J

UST as man often reaches the physical condition where he requires the services of a physician, SO a factory often comes to the point where it requires the attention of a specialist. If man obeyed all the proper laws of nature the chances are that he could do without the doctor's services, and, if the factory had always received proper treatment there would be some question as to the necessity of the services of the efficiency engineer. Taking conditions as they are, however, the scientific treatment of factories is as essential today as is the scientific treatment of human ills.

This is especially true in the furniture making field since competition is so keen that a penny saved is truly a penny earned. Now, if it were possible for one man familiar with the factory conditions to do nothing but study the problems there he might improve things to some extent, but the man from outside, who has prescribed for other conditions can diagnose the case better and in far less time. He may be more expensive, if first cost is considered, but he is worth the price, if he knows his business, and there are many who do.

The writer is one who believes that, today, the true efficiency engineer can make a better showing in woodworking plants, as a class, than in any other manufacturing business. The operator may be involved to some extent but, if for the sake of absolute harmony as is sometimes the case, it seems desirable to eliminate him from the question, a consideration of operations and equipment needs only to be attempted. These properly solved will place the factory on a higher standard of productiveness.

For instance, in a factory making piano cases, the square pillars were ripped out on circular saws, squared up two sides on the hand jointer, the other two sides finished on a surfacer, the piece then band-sawed to shape and finally sanded. The saw marks were fairly deep and the sanding operation alone cost about two cents on each pillar. After some study the operations were changed so that the rough squares coming from the rip saw were put through a four side moulder. A slight change in the design of the pattern was made to work it to advantage on the moulder, but the change made a more graceful looking pillar.

Reducing the Waste

The shaping on the moulder cost from one to one and a half cents per pair as against three to five cents for band sawing. The hand planing operation, costing a half cent per pair, was eliminated entirely. The moulder left the job so smooth that the sanding cost was reduced from four cents to one cent per pair. Three machines did the work of five at a greatly reduced cost.

factories, which would indicate that a specialist can be of service.

Now consider the problem of arrangement. The question that confronted the expert was a jobbing shop, doing all kinds of work from merely dressing lumber to the manufacture of furniture. No stock work and the long narrow floor space with only one entrance complicated the problem and made a back haul for shipment necessary. The old arrangement of this shop is shown in exhibit I, only the more important machines being designated.

The class of work demanded the following general arrangement; ample space in aisles and around the machines, a roughing machine group, a finishing machine group, a group for miscellaneous work, and a fitting and assembling space. In the instance under consideration the standard process was (1) jointing, (2) ripping, (3) cutting off, (4) moulding. By drawing a pencil mark on exhibit I from the entrance to machines numbered 2, 3, 4, and 5 the reader will get an idea of how the stock had to travel back and forth before going to the benches.

Bad Features

Notice some of the details of inefficient arrangement. The cabinet makers' benches were little used and occupied space which could have been used for raw materials, but the roughing machines were on the opposite side of the building. The direction of feed of different machines was incorrect. There was no wide lane for trucks, in fact not many trucks either. When it is considered that the cost of picking up and putting down lumber is fifty cents, or more per thousand, the loss will be more fully appreciated. The molders were on the wrong side of the rip and resaw. The two surfacers were widely separated, the smaller being as far away from the benches as it could be placed. Shapers and mortisers were on opposite ends from tenoners and it was usually necessary to climb over stock to make the often needed trip between these machines.

The fitting up saws and dry box should have been adjacent to the erecting space. Another shortcoming was the lack of a band saw and bench hand planer and jointer for the use of the cabinet makers. A striking example of incorrect location was the sander, set off in a corner, so surrounded by other tools as to be almost invisible and feeding right against the wall. The principle underlying causes of these conditions were haste and confusion of original installation and shortsightedness in not correcting them before they became worse.

