Evening star., 1941-02-18
Production Stepped Up.

III is apparent 10 any one who has
visited aircraft plants over period
of months that production has been
materially stepped up since last fall.
1t also is apparent that this rate
Of use of available time each week
is increasing as employees are trained
and production difficulties are
smoothed out.
Last fall many plants were work
ing flve-day weeks and few of them
were on full 24-hour schedules. To-
day most of the important plants
are working from 22l2 to "a hours at
least five days a week. with clean
up" shifts working Saturdays and
Sundays to even up production and
the remaining hours of the week
given over to maintenance of ma
chlnery and equipment and to the
shifting of machinery and produc-
ton lines made necessary by plant
expansion work.
Three Shifts Six Days.
Some of the aircraft engine fac
tories, such as the Pratt & Whitney
Division Of United Aircraft Corp,
at Hartford Conn, one of the two
largest engine plants in the industry,
are working three shifts six days
a week. Sunday at the Pratt &,
Whitney factory is just as busy as
the six full working days. being
devoted to production of parts which
lag behind the general production
schedule and to the necessary main
tenance and repair of machinery and
tools to the emergencies of plant
expansion. During the Sunday pro-
ductlon lag, whole departments may
be moved, machinery, tools and all,
into newly completed factory space.
The other leading aircraft engine
factory, Wright Aeronautical Corp,
Paterson, N. j.. is on a basic three
Shift, five days a week. Saturday.
however, has become an almost full
working day to make up production
shortages and eventually will be a
full three-shift day as inequalities
in the production rate are ironed out.
Sunday is devoted to maintenance
and repair and, to a certain extent,
to the production of parts in which
shortages may have occurred during
the week.
Air Frame Problem Different.
The air-frame factories, producing
airplanes, except for engines and
instruments. have different prob
lem and probably will not be able
to approach the production
methods of the engine industry, at
least for the present. Changes in
airplane designs are frequent as a
result of war experience and ad-
vances in the science. Changes in
types of guns, the addition of armor
plate and leak-proof gas tanks and
other necessary notifications may
entirely upset production.
Nevertheless, the air-frame fac
tories also are increasing the length
OF their actual production days and
weeks toward that long sought
maximum when no machine or tool
is idle for moment except for nee
essary maintenance and repair work.
Two of the largest West Coast and
the largest Eastern plants will suffice
as examples.
The Consolidated Aircraft Corp,
San Diego, Calf, according to the
Aeronautical Chamber of Com
merce, is working two 10hour shifts
five days a week, using the other
four hours and Saturdays as So
called choke" shifts to produce
parts which are running behind
schedule and choking" the even
flow of production. Sunday is given
over to maintenance and some pro-
duction work.
The Boeing Aircraft Co., Seattle,
is running two full eight-hour shifts
and a short f1ve-hour third shift
five days a week, using Saturdays
and Sundays for evening up" and
maintenance
The Curtiss Aeroplane Division of
Curtiss- s-Wright Corp, at Buffalo,
N. Y, the Nations largest producer
of pursuit airplanes, is running its
machines 221a hours day five days
a week and is building up to a full
siX-day week as rapidly as circum-
stances will permit. At the time of
my visit to this plant, on a Saturday,
more than 1000 out OF $500 en-
ployes were at work. The number of
Saturday workers has been in
creasing steadily and will continue
to increase, it was explained as the
production of all parts and sub
assemblies approaches an even rate.
AS the Saturday production grows,
the amount of Sunday work, on
maintenance and emergency pro-
duction to meet acute shortages also
will increase.
Few aircraft or engine plants are
completely idle now at any time of
the week. There is almost no COM
plete "blackout" of production in
the leading factories and where
blackoutS do occur, they are being
shortened as the supply of tools,
raw materials and personnel grows.