Factory Operations Research Articles

Psychology in Selecting the Factory Worker

TWO papers on the psychological procedures in the selection of factory operatives were read to Section J(Phychology) of the British Association, at the recent meeting in Newcastle upon Tyne. The first paper, by W. S. Porteous, chief industrialist phychologist to Rowntree and Co., Ltd., described procedures employed, and discussed the administrative difficulties met with, in running a selection programme in a large industrial organisation. The second paper, by R. F. Garside, one time research psychologist and statistician to Rowntree and Co., Ltd., and now at the University of Durham, described the statistical techniques employed in establishing a reliable procedure, examining the relationship of its component parts and determining their validity for selection purposes.

Book Review:Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations. Philip Lyle

Book Review:Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations. Philip Lyle

Visual Photometer for After-glow Tests on Cathode-ray Tube Screens

The photometer described was developed to enable a quick check on the decay characteristics of cathode-ray tube screens to be made. The method employed is to measure with a stop-watch the time taken for the screen brightness to decay from one level to another. In the design, more importance has been attached to the convenience of testing by semi-skilled factory operators than to high accuracy. The low field brightness of the photometer and imperfect colour matching both tend to increase the variability of the measurements, but this limitation is kept within reasonable bounds by the novel arrangement of a swinging neutral filter which ensures the same level of brightness for both the initial and final balance. The results of statistical tests are given from which the coefficient of variation is shown to be of the order of 16% for each of four screens tested.

Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations.

Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations.

Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations.

Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations.

Industrial Expansion and Location

IN APRIL of the prewar year of 1940, manufacturing accounted for approximately 10.3 million workers out of a total employment in nonagricultural establishments of about 30.8 million. (Total nonagricultural employment, including proprietors, the self-employed, and domestic workers was nearly 6 million higher.) Among metropolitan areas there was a wide variation in the relative importance of manufacturing. In nearly half of the 120 major industrial communities in the eastern part of the country-southeast as well as northeast-one-half or more of the workers in nonagricultural establishments were employed in manufacturing, whereas in several of the trading communities in agricultural sections of the South and West the portion was under one-fifth. It is also significant that in these less industrialized communities the factory operations were usually restricted to consumer goods made for the local population. In the older industrial areas manufacturing is for the most part confined to definite districts, whereas in many of the trading areas plants have been scattered throughout the commercial part of the city. The difference has resulted from the nature of the operations. Large-scale metal fabrication and chemical processes, because of their space and transportation requirements, are usually carried on in a separate part of the area, whereas food processing, printing, and other types of production for local consumption are often mixed with or adjacent to commercial zones. Moreover, wherever manufacturing is of considerable local importance, operations are often specialized. This results from a number of factors, among them, the success of an early prominent concern, the skills of the labor force, and the special service industries that develop. An area thus tends to devote a large portion of its industrial activity to making a few outstanding products. One area is an automobile center. Another is devoted mainly to steel; still others to textiles, tires, machine tools, furniture, foods. There were, of course, before the war, areas that were sufficiently diversified so that no one industry accounted for more than 10 per cent of the total value of manufactured products; but these were exceptional, and during the war most of them came to be dominated by a few munitions products. Not only is the local economy often concentrated in a few industries, but wherever the economies of size operate in an industry, a few plants employ a large fraction of the area's work-

Penicillin Production in Great Britain

ON September 20, Glaxo Laboratories, Ltd., Greenford, Middlesex, gave a demonstration of the preparation of penicillin and showed the factory operation of freeze-drying and other processes through which the finished product goes; Sir Cecil Weir, director-general of equipment and stores, Ministry of Supply, was present. Sir Cecil said that during the War when key installations were open to enemy attack, it would have been wrong to give information about the location of factories concerned; but now it is possible to disclose that the production of penicillin is under way, or about to commence, in twelve factories in Britain, operated by eight firms well known in the pharmaceutical field or in fermentation processes. Britain will soon have in operation the largest penicillin production unit in the world at Speke, and one of the largest at Barnard Castle; the latter is to be run by Glaxo Laboratories, and will make four for which the firm is responsible.

Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations.

Journal Article Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations Get access Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations. By PHILIP LYLE. (Edinburgh : Oliver and Boyd, 1944. Pp. xii + 208. 15s.) T. Barna T. Barna London School of Economics Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Economic Journal, Volume 55, Issue 217, 1 April 1945, Pages 108–111, https://doi.org/10.2307/2225898 Published: 01 April 1945

Sampling Inspection Tables Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations

FOR about twenty years, statistical methods have been finding their way into the control of industrial processes. In the 1920's only slow progress was made against a great deal of doubt and opposition from manufacturers themselves. About 1932 the tide began to flow more strongly and increased in force as the modern methods were found to provide not merely a new way of formulating old knowledge but also a technique involving substantial saving in labour and money. The War itself has probably done more in six years than peace would have done in sixty to promote the widespread adoption of the new methods. In 1935 a few enthusiasts in Great Britain were still trying to persuade manufacturers of the power of the new tools at their disposal; in 1945 there is a division of the Ministry of Supply encouraging research in these tools and acting as the centre of an extensive network of quality control. Sampling Inspection Tables Single and Double Sampling. By Harold F. Dodge and Harry G. Romig. Pp. vi + 106. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1944.) 1.50 dollars. Regression Analysis of Production Costs and Factory Operations By Philip Lyle. Pp. xii + 208. (Edinburgh and London: Oliver and Boyd, 1944.) 15s. net.

A Study of the Development of Skill During Performance of a Factory Operation

Abstract While in general the many studies into the nature of skill have been concerned with the total time required to accomplish a given task and the influence on time values of varying conditions pertaining to a specific operation, this paper is primarily devoted to a time study of the elements entering into the performance of an industrial task. The investigation constitutes a pioneer effort to study the effect of practice on a typical factory operation, conducted under laboratory conditions. The work was undertaken jointly by the Western Electric Company and the University of Iowa. The equipment was made, the tests were run, and the data were compiled in the industrial engineering laboratory at the University of Iowa. The statistical work, tabulation of results, and other activities incidental to the preparation of the final report were handled in the offices of the Western Electric Company.

Discussion: “A Study of the Development of Skill During Performance of a Factory Operation” (Barnes, Ralph M., and Perkins, J. S., 1941, Trans. ASME, 63, pp. 319–328)

Discussion: “A Study of the Development of Skill During Performance of a Factory Operation” (Barnes, Ralph M., and Perkins, J. S., 1941, Trans. ASME, 63, pp. 319–328)

Plasticity Measurements in the Rubber Industry

Abstract With the growing realization of its importance in factory operations, the plasticity of raw rubber and rubber stocks is being studied more and more. As far as can be seen from the literature, four methods for measuring plasticity are known up to the present time. The most commonly used apparatus is probably that developed by Williams, which depends upon measuring the change in the thickness of rubber under a load. The same principle is followed in the recently published method of Karrer, except that in this case the elastic recovery is also measured. The other two methods, which were used first by Marzetti and by Griffith, depend on the other hand upon a wholly different principle. Here the rubber or the rubber mixture is extruded through a narrow opening under high pressure and the quantity extruded is measured. Griffith used a dead weight whereas Marzetti used compressed air to produce the pressure. For several years the author has worked with an apparatus constructed according to the Marzetti principle, and the present paper deals with experiments with this apparatus.