What the Engineer Found

The efficiency engineer that was called in found some favorable conditions. The heating, lighting and ventilation were good; there was a big floor space and most of the machines were driven by individual motors. Exhibit II shows how the equipment was rearranged after the specialist had made a careful study of the conditions. This arrangement was, so far as possible, based on the department system. The machines were arranged (1) in groups, located with reference to each in respect to the class of work required; (2) individually, with reference to their work in the group. This gave the general arrangement previously referred to; (1) roughing, (2) finishing, (3) fitting up, (4) jobbing tools. All machines were

Another factory using mahogany which cost about two hundred dollars per thousand, or twenty cents per square foot, found that the cut-off saw was taking out one-quarter inch of kerf. A little figuring showed that every time a three-inch plank was cut off, one cent and a quarter went to saw dust. A thin blade was secured which reduced the waste one-half. This led to an examination of the rip saws, and here again the waste was cut more than one-half by substituting band rip saws for the circulars. So much for operations. Similar conditions exist in most furniture

this point. Notice under the new arrangement the wide aisle, the length of the shop and the ample trucking space between machines, enough to accommodate two trucks at each, one to bring the stock and the other to be loaded right from the machine.

Two groups of machines are belt driven, each group having its own motor. The one consists of lathes, dowel, plug machines, etc., and the other of block-making machines. All other machines have individual motor drive. Consider briefly the various groups. The roughing group comes first-the jointer feeding to the rip or the cut off saw and the band resaw is clear of both. This group feeds into the moulders, matchers or surfacers. From these it goes, without back tracking, either to the assembling benches or to the jobbers, i. e., the shapers, tenoners, mortisers, borers, another jointer, dado machine,

21-Planer and matcher.

15

concerns and individuals allied with the industry, gave a substantial start that has developed into a crystallization of the most comprehensive, attractive and result-producing form.

Details of exhibits are slow in forthcoming, due largely to the process of preparation and the prospective exhibitor is more or less unwilling about claiming things that might not be shown or outlining original plans and devices that are intended as surprises and naturally withhold until the opening of the Exposition. The initial Exposition opens at the Coliseum, Chicago, April 30, and continues until May 9, and during this time it is expected a number of important regular or special meetings of various trade organizations will be held. The Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers' Association will have its convention on the opening day. The National Lumber Manu

21

Lathe Group D

Stair Way

5 Molder. 6 Surfacer. 7-Molder. 8--Band rip saw. 9 Tenoners. Lavatory. 15 Shapers. 16 Mortisers. 17-Dado machine. 18

facturers' Association will hold its annual convention on May 5 and 6. In this connection the Lumbermen's Association of Chicago has appointed a special committee to arrange details for their participation, in a sense acting as host to the great number of lumbermen and representatives of the affiliated branches of the industry, while the women visitors will probably be entertained by the ladies of Chicago, who are related by marriage to the industry. The New York organizations have not perfected their plans, but it is understood they will take the same action and have official representation in the Exposition. At Chicago Tuesday, May 5, has been designated as Chicago Day, when the local interests will dominate the program.

FN an efficiency or an industrial engineer put in charge of some big industrial operation, he first makes a careful study of all the general conditions, and after he ed that, he then makes a study tarting of the work, then the of material and men, and then the blaming of machinery in order to fas lineet production or in other i do two operations at once with hese machine if it is possible to do I..e greatest waste in any manufacplant (outside possibly of the Vise of material itself) is the waste in er transportation. The latter are meaningless words until you look beneath

surface. When you do, however, you are startled at the losses that are being rred in the daily operations. Recently THE FURNITURE MANUFACRER AND ARTISAN published a very

the inspector where formerly six were

employed. In another plant in a large city, a manufacturer had practically no room for piling his lumber except in the cellar of his building. He therefore was obliged to buy

most of his lumber from the retail yards, except, of course, an occasional car or two direct from the mill. The writer told this man of the car system of handling, with the result that a little later on this manufacturer made arrangements with the railroad, which for certain considerations, ran a switch down an incline to the level of his cellar, and today this man unloads from the freight cars onto small cars, which he pushes away into bins. As a result he saves over $3 a thousand in his costs and handling. He has a kiln on the same level, and after kiln-drying, these small cars are brought up by elevator to the cutting rooms. There is another manufacturer in Buffalo who employs the truck system instead of the track system, but this, to the writer's mind, is not as efficient as the other two examples which have been given.

