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Title: Fatigue Study: The Elimination of Humanity’s Greatest Unnecessary Waste, a First Step in Motion Study
Author: Gilbraith, Lilian M., Gilbraith, Frank B.
Language: English
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FATIGUE STUDY
[Illustration: FIG. 1
This is a picture of the pin plan we use, which shows the city
as divided into districts, and which shows the collectors and
contributors, as marked by different coloured pins.]
FATIGUE STUDY
_The Elimination of Humanity’s Greatest
Unnecessary Waste_
A FIRST STEP IN MOTION STUDY
BY
FRANK B. GILBRETH
Member of American Society of Mechanical Engineers
AND
LILLIAN M. GILBRETH, PH. D.
New York
STURGIS & WALTON
COMPANY
1916
_All rights reserved_
Copyright, 1916
BY STURGIS & WALTON COMPANY
Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1916.
PREFACE
In the final analysis, that organization is best that has the best
quality of workers. No organization can continue to be of first quality
whose workers are over-fatigued. Other things being equal, that country
will be most happy and most successful whose workers have the least
unnecessary fatigue.
Aside from the pleasure one may obtain from it, it is the duty of every
one to eliminate the causes of unnecessary fatigue, and to promote
the dissemination of knowledge of how to recover most quickly from
unnecessary and necessary fatigue.
Fatigue study rests on scientific investigation that requires the
special training of an expert, and laboratory methods and equipment;
but there are elementary methods of studying and eliminating fatigue
that are not only so simple that any one can understand and apply them,
but that are also a definite stage in the preparation of the fatigue
study expert.
It is the aim of this book to outline both these preliminary methods
and the scientific methods of fatigue elimination and to put the
available material for fatigue study into such shape that any one
interested may make immediate, definite, and profitable use of it.
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
A DESCRIPTION AND GENERAL OUTLINE OF FATIGUE STUDY: WHAT MUST BE DONE
FATIGUE STUDY AND WASTE 3
WHAT FATIGUE IS 4
WHAT FATIGUE STUDY IS 7
THE FIELD OF THIS BOOK 7
THE RELATION OF FATIGUE STUDY TO MEASURED FUNCTIONAL MANAGEMENT 9
RELATION OF FATIGUE STUDY TO MOTION STUDY 11
THE CLASSES OF FATIGUE 13
THE PROBLEMS OF FATIGUE STUDY 14
THE METHODS OF FATIGUE STUDY 14
EMPHASIS IN FATIGUE STUDY 15
A WORK FOR EVERY ONE 16
CHAPTER II
THE FATIGUE SURVEY: WHAT IS TO BE DONE
WHAT A SURVEY IS 18
THE GENERAL SURVEY AND THE FATIGUE SURVEY 19
THE AIMS OF THE FATIGUE SURVEY 19
THE TIME AND PLACE OF MAKING THE SURVEY 20
THE QUALIFICATION OF THE SURVEY MAKER 22
WHAT TO LOOK FOR 25
VARIABLES THAT AFFECT FATIGUE 29
THE SURVEY RECORD SHEET 30
SURVEY PHOTOGRAPHS 31
MAKING THE SURVEY SERVICEABLE 32
CHAPTER III
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS FOR REST FOR OVERCOMING FATIGUE: WHAT CAN BE
DONE NOW
PROVISION FOR REST 38
CHAIRS TO MAKE THE REST MOST EFFECTIVE 42
BETTERMENT WORK 47
RESULTS 49
CHAPTER IV
HOME READING BOX MOVEMENT: A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION
WHAT IT IS 54
THE BOX IN THE PLANT 55
THE PLANT AS A SOURCE OF SUPPLY 55
THE HOME ELEMENT 58
ROUTING THE MAGAZINES 61
THE PROBLEM OF MAINTENANCE 63
HOW THE CONDITIONS VARY 67
THE HOME READING BOX AND FATIGUE 69
THE BY-PRODUCTS OF THE HOME READING BOX MOVEMENT 70
HOW TO BEGIN 75
CHAPTER V
PRELIMINARY FATIGUE ELIMINATION: WHAT CAN BE DONE NOW
THE LIGHTING PROBLEM 77
THE HEATING, COOLING, AND VENTILATING PROBLEM 82
FIRE PROTECTION 84
SAFETY PROTECTION 85
THE WORK PLACE 88
THE WORK-BENCH OR TABLE 90
THE CHAIR OR OTHER FATIGUE-ELIMINATING DEVICE 91
PLACING THE MATERIAL WORKED ON 93
THE PLACING OF TOOLS AND DEVICES 94
THE CLOTHING OF THE WORKER 95
CHAPTER VI
THE FATIGUE MUSEUM: AN OBJECT LESSON
WHAT A FATIGUE MUSEUM IS 99
THE PARENT FATIGUE MUSEUM 100
WHAT THE FATIGUE MUSEUM CONTAINS 102
WHAT THE MUSEUM DOES NOT CONTAIN 102
TYPES OF CHAIRS AND THEIR USES 104
OTHER FATIGUE ELIMINATING DEVICES 108
HOW TO USE THE DEVICES 109
STARTING YOUR OWN FATIGUE MUSEUM 111
CHAPTER VII
FATIGUE MEASUREMENT: HOW TO ATTACK THE PROBLEM SCIENTIFICALLY
HISTORY OF FATIGUE MEASUREMENT 114
FATIGUE, A TEST OF EFFICIENT ACTIVITY 116
THE ACTIVITY 117
MOTION STUDY, MICROMOTION STUDY, THE CYCLEGRAPH, AND THE
CHRONOCYCLEGRAPH METHOD AS MEASURES OF ACTIVITY 118
TESTING THE WORK BY MOTIONS REQUIRED 123
TESTING WORKERS BY MOTION CAPABILITIES 124
THE USE OF ACTIVITY RECORDS AS DATA FOR ELIMINATING FATIGUE 124
THE TIME ELEMENT 125
THE STANDARDIZATION OF WORK AND REST 127
CHAPTER VIII
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS: HOW PRESENT PRACTICE IS DEVELOPED INTO STANDARD
PRACTICE
A CONCRETE EXAMPLE OF MAKING ADJUSTMENTS 132
FORMER METHOD OF ASSEMBLY 133
HOW THE NEW PRACTICE WAS DERIVED 134
THE TWO FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED 134
OUTLINE OF THE CHANGES TO BE MADE 135
THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM 135
FINAL ADJUSTMENT 139
CHANGES IN TYPE OF WORK DEMANDED 140
CHANGE IN MENTAL ATTITUDE 140
VALUE OF THIS EXAMPLE 140
CHAPTER IX
THE OUTCOME: HOW FAR HAVE WE ATTAINED OUR AIM?
THE TESTS OF GENERAL HEALTH 142
THE TEST OF PROLONGED ACTIVITY 143
THE TEST OF POSTURE 144
THE TEST OF BEHAVIOUR AND IMPLIED MENTAL ATTITUDE 146
THE TEST OF TRANSFERENCE OF SKILL 148
TEST OF “HAPPINESS MINUTES,” INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL 149
CHAPTER X
THE FUTURE: WHAT EACH ONE OF US CAN DO
THE WORK OF THE COLLEGES 153
THE WORK OF THE MANAGER 155
THE WORK OF THE WORKER 156
THE WORK OF THE PUBLIC 157
FATIGUE STUDY
CHAPTER I
A DESCRIPTION AND GENERAL OUTLINE OF FATIGUE STUDY: WHAT MUST BE DONE
Fatigue Study and Waste.
In “Motion Study” we stated: “There is no waste of any kind in
the world that equals the waste from needless, ill-directed, and
ineffective motions.”[1] It is an aspect of wasted motions that we are
discussing here. Wasted motions mean wasted effort and wasted time.
One of the results of this waste is unnecessary fatigue, caused by
unnecessary effort expended during time that must, as a result, be
wasted. Time, a lifetime, is our principal inheritance. To waste any
of it is to lose part of our principal asset. To waste time and to
suffer from unnecessary fatigue simultaneously can be excused only
by ignorance. Unnecessary fatigue is caused by some one’s ignorance.
This book aims to call the attention of the world to the relationship
between fatigue and waste, with the hope that the knowledge of our
methods of fatigue elimination may be useful to others.
What Fatigue Is.
A crowd of workers come out of the factory after the day’s work. Some
rush home; others walk at a leisurely pace. Some move slowly and with
effort. Some have their heads back and a satisfied expression on their
faces. Others have their heads bent forward, and look as though life
were not worth while. What is the difference between the members of
this group? Mainly a matter of fatigue. Fatigue is the after-effect
of work. It is the condition of the worker’s organism after he has
expended energy in doing something. It is a necessary by-product of
activity. If, as is presumable, every member of our crowd of workers
has been putting in a day full of activity, we might expect to see the
same marks of fatigue on every face and figure,--but we do not.
What, then, are the reasons for the difference? The state of fatigue
has only been systematically studied during the past thirty years.
Even to-day it is not wholly understood. We do know, however, several
things about it, that may explain what we see in the emerging group.
We know that fatigue is marked by a decrease in power to work, a
decrease in pleasure taken in work, and a decrease in the enjoyment
of the hours spent away from work. We know that exertion not only
uses up temporarily the energy of the body, but that it also seems to
generate a sort of poison which “slows one down” for the time being.
In the third place, we know, also, that the effects of fatigue are
more difficult to overcome as the fatigue becomes greater. Careful
observation and records show that a little fatigue is easily overcome
if proper rest is supplied immediately. Twice the amount of fatigue
requires more than twice the amount of rest. Four times the amount of
fatigue demands much more than twice as much rest as the preceding
“more than twice the amount of rest,” until, finally, a state of
excessive fatigue requires a rest period that might have to be
prolonged indefinitely. It is this fact that lies at the basis of the
great unnecessary waste in accumulated fatigue.
The trouble with these tired workers, then, is that their work has
not been arranged in the least fatiguing manner nor in such a way
that they could get the most rest and recovery in the least amount of
idle time during the working hours. The ones whose heads are high and
whose shoulders are thrown back may have been provided in some way
with sufficient rest. The ones whose heads are bowed probably have
not had the recovery time that they needed. It is possible that those
who have had all the rest they needed have not produced as much as
have the others. The remedy for this may not lie in shortening the
rest, but in improving work methods. The waste in work not done, or
in work done with the wrong method, is a serious economic waste. The
waste in unnecessary fatigue is not only an economic waste, it is a
waste of life, and it calls for immediate attention from every one of
us, whether interested in the individual, the group, or the economic
prosperity of our country.
What Fatigue Study Is.
Our fatigue study is an attack upon this unnecessary waste of human
energy. It is a careful consideration of the problem of activity from
the side of its results upon the human organism. It aims:
1. To determine accurately what fatigue results from doing various
types of work.
2. To eliminate all unnecessary fatigue.
3. To reduce the necessary fatigue to the lowest amount possible.
4. To provide all possible means for overcoming fatigue.
5. To put the facts obtained from the study into such form that every
worker can use them for himself to get more out of life.
The Field of This Book.
The reader who will carefully watch the tired crowd of workers will
probably decide that he would like to do something about the fatigue
problem immediately. There are various methods by which he may attack
the problem. He may, and must, ultimately, review the literature
on fatigue. The work of Marey, of Amar, of Imbert, of Offner, of
Thorndike, and of numerous other physiologists and psychologists lies
open to the student of the subject. He may turn immediately to Miss
Josephine Goldmark’s masterly volume on “Fatigue and Efficiency.” This
will give him an insight into the application of fatigue elimination to
the industries. He may decide, however, that such study must wait, and
that he must actually _do something_ to cut down the fatigue the first
thing the next morning, while the driving force of what he has seen
is still strong. Nothing can mean so much to what he is to do as the
strong incentive that drives him to doing it, the desire to help. But
he will do best if he is instructed and directed. He should plan, in
order that he may do the most in the least amount of time, and do the
big, easy, obvious things first.
This book will outline a method of attack, and furnish a working
practice for attacking the fatigue problem in an industrial plant. This
practice is recommended because it rests on the results of measurement.
We have here not simply a collection of illustrations that show what
has been done in eliminating fatigue in the industries. All fatigue
elimination is to be commended, but illustrations that do not embody
well-recognized principles are questionable models. It is easy to
make external changes that never touch the underlying cause of evil.
Worthwhile, permanent fatigue elimination goes at the fundamentals of
the work itself, and studies these in relation to the fatigue. _What_
has been done is worth while when we know _how_ it has been done, and
_why_ it has been done. Given these facts, we can determine how it
may be done again in the same fashion and possibly even better. The
practice that is the result of _accurate measurement_,--this is the
standard to be demanded.
The Relation of Fatigue Study to Measured Functional Management.
Fatigue study is founded on measurement. This makes it an integral
part of measured functional management. This is management that acts
in accordance with standards. These standards are derived by actually
measuring accurately what is happening. Standards contain the results
of the measurement combined into new working methods. These standards
are maintained only until they can be improved, when the new ones are
in turn measured and maintained. Such accurate measurement demands that
the problem of management be divided into measurable units. These units
are made as small as possible, and constantly smaller as time goes on.
It was the great work of Doctor Taylor to divide an operation, that
is, a piece of work to be measured, into units for timing with a stop
watch, and to _separate rest units from work units_.
From its beginning, Scientific Management has recognized the importance
of the part played by fatigue. This recognition helps to obtain
that co-operation and permanent beneficial efficiency that are the
underlying ideas and the maintaining forces in this type of management.
But fatigue study has only recently been acknowledged as fundamental
to the most efficient management. Any one can attack the fatigue
problem in its present condition in the industries successfully. He
has simply to apply measurement. He can do this without regarding
the investigations and results of others, if he chooses, but he will
progress faster and farther if he uses results already at hand, and
improves on “the best that has been known and thought in the world.”
Relation of Fatigue Study to Motion Study.
Motion study has been described as the dividing of the elements of
the work into the most elementary subdivisions possible, studying and
measuring the variables of these fundamental units separately and
in relation to one another, and from these studied, chosen units,
after they have been derived, building up methods of least waste. It
is through the measuring of motions that one comes to realize most
strongly the necessity of fatigue study.
There has come, in the past twenty-five years, a strong general
realization that the important factor in doing work is the human
factor, or the human element. Improvement in working apparatus of any
type is important in its effect upon the human being who is to use the
apparatus. The moment one begins to make man, the worker, the centre of
activity, he appreciates that he has two elements to measure. One is
the activity itself. This includes the motions, seen or unseen, made
by the worker,--_what_ is done and _how_ it is done. The other is the
fatigue. This includes the length and nature of the interval or rest
period required for the worker to recover his original condition of
working power.
Any one who makes real motion study, or analyzes motion study data,
cannot fail to realize constantly the relationship of motion study to
fatigue study. The fatigue is the more interesting element, in that
it is the more difficult to determine exactly. When we recognize this
close relationship between motion study and fatigue study, we see that
we have a body of data already collected and at our disposal. What
is even more desirable, we have a method of measurement ready at our
hand. Every observation of a motion may be used to give information
about fatigue. Is this information of immediate use to the man who is
attacking his fatigue problem for the first time to-day? Yes, and no.
Yes, in that it is at his disposal. No, in that he must determine his
own particular problem before he can start to solve it. The first step
in this direction lies in classifying fatigue.
The Classes of Fatigue.
There are two classes of fatigue:
1. Unnecessary fatigue, which results from unnecessary effort, or work
which does not need to be done at all. A typical example of such work
is that of the bricklayer, who furnished one of the first subjects for
motion study. Any one who has watched a bricklayer lift all of his
body above the waist, together with the bricks and mortar from the
level of his feet to the top of a wall, cannot fail to realize that
bricklaying requires a great amount of energy as well as skill. Yet by
far the most of the energy expended in the method of laying bricks,
that had existed for centuries, was entirely unnecessary.[2]
2. Necessary fatigue, which results from work that must be done. The
new method, which enabled this same bricklayer to lay three hundred
and fifty bricks per hour, where he had laid one hundred and twenty
bricks per hour before, did not eliminate, and did not expect to
eliminate all of the fatigue accumulated in the working day. The
bricklayer at the end of the day, by reason of motion study devices,
laid more brick, but was nevertheless much less tired. Experimental
work in his case was carried to a high degree of perfection, because
he was recognized as a splendid type of efficient brawn.
The Problems of Fatigue Study.
The problems of fatigue study are, then, four, which may be stated in
very simple terms:
1. To determine what fatigue is unnecessary.
2. To determine what fatigue is necessary.
3. To eliminate all unnecessary fatigue possible.
4. To distribute the necessary fatigue properly, and to provide the
best possible means for speedy and complete recovery.
The Methods of Fatigue Study.
The methods used must rest on a scientific basis. These methods are
the same for the expert and for the man making his first attack on the
problem. They are as follows:
1. Record present practice, make an accurate and complete account in
writing of what is actually being done.
2. Decide in what sequence things are to be measured, and put them in
such shape that they can be measured.
3. Apply accurate measurement.
4. Determine standards synthetically from the measurement, and make
such changes in practice as will make it conform to the standard.
5. Compare the new standard practice with the old practice. Determine
exactly what improvements have been made, in order to be able to
predict the line along which new improvements must lie.
This is the standard method of attack of measured functional
management. It can be the more successfully applied to fatigue study in
that the results can be checked at every point by the results of motion
study, which bear a constant relation to them.
