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.