The Four-Year Temporary Fix

Ashley (Finance Director) and Andrew (Operations Manager) review warehouse operations at a logistics hub in Seattle.

The Four-Year Temporary Fix

Listen and choose the right answer

How long has the temporary conveyor fix been in place?

• Two years
• Four years
• Five years

What was Ashley's main criticism of the current setup?

• It is too expensive to run daily.
• It is pure short-termism and deferred maintenance.
• It consumes too much electricity.

What did Andrew claim just before the system broke?

• The system was robust and hadn't broken once.
• A new replacement had already been ordered.
• The finance team had approved a budget increase.

What happened right at the end of their conversation?

• They decided to close the warehouse.
• The timber support structure collapsed.
• The power supply went out completely.

Listen again and complete the sentences

• Ashley: Andrew, I'm looking at the quarterly numbers for our Seattle facility, and I see that ____ on the conveyor belt is still listed as active after four years.
• Andrew: Ah, that little patch-up job? Well, it's been working fine, so we decided to ____ in the new sorting hardware.
• Ashley: That's pure ____ , Andrew. Relying on deferred maintenance like this is just storing up problems for our operational capacity.
• Andrew: Honestly, buying a brand-new setup right now would be a complete ____ when our current budget is tight.
• Ashley: Yes, but now our maintenance backlog is growing, and this kind of ____ always leads to long-term damage.

Sources: photo by Tiger Lily on Pexels