Sam set out to improve efficiency at the shirt fac-
tory but, as we find out later in this unit, his plans
turned out not quite as he had expected.
SAM ADAMS, INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER If you ask my mother how I happened to becorne an industrial engi-
neer, she'll tell you that I have always been one.
She means that I have always wanted everything to be well organized
and neat. When I was still in elementary school, I liked to keep my socks
in the upper left-hand drawer of my bureau, my underwear in the upper right
5 drawer, shirts in the middle drawer, and pants, neatly folded, in the bot-
tom drawer.
In fact , I was the efficiency expert for the whole family.I used to or-
ganize my father's tools, my mother's kitchen utensils, my sister's boy-
10 friends.
I needed to be efficient. I wanted to be well organized. For me, there
was a place for everything and everything was always in its place. These
qualities gave me a good foundation for a career in industrial engineering.
Unfortunately, I was also a bit bossy and I wasn't a very good listen
15 er. You'll see what I mean when I tell you about the first project I ever did
after I finished my bachelor's degree at the university.
After graduation I returned home to my small town in Indiana. I
didn't have a job yet. Mr.Hobbs, a friend of my father's, owned a small
shirt factory in town. Within the past five years it had grown from twenty
20 to eighty workers. Mr. Hobbs was worried that his plant was getting too
big and inefficient, so he asked me to come in on a short-term basis as.a
consultant.
I went to the plant and spent about a week looking around and making
notes. I was really amazed at what I saw.
25 Most curious of all, there
was no quality control whatsoev
er. No one inspected the final
product of the factory. As a re
sult some of the shirts that were
30 put in boxes for shipment were
missing one or two buttons, the
collar, even a sleeve sometimes!
The working conditions
were poor. The tables where the
35 workers sat were very high and
uncomfortable. Except for a half,
hour at lunchtime, there were no
breaks in the day to relieve the
boring work. There was no mu-
40 sic. The walls of the workrooms
were a dull gray color. I was
amazed that, the workers hadn't
gone on strike.
Furthermore, the work flow was irregular. There was one especially
absent-minded young man in the assembly line who sewed on buttons.
After a while I recognized him as "Big Jim, "who used to sit behind me in
45 math class in high school. He was very slow and all the shirts were held up
at his position. Workers beyond him in line on his shift had to wait with
nothing to do; therefore, a great deal of time and efficiency were lost as Big
Jim daydreamed while he worked. All week I wondered why he wasn't fired.
50 After I made observations for a week, Mr. Hobbs asked me for an oral
report of my findings. I covered my major points by telling him the following :
"If you have a quality control inspection, you will greatly improve your
firished product. "
55 "If the assembly line is redesigned, a smooth work flow can be achieved
and time and energy can be saved. "
"If you decrease the height of the worktables, the machine operators
will work more comfortably. "
"If the management provides pleasant background music and beautifies
60 the dull setting, the factory will be much more productive. "
"If the workers have a fifteen-minute coffee break in the morning and
afternoon, they will be more efficient. "
"If excellent work results in frequent pay increases or promotions, the
workers will have greater incentive to produce. "
65 Mr. Hobbs thanked me for this report and told me he would talk over
my suggestions with his brother, the co-owner and manager of the factory.
"We're interested in progress here, "he said. "We want to keep up with the
times. "
He also gave me a check for $100 and a box of shirts with his compli
70 ments New Words efficiency / n. the state or quality of being efficient 效率
industrial / a. of industry 工业的
neat / a. orderly and. clean 整洁的
elementary / a. of or for beginners 初等的 , 初级的
sock / n. 短袜
drawer/n. 抽屉
bureau / n. a chest of drawers for bedroom use 衣柜
underwear / n. 内衣
pants / n. trousers
expert / n. a person with special knowledge or skill 专家,能
手
kitchen / n. room used for cooking 厨房
utensil / n. any tool or container used in the house, esp. for
cooking 用具, 器皿
qnality / n. the degrse of goodness which a thing or a person
possesses 质量, 品质
foundation / n. 基础
career / n. profession; way of making a living 职业;生涯
engineering n. 工程学；管理
unfortunately ad. 不幸的是；遗憾的是
bossy / a. always telling other people what to do and how
to do it, like a boss 爱指挥人的；专横的
project / n. a piece of work; a big plan 项目 ;方案
bachelor / n. a person who had the first university degree 学士
graduation / n. completion of an educational course 毕业
graduate vi.
short-term a. involving or lasting a short period of time 短期的
basis / n. 基础 ; 根据
consultant / n. a person who gives professional or technical ad-
vice 顾问
consult v.
amaze / vt. fill with great surprise or wonder 使大为惊讶,
使惊愕
curious / a. strange 奇怪的
whatsoever / a. of any kind , at all 任何的 , 丝毫的
inspect / vt. examine 检查
shipment / n. the act of sending, carrying or delivering goods
装运，运送
miss vt. be mthout; lack
button / n. 纽扣
collar / n. 领子
sleeve / n. 袖子
relieve / vt. make less or easier 减轻
boring / a. uninteresting and tiresome 令人厌烦的
bore vt.
workroom n. a room specially kept for working in 工场（间）
dull / a. not bright or clear 阴暗的
flow / n. a smooth steady movement or supply 流 ( 动)
work flow n. 工作流程
irregular / a. uneven; not continuous 不规则的,不稳定的
regular a.
absent.minded / a. so concerned with one's thoughts as not to notice
what is happening, what one is doing, etc.
心不在焉的
absent a. not present
inspection / n. the act of examining (sth. )closely or in detail
检查
assembly / n. 组装；集合
assemble v.
assembly line / n. 装配线
shift n. 班；轮班，
daydream v. have pleasant dreamlike thoughts ( abour) 做白
日梦，空想
fire vt. make (sb. )leave his job 解雇
observation / n. the act of watching carefully 观察 ,
observe zit.
observer n.
oral / a. spoken, not written 口( 头 ) 的
findings / n. the results of any research or enquiry 调查( 或研
究）的结果
major / a. important 较大的; 主要的 ,
redesign / vt. 重新设计
design vt. 设计
achieve / vt. get by effort (经努力)得到;实现,
decrease / vt. make smaller or fewer 减少
worktable n. a table at which work is done 工作台
operator / n. a person who makes sth . work 操作人员
operate vt.
management / n. 资方；管理（部门）
background / n. 背景
beautify / vt. make beautifui 美化, 装饰
setting / n. surroundings 环境
productive / a. producing much;able to produce 多产的;
富有成效的
frequent / a. . appening often 频繁的
promotion / n. 提升；促进
promote vt.
incentive / n. 刺激
suggestion / n. an idea or plan put forward for people to think
about 建议
co-owner / n. a joint owner 共同所有者
manager / n. a person responsible for running a section of a
business 经理
compliments / n. formal respects or greetings 贺词 ; 问候 Phrases & Expressions find out learn or discover 查明 ; 发现
turn out happen to be or found to be in the end 结果是
quality eontrol the activity of checking that products are all of
satisfactory standard and quality, usu. by testing
samples of them 质量控制( 管理 )
as a result because of 作为结果 , 因此
except for apart from; with the exception of 除了…外
go on strike refuse to continue working 罢工
hold up delay 延迟 , 耽搁 ; 阻碍
result in have as a result; cause 结果是;导致
talk over discuss 商量 ; 讨论
keep up with go or move as fast as 跟上 Proper Names· Sam Adams / 萨姆·亚当斯
Indiana / 印第安纳（美国州名）
Hobbs / 霍布斯 (姓氏 )
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