Chapter C: U. CARPENTER, Works Manager, Dayton Recording & Computing (2)

The classes of work in toolroom are also segregated as much as possible; we have one gang for machine repair and reconstruction only. Another gang does all the roughing work on tools and gauges so that the finishing work only on gauges is done by the gauge-makers who are also practically a separate gang. The grinding of tools is under one skilled mechanic who is a working gang boss and leader of men trained to do this work only.

Our tool supply is never permitted to get below the fixed minimum quantity, and record of this condition is always before the toolroom foreman and maintained by his clerk. His clerk is advised hourly on this through the disbursements which he receives from various shop cribs.

We also make a daily record of these same disbursements as against operations and production, thereby keeping in close touch with this situation, obviating any unnecessary tool wastage which very quickly may become extremely expensive, and which also may cause dangerous delays in production in shop due to shortages in tool supply.

(Signed) GEORGE DE LAVAL,
_Vice-President and General Manager_.

WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING CO.

East Pittsburgh, Pa.

Until recently we have confined our training, as such, very largely to trades apprentices. We have a four-year course for these as mechanics, electricians and patternmakers.

Until recently it has been our plan to train new employees in the section to which they were assigned, upon the machines and work with which they were to be regularly connected. The various shop departments have instructors picked from the best workmen to demonstrate machines and their operation, when necessary.

What has already been said applies to both men and women, and up to the present time we have done nothing more than this in the way of training men employees.

Recently we have inaugurated a training course for women machine operators and a department has been equipped wherein these women are instructed in the operation of machine tools, such as lathes, drill press, screw machines, grinders and milling machines. This department is also to train women who are to work on mechanical fitting.

In addition to this we have a training school for instructing women employees in electrical work, such as winding, taping, soldering, connecting and insulating.

These schools are primarily for beginners and it is the plan to obtain women for these training sections through our centralized Employment Department. Then, when any manufacturing department wishes help, it will obtain it from the training section.

The instructor from these training sections is a high-grade man assisted by women, and these instructors are carefully selected from our own best employees.

The length of the training period runs from two to three days up to three to four weeks, depending upon the difficulty of the occupation and the adaptability of the woman being trained.

We have also recently inaugurated a training school for women clerks and we have had for some time a training school for stenographers, typists, tracers and dictaphone operators.

We believe that preliminary training is very desirable for both men and women and that if equipment and space are allowable, special training departments should be established wherever the nature of the work will permit it.

(Signed) ROBT. L. WILSON,
_Assistant General Superintendent_.

NORTON GRINDING COMPANY

Below is a list of men from the Norton Co., Worcester, taking a summer course in the Worcester Trade School to qualify in an eight weeks’ course as all round machine hands. Five other factories are sending similar groups of employees. Their wages will soon be from 30 per cent. to 100 per cent. more than ever before, which indicates in a measure their increased service in the war emergency.

Could anything indicate better than this group in training for all round machine hands, and the statement of their previous experience which follows, the necessity of bringing men like them into our factories, first giving them an intensive training which develops their latent abilities?

Name Age Previous education Previous occupation

A. B. 24 Grammar School Carpenter
E. R. 32 Grammar School Laborer
C. M. 30 High School, 1 year Musician, 9 years
C. J. 24 Grammar School Elastic Dept.
O. L. 18 Trade School, 4 years Student
I. K. 24 High School, 1½ years Scraper hand
C. D. 20 High School, 3 years Grocery clerk
T. J. 44 Grammar School Painter
A. S. 27 High School, 4 years Adjusting glasses
in optician’s
office
D. S. 20 High School, 1 year Assembling, machine
shop
M. O’B. 42 Grammar School Brushmaker for
33 yrs.
C. K. 32 High School, 2 years Assembling, machine
shop
O. G. 19 Not given Grading
S. G. 31 Norwich Univ. graduate Civil engineer, in
business for himself
M. W. 17 High School, 1 year Turret lathe
Trade School, 1 year operator, 2 years
J. S. 21 Primary School Moulder, 1 year
L. B. 20 High School, did not Grocery clerk
graduate
M. H. 18 High School Student
M. T. 33 Primary School
A. S. 38 Grammar School Scene shifter in
Poli’s Theater
I. G. 19 Grammar School, 2 years Student
H. M. 20 Not given Carrying boxes,
Logan, Swift &
Brigham

Name Former wage

A. B. Not stated
E. R. $18 per week
C. M. $22 or $20 week
C. J. 35½c per hour and piece work
O. L.
I. K. 45c per hour
C. D. $2.75 per day
T. J. 34c per hour
A. S.
5 yrs. at $18 week
9 mos. at $25 week
D. S.
34c per hour
M. O’B
$4 per day
C. K.
35c per hour
O. G. 35c per hour
S. G.

M. W.
27½c per hour
J. S. $3.50 per day
L. B. Not stated

M. H.
M. T. 35c per hour
A. S.
$21 per week
I. G.
H. M.

30c per hour

Taking an eight-weeks’ course of intensive training fitting them to take places in a general machine shop. This course carries them much farther than machine operators.]