Emphasis in Fatigue Study.
Any such study as this demands an emphasis upon accuracy. The man
making the study must have a strong desire for finding and writing
down the facts. He must have willingness to submit every aspect of the
problem he is studying to the test of accurate measurement. Along with
this desire for facts must go a realization of how the facts are to
be used. Fatigue study is a constructive study. It builds up. It uses
such terms as “elimination,” but its fundamental aim is conservation,
and this conservation includes adding to those things which make life
worth while. The desire to act as a force for betterment must be the
incentive that makes the man doing fatigue study ready to record and
face the actual facts.
A Work for Every One.
Recording facts is difficult work, but there is no one who cannot do
some of it. It is the duty of every man to face the facts with which he
works and to record them. You have come from the crowd of tired workers
with an incentive to do this. Here is the method by which it may be
done.
Summary.
Fatigue study is related to motion study in that both are branches
of waste elimination. Fatigue study classifies fatigue, and outlines
methods by which unnecessary fatigue may be eliminated and rest from
necessary fatigue may be provided.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See “Motion Study,” p. 2.
[2] See “Bricklaying System,” chapter xiv. Myron C. Clark Co., Chicago.
CHAPTER II
THE FATIGUE SURVEY: WHAT IS TO BE DONE
What a Survey Is.
A survey is an attempt to record existing conditions. It gives:
1. A general view.
2. A more particular or intensive study of the various parts of the
whole and their relation to one another.
It may include recommendations for improvement, but its primary purpose
is to record what actually exists.
The survey is a _systematic_ study of existing conditions. Those
making it have always a well-defined plan in mind. It is necessary, in
order to maintain a proper balance for the completed survey, to give a
properly proportioned representation of what happens, with no element
omitted or over-emphasized.
The General Survey and the Fatigue Survey.
The fatigue survey should be a department of the general survey. A
description of the apparent causes of fatigue, or of the devices
present that eliminate fatigue, can mean little without the
accompanying description of the worker, the conditions of the work and
the work itself. The fatigue survey might be made without a general
survey. From the results, fatigue might be eliminated, or better means
for overcoming fatigue provided, but there would be no assurance
that the records applied would be efficient, or do lasting good, if
the causes of fatigue were not understood. The causes could not be
understood without the general survey. The fatigue element receives
more emphasis than any other element of the general survey. We look for
fatigue first, last, and all the time, but we record with it all the
attending circumstances that we can observe or discover.
The Aims of the Fatigue Survey.
The fatigue survey aims:
1. To present an accurate picture of existing conditions from the
fatigue standpoint.
2. To enable all interested in fatigue elimination to visualize the
problem thoroughly.
3. To divide the problem of fatigue elimination into such working
units that it may be possible to attack the problem successfully from
the start.
4. To arouse the interest of every member of the organization in
fatigue and its elimination.
5. To show the relation between fatigue and activity.
6. To teach every member of the organization to conserve his working
powers.
The Time and Place of Making the Survey.
The survey should be made as soon as plans for making it are completed,
and before any changes in the actual practice are made. If there is
any idea of changing the type of management, it may well be made even
before such a change is thoroughly outlined. It is the first step to
be taken by any organization which is thinking of introducing the
scientific type of management. The entire “plant” should be surveyed.
The work should start where there is the most fatigue, and where the
greatest amount of good can be done immediately. This, for several
reasons; such as:
1. The largest amount of waste can thus be eliminated.
2. The co-operation of the workers will be most quickly gained. This
will be true not only of the workers actually studied, but of all of
the workers in the organization. They will appreciate the attitude
of the new management, and will be glad to help if they can see the
actual benefit from the start.
3. The survey maker will become encouraged as he sees his data
successfully used.
4. The survey, if made by an amateur, will help him when he attacks
more difficult problems.
If the survey maker is an amateur, he had best begin where working
conditions most demand betterment. It is simpler to record working
conditions than to describe the worker or the method by which the work
is done. A really adequate record of a worker requires a knowledge of
physiology and psychology. An adequate record of method requires an
expert knowledge of motion study. A preliminary record of fatigue of
all sorts may be made by an amateur. He had best, however, get his
practice in recording working conditions. Moreover, it will be best
to observe a worker who is known to be co-operative at the start. The
co-operation of the worker is the most important element in getting
accurate records. Such workers will also help from the start to suggest
or invent devices for eliminating fatigue, if they are started thinking
along these lines. Later, one can handle the non-co-operative as one
becomes more practised, and there is always the likelihood that, by
the time one gets to these at first non-co-operative workers, their
attitude will have been changed by the good results and the general
sympathy towards the fatigue survey.
The Qualification of the Survey Maker.
The survey maker must be an accurate observer. He must be able to see
what the conditions really are, and to describe and record what he sees
in simple, clear language that will enable others to understand what
he says. The survey may be made by any one of several types of survey
maker:
1. The owner of the plant. He will have the most vital interest in
the resulting fatigue elimination. No matter who else makes a survey,
the owner should examine it closely, or should make one for himself.
We have found that, if the owner can be persuaded to take one day of
his time to make even a most rapid and superficial fatigue survey of
his plant, the result is always of enormous benefit to the work; but,
while his interest may be enlisted with a walk through his plant, his
zeal will not be obtained until he has actually sat in the various
seats and chairs, and actually, personally, tried out the various work
places.
2. The survey may be made by some other member of the organization,
who is an amateur at the work. The benefits of having a survey maker
who is a member of the organization is that he “understands the
peculiar and local conditions” thoroughly, and that those who are
observed may therefore have more confidence in his work and perhaps
may be less apt to resent being observed. The disadvantages are that
he will be so well acquainted with and accustomed to seeing the
conditions that he will not be apt to note many apparently unimportant
details. These may really be important, when one comes to make changes.
3. The survey may be made by an amateur not a member of the
organization. The advantage of this is that the observer will be
disinterested. The disadvantages are the usual disadvantages of lack
of training. There may, also, be some delay in the observed worker’s
co-operating with the observer. This is not apt to occur if the survey
maker is properly instructed before he begins his work.
4. The survey may be made by an expert. It makes little difference,
in this case, whether the expert is, or is not, a member of the
organization. In actual practice he seldom is a member of the
organization.
There is much saving in time in having an expert survey maker, who will
be, in the industries, preferably a motion study expert. From extensive
practice he will be able to see possible improvements at the same time
that he sees existing conditions. However, he must not let his plans
for improvement affect the exactness of his records of the present.
On the contrary, these plans will insure that he makes his records of
the present detailed and accurate, in order that the progress may be
apparent.
Whatever may be the preparation of the survey maker, his chief
qualification should be a keen interest and enthusiasm for this work.
If a man really wants to eliminate fatigue, and is willing to learn how
to do it, he can become a survey maker.
What to Look For.
There are three chief groups of things to look for:
1. The characteristics of the worker, or, as we have called them,
“variables of the worker.”
2. The characteristics of the working conditions,--“the variables of
the surroundings, equipments, and tools.”
3. The characteristics of the methods of work; that is, “the variables
of the motions.”[3]
First, in describing the worker, there are several possible methods of
obtaining valuable information. One is by observing him. A second is
by talking with him. Before using either of these, it is necessary to
see what records of him are already in the hands of the management.
There will probably be some information in the employment bureau, if
an employment bureau exists; if not, the man who hired him may have
some data concerning him. Usually this will save the worker’s time
in answering questions. It is well to know as much as possible about
the worker’s life history and home conditions,--this especially that
one may understand whether he goes to work refreshed or tired in the
morning.
The procedure may be as follows:
1. Record the man’s name, age, birthplace, preparation, experience,
and fitness. These last will all be a help in determining the
percentage of fatigue.
2. Record the man’s physical characteristics, as far as can be
observed; such as, size, strength, skill, strong points, and weak
points.
3. Record, as closely as possible, the man’s behaviour, as indicating
his mental condition. To be specific, note whether he seems interested
in the work. Note his habits of doing the work,--whether he does the
work the same way every time, or whether he varies in his methods.
Note his degree of ability to learn quickly. Note his power of
concentrating attention. Note his degree of contentment with the work.
The degree of detail with which this notation may be made by an amateur
doing the work depends largely upon his training in psychology.
Second, in recording working conditions:
1. Record those things that affect all workers in the group. These are
the length of working day, condition of lighting, heating, cooling,
and ventilating; fire protection; safety protection as it affects
all,--this to include protection from dust, lint, or any substance
which might affect health.
2. Record the conditions that affect the individual worker:--places
of the work; the work bench or table or other device for holding the
work; the chair, foot rails or rests, or other device for affording
rest to the body or some part of the body; the material worked on and
its placing; the tools or other devices by which the work is done; the
clothing of the worker.
3. Record the results of the work:--the average amount of output; the
hours of the working day when most fatigue seems to exist. Record
which conditions observed are the result of work having been done by
the management, and which are the result of work having been done by
the individual worker.
If a general appearance of fatigue seems to occur at any time, make
special notes of all attending conditions of every kind. Note anything
that is particularly good or particularly bad.
Third, little can be done at this stage by the amateur survey maker
in recording the variables of the methods, and in making motion
analysis charts. He may, however, make notes of methods that seem to
him unusual or efficient. For example, if he observes two workers who
seem physically much the same, and who have practically identical
surroundings, and finds that one of these accomplishes more than the
other, or is less fatigued, the difference is likely to lie in the
motions or the methods used. These should be carefully noted. Such data
as these will prove of value in the intensive studies of motions to be
undertaken later.
Variables that Affect Fatigue.
We included in “Motion Study,”[4] a list of forty-two variables that
affect motions. The list we use consists of one hundred and nineteen.
We feel that our list is by no means complete. It is necessary only
to note here that every possible change in the work, the worker, or
the method has its effect upon the fatigue. This need not act as a
deterrent from making changes. It need only act as a warning that no
change made without a thorough consideration of every element of the
problem can be of permanent value.
The Survey Record Sheet.
The survey maker will do well to list all of the things, which he
intends to look for, upon one sheet, which he may use as a tentative
record sheet. Such a sheet will prove itself an admirable record of
how far advanced the organization is in fatigue elimination. The
survey maker in any particular plant may modify it to suit individual
conditions.
The making of such a record sheet is most stimulating to the survey
maker. He should make a collection of all the different survey sheets
obtainable, even though used in the social or educational fields. He
should be required to make at least a tentative sheet of his own.
Through his attempts to do this, he will come, as in almost no other
way, to a realization of the importance of the problem that is before
him.
Survey Photographs.
A photograph is one of the most satisfactory survey records. It is not
always easy to get such a photograph. In the first place the survey
maker is not sure what should be photographed. In the second place
the worker is not always eager that he or his work place should be
photographed. This is even more true of the management than of the
men. Some managers are not willing to allow their work places to be
photographed, when they realize that such photographs will live as
“before and after” records. Where photographs can be taken, they are
the ideal records, in that they are accurate, detailed, unprejudiced,
easily understood, easily preserved, and constantly available. We have
found the photograph the most valuable of records, and have used it
continuously since 1892. On every side we find that scientists are more
and more realizing the importance of the photograph record. A trained
photographer often has the desirable qualities to become an admirable
survey maker. The motion picture film makes it possible to record
activity as well as rest.
Making the Survey Serviceable.
Such photographs form an important element in making the survey
serviceable. The survey is an admirable record to use after
improvements have been made, to show exactly what the trend of progress
has been. It is, however, most important, as furnishing the working
data from which the actual improvements are made immediately. To be
serviceable, then, the survey must do certain things:
1. It must make it possible for any one studying it actually
to realize existing conditions. It is apparent what a help the
photographs are in thus visualizing the problem.
2. It must emphasize those conditions that require immediate and
great improvement. These can be shown most plainly by photographs,
but it must be remembered that a photograph without a proper written
explanation often means but a small portion of what it should to a man
who has not himself seen the conditions.
3. It must be in such form that it can be easily followed or studied.
This will be assured if the plan has been properly made, and if the
plan outlined has been consistently followed.
The observations should be grouped. The groups should be put under
appropriate headings. The order should be excellent. It will help
greatly if partial and final summaries are included.
The amateur will do best to put all of his recommendations for changes
at the close of the survey. Such recommendations should certainly be
included. The survey maker should note the improvements that occur
to him while making the survey. This he may do on the regular survey
blank, but when writing up the survey, he should put his suggested
improvements in a separate place, for the following reasons: His
suggestions may be good, but may be only a few of possible suggestions.
Reading them _with_ the survey may prevent the reader from thinking
out suggestions of his own. Again, the suggestions, while good, may
be obvious, in which case the reader might consider the entire survey
a record of obvious facts, which, therefore, is of little value; in
which case, while it is well to record them, it is seldom advisable to
include them in the body of the survey. The reader may lose interest
because of the suggestions, and may fail to realize the value of the
record itself.
Another means of making the survey serviceable is to pay strict
attention to the style. This should be the extreme of simplicity
and clearness. Use short, familiar, and necessary words. Use short
sentences requiring no punctuation except the period. In fact, wherever
possible, use a printed form, and write in the fewest possible words
that can include a simple, definite, and complete description.
Wherever possible, make the survey so interesting that it will hold
the attention without effort. This has been done, and can always be
done. Photographs, especially stereoscopic photographs, are of great
assistance; so are charts, or graphs, illustrating the results of the
observation; and tables that will show facts, recapitulations, and
tendencies, at a glance.
The data of the survey may be written up by the survey maker, if he is
clever at such work; if he is not, it had better be written up by some
one to whom he explains it, and who is naturally a clever writer.
The survey in proper form can be used as a force to arouse interest
in fatigue elimination throughout the entire organization. It must
be put in the most attractive form possible. As an illustration of
the possibilities in making dry material interesting, study the
farmers’ bulletins used by the national government and various State
governments, especially the bulletins of Kansas and Wisconsin.
It is a courageous organization that would consent to making its
original fatigue survey public. However, the survey should certainly
be in the hands of every member of the organization who desires to
see it. It will be recognized that the survey is the starting point
for making improvements in the elimination of unnecessary fatigue.
Too little is often done to take the workers into the confidence of
the management. The fatigue survey might well act as a starting point
in this direction; therefore, if not the entire survey, it is certain
the examples worthy to be copied should be freely circulated. The
efficiently, specially-clothed worker, the excellent arrangement of
tools, the best arranged work place,--photographs and descriptions of
these might be posted to excellent advantage.
After all, the real aim of the survey is to be serviceable. It
will be most serviceable when it is used by the greatest number of
individuals, and it will be chiefly serviceable in that it stimulates
them to do something definite to improve conditions. It must suggest
_what_ is to be done, and _where_ it is to be done. As to _when_ the
improvements are to be made, there are certain things that can be
done immediately,--as soon as existing conditions are understood. Our
next task is to show what these are, in order that the stimulated
organization may expend its energy for the greatest amount of permanent
good to the greatest number.
Summary.
The fatigue survey is a record of present conditions and practice,
that endeavours to show particularly and in detail where and when
fatigue exists. This record contains a description of all the attending
circumstances. It is to be in such form that it may be easily read and
understood. By studying it, any one interested may learn where fatigue
exists, and may receive suggestions as to how it may be prevented,
eliminated, or remedied.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] See “Motion Study,” pages 6 and 7.
[4] D. Van Nostrand Co., 25 Park Place, New York City.
CHAPTER III
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS FOR REST FOR OVERCOMING FATIGUE
Provision for Rest.
The first necessity in our fight against fatigue is to eliminate the
causes of unnecessary fatigue. The second is to provide for proper rest
to overcome fatigue, whether necessary or unnecessary.
If the worker goes home too tired each night, the first method of
remedying this condition is to provide rest periods during the working
day--to set aside time in which he may recover his proper and normal
working strength. One method by which this may be sometimes done is
by shortening the working day. This permits the worker to get into
better condition either before work, after work, during a lengthened
noon hour, or during the “second breakfast” and “tea recess” of many
European organizations. The supposed advantage of this plan is that
it gives little or no jolt to the working process. To this we might
answer, as circumstances vary, that it does give a jolt, because speed
must be increased in order that output should be maintained; or we
might say that the jolt is really needed. The disadvantage, in some
cases, of shortening the working hours is the effect upon the entire
industry in the vicinity. This is a feature to be considered, for in
the long run maximum prosperity is dependent upon largest outputs.
There can be no doubt that in most cases it is advisable and profitable
to shorten working hours, but how and when this is to be done is a
serious problem. In our own office, our stenographers work every other
Saturday till 1:00 P.M. only, and the alternating Saturday they do
not work at all; that is to say, we give them a holiday of Saturday
afternoon and Sunday every other week, and all Saturday and Sunday the
other weeks, besides their regular two-weeks vacation in summer. We
find that we get more and better work as a result. No plant, operating
under the measured type of management, that we know of, has ever
regretted shortening its working hours. It may be that the working
hours formerly existing were so long that shortening the hours was
the only immediate adequate remedy. The danger in shortening hours is
that, if the whole problem is not thoroughly studied, the worker may
not be sure of the same or a larger wage for work which he is able to
do in the shorter time. Fatigue elimination is fundamentally the duty
of the management. The worker cannot afford to pay for the fatigue
elimination, directly or indirectly. Let the short hours be planned
for and assured, but make sure before introducing them that everything
is in such condition that wages can be maintained or raised. This is
a matter requiring study of actual records and not “guess,” “personal
opinion,” or “judgment.”
