Inspection Record of Dongguan Jiatong Furniture Factory: A Tug-of-War between "Standards" and "Experience"
I. An early - morning trip, only to be given a cold shoulder at first
To finish the inspection of 9 products in one day, I set my alarm clock for 5 a.m. I left home in the dark a little after 6 a.m., took a taxi to Guangyuan Passenger Station and squeezed onto the earliest bus to Houjie. When the bus passed through Daojiao Town, I called the business girl as agreed the previous day. Unexpectedly, she changed the topic and said, "Houjie Square is too far from the factory. Take a taxi to Jia* Hotel and wait there. I'll send someone to pick you up." I held the phone and was stunned for two seconds. We clearly agreed the previous day that she would come to pick me up. Now, not only did she go back on her word, but she also didn't give me the detailed address of the factory.
There was no other way. I had to stop a taxi and go to the entrance of Mingdu Home Furnishing Exhibition Hall. Then I asked the driver to answer her call so that she could give directions. After driving on a small path for two minutes, I finally saw the factory signboard. Only then did I relax my nervous hands - this whole ordeal almost made me miss the morning's schedule. What was even more annoying was that I didn't see the business girl at the front desk before entering. After the security guard asked me to register, he only sent a QC in work clothes to take me to the workshop. She didn't even say "Sorry", as if I was just there to enjoy the factory's air - conditioning.
II. The chaos in the workshop is more "out of control" than I imagined
As soon as I pushed open the workshop door, the noise hit my ears painfully. The roar of machines and the shouts of workers mingled together, and the air was filled with choking sawdust from the floating dust. Then I looked at the cargo piles: Tables and chairs were piled up in a chaotic mess, and some styles were even mixed in the same pile without a single classification label. I took the order and told the QC, "Let's count the items first." He scratched his head and called over a workshop supervisor. The three of us just stood in front of the cargo piles, completely at a loss: How could we count these? Each style was like a ball of tangled wool, impossible to sort out.
This inspection involves two orders: one includes 780 sets of 8 models (all large tables and chairs), and the other includes 510 wooden boards of 1 model. According to the sampling inspection plan I discussed with the customer, 50 sets are to be sampled from the 8 models, and 50 wooden boards are to be sampled. This is nearly half less than the 80 sets required by the general level II of MIL - STD - 105E. The number of sampled boxes is calculated by taking the square root of the total number of boxes. For the first order, 50 boxes need to be sampled. However, for this small amount of work, because the goods were piled up in a mess, my colleague, the supervisor and I spent more than an hour clearly marking the numbers of the boxes to be inspected.
III. What are the inspection conditions? Sorry, the factory is not ready
When I asked the QC "Where should we conduct the inspection?", he pointed to an open space in the corner of the workshop and said, "Right here." I frowned and asked for a tabletop. I couldn't possibly squat on the ground to write the report, could I? He scratched his head and went to look for one. After ten minutes, he came back carrying an old table (there was still some uncleaned glue on the tabletop) and said, "There's no dedicated inspection room in the factory. Just make do with this one."
What really left me speechless was the "box dropping test". I told the QC that we should conduct it, and he quickly shook his head, saying, "You have to ask the salesperson." After the salesgirl came over, she simply said, "You'll be responsible if it gets broken." I replied with a smile, "If you don't let me do it, I'll write it in the report. Besides, there isn't even a fragile label on the outer box." She stared at me with pursed lips and finally left with a "Do as you like."
It was even more chaotic when unpacking the products. Workers unpacked the products, which were packed in boxes of four, and scattered them all over the floor. They threw the empty boxes around randomly and tore the wrapping paper all over the workshop. I reminded them, "Stack the empty boxes back to their original places to save space." They just looked up at me briefly and then went on doing things their own way. The whole workshop looked as if it had been swept by a typhoon. They might as well have thrown the goods at my feet.
