One of the engineers I work with looked at us yesterday and said, "the engineer at the plant called me up today and asked if we'd ever considered making the copper washers for the banjo bolts out of something other than copper
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Although, when a pawn broker is found to have stolen property, it's my understanding that the broker isn't prosecuted - the property is simply confiscated and returned to the rightful owner. And if the broker has records that point to who sold the item, the police go from there.
First I'd check the plant wages. Taking things to sell is foraging behavior, often triggered by not having the means to meet one's basic needs. Very low wages can pressure people to scramble for survival in other ways.
Next I'd check how the company treats its workers. Employee-friendly companies have very low shrinkage problems because the workers feel invested in the place and want it to do well. But if they feel like they're getting screwed, they're likely to find ways of screwing the company in return. Taking stuff for personal use -- or even just taking it and not doing anything with it -- is a popular method.
If neither of those apply, then the problem is more likely personnel or flow related, deriving from the quality of people hired and/or the accessibility of materials. Some people will just grab stuff if it's in reach.
Each of those problems has a different solution. If the employees aren't making enough to live on -- so little that they need to steal frigging washers -- then the company needs to juggle its budget
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Well, it depends. I have my own opinions, having worked with various plants for a few years now. The union insures that while the work is sometimes difficult and sometimes mind numbingly boring, it's safe, well paid, and the hourly folks generally get better benefits than salaried folks.
Average UAW wages before the most recent contract were ~$28+ per hour. Even new hires under the new contract start at $14 or more an hour.
Average scrap copper price is $3.75/pound, +/- a bit. It'd take a lot of washers to make any reasonable amount of money, but that doesn't stop people from breaking in to abandoned houses here in SE Michigan and stealing the wiring out of the walls.
Alas! Used to be, manufacturing jobs were good jobs and the dominant force in the American labor market. Now, it's frigging Wal-Mart. No matter what your skills are, statistically speaking you're likely to be stuck working retail. That's horrid.
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I wonder if the scrap-metal dealers keep records of who sells them what.
'nothing else, go around and charge 'em with possession of stolen property.
If "I had no idea it was stolen" is a non-excuse / non-defense for pawnbrokers, it should be the same for scrap dealers.
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There's a first time for everything, though.
Although, when a pawn broker is found to have stolen property, it's my understanding that the broker isn't prosecuted - the property is simply confiscated and returned to the rightful owner. And if the broker has records that point to who sold the item, the police go from there.
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Next I'd check how the company treats its workers. Employee-friendly companies have very low shrinkage problems because the workers feel invested in the place and want it to do well. But if they feel like they're getting screwed, they're likely to find ways of screwing the company in return. Taking stuff for personal use -- or even just taking it and not doing anything with it -- is a popular method.
If neither of those apply, then the problem is more likely personnel or flow related, deriving from the quality of people hired and/or the accessibility of materials. Some people will just grab stuff if it's in reach.
Each of those problems has a different solution. If the employees aren't making enough to live on -- so little that they need to steal frigging washers -- then the company needs to juggle its budget ( ... )
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Average UAW wages before the most recent contract were ~$28+ per hour. Even new hires under the new contract start at $14 or more an hour.
Average scrap copper price is $3.75/pound, +/- a bit. It'd take a lot of washers to make any reasonable amount of money, but that doesn't stop people from breaking in to abandoned houses here in SE Michigan and stealing the wiring out of the walls.
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