I’m also amused by the onscreen guide descriptions for episodes of this show. And it does gloss over how things are made, but I like it anyhow. It’s cool.
Many years ago I worked in a factory that manufactured aluminum lawn chairs. It really, really, really sucked. Maybe things are better now. I hope so.
I think it just depends on the factory. I worked at a factory for seven years. I left about 3.5 years ago. It was repetitive, depressing work. Sometimes for 12 hour shifts. Sure, once in a while things changed up for me, but at least 90% of it was standing in one spot for 10-12 hours per shift, looking at or doing the exact same thing over and over and over…
Whoa. Just zoned out there for a moment. Seven long years of my life I’ll never get back. Glad to be out of there!
I work in a warehouse-type setting now, not quite a factory, though. It’s not the least bit repetitive, thank goodness…
Well, not entirely, since one topic a few months ago was “How an IMAX projector is put together.” AFAIK (and I’m a world expert on the subject. Seriously.) there is exactly one company in the world that makes IMAX projectors: IMAX Corporation.
BTW, Imax assembles its projectors in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
In some episodes, they do show labels and other identifying marks – the bubble gum episode, for example. Which also featured the horrifying spectacle of bubble gum manufacturing, leading me to consider swearing off the stuff forever.
I love this show. I know that they aren’t too specific but they only allow about 7 minutes for each product so they have to skip steps.
I’ve seen many products that are clearly identifiable by brand, but because they’re manufactured in Canada, they aren’t recognizable to me.
The manufacturing process of most of the everyday, mundane stuff is facinating
Got a problem with white folk, mate?
So I took the link and watched a few segments.
About the toothpick one. When the log first gets picked up to be de-barked, did anyone else flash on the old cartoon bit where an entire log is turned down into one toothpick? 
I worked in manufacturing for one summer (last summer, actually,) and I"ll echo the comments that it, for the most part, sucks. It was pretty much standing in the same spot for 8 hours putting things in boxes. Or assembling the boxes…or putting those full boxes into other boxes.
FWIW, I worked in a lip balm factory, so in addition to the repetitiveness, it was hot as fuck because the product has to be poured warm, so there are big electric kettles on one end of the machine, and the AC is at just warm enough to not be illegal. Oh, and the SMELL. Some days, it would be nice, but other days (usually the mint days,) it was very overpowering.
At least I got a shitload of free samples.
How It’s Made. The show about generic mass-market products and hockey gear.
I can think of quite a few episodes (nuts and bolts, high pressure hoses [surprisingly low tech], chains, compost, retreaded tires) where it was not all glamorous lab coats, brushed aluminium, and stainless steel. A lot of their stuff features food and consumer products which have relatively strict health controls… the plants really probably are that clean.
There’s also the fact that continuous production lines are designed to be largely self-cleaning… otherwise they break or have to be cleared and what’s the point of designing a continuous production line if you have to stop it every few hours? Mix together close-up shots of shiny new goods and a machine designed to stay clean and it’ll look better than it is. You won’t see the dirt encrusted oil weeping from the machine foundations or cracks in the concrete subfloor.
Those are dehumidifiers to keep the dewpoint down and corrosion to a minimum. That they put out slightly cool air as a side effect is incidental.
There was a discussion around the steel cord facility about whether they were going to dehumidify and keep temperatures above the dewpoint or climate control the line. Climate control won due to production concerns. Do the workers love the nice cold A/C? Probably not in the winter.
I really, really wish I was joking.
The show’s a pretty accurate depiction of modern manufacturing today. And I don’t know what show you’re watching if you think it never shows blue-collar types in factories. I’ve been watching the show for years, and it’s shown some pretty cheap factories with lots of manual labor. Lots of older ladies working as seamstresses, young women working as crayon sorters, you name it.
Maybe you’re just expecting some 3rd world horror show, but remember this is a show filmed in Canada. No sweatshops here.
Are the places cleaner than they usually are? Of course. You always clean up when cameras are turned on. So what? I don’t think for a second that the essential experience those workers have is depicted accurately on camera. Having a dirty floor does not markedly change the quality of the job experience.
I’ve been in lots and lots of factories. The dirty ones are the ones that make dirty stuff and lots of mess. Lumber mills, foundries, recycling plants, etc. Light manufacturing is usually done pretty nice environments. Watch “American Chopper” - especially when they visit subcontractors, and you’ll see a wide cross-section of light manufacturing - everything from engines to textiles. And it looks pretty much like what you see on ‘How It’s Made’.
And if there was some sleazy sweatshop hiding in an old warehouse somewhere, they wouldn’t exactly invite the “How It’s Made” crew over for a tour.
I have been working in a factory for 15 years, and have worked in others before that. Sometimes the work is mind numbing and soul destroying. Other times it is interesting and challenging. Depends on exactly what you do and how you do it.
As for cleanliness in a factory, it depends on the product. The corporation I work for has a company wide cleanliness program. In the department I used to work in, things were mostly kept orderly and clean. In my present department, despite following the cleaning program, things are dirty and messy. We keep it as clean as possible and go on.
Every time I’ve seen it, and with a six year old child, I’ve seen it more than once.
That was actually something of a dud, IMO. I know there’s a lot more to projectors than “keep the glass clean when you assemble the lens.” I can’t even recall if they said anything much about the film going through “sideways” or anything else that makes IMAX different from the jittery 16mm films you had in school.
I agree. The machine is huge and complicated and they simplified the process to the point of banality, IMO.
I was a manufacturing consultant and have been in more plants than I care to think about.
I love the show. It’s a nice thing to have on in the background when I’m doing something else and look up when there is something interesting going on. Yes it’s over simplified but still it has some wow-look-at-that moments.
Manufacturing can be dull as anything else. The idea of working at a computer all day long would be the equivilant of brain death to me. Go fish.
This is why I’m glad the bosses don’t mind Internet use, as long as we aren’t playing games on company time.
They definitely skip over trade secrets. There was one episode I was particularly interested in, and they conspicuously left out one of the most challenging aspects of making this particular product. A friend of mine works for a store that sells the product in question, and talks to the owner of the plant on a daily basis. He said they indeed held back on showing proprietary methods when they made the video.
Still a great show, though. I was amazed how much work went into making jelly beans. Hardly seemed worth it. The antiseptic nature of the show’s presentation is pretty amusing. I love how the narrator always makes some banal joke or pun for every segment. And the ‘techno-pop meets easy-listening’ music is priceless.
You know, I’d somehow managed to never even notice the music on this show. Until you guys pointed it out. (I’ve got it on right now; they’re making shingles.) Gee, thanks. 
I love the show, too. I don’t care if it’s not as detailed as it could be, I just love watching all the specialized machinery doing its specialized machinery stuff. Or, occasionally, people doing some job by hand that just astounds me that anyone can do something so well and so quickly. My only objection is that they don’t spend nearly long enough just watching the stuff moving through the machinery; Mr. Rogers always spent a lot more time just being amazed by it all, and I definitely share his attitude.
I don’t blame them for not showing trade secrets, though. I mean, they wouldn’t be secrets any more if they showed them, would they?