One tall Italian technician not speaking one word of English, having arrived 10 days earlier, a group of puzzled Indian factory managers and me, versed in the arts of the Italian Renaissance, holding the key to it all. Could I translate his technical know-how into English for the factory owners and their questions into Italian for the specialist - this would involve a whole pantheon of new vocabulary involving words like cast iron, molds, conveyor belts, nickel and chrome to add to my 'contrapposto' 'sfumato' and chiaroscuro !
'We want to be better than the best in the world', the Manager explained. The machines around us hissed and steamed, the noise was terrible. We retreated from the factory floor into an air conditioned cubicle. As they explained their aspirations, the technician explained the limitations....'you need to change the equipment - it needs to be upgraded...you need also then to change the training and thinking of the work force from the lowest to the highest....you cannot have machines breaking down and stopping for one hour here and two hours there...you need to spend more on raw materials..if you want to enhance the quality.....this will be expensive...we had to do it in Italy in 1962...it was tedious and took time and a lot of effort...your staff need to be dedicated and put in many working hours...to achieve this improved target'
Now I looked for a reply from the factory managers...'hmmmm, but the equipment is old...it is always breaking down...we cannot change from cast iron to steel overnight....it will cost a lot and more than this...... it is the marriage season at the moment and a lot of the workers are not here, even our factory manager is not here - he is attending a wedding and weddings can take days, here in India' ..... 'La stagione di amore', said the Italian admiringly.....'si..... quella e una grossa problema - difficile, non si puo fare niente'! !?
'We want to be better than the best in the world', the Manager explained. The machines around us hissed and steamed, the noise was terrible. We retreated from the factory floor into an air conditioned cubicle. As they explained their aspirations, the technician explained the limitations....'you need to change the equipment - it needs to be upgraded...you need also then to change the training and thinking of the work force from the lowest to the highest....you cannot have machines breaking down and stopping for one hour here and two hours there...you need to spend more on raw materials..if you want to enhance the quality.....this will be expensive...we had to do it in Italy in 1962...it was tedious and took time and a lot of effort...your staff need to be dedicated and put in many working hours...to achieve this improved target'
Now I looked for a reply from the factory managers...'hmmmm, but the equipment is old...it is always breaking down...we cannot change from cast iron to steel overnight....it will cost a lot and more than this...... it is the marriage season at the moment and a lot of the workers are not here, even our factory manager is not here - he is attending a wedding and weddings can take days, here in India' ..... 'La stagione di amore', said the Italian admiringly.....'si..... quella e una grossa problema - difficile, non si puo fare niente'! !?
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