his judgment aided by the Inspector's reports of the work done by the
man.
Punctuality is judged by the number of times late, each instance
reducing the mark by one unit. As the workman enters the shop twice
a day, morning and afternoon, assuming 26 working days in the month,
a practical disregard of punctuality soon reduces his record in this
respect to zero.
Deportment is judged by the Foreman, who also takes into account
occasions on which the workman may have been reported for violating the
regulations in this respect.
A _Record Card_ is shown in Fig. 8, upon which monthly records are
kept. The total for any period, divided by the number of months covered
by the record, will give the percentage of a perfect record. This card
provides for a record for two years.
If it seems advisable to do so for special reasons, a similar card
may be formulated covering the six working days of the week. A year's
record in this form may be entered on a card 4 by 6 inches, by
arranging the horizontal and vertical ruling for that purpose.
Such a record may be profitably kept of the work of the office force,
as well as of the men in the shops. It will be valuable in many ways in
judging of the availability of the men for special work, as well as for
promotion.
Necessarily such records should be very carefully kept; otherwise there
is liable to be serious injury done to the working reputation and
integrity, as well as reliability, of the men.
=The Employment Agent.= In large concerns, an official is regularly
appointed as an Employment Agent, and it is his duty to keep the office
and the shops supplied with competent men engaged at reasonable wages.
He must therefore keep in close and accurate touch with the labor
market, for the same reasons that the purchasing agent must know the
state of the market for material and supplies. He must know how and
where to reach workmen of the different classes whenever he is called
upon to furnish them.
While ordinary laborers may nearly always be obtained from the daily
applications made at the office, skilled men must be hunted up; and
it is not usually easy to find just the man with the qualifications
desired.
When men are wanted for positions above the average skilled workmen,
the best and most promising will be nearly always distributed among
the present employees who are deserving of advancement. To promote one
of them, rather than hire some man from outside the organization, is
usually good business policy. The man and his abilities are generally
well known, while a stranger is always an unknown quantity. The men,
being acquainted with the man, will be pleased to see him get the
deserved promotion; and it is always wise to consider the popularity of
proposed orders affecting the working force. The man himself will feel
his added responsibilities much more than an outside man will, and will
generally work harder to succeed in his new position. Therefore it is
always best to give the first chance to present employees who have been
faithful to the responsibilities thus far placed upon them.
It will be found that in most of the departments there are employees
who from one reason or another are doing work quite below their real
capacity, hoping that later on there may be better opportunities
for the coveted position. The Employment Agent should know the men
of the force, and their abilities, so as to take advantage of these
conditions. A man may be needed by a foreman in one department who is
not aware that in a neighboring department may be just the kind of man
he wants. The Employment Agent should know where to find the man at
once.
Again, one department may, from the condition of the work, be short of
help, and may request the Employment Agent to hire a certain number of
men of certain qualifications and abilities. At the same time, there
may be another department in which there are more men than can be used
to advantage. An arrangement for the temporary or permanent transfer of
some of these men will be a great help to both departments, and will
have the added advantage of keeping good men permanently employed.
If a workman feels that his employment is permanent, and that there
are fair opportunities for advancement, this will be the surest way
to hold him faithful and loyal to the interests of the establishment;
and the conditions that bring about this condition of mind in him will
also draw other good men who will be glad to be counted as among those
faithful to a company which appreciates their services and which will
look to their interests as they consider those of their employers.
The result will be that these men will give their best services, and
even be on the alert to further the interests of the employer who has
favored them. Thus a strong working organization is built up, which
becomes one of the best and most valuable assets of the company.
=Time Keeping.= As cost of labor is usually greater than any other in
the manufacturing plant, and frequently greater than all other factors
in the cost of manufacturing, it is very important that the records
pertaining to this expense be properly planned and accurately kept.
Various methods have been adopted and used for this purpose. Some of
the more prominent plans will be given. They are each adapted to some
certain kind or class of work, and it will often be found that in
practice still different forms must be devised in order to meet the
existing conditions.
There are three methods of recording the time of employees──namely:
1. By entering the time in a book or upon cards, by a Time─Keeper.
2. By entering the time upon cards by the workman himself.
3. By stamping the time upon cards by the workman in a time─recording
clock.
The first of these methods is the oldest form, and has now to a great
extent gone out of use.
[Illustration: Fig. 9. Pattern Shop Time Card.]
A large majority of the work of a manufacturing plant requires that the
time worked by the employees shall be registered twice. That is, one
entry shall be of the _day time_ (time paid for _by the day_), which
necessitates the recording of the total number of hours worked each
day; the second entry shall record the _job time_ (the time worked upon
the different jobs during the day). This second entry is sometimes
called _Time Distribution_, since the employee's time is distributed
over the different jobs upon which he has worked.