Concentrated fertilizers for potatoes on three important soil types

Cooperative field studies to determine the comparative effectiveness of ordinary-, double-, and treble-strength fertilizer mixtures for potatoes were conducted in Maine, on Caribou loam; in Pennsylvania, on Berks shale loam, and in Virginia on Norfolk sandy loam. These are widely separated sections and afford a marked diversity of soil types and climatic conditions. The general trend of the results shows very little difference in the matter of yields no matter whether ordinary-, double-, or treblestrength-fertilizer was applied. It was found that the three fertilizer concentrations possessed a satisfactory mechanical condition after having stood for several months. It is recognized that in the present work the fertilizer batches were small and it by no means follows that a similar result would attend large-scale factory operations where large piles of fertilizer are involved. The results of investigational work and factory research during recent years have done a great deal to surmount the difficulties resulting from poor mechanical condition, so that it is now practicable to use concentrated fertilizers to better advantage than ever before. One phase of the field work in Maine and Virginia involved the use of fertilizer distributors as found on the different farms. In all cases, but one, no difficulty was experienced in getting the machines properly set to apply the different rates of application in an even fashion. The exception was one of the older types of potato planters without sufficiently refined adjustments. A later type of the same make has been used with entire satisfaction, indicating that it is feasible to so modify potato fertilizer distributing machinery that even concentrated fertilizer may be applied uniformly and at the desired rates of application.

The Measurement of Water Absorption by Rubber

Abstract The absorption of water by rubber has occupied a prominent place in recent literature, especially in connection with cable and other insulating materials, since it is well known that their electrical properties are adversely affected by absorbed moisture. Many other classes of rubber goods and materials also are subject to water absorption, e. g., rubber soling, tires, washers, packings, hose, tank and grinding mill linings, hot-water bottles, and surgical goods. Apart from the performance, of such articles in service, moisture absorption is important in relation to factory operations, such as drying and vulcanizing, and to storage and mechanical testing. This paper deals with the selection of a method for measuring the amount of water absorbed by rubber when saturation has been reached. In the work for which the method was developed, the rate of absorption was of no interest; but it was necessary to correlate the water absorbed by the vulcanized product with that absorbed by the raw material, so that a method was required which could be applied equally well to raw rubber, vulcanized rubber, and ebonite. It is not proposed to discuss in detail the mechanism of absorption. The literature has already been briefly reviewed by Lowry and Kohman (J. Phys. Chem., 31, 23 (1927)), who have been largely responsible for present ideas on the subject. It will be sufficient to recall that the process is a reversible one, and that the amount absorbed at any temperature depends on the humidity of the surrounding gas and the nature of the rubber.

Studies on the Illumination of the Selecting Operation in an Artificial Silk Factory

Studies on the Illumination of the Selecting Operation in an Artificial Silk Factory

Production and Employment

IN a pamphlet entitled “The Prevention of Future Economic World Crises”, Herr Robert Bosch of the Bosch Company, Stuttgart, points out that the present world-wide business depression differs radically from previous ones which were caused principally, if not exclusively, by a preceding unhealthy boom. He argues that the troubles of the present depression are not due to over-efficiency of production methods as commonly supposed but rather to the inefficiency and backwardness of nontechnical branches of the world's activities. Foreign relations are handicapped by antiquated political and mercantilist conceptions leading to armaments and tariffs while national prosperity is handicapped by wasteful and inefficient administration and distribution and by antagonism between different groups of society. It is necessary to write off superfluous plant capacity so that the remaining factories may be run efficiently. Herr Bosch visualises a reduction of the yearly working time to 1800 hours or less in place of the present 2400 hours so as to guarantee some employment at fair compensation to every worker, but he recommends that the rigid eight-hour day should be replaced by more flexible arrangements so as to provide the maximum economy in the operation of particular factories.