There are other methods of providing for fatigue elimination or
recovery, that do not involve so many elements. Such a method is
providing rest periods during the working day. This is a method that
may be used immediately. To whom are these rest periods to be given,
then? Ultimately, of course, to every member of the organization
whose work is of a nature that requires a fixed rest period. The work
should, preferably, be so arranged that every worker, be he in plant
or in management, would achieve larger outputs by having definite and
properly located rest periods. It has been proved in most work that
more output can be achieved by applying one’s self steadily for short
periods, and then resting, than by applying one’s self less steadily
and having no rest periods. This, of course, applies only to work which
in itself provides no rest periods. At the beginning of the fatigue
eliminating campaign, provide rest periods for those who seem to need
them most. There are two, off-hand, quick methods of determining which
workers these are. One is the appearance of the workers at various
times of the day, and at the end of the day. The other is the amount
of output and the rate that output is turned out by the worker during
the day and during the various parts of the day. In some organizations,
it has been the standard practice to take no chances when the worker
looks or feels tired. They provide rest periods immediately, long
enough to allow him to recover and go back to the work with zest.
This is, of course, the immediate remedy. “Provide the rest period
first. Discuss its efficiency later.” This first-aid plan has worked
splendidly for a long time among women workers in such industries as
the drygoods trades. The typical welfare work may be unscientific from
the standpoint of those familiar with highly organized methods, but
it has sensed the trouble keenly and quickly, and provided at least
a temporary remedy without delay. “Time to rest when one needs it.”
This is the first slogan of the campaign for eliminating the evils of
overfatigue.
Chairs to Make the Rest Most Effective.
The merchants have again been the pioneers here, in realizing that
reclining chairs or couches furnish the most effective rest. It is not
necessary here to discuss the physiological effects resulting from a
change of blood pressure. It should be noted that even a few minutes
in a reclining position provides such rest as could not be gained in a
much longer time if seated upright in the most comfortable of chairs.
If attending conditions allow of reclining chairs or couches, for at
least the exceptional and emergency cases, these should immediately be
provided. It surely does take real courage for the management of an
organization of strong and strenuous men to install reclining chairs,
couches, and high foot-rests for rest periods; but fame awaits the one
in this field, who can make the practice general. The brain worker of
all types has long realized the benefits of the occasional use of the
reclining chair. Flat couches without even the smallest of pillows are
a part of the regular working equipment of some of our greatest brain
workers. It is considered no disgrace, nor is it worthy of note, if a
tired soldier flings himself flat upon the ground to rest. It attracts
no attention for an exhausted worker to go to sleep on a hard wooden
bench at noontime. But to put a couch in some quiet spot, or even a
chair with extra-high, large, flat, arm rests, where the same type
of rest might be enjoyed most effectively, _this_ seems radical, and
“might make the men think we had gone crazy.” It might be objected that
the worker should not allow himself to become so fatigued that this
type of rest is necessary. The answer is,--if rest in this position
will overcome what is almost complete exhaustion, what increases in
national efficiency and prosperity may it not cause in overcoming
quickly less violent stages of fatigue?
Next to the couch or reclining chair, in efficiency, is the arm-chair.
There are “arm-chairs,” and chairs with real arms specially fitted to
the individual worker. These will be even more efficient if provided
with a foot-rest. We have actually installed such arm-chairs out in the
works with very good results. We have had many a case where even the
workers laughed loudly when the special, unusual chairs were brought
in. They began to use them more out of friendliness towards us than
out of any belief in the special usefulness of these peculiar chairs.
However, at the end of a few days of actual use, they were able to
handle their work in greater quantities and with less fatigue. “It’s
a joke to work like that,” one said. Some of the workers claimed that
they did not need such a chair, but, after it became the fashion to use
it, each one seemed glad enough for the better rest provided.
From this type of chair down to the smallest possible seat, the
gradation is gradual and constant. In certain types of work, like
selling in a drygoods store, the space is sometimes so narrow that
the only type of chair practicable, under present conditions, is the
small folding seat that can slip under the shelves or fold up against
them when the girl is serving a customer. Such also is the type of
chair that folds up under or next to a machine, which the operator
is tending, and which can be pulled out during the periods when the
machines need no tending, and the operator is simply inspecting or
waiting for the next tending period. Every one realizes the advantage,
as a resting device, of anything upon which one can occasionally sit.
The two-inch, iron arm of a seat on a railroad train, the tiny seat
that folds into a walking stick or umbrella, that the enthusiast at the
races takes with him,--these are typical examples of seats that seem
almost ridiculous, yet that have an enormous effect upon the amount
of fatigue accumulated in a few hours, or in a day. “A chair to rest
in;” this is the second slogan. If a chair is not procurable, then some
sort of a seat, even a packing box with no back, even a post to lean
against, or a rail to lean upon,--anything to shift the pressure is
better than nothing. Far better a seat with no back, immediately, than
the best type of chair in the indefinite future. Get some sort of seat
for the worker to-day, and begin planning for the efficient chair at
the first day possible.
The final word on chairs in this preliminary work is that some sort
of a chair should be provided for every member of the organization.
There is a wide-spread belief that one chair for every two or three
or more workers is sufficient; that “they can change off using it.”
The argument was something like this: “No one needs to sit more than
one-third of the time, therefore one chair to each three workers is
enough,” etc. The chief fallacy is the implied idea that the rest
periods of the workers can be so arranged that the chairs can be in
constant use, and that each worker will have a chair at his or her
disposal at the proper time. Now in theory, of course, this is not an
impossible arrangement. It might have to be made if chairs and seats
cost many dollars apiece, and it probably would be done then, if there
was a proper realization of the importance of overcoming fatigue. But
when chairs are as cheap and plentiful as they are now, there is no
excuse for thinking of such a condition. In practice, where there
are not enough chairs for every one, at certain times of the day the
chairs are empty, as every one is busy. At other times, when work is
duller, the chairs are all used, and many workers are trying to rest as
best they can, standing. These conditions can be noted in any drygoods
store, in any shop or factory where there is an inadequate supply of
chairs. “A seat for each and every worker whether he needs it or not;”
this is the third slogan.
Betterment Work.
The third division of provision for rest falls under the general
heading of betterment work, or what is popularly called “welfare
work.” The term “betterment work” is used by those who are interested
in measured management instead of “welfare work,” to emphasize a
distinction in thought. Some welfare work implies that it is the gift
of the manager to the workers. Betterment work is the same type of
work, done with the distinct understanding that what is done is for the
good and profit of the organization. It is the due of every member of
the organization to have the best resting condition possible. Making
these conditions better is betterment work. There is no intention
to criticize welfare work. Most welfare work is betterment work.
Some workers, however, object to welfare work as implying “charity.”
Therefore, we say betterment work. It is the worker’s due that he
gets. Such work comprises establishing rest rooms, lunch rooms,
entertainments--anything that can make the resting time more attractive
and profitable. It may also imply the service of a betterment worker
or a staff of such workers; or it may be that the organization itself
takes up the work co-operatively, with no outsider to direct it.
Doubtless some such activity already exists. If so, it would be the
duty of the fatigue eliminators to recognize it and encourage it.
The fourth provision for rest is really a part of betterment work.
It must be described at some length. This is the Home Reading Box
Movement, which furnishes a definite means for making rest periods,
both at work and at home, attractive and profitable. Before turning to
a description of this, we may estimate the effect upon the worker of
the preliminary work so far done.
Results.
The results of the preliminary work we have done are as follows:
1. The interest in fatigue becomes more vital. We have aroused more
interest in fatigue elimination, and have made it general. With the
establishment of properly distributed rest periods, chairs, seats,
etc., the recovery process becomes interesting. As he knows how
resting improves his working conditions, the worker becomes more
warmly interested in the fatigue itself. It is a very different thing
to talk about the evils of fatigue, or even to see the advantages of
proper rest exhibited in object lessons, than it is to get proper rest
in a specially designed chair for the first time in one’s working
life. Fatigue, which was _an_ enemy, becomes now not only _my_ enemy,
but _our_ enemy--mine, because I recognize it has affected me; _ours_,
because we are fighting it together for our best interests, severally
and collectively.
2. The interest in fatigue becomes more intelligent. Many workers,
especially women, feel that it is to be expected that they will get
exceedingly tired by night; that one cannot expect to do so much late
in the day as early in the day; that stopping to rest is cutting down
one’s output, thus cheating one’s self, if one is a piece rate worker,
or cheating the management, if one is a day rate worker. The worker
now comes to realize that he hurts the management _and_ himself,
when he gets too tired. “It is your duty to rest when you need it;”
that is the fourth slogan. It must be remembered also that the rest
periods provide time for clearer and more intelligent thinking. It is
impossible to come to any valid conclusion when one is working at top
speed part of the day, and in a state of exhaustion the rest of the
time. We have now an opportunity to think, and brains rested enough
with which to think.
3. The output increases. Usually, in practice, the output increases as
a result of the fatigue-recovery periods. Increased outputs encourage
both management and worker. They must, however, be inspected and
controlled. Some one with the proper training must be in charge,
that excessive fatigue may not be accumulated, and the rest periods
lose their purpose. With the increase in output must come added
compensation in wages. If this is provided, the fatigue eliminating
campaign will not be regarded as a new scheme for driving the worker.
Better for the good of the management and the men to limit the output
to its usual amount during this period, until the workers see that too
much fatigue to-day interferes with the standard quantity of output
to-morrow, than to attempt to allow increased output without increased
pay. The world can better afford to lose the extra product, than the
management to appear even for a moment to be trying to overwork the
men.
4. The spirit of co-operation grows. The worker realizes
instinctively, if the survey has been properly made, and if this
preliminary work has been properly done, that the aim of fatigue
study is the good of all concerned. There is a psychological element
to this. It might be possible to question the motive of installing
fatigue eliminating devices. There is no question as to the motive
in installing the resting devices and rest periods. The rest periods
allow time for development of the social spirit. “To know all is to
understand all,” a wise Frenchman has said. “I like every one whom I
know,” is the thought of another wise man. “Let’s go at the fatigue
survey all together,” is the fifth slogan. The Home Reading Box
Movement is, perhaps, the channel where this spirit of co-operation
expresses itself most freely.
Summary.
Preliminary provision for rest for overcoming fatigue consists of
establishing rest periods, providing chairs or other devices in which
one may rest, and establishing or encouraging betterment work. These
result in a more vital and intelligent interest in fatigue, and a
spirit of co-operation. This work is embodied in five slogans. These
are as follows: “Time to rest when one needs it;” “A seat to rest in;”
“A seat for each and every worker whether he needs it or not;” “It
is your duty to rest when you need it,” and “Let’s go at the fatigue
survey all together.”
CHAPTER IV
THE HOME READING BOX MOVEMENT
What It Is.
The Home Reading Box Movement is a system of placing interesting,
educational, and valuable reading matter at the disposal of the workers
in an industrial organization. It consists of
1. A box in the plant in which the reading matter can be placed and
kept until taken out by the workers.
2. Boxes in the homes of members of the organization or of the
community interested, where reading matter intended for the plant can
be kept until it is collected.
3. A system by which the reading matter gathered in the homes is taken
to the plant reading box, is taken from the plant box to the homes of
the workers, and, in turn, either returned to the plant or passed on
to other homes which would have pleasure or profit from it.
The Box in the Plant.
The box in the plant is located at a place most convenient for the
workers. Its size depends upon the size of the collections. It should
be large enough to hold two collections of papers, magazines, and
books. It should be located where the workers can get to it without
loss of time and with fewest motions. The best place is usually near
the path of exit after the day’s work. It will simplify the routing
of the reading matter, if the box is put under a window next to the
street, so that magazines can be put in by any one driving or walking
by, without coming in and thereby possibly disturbing the operation
of the plant. The box is made a regular part of the plant equipment
by receiving a station number like every other “station” on the
messenger’s route. The first box installed happened to be No. 34. All
boxes since have received this number, and the same number becomes the
home reading box symbol, thus,--“34.”
The Plant as a Source of Supply.
It is invariably a surprise to the management, as well as the workers,
to find how much reading matter for the home reading box is available
in the plant itself.
Every business man receives quantities of catalogs and other business
and technical literature, and sample copies of publications, sent
in the effort to get new subscribers. These are glanced at by the
man receiving them, and then and there usually thrown into the
waste-basket. A catalog is the best literary effort of the concern it
represents, and usually contains valuable instruction. Now if the mail
sorter or the purchasing department see no immediate need of the things
in the catalog, it usually finds its way quickly to the waste-basket.
That such catalogs have a decided interest to the users of the home
reading box is shown by the fact that new catalogs are always taken
away to the homes. The average manager has not the time to give each
catalog the attention that it really deserves, but in the majority of
cases there will be one or more men out in the plant who have both the
time and interest to devote to the catalog. These usually discarded
catalogs are sometimes read to see if they will not contain a thought
for the “suggestion” box; the by-product being that the plant is
kept up to date, so far as information contained in new catalogs is
concerned. In the same way sample magazines or papers may come in,
which make no particular appeal to the man to whom they are sent, or a
magazine brings a marked article which is cut out and put on file,--the
rest of the magazine being thrown into the waste-basket.
All of this usually discarded material can be, with profit, sent to the
home reading box. The man in the office, who looks at and discards it,
simply stamps or writes on it “34,” the symbol of the home reading box,
or the number of its station in the inter-office postal system, and
puts it in his “out” basket. On his next trip for distributing papers,
the messenger takes the reading matter marked “34” from the “out”
baskets, and deposits it in “34,” the home reading box.
Another source of supply consists of the newspapers, magazines, or
books bought by the members of the organization as they come to work.
The average man in the management departments buys a paper or magazine
as he comes to work. His daily paper is surely discarded, his magazine
is often discarded, sometimes even a book is thrown aside as completed.
These also go through the “out” basket to the home reading box. A cent
or two a day for a morning paper is little or nothing to some members
of the organization. A cent or two a day is a very important element
in some working men’s budgets. Besides there is an enormous waste, if
daily papers are thrown away after having been read by but one person.
The Home Element.
A home reading box which has no other source of supply than that
mentioned is not to be despised, but many advantages of the movement
are lost, of course, if it is so restricted. It is desirable and
customary, therefore, to interest as large a number of homes as
possible in the movement. There are, first, the homes from which
reading matter comes. The first problem is to arouse interest in such
homes. The conversation goes something like this:
“Haven’t you some reading matter that you wish to get rid of, that we
could have for the Home Reading Box Movement?”
[Illustration: FIG. 2
This shows a typical collection of magazines ready to go to the Home
Reading Box at the plant.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3
This shows the passing of magazines from the wagon into the plant. The
plant box is placed directly below the window, where, if no one is
inside waiting to take the magazines, they may easily be dropped from
the outside of the plant without disturbing any one in the plant.]
“Just what do you want?”
“Well, anything that is interesting, but especially magazines of recent
date, with which you have finished.”
“Oh, but we get hardly any magazines. Let me see. We do take the
_Saturday Evening Post_, and my wife reads the _Home Journal_ and the
_Woman’s Home Companion_, and I buy some of the weeklies and some of
the monthlies.”
“And you get trade catalogs and trade papers of various kinds besides?”
“Oh, yes, we get some of those that pertain to our business.”
“Well, what do you do with them all, when you have finished reading
them?”
“Why, we throw the advertising matter into the waste-basket, and the
trade papers we keep with the idea of binding some day, but we never
have bound them. I don’t know exactly what does become of them. I don’t
think we ever really look at the old ones.”
It is this reading matter that we desire to send promptly into some
home reading box. As to the other homes to which the reading matter
ultimately goes, these may be, or may become, or may help others to
become, the same type of home. At present little reading matter can
enter, because the wage earner cannot spare enough from his wages to
buy much literature, and is too tired to go to the library in the
evening. There is often the same desire for reading in this home,
though it has not had such a chance to become trained. The whole family
has the same desire to see the pictures, and the children the same joy
in colouring the drawings or cutting them out. The neighbours will like
to borrow anything that is interesting, and the reader will increase
his stock of information and his vocabulary, and form the habit of
reading besides. There are exactly the same possibilities of developing
habits and tastes. All that is lacking is the opportunity.
The one hope for the working man is through education, and the greatest
educational possibilities now, with very few exceptions, go into
the waste-baskets of the nation. For example, consider the pile of
_Saturday Evening Posts_ that come out each week. These would make a
pile more than three miles high each week. Think of the many other
magazines and their effect upon homes that cannot afford to buy them.[5]
Routing the Magazines.
The whole problem is to get the magazines from the home to the plant
promptly and in the easiest way possible. When the first home reading
box was established, we carried the magazines in our arms from our
homes to the plant, where the magazines found their way to the home
reading box by means of the inter-office messenger system. As other
people became interested, there were more magazines than could be
conveniently carried, so we sent an automobile around, now and then,
for collecting the magazines and taking them to the plant. Gradually
other people were asked to co-operate, and regular collections were
made monthly by some member of the organization, who had time and an
automobile at his disposal. If the auto was busy or the weather bad, an
express wagon or a truck went the rounds. The aim, however, was, and
is, always to have the collecting a part of the co-operation plan.
