The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 16, 1987 -:gage 9
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-In a factory only a few blocks from the University campus,
vrkers are on the job from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
drough Thursday. They work for G.T. Products, which
itight their diesel governor factory from Chrysler Introl
D$vision in 1982. A governor controls rpm's and prevents
§illing and over-speeding in diesel engines.
a :Q.T. buys rough castings, then machines and assembles
C into complete governors. They mill, broch, drill, tap,
e, spot face, etc. to produce each governor, some of which
tie 124 parts.
*They sell the finished governors to Detroit Diesel Division
o General Motors.
:'.You might expect these factory workers to be apathetic
ibout building governors - they do the same monotonous job
*a
week after week - but they are not. The workers do various
jobs around the factory and do not seem to complain much.
And although they make hundreds of identical units, which
lack any personal character, each day, they take pride in their
work.
And they do it very well. High productivity and efficiency
keeps G.T. the exclusive supplier of about 250 different
models of governors to Detroit Diesel. When the workers
produce more than the quota they all get a bonus, which makes
hard work rewarding.
Although the workers do not dislike their jobs, the best part
of the week is Thursday afternoon at 4:30, when work is over
and the weekend begins. But who honestly does not like the
weekend?
Keith Crawford uses the floor sweeper to clean the factory.
The leak tester, which tests the governors for leaks, is Mike Brainerd's
favorite part of the production process.
Ken Ketola works on the drill press, which is about 40 years old.
Maggie Donahoo, a 10-year employee, presses a gear, spacer, and weight into the housing of a governor. "That is my normal
look," she said jokingly.
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