IV. Standard collision: From top to bottom in the factory, only "two boxes" are recognized
When inspecting the third item, the QC finally couldn't hold it in anymore and said, "Why are you checking so many? If two boxes are okay, there's no need to open the rest!" I put down the caliper, looked up and replied, "Will you take responsibility if there's a problem? We have to apologize to the customer if we miss any defects." He scratched his head and mumbled, "If there's a problem, it's the factory's responsibility." I retorted, "Can you guarantee that if two boxes are okay, the remaining hundreds of boxes will also be okay?" He opened his mouth but didn't say anything more.
Before long, the packaging team leader came over and pointed at the wrapping paper all over the floor, complaining, "With so many things being unpacked, people can't even walk in the workshop!" I looked at the mountain of goods behind him waiting to be shipped and said, "Then why don't you assign two more people to organize them? The workers are unpacking slowly now, and I'm waiting for them." He flung out a sentence "There's no one available as we're in a rush to deliver the goods" and turned around and walked away.
What's even more exasperating is the workshop supervisor. He stood beside me with his arms folded and said slowly, "Other foreign trade companies only check two boxes. Why are you so fussy?" I wiped the sawdust off my hands and replied, "I don't care what others do. Our company follows the standards."
When it was almost time to end the morning shift, the quality department manager, a middle - aged man, came. He walked around the goods I had unpacked without saying a word, then whispered something to the QC. The QC came over and asked, "The manager wants to know why you've unpacked so many?" I patiently explained, "According to the standard, I should sample 80 pieces, but I've reduced it to 50." The QC looked stunned for a moment and then added, "Our manager has been inspecting goods for over a decade and has never seen anyone do it like you." I sighed inwardly. It seemed that from top to bottom in this factory, no one understood the sampling standards.
V. Lunch: The "You're welcome" of the gentle and refined young lady is still a bit tacky
When work was over, the business girl finally showed up. She stood at the workshop door and called to me, "Come to the office for a meal." I followed her through the corridor and found that the factory office was an open - plan one. Several desks were put together, and there wasn't even a separate meeting room. She sat opposite me and spoke to me in a tone as if scolding a subordinate, "I'm going to Shenzhen this afternoon. You should finish the inspection quickly." I looked at her frail figure (she didn't even have the most basic female curves) and listened to her impolite words. Suddenly, I found it a bit funny. This didn't seem like a work discussion at all. It was as if I owed her money.
It was even more interesting when it was time for dinner. She asked QC to take me there, but QC said he wanted to rest. She herself said she was going to Shenzhen in the afternoon. Finally, she dragged out a middle - aged man and said, "Let's go." I got into a small car with them and cursed silently in my heart: If you have a car, why didn't you pick me up earlier? Did you think I was too far away just now? The car stopped at the entrance of a food stall after only two minutes' drive. It was clearly only a five - minute walk away, but they insisted on driving here. Isn't it just showing off? What's even more hilarious is that when they drove the small car into the food stall, the boss stared at us as if we were aliens.
While having a meal, I said to the young lady, "There are still five models to be inspected. We need to add two more people to help." She nodded in agreement, but her tone remained cold, as if she were doing me a favor.
VI. Progress in the afternoon: The workers were even slower than me
It was already two o'clock when I got back to the workshop after lunch. I stared at the empty unpacking area and asked the QC, "Where are the workers?" Scratching his head, he replied, "They've gone to the toilet." They were in the toilet for 20 minutes. Only when I couldn't hold back my anger did a worker shuffle over. I asked about the other one, and he said, "He's asked for leave." I turned to the QC and said, "We agreed to add more workers at noon. Why is there one less instead?" Spreading his hands, he said, "I can't control the workers in the workshop."
I had no choice but to call the person in charge of the company. The other person said, "We get off work at half past five. Don't worry about it." Watching the workers slowly unpacking, I suddenly felt exhausted. This was not an inspection at all; it was a confrontation with the factory's "empirical perception." They thought that "two boxes are okay" was the truth, but our standards seemed like waste paper in their eyes.
