New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-02-09

"HIs nursery rhyme is the text OF
the GOSPEL of efficiency. This is
Il the gospel of little things. things
that seem so insignificant that they "'
NOT reckoned with. Efficiency IN quo-
,ot,on marks, which Is the KIM MI
Brandeis had in mind when he gave inc
railroads a hint that they had great
100, ,o learn about economical methods
of running their roads, is the pohcy Oh
"a penny saved is a penny got UT 70
mt IL in the language OF a more fe0eh'
proverb-maker than Fielding
save up your pennies and save up your
rocks.
And you'll always nave tooac0o III ''O'
old tobacco box
Talk TO a bricklayer about a new
method OF laying bricks which VIII earn
him greater pay. raise higher walls IN
day and yet be less work
pooh. poohw he remarks, or uses
some other language less printable
.'Wby. our method was in use when the
Hebrews made bricks without straw
Somebody would certainly have tound
out a better way of laying bricks by this
time IL there was any. No, Sir, l dont
believe you could improve on the way the
old Assyrians put up bricks"
Perhaps, before the days of the stop
watch and the moving picture machine
they could not, but those days are past.
efficiency engineers" are doing II now.
They have the mechanism at hand which
makes it possible.
AN EFFICIENCY FACTORY.
Up in Providence there is factory
which once made butts" The word
butt" is still a part Of its name, for u
is called the New England Butt Com
pany. II no longer makes butts-which,
q NAV be stated for those who are too
lazy to look In dictionary, are hinges
Now ii makes machines that dance inc
grand right and left and quadriiies
and waltzes and the two-step ano' ior
aught the bewildered eye of the unifiu-
ated can distinguish, the turkey tro'
and the "gee whiz glide; and IT makes
braid incidentally. Its bobbins weave III
and out, lust as children do In May
mole dance The managers or TINS factory
decided that they would go the mint
an tho introduction of efficiency methods.
+ b. Gilbreth the student OF mouoh
studv. who devised a method OF increas-
mo tho output of bricklayers by reducing
the number of motions and raising theii
nav at the same time, has been occuPieu
there several months turning the shop
INSIDE down" II is believed that III ITO
factory have the principles of FREDERICK
N Tavlor. the originator of "efnciehcS
,,athods been so thoroughly introduced
The favorable results have been so usex-
pectedlv prompt in appearing that IL mas
attracted much attention among experts
THE TESTING ROOM.
Go IN TO the third floor of the factory
and step into the lightest room III the
building. 1t includes as part OF us
equipment skylight through which
food of light streams down upon the
curiously painted wall and floor. The
curious paint work is really lattice OF
lines four inches apart. Not only does
this design appear on the end wall o"'
on the floor. This ROOM you are III
formed, is the place where the moNliis
picture machine is used as means OF
reducing the cost of products OF the
factory. in addition to raising the pay OF
the employees and serving as a test IN
buying its supplies
There are some persons who think
those four inch squares are one OF Gill
breth's crazy notions" says Mr.. Gilbreth,
as he explains their purpose. They prove
10 be a method of standardizing the pct
ures. for any object photographed IN
front of the squares thus automatically
records its size and the squares on the
floor indicate it's horizontal measurement
The size of the squares was worked out
after much study as the best for
all the purposes to which they could be
applied. Nearby is a piece OF frame work
attached to the back of a short work
bench. The frame or lattice WORK Is
formed of comparatively heavy pieces OF
boards, the centres Of which are four inches
apart il is called packet A Work
man is standing in front of it assembling
one Of the dancing machines denominated
a braider He is doing the work with
both hands, the parts, each in order
being hung on hooks attached to the lat
tlce work.
MOTIONS OF THE WORkMEN.
First he takes the base. Then in each
hand he takes three bolts, and they are
placed in position. On the next hooks are
the nuts, which, in size, are just right TO
bring the bolts into the proper position
when screwed up. Then follow the legs.
etc. Within eight and one-half minutes
the machine has been set up and the
workman is ready TO set up another, the
parts Of which have been placed on a
packet in predetermined order and posi-
tion by a boy trained to do this work
Before the days Of scientific management
when the workman had to turn around
and pick the parts out of boxes, 1t used
TO take 37I1 minutes TO accomplish the
same task The cut I'm time was made
through the motion study done with the
moving picture machine.
In making the moving pictures Mr.. Gill
breth has aimed TO produce records that
will have q permanent value In the study
of other operations. For this purpose Mr..
Cilbreth has developed two or three de-
vices which will make his records tell
their own story. In every picture there
appears a sign which gives the date, the
subject. the number of the picture, the
Mace where it was made and the name Of
the photographer. The humidity and the
temperature are also included, for this
data may be Of value TO the student of,
say, fatigue or speed.
TIMING MOTIONS.
Another device which appears in each
picture is a curious clock, whose single