IDER Factory

Yesterday afternoon was spent observing and touring a factory in a town about a half hours car ride outside of the center of Guadalajara. The factory builds refrigeration units to be attached to trucks that transport goods such as milk, eggs, yogurt, gelato, ice cream, among many other items that must be chilled in transit. The reason for the trip, IDER, the refrigerated unit manufacturer, is a potential employer of the disabled and COLABORE wanted to take a tour and see if there was a job suitable for one of the people they try to help. The tour was given by, and unfortunately I didn't catch his name because of the noise coming from a metal cutter, one of the accountants who happened to be in a wheelchair. I know the refrigerated goods I buy at my local supermarkets, gas stations, and pharmacies arrive there in trucks equipped with refrigerated carriers, but to see all the lines of production, and to put it as simply as possible, was really cool. I thoroughly enjoyed to see steel beams cut to varying specifications to become frames for the units, then walled, lined, and insulated, followed by the installation of the air conditioner, and finally planted on the back of assorted truck beds. Anyways, IDER should be commended for their wheelchair and handicap accessible bathroom. Of the companies COLABORE visits theirs is by far the best and of the quality not usually seen here in Mexico. This alone shows their dedication to making strides toward a more diversified workforce. In regards to the positions that can be held by the disabled at IDER, they are a bit limited. Most of the labor requires an able-bodied employee who has no trouble with lifting beams, working with tools, and other machinery, which limits the potential disabled employee to either the hard of hearing or mute. Even then some sort of alternate communication must be established between them and existing employees to ensure appropriate completion of tasks. Office work is another possibility for someone who is physically handicapped or confined to a wheelchair as IDER already has an accountant who has this impairment. But, as mentioned in an earlier post, disabled employees with the kind of education needed for a desk position are few and far between. And, it must be mentioned, the factory is located a good ways outside of Guadalajara and it is almost required that the employee COLABORE assigns have their own form of transportation. Despite these few difficulties it is good to see companies like IDER making progress towards hiring the disabled and extending proper accommodations to them. Progress is influential and this is a great sign for the future of the disabled seeking work in Mexico.