Japanese, working on an assembly line, put television sets together
piece by piece.
Piece by piece
“We make small things in a big way.” That’s what Swiss factory workers
say. Watches are one of the small things the Swiss are famous for
making. They make some of the finest watches in the world.
Hen’ Hedli works in a watch factory. The rooms are brightly lighted and
spotlessly clean. Machines whir, click, and pump. They turn out dials,
springs, cases, and other parts of watches.
Dressed in white coats, men and women sit at long tables. This is the
assembly line. Each worker does a little bit on each watch. Some of the
workers use magnifying glasses and tweezers. Carefully,
piece by piece, they put each watch together. Herr Hedli sits near the
end of the row. His job is to put in the last part of the watch—the
balance wheel unit.
He taps the wheel with his tweezers. The watch begins to tick.
Switzerland does not have the coal, iron, or oil that are needed for
heavy industry. But Switzerland does have many skilled workers. So
instead of making big things, Swiss factory workers make small, valuable
items such as watches. This work takes lots of skill, but only small
amounts of raw materials.
In big factories everywhere, each worker makes only a part of the whole
thing. This way, more things can be made faster.
