take a factory tour. Lots of places have them. I live (for just a few more days) near Hanover, PA, and factory tours are a big thing around here. (Hanover is home to Snyder's, which makes snack foods, and Utz, the same, and Hanover Foods, which does various things. It also has a big Clarks building, though I don't know if it's manufacturing shoes or just distributing. Hanover did used to be known for shoes, though.)
There's nothing like actually being there for getting those perfect details.
posted
I don't know about with shoes, but in the automotive industry, at the plant's I've worked at there's a certain family/community atmosphere within the production workers and to a certain extent with the salaried staff as well. There often is a lot of actual family working all at the same plant, but also people just seem to know everybody's business, and if you walk by there spot on the line often enough, they'll stop and ask what you do, or start waving, etc. It does create a bit different evironment in terms of feel that I've sensed from being in a purely office evironment, and has a lot of life.
It is can be hot (or cold in winter, really depends on the newness of the plants heating/cooling system. The plant I'm at now has air conditioning, so its very pleasant for the most part, at least in the main asles), noisey, and somewhat dirty in a greay/grimy sort of way, but that depends on what machinery the line/cell is opperating with. Safety glasses, closed toe if not steel toe shoes required, and often many moving vehicles such as folk trucks or carts, especially near the shipping/recieving areas. Floors painted with walk paths defining pedestrian and vehicle traffic areas. May have moving conveyers overhead. Equiptment can range from almost completey automated, to people individually airgunning parts together (I guess this would be sewing/glueing in the case of shoes).
[This message has been edited by GZ (edited July 08, 2004).]
quote:GZ, people LIKE each other at your job? Man, I'm working at the wrong factory.
Oh, there's a fair share of feuds, and the the usual thinking that the supervisor is an idiot, etc. But yeah, many people do seem to actually like each other, or at least put up with one another in that "You irritate me but we'll still go get a beer later" way. I get lots of cheerful greetings as I make my daily rounds, but then (usually) I'm not asking people to do any extra work either <shrug>.
posted
One thing that hasn't been said, Factories Stink. I don't care if your making purfume, they stink. I worked in tables and chairs. Also the machinery is always broken in one way or another, then usually only fixed to barely usable conditions.
Posts: 1895 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Some people like strong odors. But yeah, most places have them, not just factories either.
How does,
quote:The particulars depend on what kind of shoe, and the balance of human/machine work.
...
Basically, this is all to say that there is no single "how", and the conditions vary immensely.
add up to anything like knowing everything?
I just tried to see if I could get the Minesweeper clock to go to 999, and instead I got a new best score of 145! Not only that, I spent nearly five seconds looking at the stupid clock before I realized that if I just clicked open the last tile, I'd have a new best score instead of finding out whether the stupid clock rolls over. If I were just a bit less stupid, my high score would be 140!
posted
Yeah, I know. But that's only fun if you can do it on someone else's computer on the sly (pretend to be intently engaged in playing minesweeper, then when everyone gets bored and stops watching you for a bit).
But it's even more fun to actually get a really good score so that you can leave the Minesweeper window on their desktop, irrefutably proving your prowess (of course, you can surruptitiously install and use a memory hack to beat the game, but while developing hacks is fun, actually useing them is less so).
The real fun is when people will actually watch you play Minesweeper to see if your scores are for real. It adds that little extra tension and excitement to the game (like playing chess against a real person rather than against the computer).
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