A tour of the factory

SITUATION

In this lesson, we meet two companies: Keypoint Security (UK) Ltd and Midland Furniture Limited. Midland have just bought a factory in the South Midlands of England, about 150 kilometres north of London. It is in an industrial area where there are many other factories and offices. At the moment the building is empty. Midland have asked Keypoint to look at the building and to make sure that it is safe and well protected before they move in.

CHARACTERS

All of these characters are British.

LANGUAGE

Visiting a factory

1.1 Listen and read

Sarah Street is Marketing Director for Keypoint Security Ltd. She is dictating a memo . Listen to what she says, and write the words missing from the typed memo below.

	Memo
	From Marketing Director To Irena Phillips, Client Services Manager Peter Jackson, Management Trainee Date 10 (a) 1992

Subject: Midland Furniture Ltd

I have arranged with the Managing Director that you will make a preliminary survey of the new premises on (b) 13 March. Please report to Mr (c) , the Production Manager, at the Crumley Road site at (d) p.m.

1.2 Listen and read

Peter Jackson joined Keypoint a few days ago as a management trainee . He is with Irena Phillips, the Client Services Manager, on a visit to a client, Midland Furniture. Listen to what they say. How do they greet each other? How does Irena introduce Peter to Mr Jones?

1.3 Speaking practice: greeting people

Listen to this conversation. When you hear it the second time, there will be pauses. You speak the part of the man.

1.4 Listen and read

Jeff Jones drives Irena and Peter to the new premises. He tells them about the company. Listen to what they say. What are the advantages of the new site? How many buildings are there on the site?

JEFF	As you may know, the company is planning to expand its sales overseas, so we had to find a bigger factory. This place we're going to, on the Farm Lane Industrial Estate, isn't, in my opinion, ideal, but it's quite big, it's got good access to the motorway and it's fairly cheap. From the security point of view , though... well, I'll be interested to see what you make of it . ......
JEFF	OK, here we are. We've got this large building that you see in front of you, plus a separate, much smaller, building round the back.
PETER	You said it was built in the 1930s?
JEFF	Round about then, yes. It's old, but it's in good condition.
IRENA	Do you know who owned it before you?
JEFF	It was a printer's for about twenty years, but they've just gone bust . That's why it was cheap, and the board reckoned we could afford it. Right, if you'd like to come along with me, I'll show you round the site.

1.5 Structure practice: giving and asking for information

Jeff Jones says 'As you may know, the company is planning...', to Irena and Peter (1.4) because this is a polite way of giving people information when you are not sure if they do or don't already know it.
Rewrite the sentences below, using 'As you ... know, ...' and one of the words from the box. Notice that you do not use 'that' in this structure.

Irena says 'Do you know who...', because this is a more polite way of asking people for information when you are not sure if they will know the answer. Rewrite the questions below using the more polite form.

Walking round the factory - 1

1.6 Listen and write

This is an architect's plan of Midland Furniture's new factory. It shows what each part of the building will be used for. As you listen to the rest of this unit (1.7, 1.9, 1.11 and 1.13), make a note of where on the plan of the factory Jeff, Irena and Peter are standing as they are talking - A, B, C or D. (click to enlarge)

1.7 Listen and read

As they walk round the factory, Irena and Peter comment on some of the security problems. Listen to what they say. What problems do they see? Remember to note where they are on the plan (1.6).

JEFF	Now, if I can just find the right key. Ah! There we are.
PETER	These gates are really massive, aren't they?
IRENA	Yeah , but you're going to need a good strong fence as well.
JEFF	At the moment of course the whole building is just an empty shell. This is where the trucks will come to load and unload.
IRENA	That's a point . There'll be a lot of trucks going in and out. Will they refuel here?
JEFF	Yes. The garage and the fuel store are round the back.
PETER	There are a lot of outside pipes, and outside doors. You'll need security guards on duty here twenty-four hours a day.

1.8 Find the word

The directors of Midland Furniture have instructed a firm of architects to design the inside of the new factory. This is an extract from their instructions. Look at the plan opposite and find the words missing below.

The existing factory is of single-storey construction, except for the office (a) , which is on three (b) , with a basement beneath.

The ground floor of the office block is to be used as a reception area and staff (c) . There will also be a first-aid (d) , rest room and (e)

The basement below the office block will continue to house the boiler (f) and air-conditioning plant . On the first floor we require a boardroom and at least four (g) for senior executives.

Floor space in the factory should be allocated as follows:

Store (h) :	900 m2
Machine (i) :	2000 m2
Paint shop :	380 m2
Packing (j) :	400 m2
Total:	3680 m2

1.9 Listen and read

Peter and Irena ask Jeff questions about how the factory will work. Listen to what they say. How does Jeff show that he is not giving exact figures? Remember to note where they are on the plan (1.6).

