The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-12-03
TEE SCIENTIFIC WORKMAN.


To TIE EDITOR or Tine SuN-sU! Inc
railroad freight rate hearing before the IN
terstats Commerce Commission at WASH
ington last week brought the subject OF
scientific management into great proni-
nence. II Is probable that being a new
science tho public has only faint Idea OF
what scientific management really Is
Having had considerable TO do win ~ 'n
| the last Ave years. may trespass somew ha'
on your space TO explain this science when
il to save money for the railroads.
In every operation OF doing work there
are two functions. planning and perform
ance. The planning consists in. say. ma
chime shop work. OF selecting the machine
ia which the work l. to bs done. choosing
the tool to Use in the machine. dete rmininR
the sequence OF operations. the speed oil the
machine. the depth aud thickness OF cut,
and a number Of other considerations
t'nder the usual form Of management plan
ming "a well as performing Ia usually left tn
the workman or 10 a badly overworked fore
man. The work 10 laid out and done largely
according tai precedent or tradition. In the
way the work or some Job neariy like ~
Was done by some one else.
Scientific management separates sharply
the plRnn ing and performance. Few work
men know the full capacity OF their machine.
and are therefore unable to plan their work
man agement men specially trained for the
purpose plan all work and issue definite
written instructions 90 tho men Tor its
performance. These instructions are not
based on guesswork. on tradition. or on
precedent. They are the result Of careful
studies made ON the fundamental operations
necessary TO the performance OF a given
piece OF work. which determined the most
economical way to do IL. the best tools 20
i.h hs. hxaas
could be obtained. the proper sequence of
operations. and the minimum time required
for each fundamental operation. including
thar necessary to place the work in the ma
chine. TO remove IL and adjust IL. All these
things are made matters OF record. and
from these records the man who does the
planning draws up his instructions 70 the
Workman. giving him at the same time a
statement OF the time required
the results required by the planning depart
ment In its highest form scientific man
aRement provides the stimulus for the work
man go duplicate these results by giving
him a rate OF pay, greater than the usual
rate OF his class when he does the work IN
accordance with the time allowed. and giving
him u much lower rate when he does not
accomplish the task n laid down " IL
notss orthy that few men fail 10 obtain the
instructed II should be noted that al
I though the workman receives more money
in given period OF time. the employer bene
unit OF product IL less. and the work teing
done quicker. the capacity OF bis factory
= Inc, increased withoo, the eAgssndi,ure Of ~,
on -Sp.1i:nc- %,.n:s- the ,essinosy .
Henry NJ. Towne. OF n. v. Scheel, OF Frank
Is. Gilbr~th. and other men before the In
tsrstate Commerce Commission.
Scientific mana cement Involves more than
planning OF the work. however. IN its las,
a nalysis. IL involves a study of men, OF
materials. and OF tools. standardizing OF
tools and equipment and an INVESTIGATION
OF their qualities and capacity. IL involves
motion study. TO discover what motions
made by the men are unnecessary and there
di, ions which make for useisas motions
l refer you TO tn. work OF Mr., Gilbreth. who
reduced the motions OF bricklayer in lay
ing one brick from eighteen to six "a one
OF the great examples OF what motion study
will do. and bricklayins Is 1000 years old
personally know OF case where the Out
put of q man In a machine shop was quad
rupled by motion study, and the man Was
considered good machinist who used the
a few lines scientific management might
he termed applied common SENSE u
requires a man TO do only that work Tor
" HIGH he in best fitted. but requires him 20
do that work at his greatest efficiency. II
requires that he shall not do thar work for
py and winch or ms one sss ca. he
ditions ~ made right for the creates, EN-
only the tool. he works with but hi. sur
his pay. and everything else
Affecting his work.
The world owes a debt 81 gratitude to !,
Frederick ". Taylor. the man who reduced
= he principles Of mana cement To science /,
and who almost single handed for q quarter
~ century worked out his theories in she
face Of opposition that would have dis
an ordinary man II - a cause |
for qualification that Mr. Tayior's reward
has come while he - vet among us.
RoBERr TBrRsToS kEST
Editor i"dnsfr,nI EnGiH''v,HG.
NEW YORK. December >.