A little shop music

This past May, Nick Martin, Barnes MetalCrafters, addressed a delicate subject in many shops in his blog post “Music in the shop—getting the right balance.” This post was featured in the June issue of the “Fabricating Update” e-newsletter, which asked subscribers to share their thoughts about this topic. Many responded. Most were all for having music, and some shared their shop’s solution for finding the right balance. However, others felt that music does not belong in a shop. Here are some of the responses.

Bring on the music

Greg C., director of manufacturing for a company that makes handguns, wrote, “Having been in manufacturing for 35+ years, I’ve seen shops that will and shops that won’t allow music. I, for one, feel that music boosts productivity, but finding a genre that everyone agrees on can be difficult, especially in larger shops with more employees.

“I allowed a flexible schedule at one facility with 200-plus employees—no individual radios or cellphones, but the general speaker system was used. Monday, country; Tuesday, hip-hop; Wednesday, hard rock, etc.

“Today’s younger crowd wants their own personal music via their smartphones and ear buds. This is acceptable as long as all safety criteria can be followed. But some jobs still require the utmost attention or ability to hear buzzers and signals, so, I vote ‘no’ in these cases!

“On a personal note, I agree (with Nick Martin) that southern classic rock is the most productive of all.”

Jeffrey S., who works for a fabricating company in Washington, said, “One shop that I worked in had a pretty good system. Radios at almost every weld or fit station played different music. It was mentally chaotic to walk from one end of the shop to the other. The owner had demanded we get it under control or he would ban the music altogether.

We decided to tune all radios to the same station to get rid of the ‘audio chaos.” But no one could agree on a station. Half wanted country, and the other half wanted classic rock. So, the policy was enacted that all radios would play the same country station in the morning, and after lunch, all radios were switched to the local classic rock station. Everyone was happy. Everyone was productive. And the shop came together as one grooving production machine.”

Reader David P. posed a question in his response, “On the days I’m in the office instead of on the shop floor, I definitely hit a dead spot in brain activity in the early afternoon. Headphones and some upbeat music get me going better than all the Rockstars or mugs of coffee I could drink. Physical activity helps, but I go flat sitting in quiet space with the murmur of keyboards clacking under the faint hum of fluorescent lights.

“Out in the shop, we can’t have earphones around machines and forklifts, and there’s always some argument sooner or later over what kind of music is played and how loud. Maybe several sound-boxes distributed for multiple smaller groups, and have anyone who cares to contribute selections to the area ‘jukebox?’ Maybe a supermarket soft-rock track? Got any empirical studies to justify ROI to the boss for a sound system? Who out there has solved this?”

Mike P. said, “I was a professional guitar tech in the 8’0s for two bands, The Godz and Rosie. I was given the chance to work with several professional musicians. The most notable is a gentleman by the name of Mark Chatfeild, who currently is Bob Seger's guitar player. So, I'm kind of one-sided on this; I would have to agree with the other gentleman. Hell yeah, man—70s, 80's, and the early 90s were the best time for classic rock. But I’ve worked with a classic rock band, Phil Dirt and the Dozers, that specializes in 50s and 60s rock and roll. Let's face it, we all know the music our parents grew up on, and we all liked it.

“Whether it's Seger, Skynard or The Beach Boys, we all can relate to that ‘ol time a rock-n-roll’. But that's just my one-sided opinion. Although, if you come to my little part of that big corporate plant owned by (a U.S. company) or my personal shop, Phillips Racing Engines, you will hear anything from Metallica to Sam Cooke. I always work the best when the music’s playing, and for me, the louder the better. Because all the stuff you have to worry about in your life just fades away; it’s you and the tunes. In my case, it was powerful enough to make me forget I was fighting bone cancer, which is currently in remission. The music takes me back to a time that was simpler. For me, it's just me the metal I love to work with, the miller welder I love to use, and the purines of the music that make work fun. Thank you asking me what I thought. Till next time, remember turn it up on 11; it all sounds good.”

Not so fast

Rob H., who works for a company that makes bike racks, said, “Popular Science or Popular Mechanics once wrote a rule regarding music in the shop. ‘Nobody likes your music.’ The suggestion, I think, was headphones, if they can be used safely, or not at all.”

Shop foreman R. Turner said, “We allow radios in our shop, and it has always worked fine up, until about two years ago when the guys in different work areas started to turn their radios up to out-blast each other. This became very annoying really fast. You could walk through our shop and barely hear yourself think, never mind having a conversation with someone. So, I instituted a radio volume policy that if not followed, workers would lose the right to have a radio in his or her work station at all. After a warning to only two workers, we no longer have a noise pollution problem.”

G. Baker, an industrial inspector, related his experience. “I visit many shops. Often there are two of more boom boxes playing different stations. I politely ask that they be turned down, as I often have to make calls or talk to someone on the other end of the structure. Then I go to the foreman. I simply say, the louder the music, the more errors I will find. This accomplishes the mission.

“Some shops have barely perceptible music, which is OK. As with most industrial workers, I have considerable hearing loss. I don’t need it aggravated.”