PETER	According to the plan of the factory, this is going to be the store room, is that right?
JEFF	Yes, the sawn timber will come in here, through the unloading bay - it'll be checked in and stored on racks until it's needed.
PETER	How long will it stay in the stores, on average?
JEFF	Not long. Just a few days, normally. Stock turnover's very quick. Timber's expensive stuff these days, you can't have it hanging around .
IRENA	And what's likely to be the total value of your stock, roughly?
JEFF	Well, very roughly, three, three hundred and fifty thousand pounds, I should think.

1.10 Speaking practice: estimating figures

Read the questions below, and write down your answers. You don't need to be exact. Use the 'estimating' words from the box and information from this lesson in your answers. Then listen to the questions, and speak your answers. Don't worry if your figures are not exactly the same as the ones you hear.

Walking round the factory - 2

1.11 Listen and read

Irena and Peter continue their tour of the premises with Jeff Jones. Listen to what they say. How do Irena and Peter show that they are uncertain about what they are saying? Remember to note where they are on the plan (1.6).

JEFF	This will be the machine shop. We're putting a lot of money into new equipment, computer-controlled, everything automated .
PETER	A sort of assembly line ?
JEFF	Well, not exactly. It's all going to be organised on what they call the 'just-in-time' system. We only build furniture that people have ordered.
PETER	I see. So you won't have to keep a lot of surplus stock. And everything's going to be assembled by robots, I suppose?
JEFF	Oh no. All the finishing's done by hand . We're very proud of our tradition of craftsmanship. Although actually, our new range of furniture is all flat-pack, self-assembly kits .
PETER	I imagine they're easier to transport.
JEFF	Precisely!
IRENA	Mm, I'm sure it'll all be very impressive. Could we have a look at the office accommodation now?
JEFF	Yes. You see those big windows overlooking the factory floor? My office is up there, so that I can keep an eye on things !

1.12 Structure practice: a, an and the

You can use 'a' or 'an' with nouns which can be counted: 'a factory', or 'a table'. These are called countable nouns, and they are usually marked [C] or [nc] in dictionaries. They can be used in the singular or the plural: 'He is making a table' or 'He is making tables'. But many nouns in English cannot be counted: 'He is making furniture'. Nouns like 'furniture' are called uncountable nouns, and are usually marked [U] or [nu] in dictionaries.
You can use 'the' with either countable or uncountable nouns, when you want to refer to something you have already talked about: 'The table is finished' or 'The furniture is finished'.
Write the words missing from the text below. Use 'a', 'an' or 'the', or nothing. If you are not sure whether these nouns are countable or uncountable, check in your dictionary.

Midland Furniture have recently bought (a) new premises in Crumley Road. It is (b) large site, which they will use for making (c) furniture.
They will bring in (d) plant from their other factories to set up (e) assembly line for (f) furniture.

1.13 Listen and read

Jeff shows Irena and Peter round the offices. Listen to what they say. What offices and rooms does he list? Remember to note where they are on the plan (1.6).

JEFF	Well, down on the ground floor there'll be the reception area, staff canteen, toilets, rest room and first-aid room. Upstairs, here on the top floor, there'll be a big open-plan office for all the secretaries and computer operators.
PETER	There's a splendid view from up here. You can see the whole site.
IRENA	Yes, it'd be a good place to put a closed-circuit TV camera .
JEFF	Then on the first floor, the boardroom, which will also be used for management meetings, sales presentations, Christmas parties, you name it . On the other side of the corridor, as I showed you, overlooking the machine shop, will be my little place, offices for two other department heads, and the boss's executive suite .

1.14 Writing practice: a report

On Monday morning, Irena is back in her office preparing her report. First she writes down the headings for each paragraph. Then she makes notes under each heading, and finally she writes the report. When it's been typed, the introduction looks like this:

REPORT ON FACTORY PREMISES AT FARM LANE ESTATE
Client: Midland Furniture Ltd

1 Introduction
On 13 March 1992, following the Marketing Director's instructions, I carried out a preliminary survey of these premises with Mr Peter Jackson of Keypoint Security and Mr Jeff Jones of Midland Furniture. This report is a summary of my first impressions. It does not attempt to consider the security requirements of the site in detail. However, it raises a number of points that Keypoint Security and the client may wish to consider before proceeding further.

The notes below will help you draft short paragraphs for the rest of Irena's report. Each paragraph should be presented in a businesslike way, but remember that good business English can be quite simple and informal.

2 Location and general description
Read sections 1.4, 1.6, 1.7 and 1.8 again. Say where the site is, and what the buildings are like.

3 Proposed use
Read sections 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.11 and 1.13 again. What will the factory make? What actions will happen inside the factory and in the grounds?

4 Security: strong and weak points
Read sections 1.7, 1.11 and 1.13 again, and make a list of all the strong points and all the weak points in the security of the site. Remember that when you present a list, all of the points should be listed in the same way. You can number your points, and you can write them as phrases or as full sentences, as long as they are all the same. This makes the list easier to write and easier to read.

5 Recommendations
You now have to decide what recommendations to make. Look again at the plan in 1.6, and at the list of security points you made above. Again, you can list your recommendations:

5.1 The property should be surrounded by a strong fence.
5.2