The Washington herald., 1922-03-14
"Shifts" and Industry.


A LII the unexplored fields of the world do not
~ lie in the depths of the tropics or the ice fields
of the North. Engineers have penetrated into one
of the little-known realms of modern industry, that
of shift-working
Five hundred thousand workers in American
industry have do their tricks" in shifts so that
plants kept in continuous operation This is
the statement of committee of the American En-
gineerng Council OF the Federated American En-
gineering Societies. the same organization that has
investigated the waste in American industry.
Their committee work periods in continuous
industries has made a nation wide survey. The re-
suits interesting:
Labor efficiency is higher with three shifts of
eight hours each than with two twelve-h shifts
Continuous operation, according to the engineers,
found to constitute great social and industrial
problem about which almost nothing is known
either by labor, the cmploye the public.
The committees Investigations to date have been
in industries other than steel. 1t has been found
that the extent of continuous operation industry
outside of steel is greater than had been supposed
There we'll up to 40 so industries which in
volve a greater smaller amount of continuous
operation in all portion of the countrys plants
These industries include many that techni-
cally of great importance. the engineers point out
In fact, class, they underlie large portion of
present-day industry, many if not most materials
having at some point to undergo continuous-opera
ton processes services.
-Four chief causes of continuous operation may
be distinguished" says the report. "One group is
made up of what may be called heat-process indus
tries, these industries falling into two main subd-
visions, the metaurgical and the ceramic Another
group is made up of chemical industries, though
many of the industries in other groups also to
large extent chemical industries. third great
cause of continuous operation might be termed
heavy equipment or elaborate equipment. This
cause operated to greater or less extent in the
case of almost all the continuous industries. 1t is
chief cause of continuous opefation Group four
is made up q public service industries.
an most of the continuous industries the num-
Der of employees engaged on shift work is not as
large might be supposed, because continuous
operation usually comes at stage where it is pos
sible for few to handle large tonnage of
materials. The extreme example of this is in the
water supply of New York, where some 800 men
on shift work daily pump some 4oo,ooo,ooo or $780,
100000 gallons OF water.
Nevertheless, there many OF these con-
tinuous industries, and many of them of such
substantial sze that, take all together, the great
steel industry probably does not account for more
than fourth fifth of the total of shift workers.
Some of the larger industries outside Of steel,
now predominanty eght-hour shifts, but all
except few OF the industries still have some
plants on tweve-hour shifts; and in some cases all
or a majority of the plants are twelve e-hour
shifts.
Every roughly, the number of shift workers in
the United States is probably we'll 100000,
though likely not large 100000. And the
number of men twelve-hour shifts, in the period
preceding the depression, perhaps not far
from 100000, of which about many outside
the steel industry in the steel industry"
Even during the serious depression that we have
been passing through for the past two years, few
Reduction of the lengths of the shifts has in
they had on three.
Reduction of the lengths of the shifts has in
some cases worked magic for certain industries.
There were actually gains in efficiency Often they
were able to reduce the number of men per shift
or the output increased.
Men do not like to work from sunup to SUM-
down. They would much prefer day of decent
length.
There is progress in the observation of the
engineers committee:
1.-THE immediate effect Of going to three shifts
cheney; but not great increase in efficiency
barring exceptional pants-as to permit the paying
of as high weekly wages men would receive for
twelve hour work, without increasing cost But it
would be possible without increasing costs, to pay
the men weekly wage which, once they had be-
come used to the eight-hour shift they would much
prefer to, the alternative of twelve-hour day and
twelve-hour wage" ..- ....-
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