worthy article by Alexander T. Deinzer, who d the subject exceedingly well, in particular 1 handling of lumber into a plant. He gave a-u-trations the lumber conveyors and showed that tree men in about ten hours accomplished the handling of a carload of lumber which was formerly done by five me, and which took two days. The illustration is especially zd for the reason that very few manufacturers today .. what it costs them to handle this raw material, and ... is one of the big problems in interior transportation. The writer has several plants in mind that have solved * problem to efficient advantage. There is one he knows

ilarly well, in one of our Eastern cities. About three sear ago, the head of this concern suddenly realized the aning of efficiency and at once proceeded to apply it in *... pant. As he used from one to two million feet of

er annually, a saving of even $1 a thousand in and..ng his lumber would more than pay him for the :ation of any additional capital equipment that he #ont have to put in. He proceeded to install a track *m throughout his entire plant. Today, when a carload of number arrives, it is immediately unloaded from the fr.gnt car onto two small cars-one car is utilized for *** 14 and 16 feet lengths, while the other car is used for for shorter lengths. Two men unload a car, superin

ded, of course, by a high-class inspector. These small Cafe are then pushed along under the big lumber sheds, **Are they are left until ready to be used. All of their se pled with strips three feet apart. When lumber ...d for the kilns it is pushed from under the lumod into a kiln. After it is dried, it is then pushed ***

p next to the first cutting-up machine. You hase only two handlings-the loading on the are, and the unloading in the shop. Formerly, *** We put in, this manufacturer unloaded

at the lumber on hand trucks, then put it in Apen rondy for kiln drying, it was unpiled and d on the kiln trucks. You can see for yourself Landhuge were saved in this new method. farfymen now used in the yard, outside of

This saving in handling is one of the big principles of efficiency; but few manufacturers realize the losses that are incurred yearly by improper methods. Too many manufacturers try to cheapen their product with poor materials, when they could make their profits alone on the saving in the handling of their material.

Too often it is the head of a concern and his policy that keeps the whole organization from forging ahead, and as a result the entire business suffers. It was but recently that the writer was shown the plans of a very extensive factory, which is now in the process of construction, and was asked to give his views on certain efficiency principles which could be applied to this plant. After a careful study the writer saw that they had their machines in perfect alignment for efficiency routing, but that they had neglected absolutely the biggest factor-the handling of their lumber. The writer brought this to notice, and after considering the matter the head of this concern decided that the trucks and small cars would cost too much at the start, and that for this reason they would not be put in. Yet the writer distinctly showed them where in six months' time they would have paid for this new equipment in saving on the handling of the lumber alone.

The Dry Kiln May Help

Again this manufacturer decided that a kiln which would dry lumber in half the time would cost quite a little more than the old-fashioned kiln, which he now uses, and which takes about three weeks to dry lumber perfectly. This is a case where the policy of the head of this concern alone will hold back the whole organization from There will come a time, when business getting ahead. returns to normal again, that this manufacturer will be hard-pressed for kiln-dried lumber, for the reason that he will not be able to dry it fast enough, and he will then have to try to buy kiln-dried lumber to keep his plant going.

Interior transportation does not alone relate to the

handling of the big items. It takes in also the small partly manufactured pieces as well. The writer went through a large factory in New York City recently, and watched a number of men at work machining small pieces for interior piano action parts. These machines were grouped along in line. The operator at the first machine took the small pieces from a barrel on his left, finished his part of the work, and then dropped the piece into a barrel on his right. When the barrel was about half full it was moved down the line to the next machine and the empty barrel from the latter brought back to the former. This same operation continued along this line of machines to where the last operator completely finished machining the piece. Now just look at the waste in this part of the plant alone. There is too much money tied up in the stock in these barrels. Little inclined chutes should be built so that when the first operator completes his part of the work on the piece, instead of dropping it into the barrel, he should put it on the chute, where by gravity it will run within the reach of the next operator, and so on down the line. The writer figured this out for the head of this plant, who thought so well of it that he ordered the chutes built immediately, and put in operation. Another instance in this same factory; storage of lumber in New York City comes to a pretty good figure. Now these same people were piling their lumber about a block from their factory and yet almost their entire cellar was empty. The writer suggested the track system here, and showed these people how they could do away with their storage ground. The equipment was ordered a few days after the writer had visited this plant, and is now being installed. Do you know, it seems a big thing, but most people do not realize yet that efficiency is after all only common sense applied to anything that you do; yet it generally takes an outsider to come in and tell you how to run your own business. The illustrations the writer has given are things that could have been thought out by anyone in these plants, yet the broad principles of efficiency always seem to be overlooked. The larger the plant, the greater can be the saving, and the more indirect the production. In other words, the greater the number of operations per piece, the greater can be made the saving.

