You're listening to Business English Pod, the business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Jennifer and I'll be your host for this episode on giving a tour of your factory or office.
There are many reasons someone might need to visit a factory and want to take a tour.
They might be a prospective client who wants to see where the products are made, or perhaps someone from head office is on an inspection tour, or it could be an official inspection to make sure you are following internal or government standards.
If it's your job to give the tour, you'll want to make sure everything goes smoothly.
So in today's episode we'll look at language for guiding people on a tour and pointing out areas of interest.
We'll be listening to Ingrid taking Carl on a tour of a factory where GC cleaning products are produced.
Carl is from the head office of GC and he's inspecting the factory where Ingrid works.
His job is to make sure that the company's factories are all up to standard and capable of handling future orders.
As the dialogue starts, Carl has already arrived at the factory and met Ingrid, who is ready to start the tour.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What time of day does Karl arrive for his tour?
What is the problem with the detergent production line?
What role does newspaper play in the production of detergent in this factory?
No, no problem at all.
The directions you gave me were excellent.
Good to hear.
Before we get started, is there anything I can get you?
Water, coffee, or a Coke perhaps?
Thanks, I'm fine.
Is lunch still on for after the tour?
Yes, of course.
It'll be set up in the conference room.
Shall we get started?
Follow me and we'll head down to the factory floor.
Thanks.
This is my third inspection this week and I must say I've been pretty impressed with everything I've seen so far.
So this is our main production area, and here on the left you can see the liquid detergent line.
You said this line has the most downtime?
Yes, unfortunately.
The equipment is pretty antiquated.
Ah, yes.
It's been phased out elsewhere.
Yes, and we'll be replacing it before the end of the month here, too.
Now just over here we have our newest, state-of-the-art piece of equipment.
As you can see, it's a laser-guided machine for environmentally sustainable packaging.
Hmm.
It looks really cutting edge.
It uses recycled newspaper, right?
Exactly.
We're doing our best to follow company CSR policy by switching over to green production techniques wherever possible.
Have you any other questions before we move on?
How long does it take to retool the line?
Less than a week, usually.
I see.
And what happens when the tank runs low?
And so you can see that making the changeover happens pretty quickly.
Okay, so now you've seen the factory floor, let's head back to my office.
We've got about a half an hour before lunch, so maybe we can discuss the new order you mentioned.
It sounds like Ingrid has given quite a few tours of this plant and that she's very knowledgeable about the processes carried out there.
She's familiar with the various production lines used to make and package GC cleaning products and knows all the equipment well.
You should be just as prepared when you take someone on a tour of your factory.
After Ingrid greets Carl, she offers him a drink.
This is a formality that shows hospitality and gives visitors a moment to relax and recover from the trip to the factory.
Good to hear.
Before we get started, is there anything I can get you?
Water, coffee, or a Coke perhaps?
In certain seasons, it may be appropriate to take a person's coat.
In other cases, such as after a long journey, you might want to offer a visitor a chance to freshen up, which is a polite way of offering the use of a bathroom.
Let's practice a few more ways to make offers.
Can I take your coat?
Perhaps you'd like to freshen up before we start?
Once you and the visitor or visitors are ready, it's time to start the tour.
You'll need some friendly words to indicate that you are ready to begin, as we hear in Ingrid's example.
Yes, of course.
It'll be set up in the conference room.
Shall we get started?
Follow me and we'll head down to the factory floor.
Ingrid first indicates that she's ready by asking if they can get started or begin.
She asks Carl to follow her and says they'll head down to the factory floor, meaning that they will go in the direction of the factory.
What other ways can you indicate to a visitor that you are ready to start the tour?
Please walk this way and I'll start the tour.
If you follow me we can begin our tour.
If you're ready we can make our way there now.
We should get moving because there's a lot to see.
Once you've got the tour started, you will have to indicate where things are located, using expressions for location and prepositions of place such as in front of us, on our right, above us and below us.
We can hear Ingrid indicating the location of a particular production line where liquid detergent is produced and packaged.
This is our main production area. and here on the left you can see the liquid detergent line.
If you take a visitor on a tour, you will have to be familiar with many of these different ways to indicate where things are located.
Listen to the way the locations of these parts of a factory are described.
Behind this door is the control room.
Just ahead of us you'll see the lab.