=Time─Card Forms.= This work is sometimes done by means of time cards
as shown in Figs. 9, 10, 11, and 12, which are given as characteristic
examples of these methods. These cards are of different tints as a
convenient method of recognizing them.
Fig. 9 is yellow, and is used in the Pattern Shop.
Fig. 10 is chocolate─colored, and is used in the Forge Shop.
Fig. 11 is blue, and is used by the Carpenters and Flask Makers.
Fig. 12 is white, and is used in the Machine Shop.
[Illustration: Fig. 10. Forge Shop Time Card.]
[Illustration: Fig. 11. Time Card for Carpenters and Flask Makers.]
Similar card forms may be devised for any other department of a plant,
or for the departments of plants doing entirely different work.
When these cards are used as a means of distributing the time to the
various jobs or orders in force in the shop, the _day time_, from which
the pay─roll is made up, is usually recorded on a strip of paper in
a time clock, the operation being performed by each employee as he
passes into the shop morning and afternoon, and when leaving at noon
and night. Passing to the clock, the workman swings a lever to his
individual number, and presses in a knob, whereby the exact time of the
operation is recorded upon a slip of paper, a ribbon, or a disc within
the clock.
[Illustration: Fig. 12. Machine Shop Time Card.]
In other forms of time clock, an individually numbered key is inserted
in one of the individually numbered holes, turned around, and
withdrawn. The time is recorded in a manner quite similar to that used
in the case just described above.
The four forms for time cards shown are quite similar, the difference
being in the list of operations given at the right─hand end of the card.
At the top of the card are spaces for the date, order number,
workman's number, and the number of the machine upon which he works
(provided the work is done on a machine). In the next space, the
name of the department is given. This is followed by spaces for the
_quantity_──that is, the number of pieces, feet, or inches of such
material as is designated in this way, or the number of pounds in
weight of the material. Then comes a brief description of the work.
Opposite each of these is a square in which the workman can indicate
the particular kind of work he has been doing, by marking an X.
Thus the form shown in Fig. 9 contains the following classes of
work──namely, Pattern Making, meaning new pattern work; Pattern
Repairs, referring to repairs charged to the job; Foundry Repairs,
or repairs to patterns or fixtures the expense of which is to be
charged to the Foundry Department; Equipment Repairs, referring to
pattern shop equipment; General Office, consisting of small jobs of
equipment and maintenance that are better done by a pattern maker than
by a carpenter; Drafting Room, similar new work and repairs, such as
drafting boards, angles, etc.; Tool Room, similar work chargeable to
this department, such as boxes or cases for special tools, and work not
entrusted to a carpenter.
Whatever may be the kind of work the employee is engaged upon, he
checks it as described; and after the words "Time Started," he notes
the hour and minute he begins work. When the job is completed, he notes
the time after the words "Time Stopped," The elapsed time, the rate,
and the value are filled in by the time clerk.
This card is turned in to the foreman or dropped in a box provided for
that purpose, it having been approved by the foreman of the department
in which the work is done. It then goes to the time clerk.
As each workman has a card for each different job and for each day,
it follows that all the job cards for a single day must aggregate the
same amount of time as that indicated on the stamped record within the
recording time clock. Discrepancies of this kind are investigated, and
the time distribution readjusted until satisfactory, the foreman of the
department usually being consulted in the case.
=Recording─Clock Time─Cards.= Recording time clocks are also made which
operate automatically to produce changes in the position of the card
dropped into a receptacle provided for the purpose, such, that when a
lever is manipulated, not only is the exact hour and minute stamped
upon the card, but it is stamped in its proper place upon the card so
as to correspond with the proper day of the week and also indicate
whether forenoon or afternoon. The horizontal changes of position are
made by hand, previous to manipulating the operating lever.
[Illustration: Fig. 13. Day Time Card.]
[Illustration: Fig. 14. Back of Day Time Card.]
[Illustration: Fig. 15. Job Time Card.]
A form for a regular Day Time card is shown in Fig. 13. The days of the
week are given, and each divided by horizontal lines into spaces for
forenoon and afternoon. Vertically the dividing lines divide spaces for
the time the workman comes IN, goes OUT, and for similar records for
lost time or overtime, as the case may be.
At the top of the card is the date, generally given as the last day
of the week for which time is made up. This is followed by the number
and name of the employee. Following the table prepared for the time
stampings, is a space for the total time, the rate, and the amount due
for the week.
The back of the card is shown in Fig. 14, and is plain except at the
top, which is printed in large and plain type "This Side Out," as
employees are liable to introduce the card with its face outward. For
convenience the employee's number and name are given on this side as
well as on the face.
By the above method of time recording, _all_ employees will use the
regular Day Time card. Such employees as work on the regular production
orders, and on work properly chargeable to them, will in addition to
the Day Time card use a Job Time card, of the form shown in Fig. 15.