It became a common sight in the town where the movement started to
have a college professor take a Saturday afternoon off, and collect
the magazines in his electric coupé, or to have one of the boys and
his chums go out in a touring car, and fill the box at the plant, so
that the men would find a fresh supply Monday morning. In some plants,
where none of the homes in the vicinity has reading matter, it is boxed
and sent by express from friends of the movement at a distance. Some
bundles have come from as far as Bryn Mawr for the Home Reading Boxes
in Providence.
It is a great sight to see the big bundles come in, and to watch the
workers, as they are opened. Every one is allowed to take what he
pleases and as many as he pleases. There have been no restrictions
whatever, because the unhampered privileges have not been abused. He
may bring any back, if he chooses, or he may keep all he takes, or
he may pass them on to his less fortunate friends or neighbours who
are not employed in a plant having a home reading box. He is rather
urged to pass them on when he has finished with them, as we wish to
maintain the reading club, or circulating library, idea. We consider
the reading matter as loaned, and to be passed on in an endless chain.
If the worker chooses to consider what he gets as a gift, that is his
privilege. He may break the chain without reproach; in fact, breaking
the chain has been the cause of starting real libraries on a small
scale in many houses.
The Problem of Maintenance.
There are various important features to the maintenance problem. In
order that the supply may remain sufficient, as large a number as
possible of co-operators must be secured, and they must, naturally, be
required to do the least amount of work possible.
In Providence, where the work started, the work was, during this
first or starting period, placed in charge of a young man who devoted
considerable time to putting it on a systematic basis. He divided
the city into four districts, each district representing a telephone
exchange district. Routes for collection were made out, and volunteer
collectors assigned to the different routes. Notices of collections
were sent out, and schedules strictly adhered to. Co-operators were,
of course, allowed to keep their magazines in any place or in any
way that they chose, but were urged, when convenient, to place the
collecting home reading box in their respective front halls, near the
front entrance, where, on the day that the collector called, the box
could be emptied by him into the waiting automobile with least possible
delay to him and with the least inconvenience to the household. As
the list of subscribers, or co-operators, has grown, it has been a
simple matter to amplify the routes. The same methods of collection are
maintained.
In another plant, each member of the organization is responsible for
what he can collect, and brings it to the plant himself.
At a girls’ college, where there is a branch, the girls collect the
magazines in the dormitory, or ask their parents and friends to express
what they have finished with, and then box the supply at intervals and
express it on to the selected plants. We recommend this method because
it is so simple.
At the present time the home branch demands a very small amount of time
for operation. “Make it easy for every one,” might well be the motto
of the home reading box movement. The “out” basket and the inter-office
system furnish the solution for the office force. As for the worker
himself, the placing of the box where it will be most convenient for
him has already been emphasized. Choose a place where the worker can
pick the magazines up on his way out at noon or at night, with room
enough around the box to allow half a dozen people to stop, select, and
chat as they turn the magazines over. One must actually see the workers
reading the magazines noon times, instead of, as formerly, losing
consistently at poker to the foremen, in order to appreciate the full
benefits of the home reading box movement. It may seem surprising to
see the workman carrying home two to four dollars’ worth (in original
cost) of magazines each week--reading suited to every member of the
family. But there is really nothing strange about it. This is what he
would always have done had he had the chance.
A second factor in maintenance is keeping the reading matter up to
date. When the movement is first started, the workers will take
anything home, out of interest or curiosity. In districts where there
is little reading matter available outside, they may continue to take
home almost anything put into the box. But with continued reading
they become more discriminating. This is, of course, exactly what is
desired. Then the reading matter, to make the strongest appeal, must be
timely. A morning paper is exciting in the morning, quite readable at
noon, not impossible at night. Except as practice in reading, it has
little value the next morning. A May magazine issued in the middle of
April is current literature through May 31st. It becomes a last month’s
magazine on June 1st. Any one enjoys carrying the magazine of the month
about with him. It is a fact that most men, especially those who do
not have many magazines, feel a little peculiar when seen reading an
old magazine of current events in public. They have the consciousness
of conspicuousness that at least distracts the attention. No magazine
that has pictures or stories or articles on travel, or anything that
is interesting at any time, will go without a great circle of readers,
but current events must be current in order to hold the attention
thoroughly. The workers will be glad, in the average plant, to get
_anything_ to read, but, if you want to keep them excited, send the
magazine out the moment that you have finished with it at home, so
that it will be this month’s magazine. The strong preference for this
month’s magazine may not be founded upon wisdom, but it is very human.
How the Conditions Vary.
The home reading box will prove a success in any plant, no matter
how simple the installation and running plan are, but it can only
retain its best results when a careful consideration is given to the
conditions that affect the particular problem. The important feature
is, of course, the type of worker who is to receive the literature.
Where the group of workers consists of foreigners, many of whom read
no English, and speak it little, the picture magazines are the most
sought. Where you have a group of highly skilled mechanics, technical
magazines and trade catalogs are highly appreciated. There is such a
great difference in the workers of any one place, that the rule is to
give them anything and everything--from the _Outlook_ to the _Police
Gazette_, inclusive. If you give them enough to read, they will sooner
or later waste none of their time on anything but the best. The desire
for good reading is almost wholly a matter of education, and the best
way to become educated is to _read, read, read_. If you are at a
distance from civilization, old magazines will be almost as welcome as
new.
You must realize that the problem is different in different cases. What
some people need is general education. Of course, that is what we all
need, but the worker in particular. What others need is specialized
teaching. What still others need is relaxation. All need amusement and
entertainment. We want, of course, to supply what is interesting and
profitable, but the final test is giving the worker the thing that will
please him most, that he will delight to have, that he may increase
his vocabulary and learn to read quickly, for not till then will he
acquire the reading appetite and habit. Give the foreigner who reads
with difficulty the pictures with the simple captions that he can
“spell out.” Give the factory girl the woman’s magazine that will show
her how to trim her hats and fix her dress, and that may give her all
sorts of useful home ideas besides. Give the inventive mechanic the
technical and trade magazine that may supply the missing link in his
invention or suggestion. Give the socialistic worker the “Political
Economy Journal,” that will put his ideas in more logical shape.
Use discrimination in your distribution when you can, but, if you
cannot, put the box in anyway, fill it with reading matter, and _start
something to-day_.
The Home Reading Box and Fatigue.
Not only is the influence of the home reading box upon fatigue
important, but the amount of fatigue existing has a strong influence
upon the home reading box. The home reading box plays an important part
in recovery from fatigue. It is a help to the worker during the time
that he is not at work. It is the psychologist’s task to investigate
the relation of mental fatigue to bodily fatigue, and the proper amount
of mental stimulus to prescribe or allow during the periods when the
body is resting; but it is good practice, while waiting the results
of the psychologist’s investigation to be formulated into industrial
terms, to encourage the worker to read whatever he likes.
The By-products of the Home Reading Box Movement.
There are so many important results from the home reading box movement
that it is difficult to decide which are the products and which are the
by-products. Let us call the product the fatigue elimination for which
we planned, and that results when we establish the home reading box
movement. Along with this come the following:
1. The recognition of fatigue elimination as a vital part of
management. This is secured by numbering the box as a station, by
using the “out” baskets as routing channels, by having the messenger
carry the magazines to the box from the baskets as part of the daily
routine.
2. The education of the worker. Quite aside from the fact that
the reading matter interests, amuses, or rests him, the worker is
educated by his reading. It is this side of the movement that
has most interested sociologists and educators. The chief trouble
with the worker to-day is that he needs more and more education.
The average worker has two obstacles. In the first place, he has a
limited vocabulary that retards his speed in reading. In the second
place, he cannot read educational matter fast enough to hold his
attention. Through the reading matter put at his disposal, he does
learn more words,--both how to recognize them and how to use them. He
thus becomes better able to express himself, as well as a more rapid
reader. Of course this implies mental development. The worker who is
better educated to start with also acquires more vocabulary and more
speed. It may be a technical instead of a general vocabulary, but the
development is the same.
3. The stimulation of invention. This takes place through the ideas
obtained from the technical magazines and trade catalogs. We have
noted time and again men who have said, in effect,--“You know I got
this idea from an article I read from the box;” or, “You know I have
had this idea for a long time, but I could not see exactly how to
work it until I saw a picture in a magazine I got out of the Home
Reading Box;” or, again, “I saw a picture the other day that suggested
something that we could use on my machine. I am going to turn in the
suggestion to the Suggestion Box.” The suggestion box and its use are
to be described at length later.
4. The stimulus towards making suggestions for prizes. It is
noted here that the reading not only stimulates the worker making
suggestions, but gives him a chance to put his ideas into more
practical and working shape. Where the Suggestion Box has been
running some time before the Home Reading Box has been put in, we
note the sudden rise in the number of suggestions offered after the
installation of the Home Reading Box.
5. Co-operation with public and travelling libraries and other
educational institutions. A plant library is becoming a regular
institution. It is usually one of the first things introduced by the
welfare or betterment department. The problem is to make the workers
take out the books. In some plants the management also buys books and
starts a circulating library. In others, the public library sends
a loan collection that is changed as often as the plant desires.
Even in districts where there are no public libraries such books
are available, as most of the States have State loan collections of
this type. In a typical New England plant the librarian of the city
was more than willing to co-operate. He asked the plant to supply a
list of books which he should send. His letter was discussed in the
foremen’s meeting, and every member present helped by submitting
a list of books that he had read and enjoyed most in his life.
From these lists a list of fifty books was made up and sent to the
librarian, who pronounced it the best list that he had ever seen.
The books were promptly brought to the plant, and put in a convenient
place where every member of the organization could see the titles
and borrow them. The first book taken out by an Italian labourer was
Dante’s “Divine Comedy” in the original. But the library at the plant
is another story. The influence on the home reading box is to make
the library much more popular and to affect markedly the books in
greatest demand. There is a strong influence also seen upon the number
of workers who attend evening school at the general evening school or
some of the special evening schools in the vicinity.
6. The influence upon clubs and other organizations. The home reading
box furnishes also topics for discussion in all of the organization
of members of the plant. This influence can be noted in foremen’s
meetings, in organization meetings, and in any formal or informal
gathering of the organization. The influence is seen in the topics
discussed and in the form and style of the discussion. The worker
can speak with authority, if some magazine or catalog “backs up” his
ideas. He can bring new light on the problem, if he has seen several
views presented in the material he has read. He has a definite
suggestion, something to say when he is called upon, something to
volunteer if he is not called upon.
7. The spirit of co-operation. Most important of all the spirit of
co-operation is fostered, co-operation among the workers, co-operation
of worker and management, co-operation between all interested in the
movement as subscribers, as collectors, as readers, as “passers-on.”
As a positive force this spirit of co-operation is more valuable than
anything else.
[Illustration: FIG. 4
The Public Library Branch at the New England Butt Company, Providence,
R. I., for eliminating the necessity, and consequently the fatigue, of
journeying to a regular Public Library.]
How to Begin.
Begin by interesting the management force and insuring a supply of
reading matter. Then put up the box in the plant, and tell the men that
whatever goes in it is at their disposal. If you have the right ideas
back of it, the development is inevitable. Your motto must be “Keep
the box full.” The “how” will come to supply the need. The workers
will see to keeping the box empty, if you do your part properly. The
important thing is that the movement be started at once. It is not only
an important part in making more pleasant the time spent in recovering
from fatigue, but also an enormous help in fatigue elimination. It is
to this that we must next turn our attention.
Summary.
The Home Reading Box Movement is a method of putting reading matter
at the disposal of the worker. It collects this reading matter from
the homes of those interested and from the desks of members of the
organization who have finished with it, and places it in a box. The
workers take it from this box to read either during noon rests or
at home. The movement not only helps to overcome fatigue, but has
many valuable by-products, and is an important element in fatigue
elimination.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] The publishers are all in favor of the Home Reading Box Movement,
as it creates readers.
CHAPTER V
PRELIMINARY FATIGUE ELIMINATION: WHAT CAN BE DONE IMMEDIATELY, AT THE
VERY BEGINNING
The Lighting Problem.
It is not necessary to have a scientific knowledge of motion study,
physiology, and psychology, or even of hygiene, in order to make
preliminary, anti-fatigue improvements in working conditions of any
industrial organization that has not already had a regular fatigue
survey made. We might profitably begin with lighting, since no fatigue
is more wearing than eye fatigue. We attempt here only to ask a few
general questions about the light. “Is there enough light, so that
every one can see his own work perfectly?” “Is the light properly
distributed?” “Is glare prevented?” Etc. Nearly all factory managers
of to-day are careful to provide enough light for the worker. In
their desire to furnish light enough, many workers often have more
light than is really comfortable, and are forced to adjust their eyes
constantly in order to see distinctly. The lighting to be found in most
factories is not properly distributed, and seldom strikes the work at
the least fatiguing angle.
The greatest fatigue from lighting, however, lies in the question of
glare and reflection. One sees examples of this everywhere. It is
caused largely by a misplaced pride in equipment or machinery, and by
keeping everything in a high state of polish. One is often disturbed
and inconvenienced in even the best equipped public libraries by the
glare of the electric lights upon the shiny, varnished, or otherwise
highly polished surfaces of the desks. Oftentimes we see lights
carefully placed so that the individual gets light enough with his
light in the right location, while lights in the distance shine in his
eyes. Even when the lights are provided with adjustable shades, it is
almost impossible to place one’s book in such a position that reflected
light will not shine from the page to the eyes. The glare from
nickel-plated machinery, be it a large factory machine or a typewriter,
or any other kind of shop or office equipment, will cause fatigue, if
the eye is required to work constantly in the vicinity; but the source
of fatigue is not recognized. A dull black finished machine may not be
as beautiful either to manufacturer or purchaser as would be a shiny,
nickel-plated machine of the same design, but the main question is,
“How much comfort will the operator take while using the machine?” The
kind of finish of such machinery is usually affected greatly, if not
determined wholly, by the question of salesmanship. Good appearances
have always been a large element in making sales, and it is natural and
right that the manufacturer should like his product to be attractive
in appearance, and that the manager should take pride in the looks of
his factory or office. But our entire standard of what is desirable in
“good looks” in a work place has changed. We look now for efficiency
and fatigue elimination rather than for ornament and glaring polish. We
reduced fatigue, annoyance, and distraction on several pieces of work
by having our clients paint nickel and other bright parts with a coat
of dull black paint. For the best results to the eye, the same finish
as that on the inside of a camera is to be recommended.
We are coming to realize more and more that the great test of
everything is suitability, and that the mysterious and tangible thing
called “suitability” simply consists of the measure of predetermined
units of desired qualities. The operating room in the hospital is bare,
with plain walls and rounded corners, with the least opportunity for
dust lodgment, because that is most suitable to the type of work done
there. The modern business desk is flat topped, with no tiny drawers
or cubby-holes to collect papers and miscellaneous odds and ends,
because this type of desk conforms best with present day systems of
office management. In the same way all machinery and office equipment
should be without so-called ornament or polish, because in this way
the most work can be done with the least amount of fatigue. Our whole
idea of ornament is changing. Suitability here also is the standard,
and the artists have done noble work in setting an example to the
trades. “Suitability” must become a slogan for every department in the
organization.
[Illustration: FIG. 5
This photograph shows a typical “motion-studied” desk. This desk is
cross-sectioned, so that standards can be made as to the placing of
those things that are constantly required for work. The only drawer
containing any permanent materials is pulled out at the left. It
contains duplicate supplies of our standard forms, so arranged that a
man will not run out of supplies at his desk, as the holder in which
the reserve supply is placed is a notification to the desk supply
boy that supplies in addition to the weekly furnishings are wanted
immediately.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6
This picture shows a “one-motion” pencil rack. This is one of the many
little devices that we have used to cause every one throughout the
plant to think in terms of elementary and least fatiguing motions.
This pencil rack was devised little by little, suggestions coming from
different employees. For example, one suggestion was that the grooves
be painted different colours, representing the standardized places for
the different coloured pencils. Another suggestion was that a deep
horizontal groove be added, that the fingers might go around the pencil
at the exact place where used when in the position of writing. The
slant of the rack is that slant whereby the pencil will surely slide
down by gravity to the stop at the bottom of the pencil rack, but not
slide with force enough to break even the most delicate point.
Such a device alone saves very little time or fatigue, but it
represents one of many kinds of devices that make for habits that cause
less fatigue.]
The new doctrine will interest the selling department, who act as
intermediaries between the manufacturing department and the public
who is to buy the product. It will be a real part of the preliminary
work in adjusting such conditions as lighting to take the sales
department and purchasing department into conference on the subject.
Let all interested see that nothing comes into or goes out of the
plant until the question, “What is its relation to fatigue?” has been
considered. We forget sometimes that a thing may have value not only
because it has certain qualities that eliminate fatigue, but also
because it lacks certain qualities that would cause fatigue.
Go, then, through your own plant with the question of glare in your
mind. Examine and inspect every work place, and see what can be done.
Not only for reasons of glare, but for other reasons we recommend
that every work place should be inspected for unnecessary fatigue by
having a man, competent in fatigue study, actually sit and stand in
the working position in each and every work place in the establishment
once every three months during the installation period, and not
seldomer than once per year thereafter. Sometimes it will be found
that moving the nearest light or shading a distant light will be all
that is necessary. Sometimes a coating of dull black paint on some
of the working equipment is required; sometimes the substitution of
a dull-finished for a glossy paper. Sometimes dull-coloured blotting
paper can be laid upon the place where the reflected glare comes.
