[orionblastar]

Yet. Using cross training on the assembly line basically teach everyone all the positions on the assembly line can cut down on costs and improve quality. Use robots for the hard stuff, use people for the sensitive stuff that needs human hands.

[dba7dba]

I'm mostly concerned about waking up 8000 workers middle of the night, and making them work the following 12 hours, because of screw up by someone above them.

And the fact that the American Apple executive admires it with the terms of flexibility and such.

[talsit]

IIRC, it wasn't a screw up. It was Jobs changing from a plastic to glass front panel at the last minute because his prototype scratched too easily.

[dba7dba]

That is a screw up.

[orionblastar]

Welcome to the computer industry. When I worked as a programmer I had to be called into work to fix something management screwed up in and forced to work extra hours for.

But yeah I see your point that the workers live in a dormitory environment and not paid much and woken up at the last minute to switch from plastic to glass.

My criticism of Apple, one criticism is using slave labor in China to make their phones and other devices. But then almost everyone does the same thing with China. You can't treat human beings that way as it causes stress and mental problems. Many burn out and that is why they have suicide nets installed. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2103798/Revealed-Ins... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides

[throwitaway1]

> forced to work extra hours for.

You're not forced to work extra hours. You can quit and find a better employer. What you don't understand is that in China workers from rural area can hardly choose where they want to work. They are not living in a free society. Please to compare you're situation to theirs.