This card is provided with spaces at the top for the order number,
date, employee's number, machine number, article or piece upon which
the work is being done, and the name of the operation that is being
performed. The body of the card has the same spaces for the recording
stampings. It will be noticed that the card shown in Fig. 13 runs from
Monday to Sunday, inclusive. This is the usual form, but in some shops
the fiscal week ends on different days of the week. In the job card
shown in Fig. 15, it ends on Thursday.
In the use of these job cards, a card is made out for each job or
order, without regard to the number of different jobs an employee may
have in a day. The aggregate of the time shown on all these cards for a
day must aggregate the amount shown on the day time card from which the
pay─roll is made up. Thus each card acts as a check on the other, and
accuracy is insured to a considerable degree.
When the work for which the job time is issued has been completed, and
the card receives its final stamping, it may be turned over to the
foreman, who will send it to the Time Clerk. This gives the foreman an
opportunity to look it over and correct any mistakes that may have been
made. In some shops the card is dropped into a box marked _Job Time
Cards──Completed_, whence it is gathered up with others, by the Time
Clerk. Coming into the possession of the Time Clerk, he will check it
up, together with such others as the workman may have used on the same
day, in order to ascertain if the total time on the job cards for the
day equals that shown on the day time card.
When the Time Clerk has compared the cards, he will send the job cards
to the Cost Clerk, who will enter the amounts in a _Job Time Summary_
book of the form shown in Fig. 16. On this blank, the number, name, and
rate of each man are written. The succeeding columns are headed with
the various current order numbers. Entries are made opposite the man's
name, of the pay─roll value of the time he has worked on the various
orders or jobs for the day. The total, carried out in the extreme
right─hand column, represents his pay for the day. The totals at the
bottom of the job columns represent the value of the time spent on each
order, for the day. The work is checked as correct when the sum of all
the totals of the right─hand column is exactly equal to the sum of all
the totals at the foot of the columns.
[Illustration: Fig. 16. Job Time Summary.]
[Illustration: SOUTH END OF ERECTING SHOP, WEST ALLIS WORKS
Allis─Chalmers Company, Milwaukee, Wis.]
The entries in this book are made by quite young clerks, who handle
only these job cards and books as their daily tasks, and who become
very expert, accurate, and rapid at this work. The totals are carried
by the Cost Clerk or one of his assistants to the _cost ledger_, in
which the costs of both labor and material, as well as all expense
charges, are brought together. Sometimes this work is done upon cards,
each one representing an order and containing in brief and condensed
form all the charges of whatever kind made against the order.
=Methods of Paying Employees.= The methods by which pay─rolls are
made up and the employees paid, are important; and whatever plans are
adopted, they should realize the following desirable requirements:
1. The record of amounts due the men should be absolutely accurate and
in accordance with the rates at which the men were employed, subject
(_a_) to such modifications as may be made by reason of properly
authorized changes in rate; (_b_) to such modifications as may be made
from week to week by overtime work, or by the operation of methods
of "piece work," "premium work," or any of the several plans for
rewarding exceptionally efficient work; (_c_) to such deductions as
may properly be made on account of advance payments that have been
made upon due authority.
2. The methods of making up the pay─roll and paying the men should
secure promptness in this work, so that the pay of the employees
may not be held back for an unreasonable length of time pending the
necessary clerical work.
3. The methods of payment should be such that no workman can know the
amount paid to any other workman.
To accomplish the results desired in the first requirement, if the
amounts due the men are made up from the time recorded by the men
themselves──that is, in a recording clock──is a comparatively easy
task, since it is principally a matter of mathematics, with a strict
attention to details.
Changes in rate of pay do not usually take effect until the week
following that in which the order is given. This order will be in the
form of a request by the foreman of the department in which the workman
is employed, stating the reasons for the increase. This is sent to the
Superintendent or Factory Manager for approval. If approved it is then
sent to the Pay Clerk, who files the notice for future reference and
makes the required change on his pay─roll.
Premium work rates will be made up by the foremen of the departments,
and approved by the Superintendent, in smaller shops. In large plants
the rates will be made up by a clerk in the Production Department, and
approved by the Production Engineer. In either case they will be sent
directly to the Pay Clerk.
Advances to men will be made only in special cases, upon a written
request from the foreman, stating the reasons and approved by the
Superintendent.
The second requirement can be met by having the time cards of the
style used in recording clocks (as shown in Figs. 13,14, and 15).
The convenience and rapidity of making up the time of these cards is
apparent from the fact that the record of the entire week is contained
upon the face of one day time card, lost time being checked only in red
ink in the total column at the right, and the sum of the amounts of
lost time being subtracted from the regular working time for the week
Thus, if the working time is 55 hours per week, and the lost time was
½ hour one day and ¼ hour another, making ¾ hour, we subtract
that from 55, leaving 54¼ hours as the time for the week. This is
much more rapidly done than to carry out the total time for each day
and add up these totals for the six days of the week.