Perhaps a dull finish upon that would not only save the time of your
workers, but also those who are to use the product after it leaves
your hands. The world worked a great many years under the motto, “Give
the public what it wants.” We are beginning to realize to-day that the
public will want just exactly what it is educated to want; also that
the public is easily educated if the arguments that are used are based
upon measurement, and are presented in attractive form. The lighting
problem is but a small element of the problem of eye fatigue. This
will, however, be left for later consideration.
The Heating, Cooling, and Ventilating Problem.
This problem has to do with different aspects of seeing that the worker
is provided with proper air. We are beginning to realize that the air
problem is much more complicated than was formerly thought. Recent
investigations have gone to prove that the temperature of the air is
fully as important as the supply of air, and that humidity is another
important element. In this day no one can feel satisfied with his
solution of the air problem who has not submitted it to an expert, and
installed the results of his measured investigation. In the meantime,
safety lies on the side of providing more fresh air than is necessary.
If there is plenty of fresh air, unless the work itself demands
peculiar temperature or humidity conditions, the worker is fairly safe.
The rest periods that are being installed will do much to solve the air
problem, as they furnish an admirable opportunity for giving the work
places a thorough ventilation, if not a complete “airing out.” This is
not in the least to underestimate the importance of proper temperature
and of proper humidity, as will be noted later. All measured records
of outputs should include records of the temperature and the humidity.
The accumulation of this data is daily bringing nearer the time when
standards covering these will be available. In the meantime, give the
worker plenty of fresh air _all the time_.
Fire Protection.
The average manager to-day realizes fully the necessity for fire
protection. It is not, perhaps, so fully realized that the mere
knowledge that there is adequate fire protection has a considerable
effect upon the mental comfort of many of the workers. Nothing is
more fatiguing than worry. When each worker in the establishment
knows that in case of a fire he can leave the building with speed and
perfect safety, he has absolutely no worry or distraction from the fire
standpoint.
Fire protection should include not only seeing that the building and
all it contains are made as fire-proof as possible, and installing all
possible devices for putting out a fire should one start, but also the
fire drill. Here the motto of the Boy Scouts is useful, “Be prepared.”
There is nothing so satisfactory as preparedness. The fire drill is
not only a means of handling the organization during a fire, but it is
also a splendid preparation for meeting an emergency. The great problem
that arises in any unexpected situation is the problem of making a
decision. If one can acquire the habit of making a decision quickly,
and can also make habitual certain decisions in certain situations,
the resulting speed and fatigue elimination is remarkable. Make the
response to the fire situation, then, standard. You will be benefiting
your workers not only by teaching them how to act in any fire anywhere,
but also by teaching them how to respond to a signal in a standard way.
These various sets of habits in response to various stimuli should be
formed in the first years of the school life, if not before. They are
being formed at this time to-day to a greater extent than ever before,
but unfortunately the majority of adult workers in the industries have
never had such training as children. It, therefore, becomes the duty of
the management to form such habits as rapidly as possible.
Safety Protection.
Safety protection in its broadest sense covers not only protection from
grave dangers, but from anything that might have a harmful effect upon
the worker’s body or mind. The standard to be set is that everything
should be safe not only when the work is done by experienced adult
workers, but even should it be done by inexperienced, immature or tired
workers. We know how many accidents happen to the inexperienced worker,
that would never happen to the experienced worker. We all know how many
children are hurt, where an older person would see and avoid danger;
and we note every day, more and more clearly, that the exhausted worker
is to an enormous extent more susceptible to accidents than is the
rested worker. It is usually the tired motorman who has the collision.
The tired locomotive engineer passes the stop signal. The exhausted
motorist is in the accident. The tired operator gets his fingers caught
in the machine. The overtired sickroom attendant gives the wrong
medicine.
One side of the fatigue elimination question is that fatigue
elimination cuts down accidents. The other side is that cutting out
the chance of accidents eliminates fatigue. Here again the question of
worry is an important element. If one knows that the working conditions
are absolutely safe, he can concentrate his attention upon the work in
hand.
It is coming to be understood not only that it is mandatory that
working conditions be made healthful, but also that it is perfectly
possible, and, in most cases, easy to make such conditions healthful.
Look over your conditions, then. Put the proper safety devices on the
machine, the tools, etc. Install the vacuum cleaners that will collect
the dust and lint. Put the goggles or nostril-guard, or other device,
on the worker, that will insure to him clean air and decent working
conditions. Make a scientific attack upon the problem later, but put in
a safety device now, even if you have to change some of it next week.
You will gain the immediate return that will make the investigation
pay from every standpoint in the changed attitude of your workers, if
in nothing else. The Museum of Safety Devices, with its energetic and
enthusiastic secretary, will show you what has been done and what can
be done in the line of safety. “Safety First” has become the slogan of
the day. If we make it “Safety First, beginning now,” we shall have
full working directions.
The Work Place.
The working conditions that we have so far discussed have more or
less effect upon all of the workers in a group. We come next to the
inspection of the work place of each individual worker. The first
consideration here is that he have room enough in which to work.
There is an enormous amount of fatigue involved in doing work in an
overcrowded work place, yet few workers or managers realize this.
Again, habit is involved here, and the habit of order demands that the
work place be kept in an orderly condition. Any one who has walked
through factories, shops, or any places where work is going on must
have noted the tired appearance of the workers among what is called
“clutter.” The girl selling ribbon, who walks up and down behind the
counter through an accumulation of paper, cardboard cores, and other
odds and ends, has not only the bodily fatigue of pushing the clutter
ahead, or kicking it aside, but also the mental fatigue that comes
from adjusting herself constantly to such conditions. The folder of
cloth, who has barely enough room to move her hands because of the
supply of finished and unfinished materials, is fatigued from the
clumsy position, even though she and no one else realizes this. The
office worker, whose finished and unfinished papers are heaped in
confusion before him, expends not only useless motions in getting at
and disposing of what he wishes to handle, but also mental energy,
in constantly adjusting and readjusting himself to the work. There
has been a popular idea that it “looked busy” to have plenty of work
around, that to see work to be done would impress both managers
and workers with the need for applying themselves to the work more
constantly and with considerably more speed. This may be true if the
work is arranged in an orderly fashion, but disorderly work is far more
likely to discourage than to stimulate the worker. As for completed
work, there is no excuse for leaving large quantities of it at the work
place one moment longer than is absolutely necessary. Any encouragement
that it might give the worker could better be given by a record of what
he has done.
The Work-bench or Table.
Few work-benches or tables should be considered as absolutely
satisfactory that do not permit the worker to do his work standing or
sitting. Our ideas as to proper work-benches or tables, and as to the
proper placing, height, etc., of machinery and tools have too often
been prescribed to us by the manufacturers of the articles, who have
thought more of what was convenient to manufacture than of what was
least fatiguing to use. Such manufacturers are not to be blamed in
the least for their attitude. They, naturally, have been guided by
what would sell best. They have, as a rule, shown themselves more than
willing to supply any legitimate demand. The user must demand what will
be best for his work. It is no slight, short-time job to determine the
proper height, positioning, and layout of a work-bench, using this
term in a general sense to cover the place of any kind of work upon
which the worker is engaged. As preliminary work, we may, usually,
then, boost everything that can be so lifted to such a height that the
worker, at his option, may stand or sit. If it becomes a case of
single choice, that is, his either standing or sitting, arrange the
work so that he does it sitting, and does the necessary standing or
moving about during his rest periods.
[Illustration: FIG. 7
This picture shows the “Gilbreth” table laid down in its lower
position. This table is particularly adapted for a work-bench or table
where it is desired to have two different heights for different kinds
of work. The table and its load can be picked up with a booster truck
in either this position or the higher position simply by operating the
lever of the booster truck and without touching the table at all.]
[Illustration: FIG. 8
This picture shows the “Gilbreth” table standing in its higher
position.]
[Illustration: FIG. 9
This is a sample of photographs that are taken to impress upon the
foreman the reasons why certain methods are wrong. For example, this
picture shows two “Gilbreth” tables resting on their long side at
their low height, so fixed that they can be picked up by “booster”
trucks. The in-and-out bins are not the same size. The outward one is
considerably too high to be convenient for the worker, and the worker
is provided with a box instead of a comfortable stool.]
The change in industrial conditions has made this problem important.
The question once was, “_Can_ we make it of a quality that will pass?”
Since the day of intensive outputs, the question has become, “_How
many_ can we make of a given quality?” In the first case, any kind of
work-bench was good enough,--the worry being limited to the question of
“_Can_ we make it?” Now it is no trouble to make almost anything; but
the worry is “Can we make enough so that the cost will enable us to pay
the required wages and still compete, or must we give up manufacturing
in this location?” This makes us think of the least fatiguing
conditions and of making work-benches of two levels, etc.
The Chair or Other Fatigue-Eliminating Device.
Closely related with the work place is the work chair. It is distinct
from the rest chair in that it is specially devised to be used during
work periods. The ideal work chair is of such a height that the
worker’s elbows will bear the same relation to the work place when he
is sitting as they would if the work place were properly adjusted for
him to do standing work. Types of chairs that have been designed and
that are proving effective in eliminating fatigue while at work will
be described more at length in the next chapter. The important point
to be considered here is to adjust the work to the worker if possible.
Where this is not possible, immediately, adjust the worker as best
you can to the work. Make the relation of his elbows to the work the
deciding point. If at present the work must be done standing, and the
worker is too small, and it is easier to raise the worker than lower
the work-bench or table, provide some sort of a stand or platform that
will put him at the proper level. If he is large, raise the work-bench
by lengthening the legs, or adding a false top, or, in some rare cases,
by lowering the standing place. If the work is seated work, adjusting
the chair will probably be the simplest change to make. Arm rests often
afford an immediate and immense relief, but must fit the particular
arm and be adjustable for best results. A head-rest may also be a
valuable first aid, though often a later improvement in working methods
will eliminate so much eye and head fatigue that the head-rest will not
be needed. In other types of work, the foot-rest will often do the most
immediate good. If every manager were made to sit for a certain number
of hours to-day with his feet hanging, there would be an enormous
increase in the number of foot rests in our industrial plants to-morrow
morning.
[Illustration: FIG. 10
Very few people realize that the working girl should be measured for
her working chair in which she spends one-half of the time that she
is awake during her entire working life. For this purpose we have had
testing chairs of varying heights made for the girls to sit in, and
then have made a chair for each girl, particularly adapted to her and
her work. The correct height of chair is determined much quicker and
fits much more accurately than does an adjustable chair.]
[Illustration: FIG. 11
This picture shows a worker seated at standing height operating a drill
press. The pieces arrive in his inward box by means of a small belt
conveyor that transports finished pieces from the machine that performs
the previous operation.]
Placing the Material Worked On.
In cases where it is difficult to readjust the work place, much fatigue
may often be eliminated by placing the work in a better position. In
fact this aspect of the problem should always be considered along
with the readjustment of the work itself. For example, in folding
handkerchiefs, a folder may be seated at a table, folding directly on
the table. The table may be too low for the work. If she is given a
board upon which to fold, this may not only put her work itself at the
proper height, but it is also possible, with trifling added expense, to
provide her with a table in two adjoining sections at two different
heights, and a sloping board that will make the work less fatiguing, as
she can maintain a much better posture. She will also be enabled to put
the finished product at a lower level. This will increase speed, while
at the same time eliminating fatigue, which is, of course, an ideal
condition.
In considering the placing of materials, we must consider also the
manner in which the materials come to the worker and in which they
leave him. Our later method study will make so many changes here that
only very apparent, necessary, and inexpensive improvements should
be made at this stage. Be sure, however, that you are using gravity
wherever it can be used to advantage. Often we have found a small belt
conveyor to be helpful in cutting down the hand transportation.
The Placing of Tools and Devices.
Gravity and mechanical means can be of use here, especially in carrying
working equipment back to the place where it remains when not in use.
Many preliminary improvements can also be made by standardizing the
place where the tool is to be left when not in use. There is not only
the bodily fatigue of bringing the tool from a more distant place than
is necessary, there is also the unconscious fatigue of constantly
deciding such unimportant questions as where it is to be placed.
The Clothing of the Worker.
In an excellent series of articles on dress, published some years
ago, Miss Tarbell laid down the rule that “suitability” is the final
test of a costume. It is with this in mind that the clothing worn by
the members of the organization while at work should be examined. It
must be said, in the first place, that there is no more reason for
the common custom of the worker providing his special outer clothing
while at work than there is for his providing his other tools and
equipment. In other times, the workmen of many trades preferred to
provide their own tools, and did so, but in a scientifically managed
plant to-day, the workers are provided by the management with standard
tools. The management has standardized the best in a tool, and keeps
it in the best possible working condition. In the same way, it should
be the duty of the management to provide special working clothes, when
they have been standardized. This involves, of course, the problem of
laundering, which may seem complicated to one who is not acquainted
with what has been done in this field.
There has been very little done in most kinds of work to provide a
costume, designed to conform to motion economy and least fatigue, that
is, at the same time, useful, artistic, and pleasing. Progress has been
rendered even slower by the fact that many workers have a prejudice
against such garments, feeling that they show a class distinction. All
that is necessary is to create a fashion of wearing such garments,
like the fashion of wearing atelier or studio clothes. In no place can
an example of unsuitable clothing be more clearly seen than in the
laundry industry. Much of the work done in the typical laundry is done
while standing, and the women who form a majority of the workers wear
clothes, and particularly shoes that make the work far more fatiguing
than it need be. Yet in this very industry some of the most progressive
work to improve conditions is being done. In Europe a shoe with a
thick wooden sole and a heavy leather upper over the front part of the
foot only is considered the most comfortable and least fatiguing. It
is also certainly the cheapest and most durable. But Americans will
not wear such a shoe. The shoe furnishes the most difficult feature of
the costume problem. Here again the most important thing is that the
“fashion” of wearing comfortable and efficient garments shall be set.
We have hoped for years that sensible fashions in workers’ clothes
might be set by patterning after tennis or other athletic costumes, but
the time when this will become general seems as yet far distant, due to
the necessity of the worker using his oldest and discarded “dress up”
clothes, ultimately for his working clothes. Nevertheless, the great
loss in efficiency, due to the general custom of wearing clothes that
interfere with comfortable work, and that cause unnecessary fatigue,
has caused us to start a campaign for the design and standardization
of more suitable clothes. As yet we have had but few designs submitted
in answer to our appeal to the worker to study the clothes problem for
himself or herself. We are making the same appeal to the management to
suggest costumes for the approval of the worker.
In order that there may be no duplication, that we may pass
on good ideas, we have started a little museum where typical
fatigue-eliminating devices of all sorts may be gathered, and studied
by any one interested. We must next describe in some detail what is and
what is not as yet there, in order to offer definite suggestions for
preliminary fatigue-eliminating designs that can be used from the first
day of making changes.
Summary.
Preliminary fatigue elimination consists of improving lighting,
heating, ventilation, fire and safety protection. It also consists
of improving work places and work tables, of providing and improving
chairs, and rearranging materials and tools, and studying the clothing
of the worker. It aims to make immediate inexpensive changes before
entering into an intensive study of the problem.
CHAPTER VI
THE FATIGUE MUSEUM: AN OBJECT LESSON
What a Fatigue Museum Is.
A fatigue museum is a collection of devices for and information
concerning the elimination of fatigue, or for affording rest for
overcoming fatigue. Its purpose is to serve as an object lesson as
to how the fatigue problem may be approached practically. It aims
primarily not to show beautiful exhibits, but to show devices which
have actually done service. Many of these bear the marks of clumsy
workmanship and hurried and cheap construction. This is an advantage
rather than a disadvantage. It shows that fatigue elimination does not
demand a large expenditure of money, nor depend upon having at the beck
and call highly skilled mechanics to make the devices. Some of the
exhibits have the excellent finish and the careful workmanship of the
perfect product; but no chair or piece of equipment, photograph, or
drawing is too rough or too unfinished to find a place in the museum,
if it contains an idea that actually may be utilized to eliminate or
overcome fatigue.
The Parent Fatigue Museum.
The parent fatigue museum is in Providence, Rhode Island, and was
started by us some years ago with five devices,--three chairs and two
devices for conveying material. It has grown very slowly, and even now
comprises but a dozen devices and a few score of photographs. It is
open every day of the year, free for inspection by visitors. Most of
the devices submitted and exhibited have not been patented. The Fatigue
Museum patents no devices, has no commercial interest at all in the
devices exhibited, but it accepts fatigue eliminating exhibits of any
kind from inventors or managers, and posts, along with the exhibit and
the description of its special features, the name of the inventor and
his address; this, that any one interested may get in touch with the
maker of any devices already in existence. Realizing that few find it
possible to visit the museum, we have taken photographs of the various
exhibits, and are glad to send these with descriptions to any who are
interested, and who write to ask for them.
We find that the interest in the museum grows. Branch museums are
springing up in different parts of the country. Every man at the second
session of our Summer School of Measured Functional Management, which
consisted of professors of psychology, engineering, and economics,
volunteered to open a branch at his college. We are glad to have others
who are interested, no matter what their field of activity, start
branches also. All that is necessary to open a branch is to collect
photographs, drawings, or actual examples of fatigue eliminating
devices. Some of the college fatigue museums have consisted, until
now, simply of such collections, though one college in particular
has appropriated one hundred dollars, and is providing space for the
exhibition of working models.