The Item of Transportation

An industry in New York State had grown to such large proportions that they were forced to buy an additional plot of ground and build some distance from the original plant. The product that is made is not over three feet in any dimension. The factories were planned very efficiently, and as a result the output was increased over three times; yet with all their efficient workings, they were hauling from the old factory to the new, and this item of transportation ran up into a large sum annually. One day an efficiency engineer saw this trucking, and went to interview one of the heads of the factory. As a result of his talk, he saved them their item of transportation between the two plants, and very shortly afterward they installed the trolley system, which was simply a wire cable stretched between the two plants. Now, all day long there is an endless procession of the rough product going along the wire by gravity to the other plant. A return wire brings the trolly runners back to the old plant. It is a simple thing, and the capital equipment necessary for the installation was but a small fraction of the annual cost of the former transportation.

Gravity is one of the greatest forces in the universe, yet but few manufacturers realize its importance, and make it work for them. There is another factory in New York State where there is but one elevator which goes to the top of the building. The lumber is cut up in the top

of the factory, and from that time on every part of the work slides to the next machine, or to the next floor, and the men do not move away from their machines or their work all day long. The writer has seen the figures of the saving in cost alongside that of former times in this plant and the saving is tremendous.

In one of the largest industrial plants the item of the removal of the scrap waste amounted to a large sum yearly, because it necessitated men to shovel the scrap steel into buckets which were then hoisted by an electric crane, and deposited on other cars. An efficiency engineer, put on this plant, did away with the bucket, and installed in its place a large electro-magnet, with the result that in this item alone, they saved in the cost of the two shovelers an expense of $1,500.00 a year. Besides that the work was done in half the time by the electro-magnet, and the man in charge of the crane had time to help out in other things as well.

The Ford Motor as an Illustration

The writer cannot resist the temptation of illustrating part of the efficient management in the Ford Motor Car shops, which he regards as our most efficiently maintained plant. The work in this plant is steadily moving, and every man does his work walking. He takes six or eight steps and is done; then he takes six or eight steps back and begins again. To quote from the New York Times Analyst: "In almost every direction one sees, in the Ford plant, a problem in transportation solved. There is an overhead railway with its own management, and stoff, the equipment of which consists of swinging electric cars which are forever speeding through the air, clanging gongs. Also chutes wherein the force of gravity is utilized to deliver things from one place to another. That principle is only beginning to be built, and is to be carried much further if possible. The point is to make things transport themselves,' says Ford. To lift a thing off the floor costs a definite amount of energy, that may then be utilized in many cases to transport the same thing a considerable distance. When you think of 1,500 engines a day, weighing 100 pounds each being lifted off the floor to the level of a man's waist, and put down again every time the engine block is subject to another operation, you get an idea of the amount of energy that is commonly wasted in shop practice. Besides, moving things about on the floor wears out the floor. Anything wears out very fast; so Ford says: 'We'll keep things off the floor.' In the foundry there is a big lesson in transportation. There is overhead a great oval track. Depending from the track, and spaced closely, are hangers which terminate in little platforms, two feet from the floor and These hangers are just big enough to hold a mould. always traveling. On one side are the moulders who get their sand from the chutes, form their moulds, and place them on the little platforms. That is all they do. The moulds then travel around to the men who pour the metal. It comes to them in crucibles swung to an overhead track. Then one man as a mould passes him, takes off the top; that is his whole work. Another dumps the casting; that is all he does. You think of children making mud pies on the floor of a merry-go-round.

"A plant so wonderfully incorporated where every man's material is kept waiting, where every operation is timed and spaced with reference to the sequel, and where one department cannot get ahead of another without unkeying the whole shop-a plant like that cannot grow on the edges; it has to grow from the middle out. Each time an increase of the plant is wanted (which may be several times a year), it has to be reorganized throughout. Production for months ahead is estimated, and the plant is keyed to that. It cannot be increased at all without a

reorganization, except through intensification, evenly all around, of the human effort.

