To maintain Discipline at work floor - there are 50+ employees working on the same floor

Dear All,

Greetings! In my company, there are 50+ employees working on the same floor. Sometimes, their normal conversations become so noisy that it distracts others. Please suggest how to handle this situation.

Please suggest.

Loitering and/or making noise during duty hours at the shop floor attracts strict disciplinary action. You can consider displaying a notice at the factory/shop notice board before initiating action against them. Delegate full authority to the Works Manager/Shop Floor Manager/Production Manager for this (that is, in identifying personnel who do not pay any heed to management's advice and in initiating action against them).

Human beings have a tendency to interact and respond to each other. A shop floor cannot be turned into a solitary confinement area. People have social needs, and it can be very frustrating for extroverted individuals not to communicate. Some diversions and attention-grabbing behaviors make the work environment interesting; otherwise, it will be quite dull.

My humble advice is not to treat this as a disciplinary issue. If you find that some individuals are becoming a nuisance, have their superiors address the situation in a calm and respectful manner.

More talking at the shop floor is usually due to the monotonous type of job. Again, monotony is due to the unvarying nature of the job. In the original post, there is no indication regarding the nature of the jobs.

I agree with what Mr. KK!HR has posted. I have one more suggestion: to introduce light music (instrumental) at a low volume. This can help in taking care of employees' monotony, leading to less talking among the employees.

S K Bandyopadhyay (WB, Howrah) CEO-USD HR Solutions +91 98310 81531 skb@usdhrs.in USD HR Solutions – To strive towards excellence with effort and integrity

You have already pointed out that 'Normal Conversation' becomes loud. Therefore, it is not deliberate.

You need to find, identify, and understand why the noise is there. Is it conversation that is required as a part of the work? Is it unnecessary conversation and chitchat? Does it in any way distract from work or cause safety or quality issues?

If it does, then you need to initiate training that will explain the problem to the workers and show them why they should not talk during their work. You should not initiate disciplinary action when you have not even tried to solve the problem.

If the conversation is a part of the normal discussion at work or required communication at work, then you need to see who they need to communicate with and find ways to separate them or put sound barriers between them. One way is HDPE sheets and curtains. Another way could be using air curtains. This needs to be studied properly by the safety committee or by an industrial engineer. We here on the forum will only be making wild guesses, which is bad if you're making a decision based on that basis.

Thanks to everybody!

I got a solution for the situation. I will identify the reason for this situation and accordingly arrange a training for the team to address the same. Additionally, I will put out a notice requesting everyone to take care of workplace pleasantness. Adding soft and low music to the floor is also a valuable suggestion, which I will try to implement.

Thanks to all once again.

Attachment is good for employees' safety and health reference.

Best regards,
John Chiang