Everyday Life · 日常 rìcháng

参观工厂

cānguān gōngchǎng

What you see on a Chinese factory tour and what to ask about it: workshops, lines, warehouses, inspection points, certifications, and the questions that show whether the factory really makes your product.

商务 · Visiting a Chinese Factory: A Reading Path hub →

~5 min read

车间 chējiān On the Floor

看什么 kàn shénme · What the Tour Is For

参观 (cānguān) is "to visit and look," and the factory will show you its best line. The tour is still the one chance to see whether the company that quoted you makes the product itself, or sends parts of it out to other workshops (外发 wàifā, or 外包 wàibāo). Look for the processes your product needs on the floor: if a bottle needs deep drawing, welding, vacuum sealing, and powder coating, and you only see assembly and packing, ask where the rest happens. Ask permission before taking photos (可以拍照吗 kěyǐ pāizhào ma?); most factories allow it outside rooms with other customers' products.

车间 chējiān workshop, shop floor

Named by process: 冲压车间 stamping, 焊接车间 welding, 注塑车间 injection molding, 喷涂车间 painting, 组装车间 assembly, 包装车间 packing. 无尘车间 (wúchén chējiān) is a clean room.

抽真空是在这个车间做的吗？

Chōu zhēnkōng shì zài zhège chējiān zuò de ma?

Is the vacuum sealing done in this workshop?

生产线 shēngchǎnxiàn production line

Also 流水线 (liúshuǐxiàn, "flowing-water line"), an assembly line. 工位 (gōngwèi) is a workstation, 工序 (gōngxù) a process step. 自动化 (zìdònghuà) is automation, 人工 manual work.

这条线一共有多少道工序？哪些是自动化的？

Zhè tiáo xiàn yígòng yǒu duōshao dào gōngxù? Nǎxiē shì zìdònghuà de?

How many process steps does this line have in total? Which are automated?

设备 shèbèi equipment, machinery

机器 (jīqì) is a single machine. Ask whether equipment is owned and how old it is; 进口设备 (imported equipment) is a point of pride.

这些设备是你们自己的吗？用了几年了？

Zhèxiē shèbèi shì nǐmen zìjǐ de ma? Yòng le jǐ nián le?

Is this equipment yours? How many years has it been in use?

仓库 cāngkù warehouse

原材料仓 raw-material store, 成品仓 finished-goods store. A tidy warehouse with labelled batches (标识 biāoshí) is a good sign of traceability.

原材料进来以后怎么标识？能追溯到批次吗？

Yuáncáiliào jìnlái yǐhòu zěnme biāoshí? Néng zhuīsù dào pīcì ma?

How are raw materials labelled when they arrive? Can you trace them to the batch?

质检 zhìjiǎn Inspection Points and Certificates

三道检验 sān dào jiǎnyàn · Three Checkpoints 来料检验 IQC láiliào jiǎnyàn → incoming materials
过程检验 IPQC guòchéng jiǎnyàn → during production, on the line
出货检验 OQC chūhuò jiǎnyàn → finished goods before shipment

质检 zhìjiǎn quality inspection

Short for 质量检验. 品管 (pǐnguǎn) or 品质部 is the quality department. Ask to see the inspection records (检验记录 jiǎnyàn jìlù) for a recent batch, not only the procedure.

能看一下上周出货的检验记录吗？

Néng kàn yíxià shàng zhōu chūhuò de jiǎnyàn jìlù ma?

Could I see the inspection records for last week's shipment?

认证 rènzhèng certification

ISO 9001 is 质量管理体系认证 (the quality management system certificate). 验厂 (yànchǎng) is a factory audit, such as BSCI for social compliance. Check the certificate's 有效期 and that the company name matches the one you are contracting with.

你们的ISO证书是哪个公司名下的？有效期到什么时候？

Nǐmen de ISO zhèngshū shì nǎge gōngsī míng xià de? Yǒuxiàoqī dào shénme shíhou?

Which company is your ISO certificate issued to, and until when is it valid?

提问 tíwèn Questions to Ask on the Floor

外发 wàifā to send out (to a subcontractor)

The question the tour exists to answer. A factory that sends out a step is not necessarily hiding anything, but you need to know, because quality on that step is out of its direct control.

有没有哪道工序是外发的？外发的话，你们怎么管控质量？

Yǒu méiyǒu nǎ dào gōngxù shì wàifā de? Wàifā de huà, nǐmen zěnme guǎnkòng zhìliàng?

Is any process step sent out? If so, how do you control its quality?

班 bān shift

两班倒 (liǎng bān dǎo) is two rotating shifts; 加班 (jiābān) overtime. Shifts and headcount tell you real capacity better than a capacity figure does.

你们现在是几班？一共多少工人？

Nǐmen xiànzài shì jǐ bān? Yígòng duōshao gōngrén?

How many shifts are you running now, and how many workers in total?

客户 kèhù customer

Factories like to name famous customers. The useful questions are which markets they ship to, and how much of the output the largest customer takes (占比 zhànbǐ, share), since a dominant customer gets the line first in peak season.

你们主要出口哪些市场？最大的客户大概占多少比例？

Nǐmen zhǔyào chūkǒu nǎxiē shìchǎng? Zuì dà de kèhù dàgài zhàn duōshao bǐlì?

Which markets do you mainly export to? Roughly what share does your largest customer take?