"That leads to the man factor; no man seems to work very hard, but every man is working all the time. If he gets a little behind in the work, he is not comfortable, because the man behind is crowding. Ford's new plant is composed of seven separate structures under one roof, with six railroad tracks running all the way through. That greatly simplifies the problem of internal transportation. The objection to a large plant in which all the material comes in at one side, and all the finished product goes out of the other side, is that every ounce of material

has to be transported in a dozen different parts all the way across the factory, and which, in many cases is over a thousand feet. When you multiply thousands of tons of material by 1,000 feet, you get a great many of ton-miles of transportation, and transportation costs money." While perhaps some of our industries are not as large as the Ford plant, the same principles can be applied. Internal transportation is one of your big losses yearly.

Just take the time; go through your plant and see the problems that you can solve yourself along this line. It does not always need an efficiency engineer; just apply a little common sense.

T

HAT a definite sales opportunity in Europe, Africa and the Orient awaits the American manufacturer of desks, filing cabinets and office furniture of both steel and wooden construction, seems apparent in the following symposium presenting extracts from the daily reports of government agents abroad. In the majority of cases, with the possible exception of Great Britain, the field has not been properly developed, although the tendency in favor of goods of American make is marked. This advantage, however, is discounted to some extent by the active advertising and educational campaign necessary to the effective introduction of this class of furniture. For the energetic American exporter with sufficient backing to establish permanent agencies, the foreign market is not without extensive possibilities.

"The increasing popularity of American styles of office furniture is very marked in England and in this consular district (Bradford, Eng.) on account of the close and large business relations with the United States, that popularity is particularly in evidence, despite the conservative. nature of the business people.

"A recent conversation with an experienced commercial traveler for a local firm was of much interest, as he cited numerous instances of large business houses in this district which have recently remodeled the work and equipment of their offices on American lines. British firms now produce goods on the same lines, so that American manufacturers have not now the opportunities formerly offered; but it was interesting to hear this experienced commercial traveler say that in his judgment a centrally located store or agency in this city handling exclusively American office furniture and supplies of all kinds would prove very successful.

"Bradford is a city of approximately 30,000 inhabitants and is not only surrounded by many busy manufacturing towns and villages, but is also within nine miles of Leeds, which has a population of approximately half a million. Bradford is the wool center of this country and on the Bradford exchange hundreds of business men meet every market day, not only from the immediate surrounding district, but from all parts of the country."-Consul Augustus E. Ingram, Bradford, England.

"It appears that the trade in American desks in the United Kingdom was better some 15 or 20 years ago than it is at present. There are no statistics available showing the value of office desks imported from the United States,

but it appears from a statement issued by the British Board of Trade that the total value of wood furniture and cabinet ware (under which desks would be classified) imported from the United States has decreased within the past five years.

"At present American desks are imported in two ways -fully finished ready for the market, and in knockdown and unfinished condition. The latter method is preferred by importers generally, especially those who manufacture desks of their own, for the reason that the initial cost to them is not so great and they are able to finish the article in their own shops and place their names upon it, so that when it is sold to the consumer it appears to be a Britishmade desk.

"If the other method is adopted by the American maņufacturer, it is much better for him to establish a branch office and depot, in London, for example, than to engage the services of a merchant or agent, who would probably represent other lines and would be inclined to push those which commanded a more ready sale and produced the best returns.

"Some well-known American firms have already established branch offices in London and are doing a satisfactory business. However, owing to the present keen competition in the trade and to the natural reluctance of the British public to adopt quickly a new article, it is believed that a manufacturer who is not known in the English market would have to be prepared to engage in an extensive advertising campaign and to wait a considerable time for satisfactory returns.

"There is a demand for high-class office desks, but it is rather limited. It appears that the class of desk which is most popular in this country sells at about 5 guineas ($25.55)."—Consul General John L. Griffiths, London,

Eng.

"The demand for American office furniture has increased considerably in Algeria during the past two years, largely owing to the enterprise of an Algerian firm that has advertised extensively and pushed sales at Algiers and in other localities through its agents.

"The most important sales have been of roll topped desks, which, in order to avoid undue expense for freight and duty, are imported knocked-down and unvarnished. It is estimated that there is a saving of 30 to 35 per cent in importing desks in this manner.

"The desirability of importing American roll topped desks was discussed with one of the leading dealers in