The parent museum is called Museum of Devices for Eliminating
Unnecessary Fatigue, Number One, and the branch museums are numbered
chronologically. There is no reason why such museums should not be
started in every factory, as well as in every college, and we are
delighted to co-operate with any one who desires to start such a museum.
What the Fatigue Museum Contains.
The fatigue museum contains, at the present time, types of chairs,
types of devices which hold working material in a convenient position,
several assembly devices, several transportation devices, a work apron,
and various drawings and photographs. It emphasizes, particularly, the
chairs, as we feel that these are needed immediately and pressingly in
all industries. A detailed description of the chairs will, perhaps,
prove of most interest.
What the Museum Does Not Contain.
The museum contains, as yet, few exhibits, though we are expecting more
in the near future. We are constantly impressed with the fact that it
contains so few exhibits; this, in spite of the fact that we have sent
out appeals since 1913, that have reached large numbers of people.
A short time ago we realized that the average manufacturer had never
thought of his work in terms of fatigue. We could, therefore, expect
no fatigue eliminating devices, as he either had none to offer, or as
he did not realize what he had. Again and again, a manager will say,
in effect, “I am much interested in your museum, and should like to
send you something, but we have never given much thought to the subject
of fatigue elimination, and therefore, unfortunately, we have nothing
that we can send.” In many such cases, if we go through the plant, or
the factory, or the store, we find fatigue eliminating devices, and
immediately say, “There, that is just what we want.” Whereupon the
manager replies, “Oh, that. Sure enough it does eliminate fatigue. I
had never thought of it in that light. We have always had that.” Within
the next few days we add a specimen to our collection.
We have, perhaps, not sufficiently emphasized the fact that eliminating
fatigue means not only that we know the things that we lack, but also
that we appreciate and fully utilize the things that we have. It is
good practice to use what is on hand before laying in new devices.
There is waiting space, then, in the museum for any sort of device,
old or new, well-known or not known at all, that does, or will, or may
eliminate or overcome fatigue. There is an especially warm welcome
awaiting any such type of stool or chair. The older and more worn it is
the better, if it is still in working condition. There is a chance to
be a pioneer by exhibiting clothing that is artistic, inexpensive, and
appropriate for doing any type of work with less fatigue.
Types of Chairs and Their Uses.
We are fortunate in that, of the nine chairs exhibited, each represents
quite a different type. This illustrates the large field for chairs.
Chair No. 1 is designed for work to be done standing or sitting. This
is the ideal fatigue eliminating chair, as it allows of the most
scientific distribution of work and rest periods, and for the greatest
variation in working periods. The work for which this chair was devised
was the folding of handkerchiefs, work that had always been done
sitting. This chair is the result of accurate measurement, and is of
exactly that height that will permit the girl’s elbows to be at
the same distance from the work table when she is seated as when she is
standing. The back of the chair, like the backs of all chairs designed
for eliminating fatigue while working, is designed for work and not for
rest. The chair is provided with dome casters, which allow of its being
pushed away, or drawn back into position with the least amount of time
and effort possible. The worker on this chair has a foot-rest which is
a part of the working table.
[Illustration: FIG. 12
This chair is of type one, devised for doing work that has always
been considered sitting work, either standing or sitting. In this
case an ordinary chair has been boosted so that a worker can sit at a
work-bench made exactly the right height for standing work. The chair
is provided with ball-bearing casters, so that it can be pushed out
of the way or pulled into position with little effort. This device
helped make it possible to divide each hour into work periods and rest
periods; and at the same time into standing and sitting periods,--thus
not only eliminating unnecessary fatigue, but providing an efficient
means for recovery from necessary fatigue.]
[Illustration: FIG. 13
This chair is of type two, devised for doing work that has always been
considered standing work, either standing or sitting. By its use,
heavy filing can be done with greater ease and with the same speed and
efficiency. The chair is inexpensive and easy to construct, and is of
such a height as best suits the individual worker.]
[Illustration: FIG. 14
Another view of the chair as shown in Fig. 13. The projecting foot-rest
on this chair enables a man to push the file as efficiently and more
comfortably seated than standing.]
Chair No. 2 is devised in order that a kind of work which has always
been done standing may be done sitting. The work is heavy filing done
at a vise, and the chair is provided with a projecting foot-rest. The
work-bench is of such a height that the man may work either standing or
sitting. In actual practice the filer works half of the time sitting,
and half of the time standing.
Chair No. 3 is designed to eliminate vibration of floors that carry
much high-speed machinery. An ordinary chair is provided with springs,
that relieve the operator of one hundred per cent. of the vibration
of the floor. This chair was designed for work at a machine, and the
operator is provided with a foot-rest, which rests on felt to kill
the vibration. Note also the verandas on two sides of the chair for
foot-rests.
The fourth type of chair is also a shock absorbing chair, which is more
complicated in its construction.
The fifth type of chair is designed for school work, and has a rest for
the right arm that may be lowered or put in place.
The sixth type of chair is a modification of a chair already in use.
A chair which was once, perhaps, fairly comfortable has become worn
off from years of use. This is rectified by boring holes in four small
blocks of wood, and fitting them to the legs of the chair, which brings
the chair back to its originally desired height. A well-known Middle
West manufacturer used iron piping for the same purpose as the four
blocks of wood. This is, in some cases, easier to secure, although not
so good for the shop flooring.
A seventh type of chair is an adjustable, telescopic stool, which the
inventor claims is adaptable to both factory and office work. This is
admirable in that it allows of the chair being adapted to some degree
to its user at the expenditure of little time or money.
[Illustration: FIG. 15
A worker using the filer’s chair, shown in figures 13 and 14.]
[Illustration: FIG. 16
This chair is of type three, designed to eliminate fatigue from
surrounding conditions. An ordinary chair, which was fairly useful and
comfortable, was provided with springs that relieved the operator of
100 per cent. of the vibration of the floor. It is to be noted that the
device attached to the chair is extremely simple and inexpensive, while
at the same time it solves a problem that has always been rated as most
difficult.]
The eighth type of chair is devised for rest periods. We have two
examples of this. One is a small folding stool contributed by a local
drygoods merchant, much interested in fatigue elimination, who, as a
result of our fatigue eliminating campaign, has installed many of these
stools in his large store. The other is a more complicated chair with
adjustable seat and back. This is designed not only for causing least
possible fatigue, but also in the interests of correct posture of the
user.
Four of the chairs show particularly what can be done with little
expenditure of time or money. Only the filing chair is a “new” chair,
in the sense of the entire chair having been made especially with the
idea of fatigue elimination. The other three chairs consist of chairs
already in use, supplied with cheap adjustments, made of material
already at hand. These may impress the reader as extremely inartistic.
This they undoubtedly are, but these are chairs of the transitional
period, made to better working conditions immediately, and to be
used until standard methods are introduced, and new standard fatigue
eliminating devices substituted. It must also be noted that three out
of the four chairs are provided with what are practically footstools,
although only one is shown in the picture, as only one is attached to
the chair itself. The fourth chair allows of the feet being placed
comfortably on the floor.
Other Fatigue Eliminating Devices.
The other fatigue eliminating devices exhibited are useful more as
suggestions than as object lessons. There are various types of packets
upon which materials are so placed as to be most handy to the worker.
These packets are filled by unskilled, that is to say, young, or
inexperienced, learning or unskilled workers in such a way that the
material can be removed from the packet by the high-priced man with
the least amount of effort possible. Filling the assembly packet is an
excellent training to the unskilled worker, as will be shown later. One
of these packets is contributed by a local manufacturer of cotton cloth.
The other devices for holding materials in position consist of two
devices for holding motion picture films in position so that they may
be studied with the least amount of effort possible.
[Illustration: FIG. 17
These chairs are of type four, devised to relieve fatigue caused by
vibration. Besides the chairs, foot-rests were devised to hold the feet
without any vibration from the floor; and, also, special treadles.]
[Illustration: FIG. 18
This chair is of type six, which modifies a device already in use, so
that it will become a more efficient device for eliminating fatigue.
The chair shown was, ordinarily, fairly comfortable, but the legs had
become worn with time. It has, as shown, been raised to that height
which is most comfortable for the worker. The work-bench, in this case,
could not be raised so that the work could be done either standing or
sitting. The problem was to have the sitting work done with the least
unnecessary fatigue possible.]
The transportation devices illustrate the principle of gravity,
and also the principle of constant and careful adjustment of the
transportation to the worker.
How to Use the Devices.
The devices of the fatigue museum are useful rather as suggesting
devices than as object lessons. If your problem is to enable seated
work to be done standing, raise your work-bench to the standing level,
and put your work chair on stilts with casters, provided the work is
not of a kind that requires a chair against which one can push. If
your problem is to enable work that has been done standing to be done
sitting, construct a chair that will bring the worker to the desired
height. If your problem is to reduce vibration, put springs under the
four legs of your chair. If your problem is simply to make sitting work
more comfortable, be sure that the chair is of the proper height; that
the seat slopes right and has a rounded front edge; and that, if it
has a back, it is one that does not interfere with work. If the chair
is too high, saw off the legs; if too low, add wooden blocks. Chairs
of this type, as actually used by the workers, will usually offer
suggestions as to what needs to be done.
In many factories one is astounded to find books, cardboard, cloth,
blocks of wood, almost anything heaped in the seat of a chair to make
the chair higher. Wherever workers are seated at a work-bench that is
not adjustable, look for trouble with the chairs; that is, a tall girl
crouching in a kindergarten chair fit only for a child or a dwarf, a
short girl balanced on a high stool at a high table, without a proper
place to rest the feet. No matter what the height of the table or the
chairs, if many workers are seated at the same table, and the chairs
are not adjustable, there is field for study. If workers vary much as
to height, they should be sorted for height, and sent to tables with
adjustable height legs; or, if workers cannot be sorted, the short
ones should be provided with platforms to bring their elbows to the
right height to fit the table, which should be adjusted to fit the tall
workers. If your problem is to make standing work more comfortable, and
a chair seems impracticable with the methods used, perhaps a chair or
some kind of seat could be provided for rest periods.
Starting Your Own Fatigue Museum.
We advise every employer to set aside a small space and assemble at
least one example of each type of fatigue eliminating device actually
in use, or that may suggest a device to be used. In the absence of a
regular motion study man assigned for the purpose, the ideal state of
affairs would be to have every member of the management walk through
the factory once and look at present fatigue conditions in order to see
what improvements could be made. This, however, is almost too Utopian
to hope for.
It is the exception where the worker in any large plant knows
intimately any part of the plant except the few little work places
where he has toiled. A girl who had worked for years in a cotton mill,
and who finally went into household work, begged to be taken on a visit
of inspection to the factory. “But,” said the woman who was to make
the inspection, “I thought you worked there. Surely, you must know
about the factory.” “No, indeed,” said the girl, “I never went anywhere
except to get into the room where the machine was that I tended.”
Even in one excellently managed plant where welfare, or betterment,
is a prime consideration, a girl in the office department had never
once been out into the plant itself. There is an enormous amount of
educational work, that is also fatigue eliminating work, to be done
in putting each member of the organization in touch with the entire
working plant. There is not time or space, however, for an extended
discussion of this problem here.
Therefore, until the workers can be taken to see the fatigue
eliminating devices in actual operation, collect such devices, or
photographs of them, and put them all in one place. Start a little
fatigue museum of your own, even if it is limited to a properly
labelled scrap-book of pictures always ready for inspection, and
observe the effect upon management, workers, and invention in general.
This effect will be reflected in the suggestion box, which in itself
provides a unit of measurement of the progress of the fatigue
eliminating campaign. When fatigue elimination has progressed to
this stage, when actual devices are being installed, when the entire
organization has come, as it will, to think in terms of fatigue
elimination, the problem may be attacked scientifically. This, the
scientific elimination of unnecessary fatigue, is the subject for
discussion in the next chapters.
Summary.
A fatigue museum is a collection of devices for eliminating or
overcoming fatigue. The parent museum in Providence aims to exhibit
such devices as object lessons, and to encourage the spread of
fatigue study by sending photographs with descriptions to all who are
interested enough to start museums or even a scrap-book for pictures of
devices for the elimination of unnecessary fatigue in the industries.
Our fatigue museum specializes on chairs, but welcomes devices of any
kind. It advocates the establishment of similar museums in colleges, or
other institutions, and also in industrial plants and work places of
all kinds.
CHAPTER VII
FATIGUE MEASUREMENT AND FATIGUE ELIMINATION: HOW TO ATTACK THE PROBLEM
SCIENTIFICALLY
History of Fatigue Measurement.
Accurate fatigue measurement is in its infancy as applied to the
industries. Such measurement can take place only where there is
complete co-operation between the man measured and the man making
the measurements. With the co-operation, that is the natural result
of measured functional management, comes the possibility of making
accurate measurements of fatigue under either laboratory or shop
conditions. It is as easy to pretend to be tired as to pretend to be
working. There is little or no profit in measuring pretended states.
Under the scientific form of management there is no incentive to
pretend anything. The incentive is, rather, to show exactly what one
is doing and how one feels, in order that accurate records may be
made, and that the offered rewards may be received. We have, then,
at this stage, where every member of the organization realizes that
co-operation is necessary for the good of all, the opportunity to
measure fatigue with considerable accuracy.
We have also the means. The psychologists and physiologists who
have measured fatigue rely almost solely upon output as the unit of
measurement. Decrease in output in a comparable unit of time, and all
other working conditions remaining the same, is taken as indicative
of being the result of fatigue. The observed man who is measured may
add introspections, he may tell how he feels while working and at
the close of work; but this testimony of his, while interesting and
worthy to be recorded with the other data, cannot be submitted to the
accurate measurement of the observer. In applying fatigue measurement
to the industries in the same way that we measure activity and what
it produces, we try to discover at the same time the condition of
the worker by his own accounts as to how he feels. We have not only
conditions under which scientific observations can be made and a
method of making them, we have also devices for measuring both
activity and output and relative rate of output.
Fatigue, a Test of Efficient Activity.
As for the relation between fatigue and activity, practically all of
our knowledge of fatigue is derived from our knowledge of the activity
that produces it. We measure the activity itself, and its product. We
then measure the interval of time that elapses before the organism has
gained enough activity to perform the same work in the same amount of
time and with the same results. A study such as this cannot extend over
a short space of time only. It must be carried on until any fatigue
that is accumulated shows itself; but it is simply a question of
extending the time over which the experiment stretches, and of varying
the length of rest periods until the desired information is recorded
in the data. As we come to compare various activities and their
results, we find that the fatigue is a measurement of the efficiency
of the activity. If two methods of doing the same piece of work take
the same amount of time and produce the same amount of output, and
if the interval needed to recover from the second is longer than that
needed to recover from the first, then, other conditions being equal,
the first method is the more efficient. A close study of the variables
that affect the two methods will be necessary to show exactly why the
first method is more efficient than the second, but the excess fatigue
certainly shows that it is more efficient.
Fatigue can, then, be looked at in two ways:
1. As a product of doing work.
2. As a test of efficiency in doing work.
The amount of work done and the product are affected by various
elements which affect the activity.
The Activity.
The activity is affected by the amount of practice that one has had.
It is affected by the extent to which the action has become a habit.
It is affected by the degree with which one has got into the swing of
the work. This may be an individual difference. Some workers find it
possible to start at work at very much the pace that they will use when
they are well into it. A large number of our records shows that most
workers never get into the swing at the beginning of a work period. Not
only the hour of the workday, but the time in the work period will have
a strong effect upon the amount of work turned out. Again we have the
question of spurt, when for some reason or other the activity is being
performed at a pace that is above the normal pace. The effect of all
these elements of the activity upon the fatigue itself depends upon the
relation between mental fatigue and bodily fatigue. This relationship
must be worked out by psychologists and physiologists. It is for the
observer who measures fatigue in the industries to attempt to discover,
as far as he can, what fatigue exists, and why it exists, and then to
make both physical and mental conditions under which the activity is
carried on as favorable to efficient activity as possible.
Motion Study, Micromotion Study, the Cyclegraph, and the
Chronocyclegraph Method as Measurers of Activity.
We measure activity in two ways:
1. By motion study, which records in great detail the methods used in
doing the work.
2. By records of outputs when using the various methods.
[Illustration: FIG. 19
This picture shows the examination of the original micromotion films at
the motion study laboratory of the New England Butt Company.]
[Illustration: FIG. 19]
Motion study consists of dividing the activity into the smallest units
possible, measuring the variables of these units, studying the data,
and deducing methods by which the activity may express itself more
efficiently. Motion study, whatever its type, implies time study, in
that the time the motion occupies is one test of the efficiency of the
motion.
Micromotion study is the name we have given to our method of recording
motions and their surrounding conditions by means of a cinematograph
and one of our special clocks which registers extremely small intervals
of time, smaller than the elapsed time between any two pictures of the
cinematograph film. The micromotion method enables us to record easily
motions down to less than a ten-thousandth of a minute. This gives us
all the information we could desire for purposes of time study, and the
record is absolutely free from the errors in time due to the personal
element. Although many of the various elements, or units, that comprise
the path of a complete motion, or cycle of activity, appear on
different pictures in the film, it is difficult to visualize or measure
the orbit or exact path of the motions by means of the film.