Off to the right, we'll find the warehouse.
Below us is the power generator for the entire system.
Just beyond the workshop is the quality control department.
In general, during a tour, you'll want to show as much as possible in a fairly short period of time, but you and your visitor may want to focus on certain areas or functions in the factory.
Carl and Ingrid pause near a particularly interesting piece of equipment.
Yes, and we'll be replacing it before the end of the month here too.
Now just over here we have our newest state-of-the-art piece of equipment.
As you can see, it's a laser-guided machine for environmentally sustainable packaging.
Carl and Ingrid discuss this particular machine because it is state of the art or features the latest technology.
It uses a laser for part of its operation and produces packaging that doesn't harm the environment.
This is obviously something that is interesting to both Carl and Ingrid and probably important to the company itself.
You may have to find out about the specialized interests of your visitor or highlight something that you think they should take a closer look at.
Here are some ways to do this.
If you're interested, I can show you the lab.
This, of course, is the highlight of the tour.
Coming up is something I know you'll want to see.
This area is the hub of operations for all assembly work.
Let me just draw your attention to the new production line we're setting up.
As you can see from the warning posters, we take safety very seriously.
Visitors are likely to have questions, even during an excellent tour such as Ingrid's, and it is important to acknowledge this and not make a visitor feel that they are interrupting you to ask a question.
As the tour progresses.
It's a good idea to check if there are any questions, as Ingrid does here with Carl.
Exactly.
We're doing our best to follow company CSR policy by switching over to green production techniques wherever possible.
Have you any other questions before we move on?
Ingrid and Carl are discussing green or environmental issues, and Ingrid mentions the company's Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR policy, which encourages production techniques that don't harm the environment.
Ingrid knows that they will be moving to another area at this point, so she asks Carl if he has any questions before they do so.
You can check to see if your visitors have questions using expressions like these.
Would you like to know anything else?
Perhaps you'd like to ask a question or two.
Let me know if there's anything you want more detail on.
After visitors have seen everything and asked all of their questions, it's time to conclude the tour.
Ingrid and Carl have lunch planned for after the tour.
But even without such a time limit, a tour cannot go on for too long, if only because you have other work to do.
Ingrid ends the tour by mentioning that they should go back to her office before lunch.
And so you can see that making the changeover happens pretty quickly.
Okay, so now you've seen the factory floor, let's head back to my office.
We've got about a half an hour before lunch, so maybe we can discuss the new order you mentioned.
You need to signpost the end of the tour and indicate clearly that it is over.
How can you do this?
That's the end of the tour, so let's go back to the office.
We've covered just about everything there is to see, so how about some refreshments?
Well, we've just about seen it all now.
Why don't we get back to the office?
That's about it for the tour.
Would you like to get a bite to eat?
Now it's your turn to practice some of the language we've looked at today.
First, let's review the language of indicating locations.
Imagine you are taking someone on a tour of a factory.
You will hear a question about a place associated with a factory plus a location.
Make a statement that starts with the location given.
For example, if you hear, Where's the warehouse?
On our right.
You can say, On our right you can see the warehouse.
Are you ready?
Let's give it a try.
Where's the loading area?
Where's the control room?
Behind this door?
Where's the lab to the right?
Where's the inspection point for this line?
Just ahead?
Now let's listen to some example answers.
Where's the loading area?
Answer.
At the west end of the factory will find the loading area.
Where's the control room?
Answer.
Behind this door is the control room.
Where's the lab?
Answer.
To the right you can see the lab.
Now we'll review some of the vocabulary from this episode.
You'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear We stay on the cutting edge through continuous improvement.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
I'm afraid we had to shut down the production for an hour.
Answer.
I'm afraid we had to shut down the production line for an hour.
We out that equipment last year as it kept breaking down.
Answer.
We phased out that equipment last year as it kept breaking down.
Can we up a tour for Monday morning?
Answer.
Can we set up a tour for Monday morning?
Only environmentally products are made in this facility.
Answer.
Only environmentally sustainable products are made in this facility.
We're proud of our changeover to making products.
Answer.
We're proud of our changeover to making green products.
That's all for this episode on showing a visitor around a factory.
We've studied language and expressions for each of the different steps, such as starting the tour, indicating locations, focusing on an area of interest and concluding the tour.
See you next time and thanks for listening.
