Shop Management, Frederick Winslow Taylor [most important books of all time .txt] 📗

pace and

double or treble his output. They must see this pace maintained until

they are convinced that it is not a mere spurt; and, most important of

all, they must see the men who “get there” in this way receive a proper

increase in wages and become satisfied. It is only with these object

lessons in plain sight that the new theories can be made to stick. It

will be in presenting these object lessons and in smoothing away the

difficulties so that tile high speed can be maintained, and in assisting

to form public opinion in the shop, that the great efficiency of

functional foremanship under the direction of the planning room will

first become apparent.

 

In reaching the final high rate of speed which shall be steadily

maintained, the broad fact should be realized that the men must pass

through several distinct phases, rising from one plane of efficiency to

another until the final level is reached. First they must be taught to

work under an improved system of day work. Each man must learn how to

give up his own particular way of doing things, adapt his methods to the

many new standards, and grow accustomed to receiving and obeying

directions covering details, large and small, which in the past have

been left to his individual judgment. At first the workmen can see

nothing in all of this but red tape and impertinent interference, and

time must be allowed them to recover from their irritation, not only at

this, but at every stage in their upward march. If they have been

classed together and paid uniform wages for each class, the better men

should be singled out and given higher wages so that they shall

distinctly recognize the fact that each man is to be paid according to

his individual worth. After becoming accustomed to direction in minor

matters, they must gradually learn to obey instructions as to the pace

at which they are to work, and grasp the idea, first, that the planning

department knows accurately how long each operation should take; and

second, that sooner or later they will have to work at the required

speed if they expect to prosper. After they are used to following the

speed instructions given them, then one at a time they can be raised to

the level of maintaining a rapid pace throughout the day. And it is not

until this final step has been taken that the full measure of the value

of the new system will be felt by the men through daily receiving larger

wages, and by the company through a materially larger output and lower

cost of production. It is evident, of course, that all of the workmen in

the shop will not rise together from one level to another. Those engaged

in certain lines of work will have reached their final high speed while

others have barely taken the first step. The efforts of the new

management should not be spread out thin over the whole shop. They

should rather be focused upon a few points, leaving the ninety and nine

under the care of their former shepherds. After the efficiency of the

men who are receiving special assistance and training has been raised to

the desired level, the means for holding them there should be perfected,

and they should never be allowed to lapse into their old ways. This

will, of course, be accomplished in the most permanent way and rendered

almost automatic, either through introducing task work with a bonus or

the differential rate.

 

Before taking any steps toward changing methods the manager should

realize that at no time during the introduction of the system should any

broad, sweeping changes be made which seriously affect a large number of

the workmen. It would be preposterous, for instance, in going from day

to piece work to start a large number of men on piece work at the same

time. Throughout the early stages of organization each change made

should affect one workman only, and after the single man affected has

become used to the new order of things, then change one man after

another from the old system to the new, slowly at first, and rapidly as

public opinion in the shop swings around under the influence of proper

object lessons. Throughout a considerable part of the time, then, there

will be two distinct systems of management in operation in the same

shop; and in many cases it is desirable to have the men working under

the new system managed by an entirely different set of foremen, etc.,

from those under the old.

 

The first step, after deciding upon the type of organization, should be

the selection of a competent man to take charge of the introduction of

the new system. The manager should think himself fortunate if he can get

such a man at almost any price, since the task is a difficult and

thankless one and but few men can be found who possess the necessary

information coupled with the knowledge of men, the nerve, and the tact

required for success in this work. The manager should keep himself free

as far as possible from all active part in the introduction of the new

system. While changes are going on it will require his entire energies

to see that there is no falling off in the efficiency of the old system

and that the quality and quantity of the output is kept up. The mistake

which is usually made when a change in system is decided upon is that

the manager and his principal assistants undertake to make all of the

improvements themselves during their spare time, with the common result

that weeks, months, and years go by without anything great being

accomplished. The respective duties of the manager and the man in charge

of improvement, and the limits of the authority of the latter should be

clearly defined and agreed upon, always bearing in mind that

responsibility should invariably be accompanied by its corresponding

measure of authority.