The _Pay─Roll Sheet_ or _Pay─Roll Book_ is shown in Fig. 17. This is
now frequently made as a loose sheet or such number of sheets as may
be necessary to contain all the names, frequently as many as 50 names
on the sheet. Upon examination of this printed form, it will be seen
that the regular time is divided into _productive_ and _non─productive_
labor. This is for the purpose of ascertaining what portion of the
labor is applied directly upon the product, and what portion is applied
indirectly, such as foreman, clerks, general laborers, etc., whose work
is classed as non─productive.
The amount of the regular time is computed, and entered in the column
headed _Amount_. If there is an amount due in premiums, it is entered
in the next column, and the two amounts added in the column headed
_Total Amount_. In the next column is entered the amount of any
advances that may have been made, which is deducted from the total
amount, leaving the net _Amount Due_, which is entered in the next
column. This amount is paid over to the employee, who signs his name in
the space under _By whom received_, and the operation is complete. The
men's numbers are placed at the extreme left hand and right hand of the
form as a matter of convenience in rapidly handling the work of paying
off.
[Illustration: Fig. 17. Pay─Roll Sheet.]
When the pay─roll has been completely made up, it is submitted to the
Superintendent, who certifies as to its being a correct list of men
actually employed, and to the rates of the different men. It is then
submitted to the Factory Manager for approval. After the amounts due
the men are actually paid and receipted for, the Treasurer certifies
the fact, and the pay─roll becomes a voucher for the amount represented
on the roll.
=Giving Orders for Manufacturing Work.= As ordinarily considered,
orders are of two general classes, namely:
1. _Production Orders_, by which the production departments are set to
work manufacturing some regular or special product which is to be sold
to customers.
2. _Plant Orders._ These orders relate to the repairs and maintenance
of the grounds, buildings, and equipment of the plant, and to new
additions to and alterations of the same.
Both of these classes originate with the Factory Manager, who receives
instructions as to all important orders from the General Manager of
the company, who will authorize and keep in touch, not only with
the production of the plant, but in a general way with all changes,
improvements, and maintenance expenses of the establishment.
[Illustration: Fig. 18. Production Order.]
=Production Orders.= Fig. 18 shows the form of a regular production
order. This card or blank is made of such dimensions as the kind
of manufacturing business to which it pertains may require. It is
customary to use a card 4 by 6 inches; but if such is to be written
upon the central space in order to describe the work properly, it
should be somewhat larger. The principal features of this form are
spaces for the title of the card, the order number, and date. At the
bottom is given the date when the work is expected to be completed,
and the date of its actual completion. These dates are important as a
matter of reference in considering the promptness and efficiency of the
departments where the work has been done.
The work to be done is briefly described in the central portion,
together with such references to sets of drawings, etc., as may be
necessary to render the terms of the order indisputably certain. This
order is signed by the Factory Manager and sent to the Superintendent.
In a large concern it is sent to the Superintendent of Production or
the Production Engineer, according to the particular manner of the
organization of the official force.
[Illustration: Fig. 19. Sub─Production Order.]
In any event the order is turned over to the official having charge of
production, who will make out _Sub─Production_ orders (Fig. 19) for
each department in which the particular work described upon the orders
is to be done. A time limit is given for the completion of the work,
and a space provided for the actual date of completion. They are not
signed when issued, but are dated and signed by the foreman when the
work is completed.
=Plant Orders.= As has been described, plant orders are those necessary
for the changes, improvements, and maintenance of the plant and
equipment. In some establishments there are two series of orders,
namely: (_a_) those for improvements and maintenance of the _plant_
proper──that is, grounds and buildings; and (_b_) improvements and
maintenance of _equipment_. This is a very proper and natural division.
These accounts may be subdivided to a very great extent, but not with
corresponding value.
[Illustration: Fig. 20. Plant Order.]
Plant orders are usually issued by the Superintendent (or General
Superintendent, in a large plant), and are returnable to him, as will
be seen upon reference to the form shown in Fig. 20. This order is
usually directed to a certain department. If more than one department
is involved in the work, a separate order is issued to each. The
general form of the order is the same as in the two preceding ones, the
instructions being changed to suit the nature of the case.
On the back of this order is a form for entering the cost of material
and labor, as shown in Fig. 21. The dates upon which each item (or
group of items) of material is furnished, are given, as are also the
dates for the various items of labor, although the work of an entire
week may be entered upon a single line. On the second half of the card,
space is provided for the totals of both material and labor cost;
also such general expenses in the form of a percentage or such other
apportionment as may be authorized, are entered.
[Illustration: Fig. 21. Back of Plant Order Shown in Fig. 20. For
entering cost of material and labor.]