The cyclegraph method permits us to record, measure, and see this orbit
or exact path of a motion or cycle of motions. Small electric lights
are attached to the hands, or any other members of the body involved
in the motion. A photographic plate or film is then exposed while the
motion is made, with the result that a path of light, which resembles
a white wire, is seen upon the developed plate, representing the path
of the motion. The effect is best gained by a stereoscopic photograph,
which shows this path in three dimensions.
The chronocyclegraph method enables us not only to see the path of
the motion, but also its directions, and the duration of the entire
motion and of its elements. These chronocyclegraphs are made by
attaching lights to the moving parts of the body, or machine, as
in the cyclegraph, and by introducing a properly timed, pulsating
interrupter in the circuit, which may be adjusted not only to record
the time and duration, but also to record these with different graphs,
representing the paths of each of several motions made by various
parts of the body and their exact distances, exact times, relative
times, exact speeds, relative speeds, and directions.
[Illustration: FIG. 20
This picture shows a lamp attached to the hand for the purpose of
taking cyclegraphs or chronocyclegraphs of motions in connection with
obtaining motions of least fatigue.]
[Illustration: FIG. 21
This picture shows an experiment that was carried on by us some time
ago for determining the laws pertaining to the times and fatigue of
motions of different lengths.
The operation studied is that of moving a seven pound weight. The times
are divided into three parts: Length of time from starting to picking
up weight; length of time from picking up weight to depositing; and
length of time of recovery to standing position from depositing. The
experiment proved that the time of motions of different lengths is
practically the same unless those of the same length are consecutively
repeated. The quantity of work that can be done in a day is, of course,
much less with long motions than with short ones, due to extra time
needed to overcome the fatigue of the long motions.]
By means of the “penetrating screen,” it is possible to pass a
cross-sectioned plane in any direction through any desired plane, or
through any number of planes in the cubic space under observation.
This makes it possible to record the data with great accuracy in three
dimensions, and to read the information from the data easily.
These various types of motion study supplement rather than supplant one
another. Motion study is primarily for the purpose of observing the
variables that affect such study, and for arousing such co-operation
between observed and observer, as will make possible the testing of
the differences of the effects of the variables. Micromotion study
provides for an accurate record of what happened, with all such
attending circumstances as appeal to the eye. It is the greatest aid
in transference of skill and experience from a worker who has it to
one who does not possess such skill and experience. The cyclegraph is
useful in providing a simple, easily understood record of the path
that any activity followed. The chronocyclegraph is most valuable
when the activity is complicated, and when the time and direction
of the elements of the motion must be visualized continuously in
order to analyze, measure, synthesize, and standardize the process.
The penetrating screen, finally, is useful in recording the three
dimensional paths and speeds of even the smallest unit of activity.
These methods of applying motion study have been patented, but have
been for years freely at the disposal of the colleges, which have
begun to use them as means for recording accurately scientific data of
various kinds. They have justified themselves as more accurate than
ordinary records of activity, and have within recent times been put on
a basis which makes their cost compare favourably with less accurate
methods of measurement. What is more, we have discovered in our data,
especially in the chronocyclegraphs, direct records of fatigue,
that we believe are the first records of fatigue ever made under
industrial conditions. The micromotion films also show breaks in well
established habits of several motions that are undoubtedly due to
fatigue, but the irregularities in the orbit line, that appear in the
cyclegraphs, and that must, because of close control of the variables,
be due to the fatigue alone, are more impressive from the physiological
viewpoint.
[Illustration: FIG. 22
Typical chronocyclegraph of the motion and fatigue study of a
bricklayer, laying three bricks in the old method.]
[Illustration: FIG. 23
Typical cyclegraph of motion and fatigue study on a drill press,
showing cyclegraph of path of motions of the left hand.]
[Illustration: FIG. 24
Typical chronocyclegraph of compositor setting type by hand.]
Testing the Work by Motions Required.
It is for motion study to explain the methods of deducing standard
methods by using activity records obtained through the various types
of motion study data. Many such standards have been derived. We have
in our motion study data many elementary motions with records of the
space they cover and the amount of time they require. With these we can
test the given work to see which of these motions it includes. Having
tabulated this, we can make an intensive study of the motions that
remain. When this study has been made, we can combine the resulting
elementary motions that have proven themselves most efficient into the
working method, and classify the work as work of a type requiring a
certain set combination of motions.
Testing Workers by Motion Capabilities.
In the same way we may test a worker by motion learning capabilities,
before assigning him to any kind of work. Having reduced activities
to their motions, we can test the worker’s physical capability; his
mental capability we can test by determining his learning curve. To
these results we add a record of his interest in various types of work.
From the resulting three types of records, we can make placements that,
we believe, are far in advance of any that have been made up to the
present time.
The Use of Activity Records as Data for Eliminating Fatigue.
The fact that activity records are made of extremely small elements
moving through a short path in a small amount of time means that the
fatigue records cover the same short periods. This is a great help
in making fatigue study. A new combination of elements of activity
will also mean a combination of concurrent, or included, elements of
fatigue. The combination may have some effect on the activity. If so,
it will also affect the fatigue, but at the present state of the art
the most accurate and satisfying work can be done by making use of
activity records to eliminate unnecessary fatigue, without waiting
for some hypothetical, direct records of fatigue, that may be worked
out in the future. In other words, if you have accurate records of
fatigue included in your activity records, use these immediately,
without attempting to make separate records of the fatigue, that, while
valuable, will mean delaying fatigue elimination, perhaps indefinitely.
The Time Element.
Too much credit can never be given to Dr. Taylor for his emphasis
on the laws of the time element. He was the first to call to our
attention the fact that operations should be divided into the smallest
possible, timable units for setting tasks. In this way it is possible
for timed elements to be used in many combinations, thus eliminating
an enormous amount of unnecessary work. Dr. Taylor also recommended
that work periods should be timed separately from the rest periods.
Our new measuring devices for time study make it possible to record
much shorter intervals of time than were heretofore known, and now the
limiting factor in the problem is no longer the quickness with which we
can use a stop-watch.
Our methods and devices have been criticised as being specially adapted
to problems involving the minutia of motions, but too expensive for the
general time study purposes. A moment’s consideration will show that
the turning of the crank of the cinematograph may be done as slowly as
the requirements of the particular case of time study demand. In fact
we have films that were taken at the rate of one picture every ten
minutes. With the sixteen pictures to the foot, a foot will last one
hundred and sixty minutes, or two hours and forty minutes, at a total
maximum cost of six cents. If desired, the speed of the crank can be
instantly changed to any desired speed to enable one to take pictures
too quickly to be seen with the eye, and more accurately than the
highest-priced time study man can take by means of a stop-watch.
Our methods, devices, and records of activity and of output fulfil
every requirement, and are now perfectly satisfactory. Fatigue still
remains the elusive factor. Nothing but long-continued observation,
absolute accuracy and co-operation between all interested will reduce
fatigue study to the science which motion study has become.
The Standardization of Work and Rest.
Meantime, in standardizing work and rest periods, it is customary and
proper to make a larger allowance for fatigue than the records show to
be necessary. We cite as an example a case of folding handkerchiefs.
The old method of folding was to have the workers seated at low tables
in chairs of ordinary height, working throughout the entire day, with
the only rest periods an hour at noon and such ceasing from folding as
took place when the workers went for supplies, or took back finished
product to be checked, or other rest periods that they took at will,
as the work was piece work. After an intensive study of the problem,
made not only to increase their output but to better their working
conditions and allow them to earn more money with less fatigue, the
following schedule of work and rest periods was adopted.
Each hour was divided into ten periods. The work was placed on a
work table of the proper height. The handkerchiefs already folded,
those being folded, and those to be folded were arranged in the most
convenient and efficient manner. All variables of the work had been
studied, and the results of the study standardized. The first four
periods, that is, the first twenty-four minutes, the girl remained
seated. She worked five minutes and rested one; again worked five
minutes and rested one. That is to say, she had four minutes’ rest out
of the twenty-four, and spent this rest seated so that she might lose
no time in getting back to the work. The next two periods, that is for
twelve minutes, the girl was standing. Again she worked five minutes
and rested one minute, and for the second time worked five minutes and
rested one minute. That is, she rested two out of the twelve minutes
in the same position in which she worked. The third group, a space
of eighteen minutes, she spent either sitting or standing, as she
pleased. Here also she worked five minutes, rested one minute; worked
five minutes, rested one minute; worked five minutes, and rested one
minute in the position, either standing or sitting, which she herself
had chosen. The last period, which consisted also of six minutes, was
spent by the girl walking about and talking, or amusing herself as
she otherwise chose. With this might be combined the last rest minute
or period No. 9, which thus gave her seven consecutive minutes for
unrestricted rest activity.
This was the schedule for all hours of the day except the hour before
noon and the hour before closing time at night. In these hours the
first nine periods resembled the first nine periods of the other hours;
but the tenth period was spent in work, as a long rest period was to
follow.
At the end of the day’s work under these conditions the girls
accomplished more than three times the amount of their previous best
work, with a greater amount of interest and with no more fatigue. It
may be stated here that the primary aim in this investigation was
not to eliminate fatigue, but to increase the wages of the girls by
raising the output. The operators had not seemed overfatigued at the
start. They maintained that they were less tired at the close of the
day when using the new method, and certainly the amount of fatigue
caused by producing an amount of output such as was made under the old
method was reduced to an enormous extent. With further practice these
preliminary results will be further improved.
It is of fundamental importance in making an investigation of this type
that the allowance for fatigue be greater than the physical condition
of the worker at the end of the day seems to indicate necessary.
It is also fundamental that the results of the investigation be at
once incorporated into actual shop practice. If each member of the
organization is at once placed under such working conditions that he
can enjoy the rest periods along with the high pay that comes from
a large product, he will co-operate most fully in the progressive
work of fatigue elimination. It is a fundamental rule of scientific
management that the rate once set must never be cut. It should also
be a fundamental principle of our management that rest periods once
established should not be abolished or shortened. Let the error, if
error there is, always result to the advantage of the worker, never
to that of the employer. If you have not allowed enough rest, make
the allowance larger, then reinvestigate. If you have allowed too
much rest, let the job stand as one to be given for special merit, and
attack some other problem. The result will be an increased co-operation
which will more than compensate for the occasional over allowance for
fatigue.
Summary.
Fatigue measurement, as applied to the industries, is a new science. It
is being developed through a study of the data of activity. The methods
of measurement of activity are motion study, micromotion study, the
cyclegraph, the chronocyclegraph, and the penetrating screen. Through
the data derived by these, we standardize motion paths, motion habits,
and all other motion variables. These enable us to test and classify,
select and place, both work and workers, and to eliminate unnecessary
fatigue. Through the time element we compare our various data, and
finally arrive at results that enable us to standardize work and rest
periods. Any errors in length of rest periods must result to the
advantage of the worker.
CHAPTER VIII
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS: HOW PRESENT PRACTICE IS DEVELOPED INTO STANDARD
PRACTICE
A Concrete Example of Making Adjustments.
In order to make plain exactly how changes are made and take place from
the condition before analysis, measurement, and synthesis are made to
the standard method of doing the work, we shall take a concrete example
and consider it from every phase. This concrete example will be the
assembly of a braider or machine for manufacturing braid, which is a
standard product of the New England Butt Company. With the co-operation
of Mr. John G. Aldrich, who has since become president of the company,
the problem of assembling a braider was studied, both in the laboratory
and in the shop.
It is not generally recognized that ultimate standards can best be
derived in the research room and laboratory. The standard practice
in the plant will be the result of the laboratory practice. If the
finer measurements are made in the shop during the general working
operations, much time will be lost, as shop conditions cannot be
controlled as laboratory conditions can. It has been said that
laboratory experimentation is not directly available in shop practice,
because laboratory conditions differ from shop conditions. They
certainly do differ, but so do the ultimate shop conditions that must
be introduced with the new standard method. The ultimate conditions in
the shop are far nearer the laboratory conditions than are the shop
conditions prior to installation of the new methods.
Former Method of Assembly.
The method of assembly in use before the motion study and fatigue study
were applied was as follows: The base of the braider was placed on an
ordinary low bench, and the various parts were kept in tote boxes or
on the floor. The worker selected such parts as he wished, and put
the braider together according to any traditional method that he had
learned, together with such changes as his whims dictated.
How the New Practice was Derived.
All of the previous assembly methods had been determined by the usual
practice of putting braider parts _together_. In the present case the
braider was taken apart; that is, handled in the reverse order of
assembly, in order to determine from a new viewpoint the best method
of putting the various parts together. The parts were laid out on a
table in the sequence in which they were disassembled. This allowed the
various members of the braider divisions, groups, and sub-groups to be
studied in relation to one another and also separately.
The Two Factors to Be Considered.
The problem resolved itself into two parts:
1. To make the table of the most convenient height and shape to hold
tools and the base group as it grew, while being assembled.
2. To provide the most convenient, temporary, resting place for the
tools and the various parts, before they were carried to the final
position of assembly.
The two parts were so closely related that any modification in one
demanded a modification in the other.
[Illustration: FIG. 25
Easel for simplifying motions and reducing fatigue from work of
assembly. The obvious sequence in our packet method eliminates the
delay and fatigue of the decision of choice.]
[Illustration: FIG. 26
The rigging on a typical Gilbreth packet, as used for the assembly
of braiders and cord machines at the New England Butt Company. This
picture shows only the supporting devices. The length of the supporting
devices is determined by what is to be held upon them. The right
quantity of each kind, therefore, can be put on without counting.
These devices are standardized and are but few in number. They are
specially designed and arranged for picking up parts with both hands,
simultaneously, in an obvious sequence with shortest motions and least
fatigue.]
Outline of the Changes to Be Made.
It became apparent, as the work progressed, that the determining
elements were (1) to shorten, as far as possible, the distance for
transporting the arms and hands while loaded; (2) to arrange the parts
so that their sequence of use would be obvious; (3) to position each
piece so that it could be grasped, transported, and released in the
shortest time with the least expenditure of effort and with the least
resulting fatigue. This meant that the parts should be arranged on
some sort of a holder, or packet, that would shorten the transporting
distance, and that the base group should be placed upon a table that
would carry it as near this packet as possible.
The Solution of the Problem.
A packet, which was practically a table with its top extending
vertically, was placed near the table supporting the base group, and
removable wire rods of the right length were placed in it to support
the various pieces in the best position for grasping. This also
considered the shortest distance for transporting the arms and hands,
whether empty or loaded. These table packets were then modified,
following closely the principles of the design of the brick packet,
especially the hand-hole feature for firm grasping with one motion and
for quick counting of the number of pieces. The packets now consist of
strips of wood two inches apart, horizontally, and two inches apart,
vertically, with holes for pins, interchangeable wire rods, forked
hooks, and other hangers, including interchangeable platforms, shelves,
and vertical supports, extended and positioned for still shorter reach,
and holding in turn such devices as pins to permit the best position
for handful grasping without disturbing the motions of the hand or
the wrist from the natural position, or, that is, the position most
resembling that of normal rest.
The right position for grasping anything with least fatigue is that
position that will permit grasping without turning, twisting, or
holding the wrist at all from its natural resting position, that is,
with muscles in natural balance. It is but natural that this should
be the best way, for it cuts out the positioning motions of the hand
prior to grasping.
Two reasons that the strips of wood were made two inches apart,
horizontally, and two inches apart, vertically, were:
1. Because we desired to get standard data at the same time comparable
with our other standard data. We might also use it for checking, by
means of motions in another trade, the underlying laws of motions,
which we had already deduced in several other trades.
2. Because we desired to have the motions in very nearly the same
places every time, in order to get the extra efficiency and the lesser
fatigue that come from the habit that is formed in this reaching and
grasping.
Many of these laws have since been re-checked and used in methods of
least waste for the transference of skill from one trade to another.
Habits have been formed that permit a much greater amount of output
with less fatigue.
This latticed packet gives us the same dimensions as our
cross-sectioned background. We use four inches in our American work,
and ten centimetres in our European work for these distances--the
difference between ten centimetres and four inches being almost exactly
one-sixteenth of an inch, or so small a difference as to be practically
negligible in work on motion study.
This cross-sectioned packet has, therefore, not only many mechanical
benefits, such as forming supports, either horizontally or vertically
for hangers, but it is also cheap to build, light in weight, and forms
an excellent, relative scale for measurement and for “recording the
surrounding conditions” of a case of micromotion study.
In fatigue study, as in all other work of investigation, it is
difficult to obtain assistants who can “observe what they can see.” Of
those observers who observe what they can see, few will write down what
they observe. Of those rare ones who can observe and will always write
down, few have the habit of maintaining the standard conditions in a
long series of observations. We therefore cross-section the background,
make our devices, when possible, multiples of four inches, and record
the conditions by means of photography, that gives us the key to
causes of deviation from class results.
The modification of the table consisted of making it of such a design
that it could be turned over on its side to form a low table for tall
or double-deck braiders, that would permit motions of less fatigue.
[Illustration: FIGS. 27 and 28
This picture shows the arrangement of parts for the base group of the
braider. It will be noticed that there are three adjustable shelves,
two vertical and one horizontal, for the support in a more convenient
position of certain parts that have to be picked up, for least fatigue,
by handfuls at a time. The various kinds of shelves, clamps, and tables
for different sizes or kinds of machines can be removed or attached to
the packet with one motion of the hand.
Note that the top plate is in position and that the tools are at the
right side of this top plate before the assembler is sent to the job at
all. These parts are arranged in an obvious sequence, and a photograph
similar to this is given to the boy whose duty it is to arrange these
parts.]
