Internal Communication in a Factory Setting
CEFR: B2
Read/Listen first
Yesterday afternoon our production manager called an urgent meeting on the shop floor. We had lost three skilled welders this year, and several operators had moved to other departments, so the competency level in assembly had clearly dropped. During the meeting, she explained that quality problems have increased and that we must share information more clearly between shifts. She showed a simple chart that she had prepared and said we would update it every week to track incidents. If we don’t communicate small problems quickly, they will become serious breakdowns and stop the line. The team suggested that we could use a shared board near the machines to note issues and training needs. By the end of the meeting, everyone had agreed to follow the new action plan and to ask for help as soon as they notice a risk.⚡ Learning goals
- Understand a short report about communication problems on a factory shop floor.
- Describe how staffing changes have affected quality and safety.
- Suggest and agree on simple internal communication actions with colleagues.
✨ Key language
- communication between shifts “We must improve communication between shifts.”
- track incidents “We will track incidents on a shared board.”
- competency level “The competency level in assembly has dropped.”
⚙️ Rules & Grammar — 4 Structures
1️⃣ Past simple for key events
Rule: Use the past simple to report finished actions at a specific time in the past on the factory floor.Examples: Yesterday afternoon our manager called an urgent meeting.; Several operators moved to other departments last month.; The team suggested a shared board during the meeting.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners often use present tense for finished actions. — Add the correct past form, for example “called” instead of “call”.
Choose the best option: Yesterday our manager ______ an urgent meeting.
Tip: Use the past simple for finished actions with words like yesterday.
Fill with the best answer: Several operators ______ to other departments.
Tip: Regular verbs in the past simple usually end in -ed.
2️⃣ Present perfect for recent results
Rule: Use the present perfect to show how past changes affect the situation now.Examples: We have lost three skilled welders this year.; Quality problems have increased recently.; Communication issues have caused more incidents.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners forget to use “have” before the past participle. — Use “have” or “has” plus the correct participle, like “have lost”.
Choose the best option: Quality problems ______ in the last few weeks.
Tip: Use have or has plus the past participle for recent results.
Fill with the best answer: We ______ three skilled welders this year.
Tip: Connect this year to now with the present perfect.
3️⃣ Modal verbs for obligation
Rule: Use must, have to or need to to express strong obligation or necessity in internal communication.Examples: We must share information more clearly between shifts.; Operators have to report incidents immediately.; Team leaders need to update the board every day.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners sometimes add another verb after must. — Use “must” directly before the base verb, for example “must share”.
Choose the best option: We ______ information clearly between shifts.
Tip: After must, use the base form of the verb without to.
Fill with the best answer: Operators ______ incidents immediately.
Tip: Use have to when the obligation comes from company rules.
4️⃣ First conditional for consequences
Rule: Use if + present simple and will + base verb to show real future results of today’s actions.Examples: If we do not communicate quickly, breakdowns will stop the line.; If the team updates the board, managers will react faster.; If incidents increase, we will need more training.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners sometimes use will in both parts. — Keep will only in the result clause, not after if.
Choose the best option: If we ignore small problems, they ______ serious breakdowns.
Tip: In conditional sentences, only the result part normally uses will.
Fill with the best answer: If we ______ clearly, the line will not stop.
Tip: Use the present simple after if for real future situations.
✍️ Vocabulary
shop floor
Meaning: the area in a factory where employees work with machines and products.Synonyms: production area, workshop floor.
Chunk/Idiom: be present on the shop floor.
Example: Our manager stayed on the shop floor during the meeting.
Morphology: noun phrase; shop (noun) + floor (noun).
Self-practice: Describe one problem that appears on your shop floor.
competency
Meaning: the ability and skills needed to do a job well.Synonyms: skill, ability, expertise.
Chunk/Idiom: competency level in assembly.
Example: The competency level in assembly has clearly dropped recently.
Morphology: noun; plural form competencies; related adjective competent.
Self-practice: Write one sentence about the competency you want to improve.
shift
Meaning: a fixed period of time when workers are scheduled to work.Synonyms: work period, schedule, rotation.
Chunk/Idiom: the night shift on the assembly line.
Example: Communication between the night shift and day shift must improve.
Morphology: noun and verb; regular past shifted; plural shifts.
Self-practice: Explain how information is passed between different shifts in your job.
incident
Meaning: an event, often a problem or accident, that must be reported.Synonyms: event, occurrence, issue.
Chunk/Idiom: log every safety incident on the board.
Example: We will log every incident on a shared board near the machines.
Morphology: noun; related adjective incidental; adverb incidentally.
Self-practice: Write one recent incident from your factory and how it was handled.
breakdown
Meaning: a serious failure of a machine or process so it stops working.Synonyms: failure, collapse, stoppage.
Chunk/Idiom: production breakdown on the main line.
Example: Small issues can become serious breakdowns if we ignore them.
Morphology: noun; phrasal verb break down; past broke down.
Self-practice: Describe one breakdown and how communication could have reduced it.
action plan
Meaning: a clear list of steps that people agree to follow to fix a problem.Synonyms: improvement plan, roadmap, strategy.
Chunk/Idiom: agree on a factory action plan.
Example: By the end of the meeting, the team agreed on a new action plan.
Morphology: noun phrase; action (noun) + plan (noun).
Self-practice: Write three short steps for an action plan in your team.
☁️ Examples (+ audio)
Our manager called an urgent meeting on the shop floor.
Quality problems have increased in the last few weeks.
We must share information clearly between all shifts.
If we react quickly, we will avoid serious breakdowns.
✏️ Exercises
Grammar
Choose the best option: She ______ a simple chart before the meeting.
Tip: Use past perfect when one past action happened before another.
Choose the best option: If we ignore incidents, the line ______.
Tip: In real conditionals, use will for the result clause.
Fill with the best answer:
Quality problems ______ this year.Tip: Connect past change to now with have plus past participle.
Fill with the best answer:
We ______ the shared board every week.Tip: Use must or have to to show strong obligation.
Vocabulary & Comprehension
Choose the best word: We log every safety ______ on the board.
Tip: Choose the noun that describes a single event or problem.
Choose the best word: The meeting took place directly on the ______.
Tip: Think of the physical area where machines and operators work.
Fill with the best answer:
By the end, the team agreed on a new ______.Tip: Use the phrase for a list of steps to improve a situation.
Fill with the best answer:
Communication between different ______ is often difficult.Tip: Think of groups of workers who start and finish at set times.
✅ Guided practice
Mini-dialogue:
A: We have lost several skilled welders this year, so quality has dropped.B: If we share incidents faster, managers will react before we have a breakdown.
A: Good idea. We must update the shared board after every shift.
Why this matters:
Clear internal communication on the shop floor protects people and machines. It helps the team react early, before small issues grow into serious breakdowns. A simple action plan makes responsibilities visible for everyone.Verb & Adjective Pack:
monitor incidents — We monitor incidents on the board every day.react quickly — Supervisors must react quickly to new risks.
overloaded shift — The night shift feels overloaded after recent resignations.
transparent communication — Transparent communication builds trust between departments.
Try & compare:
Fill with the best answer: By the end of the meeting, we ______ on clear actions.
Tip: Use the present perfect to show the result of the discussion.
Self-correction: Fix the sentence: If we will not share small problems, they becoming serious breakdowns.
Tip: Remember the first conditional pattern: if + present, will + base verb.
Practice aloud: Listen, repeat, then type the sentence.
We must update the shared board after every shift.
Tip: Focus on the rhythm of must update the shared board.