The training department occupies a space of 25x60 feet and has the
following equipment installed as a beginning:
1 13-inch lathe.
1 20-inch lathe.
1 36-inch lathe.
1 No. 5 Cincinnati Milling Machine.
1 No. 24 Osterlein Milling Machine.
1 No. 5 Brown & Sharpe Vertical Milling Machine.
1 24-inch Shaper.
1 Bathe Universal Grinder.
1 4-foot Cincinnati Bickford Radial Drill.
1 20-inch Barnes Drill.
1 Brown & Sharpe Hand Screw Machine.
1 14-inch Wet Tool Grinder.
About 30 feet of benches with vises, etc.
At one end of the space they have an office and class room, 15x20
feet. In it they have chairs, blackboard, drawing board, etc. It is
their practice to assemble all of the students in the class room for
a few minutes each day and give them short talks about the work and
the fundamentals of the business. These talks are made as pithy as
possible and only one main fact is presented at a time.
They are taking in green help, either from the laborers in the shop
or hired from outside, both men and women, and are training them for
machine operators and bench hands. Their conditions are such that
they cannot do as many concerns do, train for a single operation, as
they must make all-around operators.
Their method is such that if the foreman of the lathe department is
in need of a man he makes out a “request for help” form and has it
sent to the school where his needs are supplied if possible; the
“request for help” is then sent to the Employment Agent stating
that the request has been filled and the Employment Agent fills the
vacancy in the school.
In teaching the names of parts of the various machines, they are
going to give each student a picture of the particular machine he is
to work on; these pictures are numbered and on a separate sheet are
the names of the corresponding parts. This is done so that they can
be examined in the names of parts and not have the name in front of
them to refer to.
Only regular factory production which must pass inspection is used
for instruction.
In regard to instructors, they have taken a man from the tool room
who is a mechanic and a good teacher. He can handle any and all of
the machines and has the ability to tell what he knows in a clear way
that is readily understood.
Most of the students in the training room at present have been hired
from outside but as it is becoming better known among the men, the
laborers are applying for admission in rapidly increasing numbers.
They have several traveling salesmen, office men and a few who
have taken their degree. These latter are not very satisfactory,
however—they are not nearly so amenable to instruction as are men who
have been brought up to work.
Their training period will probably extend from four or five days to
as many weeks, depending on the adaptability of the student and the
difficulty of the machine for which they are being trained.
Women have not yet been introduced on the heavier machines but it is
intended to do so within the near future.