Until half past five, I stared at the three products that hadn't been inspected yet and finally heaved a sigh of relief. This product inspection trip was even more tiring than I had imagined.
Finally: Standards are not "negotiated" into existence
When leaving the factory, the setting sun cast long shadows of the workshops. Looking at the inspection report in my hand, I recalled what the QC said at last: "It's very troublesome for us when you conduct inspections like this." But I wanted to say - it's not me who causes the trouble, but the factory's perception of "quality". The sampling inspection standard is not the perfunctory act of "checking two boxes", but the bottom line for being responsible for each batch of goods. If a factory doesn't even understand the most basic standards, no matter how powerful it is, it will eventually stumble because of "experience".
In this inspection, I didn't win. What won was the factory's "stubbornness"; but I didn't lose either. What lost was their awe for quality.
The "boss's probe" when testing the fifth item
When I was holding a caliper to check the tolerance of the hardware parts of the fifth product, a middle-aged man in a navy blue polo shirt strolled into the workshop. Later, the QC leaned over and whispered in my ear, with a hint of nervousness as if I had offended someone important, "That's our boss." He walked halfway around the pile of goods in front of me, glanced at the opened cartons on the ground, and said nothing.
Before two minutes had passed, QC sidled over again, speaking hesitantly: "The boss said that too many boxes have been unpacked. Can you unpack fewer?"
I didn't stop what I was doing with my hands and stared at him, saying, "The quantity for inspection is based on the guests' standards, not the factory's 'rules'. If the quantity needs to be changed, the factory should negotiate with the purchasing guests. Once the guests give the nod, they will naturally send me an email to inform me. I'm here to ensure the quality for the guests, not to take orders from the factory." At the end, I added, "If the boss wants to communicate, find the right person. Don't use subordinates as messengers. Don't those doing foreign trade even have such basic communication logic?"
The "imperative call" between the PHS of QC and the business MM
QC was taken aback by my retort. He fished out the small PHS phone from his trouser pocket - the plastic case was all frayed - and scrolled to a number to dial. After the call connected, he handed me the phone, with a hint of aggrievement in his voice as if to say "I'm just passing on the message": "The business department wants to talk to you."
The female voice on the phone lashed out, "Why did you conduct so many inspections? Our factory has a rule that only one percent of the finished products can be disassembled!"
I held the edge of my phone and tried to keep my tone steady. "Miss XX, do you know the 'judgment base' for sampling inspection? Based on the quantity you mentioned, we can't even conduct the most basic 'qualification statistics' - how can I issue a report to the client?"
She retorted defiantly, "Our factory only focuses on the structure and stability. Minor issues like scratches on the appearance don't count as problems!"
I couldn't help laughing - not because it was funny, but because it was outrageous. "A minor issue? The customers want goods that 'meet the contract requirements', not goods that 'the factory thinks are okay'."
She raised her voice and said, "I mean, you should follow our standards!"
"I'm not an employee of your factory," I interrupted her. "You have no right to order me around. If you want to change the standards, talk to the client or our company - but don't issue orders to me."
At this time, QC got anxious beside me and tugged at my sleeve. "Xiaoling, the phone bill can't be reimbursed..." I said into the receiver, "Your QC won't let me make the call anymore." Immediately, the person on the other end said, "I'll call you back!"
Second call: The contrast between promises and reality
Within ten minutes, my phone vibrated—it was MM calling back. I picked up and immediately pointed out her contradiction with my first words: "You said at noon that you'd assign more people to me. Now, not only have you not done that, but you're even not letting me conduct the inspection. Shouldn't you keep your word?"
There was a brief pause on her side, and then she began to complain, "There are only so many people in our factory and the workshop is only this big. As soon as you came, the whole production line got messed up!"
"The mess in the workshop is a problem with your management and has nothing to do with me." My voice turned cold. "To solve the chaos, you should optimize the process, not ask the inspectors to conduct fewer inspections. I'm doing things according to the standards and haven't done anything wrong."