Intra-Plant Standardization

N OTHING quite so completely epitomizes the philosophy of present-day production as the one word, specialization, which in turn connotes standardization. The efforts, progress and results of the broad cooperative movement of simplification and standardization, guided and sponsored by the Department of Commerce, have been widely disseminated and generally endorsed. That this national program for the elimination of production waste is probably the most outstanding industrial achievement, from a dollars and cents standpoint, in the last decade, is largely recognized. Manifestly this coairdinated plan, which is based on the cooiperation of all or a large proportion of an industry, has its limitations-it cannot, for very obvious reasons, encompass the vast field of application open to the individual manufacturer. So despite the tremendous savings accomplished in this nation-wide effort, many individual plants have not as yet made the most of the possibilities afforded by intelligent intra-plant standardization. In the first place, conditions within a given plant are so individual in many respects that a codperative standardization would be utterly impossible. Secondly, the more intimate details of operation and management are matters over which the individual plant must have full control and in which the highest individual ingenuity must be allowed to operate. It is evident, therefore, that the individual manufacturer has an infinitely greater opportunity to secure the many benefits and economies of standardization than is possible solely through the coiperative movement within an entire industry. In fact, the possibilities run virtually the entire gamut of factory operation. A few of these possibilities together with the manner in which certain manufacturing concerns have handled them are set

Factory Operation of Automatic Electrometric pH Control of Cane Juice Defecation1

Factory Operation of Automatic Electrometric pH Control of Cane Juice Defecation¹

HYDROGEN-ION CONCENTRATION AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF CLAY SLIPS1.

This paper supplements a previous paper on this subject. The authors have tried to determine in the laboratory the extent of variations on hydrogen-ion concentration, electrical conductivity, and viscosity caused by those variable conditions which might exist in factory operation such as temperature, vigor and time of stirring, salts, etc. It appears that the viscosity of the slip remains to be the most indicative of its workability whereas its electrical conductivity shows some promise of being used as an additional method of control. Little promise was found for H-ion concentration deter- minations. Note: It should be remembered that the term PH represents the logarithm of the reciprocal of the H-ion concentration or . This is a logarithmic value. Therefore a solution having a PH value of 6.0 contains ten times as many H ions as one having a pn value of 7.0. Alsb if the PH increases in value the H-ion concentrations decreases.

The Effect of Climate on the Efficiency of the People of the Russian Far East

One of the greatest achievements of the new science of climatology is the establishment of the so-called optimum. This principle, first developed for the vegetable kingdom, Ellsworth Huntington has applied to man, and has endeavored to find the optimum for his physical life and mental work, and for his efficiency. The present article is an attempt to apply Huntington's findings to the Russian Far East and its population.' The chief climatic factors influencing man's efficiency Huntington recognizes as (i) the mean temperature month by month; (2) the variability of the weather from day to day; (3) the frequency of storms; (4) the relative humidity. Besides these, the author thinks there should be added the length of the seasons, the intensity and the amount of sunlight, and the electrical conditions of the air. We shall consider first the temperature. As much space has elsewhere been given to the general monthly and annual temperatures,2 we shall here turn to the question of most immediate interest, namely, the influence of temperature on human efficiency. On the basis of the work of thousands of factory operatives and students, Huntington came to the conclusion that these workers showed the greatest efficiency at approximately 15' C. (590 F.), and to this temperature he attributes a rating of i00 percent. The temperature above i50 C. grows progressively worse for efficiency, reaching, for example, at 300 C. a rating of only 92.5 percent. Similar results follow when the temperature falls below i50; conditions become progressively more unfavorable, and when the temperature has reached 200 C., for example, the percentage of efficiency is only 93.6 percent. 1 Among the scientists of the world who have been at work on the solution of the problem of temperature conditions, those of Russia and the United States occupy foremost places. Of the Russians must be mentioned such men as Voeykov, Brownov, Klossovsky, and others, and among Americans Abbe, H. Arctowski (Polish by birth) R. De C. Ward, J. Warren Smith, J. B. Kincer, A. D. Hopkins, C. F. Brooks, H. Moore and others. Among Huntington's numerous works see especially his Climate and Civilization Yale University Press, and his and Cushing's Principles of Human Geography John Wiley and Sons, i92i. 2 Novakovsky, Stanislaus, Climatic Provinces of the Russian Far East in Relation to Human Activities, Geographical Review, vol. I2, No. I, pp. iOOII 5, I922. The Probable Effect of the Climate of the Russian Far East on Human Life and Activity, ECOLOGY, vol. 3, No. 3, pp. i8i-20i, I922.