Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-17
WORKERS FAT|GUEDs
BY FACTORY NOISES
U. s. Industrial Leaders
Seeking Rhythm In Opera
ton of Machines.


Il got rhythm" means more TODAY
than the refrain Of . popular song !,
from musical comedy. II means the !.
olnerence In some industries between
proft and loss. For profit today h ,
on costs, and rhythm, It has been
found, means reduction Of industrial
costs. n,
Unrhythmic sounds caused By indus
trial machinery are more fatiguing %
workers than rhythmic sounds. accord
ing TO reports to the Department Of
Labor. go
Effect 81 sounds.
A study Of 1,040 industrial workers
showed that unrhythmic sounds pro.
ouced deadening Of the hearing IN
workers who had previously not been
affected by any deafness. Employers
are being urged, therefore, TO conduct
tests OF nearing among prospective en-
ployeS and so to synchronize machinery
that periodic examinations viii show
no III effects from industrial noises. se
It Is established that the loudYiess
OF the noise Is . minor factor. It Is
the intensity Of the noise and its
rhythm which must be watched. As
q result Of these studies some types
OF machinery are being isolated, be-
cause some machines, even II few I'm
number. determine the volume Of noise j
for the whole room and the conse-
quent amount Of fatigue among work.
ers, as well as the lasting effects. Some
hardening of the wax Of the ears and
the partial deafness resulting. ea,,
The most baneful effects have been
found to come from machines which
make q large amount Of noise, but
which make intermittent rather than
rhythmic noises. A break In the rhythm
Is disturbing. The old story Of the man
who heard the man in the room above
him drop one shoe and then lay awake
for hours waiting for the other shoe To-.
drop Is fully borne out as q principle
Of industrial efficiency. soaA
Noises Are Mufncd. z,
It Is established, however, that the
greatest fatigue follows the greatest
amount Of noise. Consequently, factory :
heads are using every effort 10 reduce.
noise. The clank Of machinery is grad
ually being mufled even in the boiler
factories and machine shops. as.,
Industrial executives are watching theii
weather charts today as closely as the
ship captains and the farmers. High
temperatures have an adverse effect on :
Industrial production, according 10 the !
chief surgeon Of the Bureau of Mines,
Liz ~. ~ 04yCAos GtAb4CA1CAJ WIZ
weather has q similar effect. $50,
The kind Of work performed governs
the degree Of heat at which the work.
Is smost eficfently accomplished and
employers are striving for this optimuna
temperature for each worker. A tenn
perature Of 66 degrees Is regarded as !
best for those not performing heavy
physical tasks. For ordinary machine
work SO to IS Is regarded as best. Few
er accidents occur when temperatures
are maintained at the proper figures. 4
Accidents increase when temperatures {
rise or fall much above s. degrees. A. :
drop to 40 in one plant produced an
increase Of So per cent in accidents. :
Factory owners. can make up their
minds that the same number of workers
will do less work in january, February
and March and from July is to Sep
tember Is than in the other six months
of the year unless measures are taken
to correct improper temperatures.
The importance Of all this to indus
try is seen in the fact that industrial
accidents cause the death of $4,000
workers yearly and that the cost Of in-Te
dustrial accidents Is about $4,000, 000,-
900 annually. e ~
a (Copyrishts 1907