New-York tribune., 1920-11-14
Trade
Plans Uniform
Cost System
Increased Efficiency and Es-
tablishment of Prices OIL
Definite Basis Aims of
Manufacturers Group
School for the Beginners
Three Branches of Service
To Be Made Available for
Members of international

Efforts toward increased efficiency in
garment manufacturing and the estab-
ishment Of prices on definite basis
OF actual cost OF production are being
made by the international Association
OF Garment Manufacturers through the
establishment Of cost accounting
service bureau and the establishment
If achool Tor cost nccountnnts.
In cooperation with the industrial
engineering firm Of Miller, Franklin e.
HaAsct. the association soon viii issue
q manual on usiform cost accounting
and establish the service bureau which
will Install coat accounting systenS
Tor members. trnin expert accountants
and then follow this up with periodical
;atrol and other development work.
The initial steps In tho establish
mcnt Of the bureau and school have
been financed by the asaociationg com
nittce on uniform cost accounting and
= sum OF more than $4,000 already
has been guaranteed A fee will be
charged for the service. once it is es-
tnhlishcd. and at the same time provide
the members OF the asBocintion with u
systcm. expert training and ndvice at
"A lower cost than could be obtained If
worked out separately by individual
nrma.
Branches of Service
Three distinct branches Of service
nre to be offered through the bureau Of
uniform cost accounting. First, each
member Of the International Associa-
ton OF Garment Manufacturers viii be
visited by members of the bureaus
stan at least once year. These visSs
are to be routed and Hcheduled in such
way that members will derive the
benefit Of four days time Of bureau
representative, both to aid in deter
mining the necessity for cost account
ing work in the individual plant, and
after the installation of this system
which is covered by the second phase
of the service, to aid in checking this
system as it results in actual operation.
Second, through the bureau members
purchase installation service.
Third, after the preparation Of the
uniform cost accounting manual. ar
rangements may be made to publish
this material, either in magazine serial
form or as 4 series Of special bulletins,
and the entire organization will devote
its attention to checking up the sys-
tens in regular use. following which
thorough analysis of the manual will
be issued in book for mas standards Of
practice.
Recognizing, however, that every
system must be elastic and provide for
progress, suppleme ntary bulletins will
be issued as required by the bureau
staff, and, in addition, news and infor-
nation interchange on cost accounting
methods will be developed
To Recruit Students
Students or cadets in the school
will be recruited from the cost account
ing departments of members. Under
the supervision Of the cost accounting
experts who will be in charge Of the
bureau the cadets will be given
thorough training in uniform cost
finding methods, after which they will
go on The road. visiting the plants of
members OF the association, still con-
tinuing their studies under the super
vision Of the staff experts of the
bureau
After they have passed examinations
showing their fitness for their work,
these men will either continue in the
patrol service of the bureau, making
regular tours Of investigation through
the factories of members, or will re
turn to the service of the plants from
which they we're sent for training
The unifcrm cost accounting commit
tee Of the association consists Of F.
l.. Sweetser, Of the Dutchess Manufac-
turing Company. Poughkcepsie; Stanley
A. Sweet, OF Sweet, Orr & Co., ex
officio; JACOB W Mack, of the Rauh
e. Mack Shirt Company, Cincinnati,
president of the association; Sidney
Aloe, of the A. B. Kirschbaum Com
pany, Philadelphia; A. K Baer, of
the Strouse Baer Company, Baltimore;
A. T. Davenport. Sweet Orr e. Co.;
Arthur Schwab, director of the bureau
Of factory practice and industrial re-
lations Of the association, and A. F.
Allison, secretary of the organization.
A preliminary report of the work
ings of the new bureau Of uniform cost
accounting is to be compiled by the
committee, TO be submitted at the semi
annual convention Of the international
Association Of Garment Manufacture
ers, which will begin in New York at
the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, on Decem-
Der g.