Final Adjustment.
In its final form the method consisted of having the parts of the
braider placed on the packet by an unskilled laborer or boy, putting
large tacks on the floor, which located the table at the most
convenient point possible in relation to the packet, which was made
fast to the wall or of easel type, on casters, as the position where it
must stand demanded. In addition, a small gravity, Johnson-Littlefield
packet was attached to the table. This conveyed certain parts, by their
own weight, to a yet more convenient position.[6]
Changes in Type of Work Demanded.
Through this adjustment the assembler used only his most skilled
motions in doing his work. Meantime, the less skilled worker, or
apprentice, who was loading the packet, was learning the assembly
principle, and receiving an apprenticeship in assembly itself.
Change in Mental Attitude.
The effect of the adjustment was to establish easily and quickly a new
set of efficient habits. The parts being arranged on the packet in an
obvious sequence, and the tools being arranged on the table in the
standard position, the worker necessarily performed the work according
to the standard method, which was the quickest and least fatiguing
method, every time that he did it. The result improved his working
method, and acted as an incentive to him to do the largest quantity of
work of the best quality that could be done with a reasonable amount of
fatigue.
Value of This Example.
This example is even more valuable as a method of attack in the
adjustment problem than it is as a specific illustration of a
successful and rapid installation. The workers enjoyed the changes
and accepted them in the best spirit of co-operation. Before using
the method, eighteen braider base groups had been a large day’s work,
per man. With the new method, sixty-six, per man, per day, were
assembled with no added fatigue. The resulting saving pleased every
one concerned, and has assured the maintenance of the method. Like all
other methods, old or new, it must be submitted to certain definite
tests. These it has passed with credit. The outlining of such tests is
our next problem.
[Illustration: FIG. 29
This picture shows a Littlefield-Johnson carrier packet. In this
carrier packet the carriers by their own weight travel downward to a
standard position at the bottom for grasping without looking at them,
as fast as they are individually removed. This packet was invented
by two men in the New England Butt Company, after they had seen our
method of attack, and had begun to think of their work in the terms of
elementary and least fatiguing motions.]
[Illustration: FIG. 30
This picture shows a Gilbreth packet and a Gilbreth bench, arranged
with the carrier packet shown in Fig. 29 for the assembly of a
13-strand braider.]
Summary.
The problem of adjustment and its solution can best be illustrated by
a concrete example. This is of changes made in assembling the base
group of a braider. This example is valuable not only as an incidence
of successful application, but as an outline of an efficient working
method.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] The Johnson-Littlefield packet is a splendid example of the types
of fatigue saving devices that are suggested by employees after they
have been taught the underlying principles of motion study.
CHAPTER IX
THE OUTCOME: HOW FAR HAVE WE ATTAINED OUR AIM?
The Tests of General Health.
We will now assume that the reader has attacked the fatigue problem
in his particular plant, and has applied either preliminary or more
permanent fatigue elimination. There are various general measurement
tests which he may apply to the results, in order to see how much
better the working condition of his organization actually is than it
was when he started in upon his fatigue-eliminating work.
The first of these is the test of general health. It is, of course,
perfectly possible that an individual worker’s general health may
go down under far better working conditions; this, because of some
home influence, or something in his general condition or his life
away from work, which pulls down his health. It would not be fair to
blame the work for any illness easily traceable to home conditions,
to an epidemic prevalent, or to some certain outside source; but, if
conditions away from work have remained fixed, there is every reason
to expect that general health should improve with fatigue elimination.
This we find in actual practice is the case. Even where fatigue is not
materially cut down during working hours, because measurement shows
that the worker is not getting over-fatigued, the general health is apt
to improve because of greater regularity in habits of work, and because
of better physical and mental habits, while doing the work. The path
along this line is a continuous, never-ending, upward spiral. Fatigue
is eliminated by establishing proper habits. Proper habits improve
health. The improved health allows of more work with less fatigue, etc.
The Test of Prolonged Activity.
In order to be thoroughly satisfactory, observations of the effect of
the changes upon the worker must be made during a long period. The
worker’s greatest asset is his ability to work. In order to prove
its value, fatigue eliminating work must actually show results in
prolonging the years that he is able to devote to his life work. This
in practice it does. Not only does the average worker remain physically
able to work more years than where no fatigue elimination has taken
place, but also through the fatigue study, and motion study, which he
has co-operated to make, he learns to be able to teach that thing, or
those things, at which he is most skilled, and thus to prolong his
years of economic value. You must note how many of your workers are
beyond the usual working age, and are still at work. Some of these will
be working at the work itself; that is, in the performing department.
Others will be planning or teaching the work in some way. The number of
these and their condition will form an admirable unit of measurement of
the success of your work.
The Test of Posture.
The third test is that of posture. Take another walk through your
plant, and look at those workers to whom fatigue elimination work has
been applied, and note how they are sitting, or standing, or walking.
[Illustration: FIG. 31
A. Set of experiments in fatigue study for proving that times of motions
have little close relation to lengths of motions unless the same length
of motion is repeated consecutively many times. (See Fig. 21.)
B. Micromotion of workman reaching with both hands for pieces of
a machine which is being assembled. The microchronometer in the
foreground registers divisions of time to the half a thousandth of a
minute, and therefore gives us much data relating to time study, motion
study, and fatigue study.
C. Penetrating screen in the plane of the motions for the purpose
of registering exactly the distance of motions in fatigue study
experiments.]
[Illustration:
A B C
FIG. 31]
The American Posture League, with headquarters at 30 Church
Street, New York City, will gladly furnish standards for proper posture
in various positions. It will be impossible, of course, to eradicate
wrong habits of posture in a short time, no matter how radical the
change may be, but you should note improvements. At least each worker
should be so placed that he could work in the proper posture if he
chose, and so that the proper posture will be the easiest for him.
If the chairs, benches, levers, or devices force him to assume the
proper posture, so much the better. Consideration of the devices shows,
unfortunately, that few are designed for operation with least fatigue;
more being designed to use the least quantity of material.
In the case of young workers, especially, it is surprising how quickly
the proper devices will induce the correct posture, especially if the
betterment staff co-operate to explain the correct posture, and its
effect upon health. Where no betterment staff exists, the posters of
the Posture League will serve as desirable examples and object lessons.
Here again, as in so many other places, “fashion of work” is a most
important element. Let correct posture become the fashion, and let the
devices make the posture possible, and astonishing results will follow.
It is, of course, always a great aid to make anything that one desires
the easiest thing to do. The proper chairs and work places make correct
posture the easiest posture to hold. This is a great force towards
maintaining it.
The Test of Behaviour and Implied Mental Attitude.
The fourth test is to observe the behaviour of the workers. Do their
actions, their resulting work, and whole attitude towards the work
indicate that the fatigue eliminating work has been effective? There
should be better “habits of work” than have ever existed before. More
work should be turned over to the habit processes, and the formation
and maintenance of good habits should become a part of the day’s
work. It should be noted just exactly what seems to be the kind and
amount of incentive that keeps the workers at the work. If the fatigue
elimination has done what it should along its line, the reason for
doing the work as it is being done will be the belief that this way
is the best way yet found, a belief that one is safe in following
the method, since proper allowance for fatigue has been made. There
should also be present a desire to contribute to the welfare of all
by looking for easy ways, as well as scientifically-derived ways, to
eliminate fatigue, while at the same time following the best method as
yet available.
The question of motivation is one demanding understanding and
serious consideration in every field of activity to-day. This is
true in education. It is also true in the industries. The motive of
getting all that one can for one’s work must always exist, and is a
perfectly justifiable motive, but the fatigue-eliminating work cannot
be considered successfully, unless this motive of self interest has
also with it the motive of interest in the welfare of others, and in
cutting out all fatigue that can effect any member of the group in any
way. This feeling should express itself in a social attitude, which
is another behaviour test. If every member of the organization stands
ready to endorse the fatigue elimination, and to co-operate in further
fatigue elimination for the good of all, the social attitude shows that
the work that has been done is worth while.
The Test of Transference of Skill.
The amount of skill that is successfully transferred may be used as
a test of fatigue elimination. Each member of the organization is
supposed to transfer skill, and also to acquire skill. He transfers
to others the skill in the lines of work in which he is proficient,
yet which are not the highest types of work that he can do. He learns
from others such types of work as are of the highest type that it is
possible for him to learn, that he has never had an opportunity to
learn because of the time taken by work requiring less skill, that it
was necessary under the old plan for him to do.
It is a fallacy to suppose that work which does not demand all the
skill at one’s disposal is less fatiguing than work which does. Work is
not less fatiguing because it demands less skill. It is less fatiguing
when it is done with ease and when there is a joy of achievement
requiring skill; that is, when it is satisfying. Because of lack of
opportunity, one may only perform with ease the work which does not
demand much skill. As soon as he learns to perform the skilled work
with ease, it causes even less fatigue, other things being equal,
than does unskilled work, because it holds the interest, hence the
attention, more easily.
We enjoy doing that which we can do well. Whether we improve in the
doing because we take pleasure in doing it, or simply because the
pleasure makes us do more, and we improve with the practice, is not
of great importance. Psychologists are divided in their opinions as
to the effect of pleasure upon work, but all agree that, directly or
indirectly, pleasure in the work does affect the work favourably.
Through the transference of skill this pleasure is given to the
work, or increased in the work, and, therefore, the amount of skill
transferred is a test of fatigue elimination.
Test of “Happiness Minutes,” Individual and Social.
The final test of fatigue elimination, as of every other change made
in doing things, is its influence upon the total output of “Happiness
Minutes.” The aim of life is happiness, no matter how we differ as to
what true happiness means. Fatigue elimination, starting as it does
from a desire to conserve human life and to eliminate enormous waste,
must increase “Happiness Minutes,” no matter what else it does, or it
has failed in its fundamental aim. Have you reason to believe that your
workers are really happier because of the work that you have done on
fatigue study? Do they look happier, and say they are happier? Then
your fatigue eliminating work has been worth while in the highest
sense of the term, no matter what the financial outcome. Naturally the
savings that accrue must benefit every one, but saving lies at the
root of fatigue elimination, and, if every member of the organization,
including the manager and the stockholders, is getting more “Happiness
Minutes,” you surely are working along the right lines.
[Illustration: FIG. 32]
[Illustration: FIG. 33
These pictures are of meetings of the Foreman’s Club at the New
England Butt Co. examining films of methods of least fatigue, proposed
for standardization.]
Social “Happiness Minutes” will consist of the sum of the individual
“Happiness Minutes” plus that intangible thing called “social spirit.”
It is exemplified in a case like this: A certain group of workers had
been studied from the motion study and the fatigue standpoint. The
result of the work had been incorporated in their daily practice,
and they had been working for a period of many months under
the readjusted working conditions and with the new methods. At the
end of this time they were gathered at a foremen’s meeting, where a
micromotion film, showing the development of the methods which they
used, was presented. In discussing the film the speaker took the
occasion to say that on observing the work in the plant he felt that
some lapses from the method prescribed were in existence. The next
morning, when he walked through the plant, he was stopped by a worker,
who said, “See here! I don’t believe we are falling away from that
method a bit. If we are, just show us where, and we will go straight
back to it. We want to play the game right.” This is the test of the
outcome. Is the organization lined up as one man back of the work? If
so, the problem of maintenance and of automatic improvement is solved.
Summary.
At any stage in the process of fatigue elimination the results may be
tested. The general health of the worker, his prolonged activity, his
posture, his behaviour act as such tests. To these may be added the
amount of skill transferred and being transferred, and the effect, in
particular, on “Happiness Minutes.” If the organization endorses the
work and co-operates in it, the work may be rated successful.
CHAPTER X
THE FUTURE: WHAT EACH ONE OF US CAN DO
The Work of the Colleges.
It should be the work of the colleges to gather together what has been
done in fatigue elimination, and to put it at the disposal of all
interested. Each college should start a fatigue museum, and should
invite its graduates first, and all those in its vicinity second,
to co-operate and to send exhibits or pictures of exhibits to its
museum. The colleges are recognized as not interested in any particular
industry, as fair and impartial, and as standing for uplift in the
community. It is, therefore, their duty to act as repositories for
the data, at least until such times as the national government takes
over the leadership in the entire fatigue question, and becomes the
custodian of the data.
The colleges can help in a second way by making fatigue study a subject
in the curriculum. It is not necessary that this be a new subject. It
should rather be a new aspect in which the old subjects are presented.
Especially in the colleges of engineering and business administration
great emphasis should be laid upon fatigue study, both the theory and
the practice. It is not essential that the students be sent out into
the shops for actual practice in such study, although anything like the
half-time plan is to be commended. The student may well apply fatigue
study to his own activities. This will present an admirable field and a
splendid incentive. After such a study the fatigue problem will never
again seem remote or vague to the student. Also the student may well be
sent, or taken, on tours of inspection through neighbouring industries,
or may be allowed to co-operate in preliminary fatigue surveys. They
should learn the general principle of fatigue study, and should become
finger-wise. This preparation is identical to that for making motion
study, and, in fact, is prerequisite or first step for greatest success
in any managerial work.
But the college should not confine its activity in fatigue elimination
to the museum, and to training the student who expects to enter the
field. They should themselves become examples of successful fatigue
elimination. In this way they can do most to cut down waste, and to
train our young people to take an active part later in the waste
elimination campaign being waged in the world’s work.
The Work of the Manager.
The fatigue study and the installation which must follow it to be
done by the manager have been outlined in this book. The manager who
has put his own plant at such a stage of improvement that unnecessary
fatigue is cut out to a great extent, and that recovery from necessary
fatigue is provided for, has contributed greatly to the cause, but his
work should not end here. He should educate those with whom he comes
in contact on the subject of fatigue elimination. He should co-operate
with those in his own neighbourhood, and also with those in his own
trade towards solving the fatigue problem peculiar to the locality or
the trade.
The Home Reading Box has been successfully installed by a group
of manufacturers engaged in the same trade. This particular work
furnishes an admirable starting point, and is a great help in arousing
local interest. If even a few interested in the same trade in various
parts of the country will co-operate, it will soon be possible, through
trade journals, and through a general demand for equipment designed
from the fatigue standpoint, to revolutionize fatigue conditions in
that industry. Editors and writers of papers of all types have been
quick to see the benefits of fatigue elimination, and to offer to
co-operate in a campaign for education. Manufacturers have been equally
eager to satisfy any demands which may be made. The managers can have a
large share in making such demands, and in encouraging the support of
publications in which they are interested.
The Work of the Worker.
The worker has two chief ways in which he can help in fatigue
elimination. The first is to co-operate with the management in
installing fatigue elimination methods and devices in the particular
plant in which they are both interested. The second is to help to make
fatigue elimination fashionable. This latter duty lies with no one
but the worker himself. No new methods spread more quickly than the
“fashion of work.” There is nothing of which a well run plant is more
proud than the “way” it works, the work spirit. The whole idea must be
that it is a disgrace to have causes of unnecessary fatigue existing.
Overfatigue is a positive proof of inefficiency. There is no fear but
that the workers will recognize these duties, and will perform them
heartily and with good will, when they know that they are getting a
square deal. It is right that they should make very sure that they
are going to receive such treatment, and that fatigue study is not a
new scheme for taking advantage of them, but they must be ready to
listen to the proof and to accept it when they are convinced that it
is true. Having accepted it, and thus made sure that they are safe in
co-operating, the next step is to help actively in the good work.
The Work of the Public.
The great work of the public is to demand fatigue elimination. The
adoption of a few simple slogans, like “Buy of the seated worker,”
would help bring immediate results in fatigue elimination. Consider
what the Consumers’ League has done in securing better working
conditions. Note how the “Safety First” movement has spread through the
whole country. The “Fatigue Eliminating Movement” can spread in the
same way, if only every one will do his part to demand that the fatigue
be reduced and to help in the actual reduction.
The workers of the country have long recognized the need for fatigue
elimination; the employers are coming to a realization that they are
paying a large price for fatigue. Many employers have resolved that, so
far as their plants are concerned, needless fatigue must be eliminated.
They have resolved that the day is coming when every worker shall go
home from work happy in what he has done, with the least amount of
unnecessary fatigue, and prepared to go back in perfect condition on
the morrow. How soon this much desired time will arrive depends upon
the co-operation of the public, upon the public sentiment that can be
aroused.
There is no reader of this book who does not belong to at least two
groups that should be interested in fatigue elimination. Decide at
once, then, in which group you belong, and set to work. Be you teacher,
manager, worker, or simply a member of the great public to which we all
belong, begin to work for fatigue elimination, and begin now.
The good in your life consists of the quantity of “Happiness Minutes”
that you have created or caused. Increase your own record by
eliminating unnecessary fatigue of the workers.
THE END
Transcriber’s Notes
Obvious errors in punctuation have been fixed.
Page 29: “indentical surroundings” changed to “identical surroundings”
Page 57: “of the organiaztion” changed to “of the organization”
Page 68: “old mgazines” changed to “old magazines”
Page 97: “loss in efficency” changed to “loss in efficiency”
Page 114: “FATIGUE ELIMINANATION” changed to “FATIGUE ELIMINATION”
Page 141: The caption referring to the “carrier packet shown in Fig.
31” was fixed to refer to Fig. 29.
Page 144: The paragraph for caption 31 was missing the label for A. and
had it out of order. This has been fixed.
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