She softened a bit and said, "Then I'll give you a quantity. Will you write it down and ask your company?"
After hanging up the phone, I just realized that there was only 8 yuan left in my phone balance. I forgot to top up in the morning, and the just - finished call had almost used it all up.
The company's "expedient measure"
I immediately called the company and explained the situation. The response from the other side was very practical: "First, conduct the inspection according to the quantity she provided and leave on time at half past five. Clearly state in the report that 'the factory refused the original sampling inspection plan'. Mark it as 'UNKNOWN' if a determination cannot be made - the responsibility lies with the factory, and we will file a complaint later."
I was a bit impatient and said, "She doesn't understand the sampling inspection standards at all! We represent the guests. Why should we follow the instructions of an amateur?"
"First, avoid conflicts." There was a pause on the company's side. "If there's a commotion at the factory, it won't be safe for you there alone. We'll explain the situation to the customers later."
A "small episode" during the goods inspection
When inspecting the goods according to the quantity given by MM, the QC made another rookie mistake - he tore open the tape on the carton before I could take a photo of the "unopened box state". I reminded him, "Take a photo first!" To my surprise, he took his anger out on the packaging. He yanked at the foam pads violently and banged the cartons around when moving the goods, making them rattle loudly.
I smiled and teased him, "What's with the sulking, bodyguard?" He retorted crossly, "I've never seen someone as nit - picky as you!"
"I've never seen a factory as overstepping the line as yours," I replied calmly, but with a clear message: the factory can offer suggestions, but it can't make decisions on behalf of the customers.
Conclusion: Report and Feelings
At six o'clock sharp, I wrote down the serial number of the last product in my notebook. The QC leaned over and asked, "Can we ship the goods?" I looked at him and said, "It depends on what the customer says. The sampling quantity is incorrect, and not all the quality issues have been checked. I don't have the final say; the customer does."
After leaving the factory gate, I hailed a taxi to Houjie Square and then took a coach back to Guangzhou. The streetlights outside the window lit up one by one. I felt my phone in my hand - there was only 3 yuan left in the balance, which was just enough to make a call to the company to report my safety.
In the final report, I wrote bluntly:
The factory refuses to conduct the inspection according to the original sampling plan because the sampling quantity does not meet the customer's standards, and it is impossible to make an effective judgment on the product craftsmanship and quality.
The result column is marked with "UNKNOWN". It's not that I don't want to draw a conclusion, but the factory doesn't give me the qualification to do so.
"Pit-avoidance reminders" for peers
After five years of product inspection, this is the first time I've encountered the situation of "the factory instructing the inspector". I'd like to give a heads - up to my peers:
1. Standard for strict enforcement: No matter what the factory says, the quantity for random inspection and the inspection items must follow the customer's SOP. If you make a concession, you're planting a time bomb for the customer's product quality.
2. Record all conflicts: Details such as the factory's refusal to cooperate and overstepping command should all be written in the report (for example, "At XX time, business staff MM requested to reduce the sampling volume by 50%", "QC unpacked the box without taking photos"). This is evidence to protect yourself.
3. Provide timely feedback: Once the factory oversteps the boundaries, immediately send a message to the company or the client – don't shoulder the responsibility alone. You have a professional team behind you.
Finally: The bottom line regarding "respect"
Factories and inspectors are essentially in a "cooperative relationship" - factories need to ship goods, and inspectors need to check the quality for customers. Their goals are the same. However, the premise of cooperation is to respect professional boundaries:
- The factory can put forward the requirement of "reducing unpacking", but it has to discuss it with the customer, not order the inspector.
- The inspector can accept the suggestion of "adjusting the quantity", but it has to wait for the customer's confirmation, not be directed by the factory.
- The most essential thing is: You may not like me, but you have to respect my work—because behind me are the customers who trust you to produce qualified products.
If a colleague goes to this factory, remember: bring a good camera, note the time, and don't be intimidated by the "boss" and the "rules" - you are the eyes of the guests, not an employee of the factory.