More Speed, Less Work

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**More Speed, Less Work** is the eighth episode of Bertha.

While Mr Willmake is at a meeting, Mr Duncan closes down Bertha for being too slow, causing everyone to go on strike.

## Plot

At the beginning, Bertha and her factory friends are busy making garden gnomes. TOM passes the gnomes to Nell and Flo, who paint them whilst Ted and Roy give Bertha the blocks needed to craft the gnomes. Panjit drove by on his forklift and became interested in the gnomes. He was curious to know about the gnome’s purpose. Nell and Flo were more then happy to explain it to him as they continued painting the gnomes. He then said that if he had a gnome in his garden, it would had to wear a turban. Nell suggested that he should ask Ted to get Bertha to make one since she can make anything. Panjit liked the idea and was soon walking to meet up with Ted.

However, Nell and Flo discover that Mr Duncan, the foreman, was watching them work and was recording his findings on his clipboard. Mr Duncan then went to Mrs Tupp’s kitchen to determine how long the tea would be ready. Mrs Tupp spots him as she was looking for the currant buns and says the tea isn’t ready to which the foreman moaned impatiently. She wasn’t at all pleased with his reaction.

Mr Duncan got up to the first floor and eyed Tracey playing noughts and crosses on her computer in the design office. He grumbled when she noted that Mr Sprott was not here and soon went over to the manager’s office where Miss McClackerty, the secretary, was busy typing. At the office, it was revealed that Mr Willmake, the manager, and Mr Sprott, the chief designer, were in a meeting so Mr Duncan was the temporary manager of the factory until they came back. Mr Duncan told Miss McClackerty that he had been watching people do their work, only to become slightly annoyed when he had seen them worked far too slowly and said that they’re wasting time. The secretary tried to tell him that it is ‘a happy factory’ but that didn’t seem to stop him from going to make changes in the factory, knowing fully well that the manager (and the rest of the staff) will not like it. Despite the negatives, Mr Duncan says that the manager will like his idea, which only made Miss McClackerty hope for the manager to come back soon.

Back on the factory floor, Panjit asked Ted to have Bertha make a gnome with a turban which Ted had accepted. Bertha managed to make the gnome flawlessly and Panjit was impressed. Then, Mr Duncan came down and questioned the factory floor staff about slacking off. Ted denied that claim, but the foreman refused to believe it, saying that he saw them ‘playing’ rather then working. Mr Duncan also said that he wasn’t ‘spying’ as Nell put it, he was doing a ‘Time and Motion study’ which means he was checking to see how fast people work. With these results, he said that Bertha is much too slow and when they finish the order he will close the machine down for good.

Bertha became furious as Ted defended her, calling her the best machine in the factory. Mr Duncan refused to believe she is, as she is ‘too old’. This resorted in Bertha picking up his bowler hat in a rage, only to be ordered to put it back down again. Many more of the workers became involved and begged for Bertha to remain operational; Flo was even worried about everyone’s job. Mr Duncan said that everyone will work in different jobs and that TOM will work in the offices (since he usually works with his mother), which upsets the little robot. Ted was not happy by the new rules and declares to the others that they must protest.

Back in the offices, Tracey and Miss McClackerty talked to each other about Mr Duncan’s changes in the factory. They both wish that the manager will arrive back quickly. Tracey noticed that TOM was sweeping in the offices and realised that the foreman had made this the robot’s new job. The two ladies leave the room with TOM in it, only for TOM to ‘tidy’ up the offices by putting the telephone in the bin and dropping a potted plant from the first to ground floor.

Mr Willmake and Mr Sprott finally arrived at the factory, but unexpectedly, had almost got hit by a falling plant. As soon as he entered the offices, the manager wondered why TOM was there and offered to take him back to Bertha. On his way, he met up with his secretary who told him about what had happened since his disappearance. Mr Sprott was most confused about why these changes were made, as the factory already works fine as it is.

The factory floor workers soon arrived near Bertha, holding signs that read “BERTHA IS BEST”, chanting the line repeatedly until Mrs Tupp stopped them for a tea break. Unfortunately, Mr Duncan said that there will be no tea breaks in the afternoon, which saddens the staff a bit. Mr Willmake demands an explanation for the protest, only for the staff to chant about saving Bertha again.

Mr Sprott and Mr Willmake spot the foreman at the rear end of Bertha and demands to know about the sudden changes in the factory. Mr Duncan explained that he did it to make the factory more efficient (even though it already is) and has proof in his clipboard. However, before he can show it to the manager, Bertha snags it from him. Including his watch. Panicking, Mr Duncan tries to get his items out of Bertha, but Mr Willmake says that there is nothing to show him. Now that the manager is back, Mr Willmake says that the staff can stop protesting as they can now work with Bertha again, including TOM. However, something came out of Bertha. Two gnomes holding Mr Duncan’s clipboard and watch. Nell and Flo laughed.

## Characters

* Bertha
* Ted Turner
* Roy Willing
* Mr. Duncan
* Tracy James
* T.O.M
* Mr Sprott
* Mrs Tupp
* Miss McClackerty
* Panjit
* Nell and Flo

## Trivia

* The episode was meant to showcase the song ‘Mr Duncan’, but it was cut due to the time.
* The phrase “Bertha is best” is one of the most popular phrases in the Bertha fandom. There was even a hashtag on Twitter for Bertha fans to tweet about Bertha content.