Eurobiz Column on Safety in China Operations
May 8th, 2008 | by This is China! |The latest installment of my column “Challenging China” for Eurobiz Magazine came out in the May issue. The article is about dealing with safety issues in China operations. The column starts with this tragic tale and relates others that seem downright surreal:
“A friend building a factory in the deep interior of China recently called me with tragic news. One of his Chinese operators had been killed in the machine the worker was tending. It seemed it all happened within ten minutes: the victim’s work partner had gone off to get some materials; when the partner returned the machine had eaten the operator’s shirt, and strangled the operator; twelve minutes later, they were in the hospital, doctors in attendance, but the operator could not be saved.
My friend could not understand how the accident had happened. In the twenty years the machine had been in use in the West, there had not been one accident, leave alone a fatality.”
Read more of the column here.
3 Responses to “Eurobiz Column on Safety in China Operations”
By allroads on May 8, 2008 | Reply
10 years ago I was in Vietnam as part of a class trip and in one morning we visited a gleaming Nike factory were all of the equipment was well maintained, everyone was wearing safety equipment, spray booth operators wore moon suits inside clean rooms… followed by a visit to the local knock off shoe manufacturer.
15 year old Cambodian girls cutting 10 layers of soles on unsafe presses, inhaling chemicals, raw materials hanging over their head… and so on.
it was one of the most interesting juxtapositions I have ever experienced, and has taught me a lot about the differences between companies who hold worker safety as a core virtue.. and those that don’t
hope all is well and see you at the Go West conference.
R
www.allroadsleadtochina.com
By the tank man on May 9, 2008 | Reply
so what are you trying to get at huh ? Are you trying to imply that the chinese people are too retarded to take care of themselves when dealing with a machine that never caused any casualty before in the west?! that doesn’t make a sense,man. Either your friend picked up the wrong person or the factory is quite slack at safty management. Any accidents trace back to the responsibility of the management level.
By This is China! on May 14, 2008 | Reply
Tank Man;
You undoubtedly read the article to which this blog entry links and did indeed come to the same (and correct) conclusion: it’s the systems, stupid.
Now, work on your table manners or I’ll tell your mum you’re a rude fellow.