 

The worst mistake that can be made is to refer to any part of the system

as being “on trial.” Once a given step is decided upon, all parties must

be made to understand that it will go whether any one around the place

likes it or not. In making changes in system the things that are given a

“fair trial” fail, while the things that “must go,” go all right.

 

To decide where to begin is a perplexing and bewildering problem which

faces the reorganizer in management when he arrives in a large

establishment. In making this decision, as in taking each subsequent

step, the most important consideration, which should always be first in

the mind of the reformer, is “what effect will this step have upon the

workmen?” Through some means (it would almost appear some especial

sense) the workman seems to scent the approach of a reformer even before

his arrival in town. Their suspicions are thoroughly aroused, and they

are on the alert for sweeping changes which are to be against their

interests and which they are prepared to oppose from the start. Through

generations of bitter experiences working men as a class have teamed to

look upon all change as antagonistic to their best interests. They do

not ask the object of the change, but oppose it simply as change. The

first changes, therefore, should be such as to allay the suspicions of

the men and convince them by actual contact that the reforms are after

all rather harmless and are only such as will ultimately be of benefit

to all concerned. Such improvements then as directly affect the workmen

least should be started first. At the same time it must be remembered

that the whole operation is of necessity so slow that the new system

should be started at as many points as possible, and constantly pushed

as hard as possible. In the metal working plant which we are using for

purposes of illustration a start can be made at once along all of the

following lines:

 

First. The introduction of standards throughout the works and office.

 

Second. The scientific study of unit times on several different kinds of

work.

 

Third. A complete analysis of the pulling, feeding power and the proper

speeding of the various machine tools throughout the place with a view

of making a slide rule for properly running each machine.

 

Fourth. The work of establishing the system of time cards by means of

which ultimately all of the desired information will be conveyed from

the men to the planning room.

 

Fifth. Overhauling the stores issuing and receiving system so as to

establish a complete running balance of materials.

 

Sixth. Ruling and printing the various blanks that will be required for

shop returns and reports, time cards, instruction cards, expense sheets,

cost sheets, pay sheet, and balance records; storeroom; tickler; and

maintenance of standards, system, and plant, etc.; and starting such

functions of the planning room as do not directly affect the men.

 

If the works is a large one, the man in charge of introducing the system

should appoint a special assistant in charge of each of the above

functions just as an engineer designing a new plant would start a number

of draftsmen to work upon the various elements of construction. Several

of these assistants will be brought into close contact with the men, who

will in this way gradually get used to seeing changes going on and their

suspicion, both of the new men and the methods, will have been allayed

to such an extent before any changes which seriously affect them are

made, that little or no determined opposition on their part need be

anticipated. The most important and difficult task of the organizer will

be that of selecting and training the various functional foremen who are

to lead and instruct the workmen, and his success will be measured

principally by his ability to mold and reach these men. They cannot be

found, they must be made. They must be instructed in their new functions

largely, in the beginning at least, by the organizer himself; and this

instruction, to be effective, should be mainly in actually doing the

work. Explanation and theory Will go a little way, but actual doing is

needed to carry conviction. To illustrate: For nearly two and one-half

years in the large shop of the Bethlehem Steel Company, one speed boss

after another was instructed in the art of cutting metals fast on a

large motor-driven lathe which was especially fitted to run at any

desired speed within a very wide range. The work done in this machine

was entirely connected, either with the study of cutting tools or the

instruction of speed bosses. It was most interesting to see these men,

principally either former gang bosses or the best workmen, gradually

change from their attitude of determined and positive opposition to that

in most cases of enthusiasm for, and earnest support of, the new

methods. It was actually running the lathe themselves according to the

new method and under the most positive and definite orders that produced

the effect. The writer himself ran the lathe and instructed the first

few bosses. It required from three weeks to two months for each man.

Perhaps the most important part of the gang boss’s and foreman’s

education lies ill teaching them to promptly obey orders and

instructions received not only from the superintendent or some official

high in the company, but from any member of the planning room whose

especial function it is to direct the rest of the works in his

particular line; and it may be accepted as an unquestioned fact that no

gang boss is fit to direct his men until after he has learned to

promptly obey instructions received from any proper source, whether he

likes his instructions and the