DETROIT STEEL PRODUCTS CO.

Detroit, Michigan

Some time ago it became necessary to increase the number of skilled mechanics in the steel spring business and a company in Detroit segregated a group of handymen under a skilled mechanic to see if they could acquire the necessary skill in a period less than three years which was then the admitted necessary time for complete apprenticeship. The plan had the assistance of a man trained in teaching methods but without large knowledge of the special business in hand. After four weeks’ training an operator was put on production work who equalled the average mechanic in this line of work and who in three months was leading the production of the shop. This initial success led to the establishment of schooling as the proper method of securing skilled help in this factory.

The elements most desirable in industrial training are:

1. Separation of the training department from production so as to avoid interference with production and also interference with the operators in training.

2. Supplying a full knowledge of the special business or trade through an instructor fully trained.

3. Supplying a full knowledge of teaching methods through an instructor who can act as a vehicle for the transfer of trade information in simple language to the new operators.

4. Application of the students’ time to learning one simple operation, preferably on a subdivided operation.

5. Application of the student’s time to learning the free operation of the tool together with opportunity to try its operation on some personally chosen work.

6. Satisfactory high scale of wage, but one which can be exceeded in actual production.

7. Encouragement to the operators and then more encouragement.

8. Selection of suitable operators.

Of all these the ones most overlooked are numbers 1, 3 and 6.

Many managers think that good instruction can be given right in the producing departments, whereas this has been proven to be a great interference with both production and schooling.

Most attempts to use skilled mechanics as instructors has failed because they lacked the ability to properly convey to others the knowledge they possessed. The assistance of a trained teacher has made the work of many mechanical instructors a real success.

The opinion that the company is doing a disinterested thing in training new operators has led some to believe that the wage scale for learners could be made very low. One way to help a man to act like a gentleman is to dress him as such and treat him as far as possible as such. The same holds true with operators in training. The fact that they are rated well and trained by the best of mechanics, on the best of tools, in a shop with good surroundings, means much in the final success of industrial training.

(Signed) R. S. DRUMMOND,
_Formerly Vice-President and General Manager_.

SCOVILL MANUFACTURING CO.

Waterbury, Conn.

The training room of the Scovill Manufacturing Company started April 1, 1918.

We train beginners on hand screw machines and engine lathes on plain turning. The training for experienced workers is to teach toolsetters with some experience to be experts along special lines and otherwise developed in their work. Also workmen with some general experience in machine room work are taught to run engine lathes. Further developments in general machine room work is to be taken up later.

Our best instructors are picked from those engaged in actual production or from promising pupils in the training school.

Skill, patience and teaching ability are the requirements of the teachers.

The best trainees are those recruited from other lines of work in the factory, especially at this time, and those impelled with the real sense of duty. Requirements: Average strength, intelligence and a desire to learn.

The steady type is preferable to the more brilliant operator who lacks staying qualities. The operators are trained in the class of work they are expected to follow, and this training is valued in proportion as it increases production from the first in the production rooms, and enables the operator to face actual working conditions without hesitancy and without fear of handling the machines.

The total cost of installation for our school to date has been approximately $2,000. With us, the cost of training (being the amount paid operatives above their earnings while in the training room) is approximately as follows:

Engine lathe workers $34 average.

Toolsetters $25 average.

Female screw machine operators $10 average.

The average number of female operators in the school is nine and their average length of time for training is eight days.

The male operators, both engine lathe workers and toolsetters, require from three to six weeks’ training before they are sent out to the production rooms.

For tool room purposes we have not taken up the training of women and have only taken up the training of men along the lines of simple punch turning and straight work. We find that the men we instruct in this line of work are very interested and stick closer to the job than the average apprentice in the tool room.

(Signed) WM. COLINA.

THE RECORDING & COMPUTING MACHINES CO.

Dayton, Ohio

Several years ago we had over 200 toolmakers in our tool room engaged upon high grade jigs, fixtures, gauges, etc. The demand for toolmakers became such that the men were leaving us and it became practically impossible to get an adequate supply of this highly skilled labor.

My engineers, superintendents and myself made a study of the proposition and found that on the work that the tool room was doing it was unnecessary to employ such highly skilled labor on 70 per cent. of the work on the average. We, therefore, differentiated the work into its component elements and made a careful line of cleavage between the highly skilled work which the toolmakers were doing and the work which could be done by ordinary machinists. We then brought in men who were machinists, separating them into several necessary grades. We had sufficient work of a minor character to keep the lower grades busy practically all the time. We, therefore, taught them just how we wanted the work done.

As a result of this differentiation of the elements going to make up tool room work and the shaping of a distinct line of cleavage between the work requiring high skill and that requiring skill of a lesser grade, we were able to reduce our toolmaking force to less than fifty.

I am sure that a close study of the work done in any tool room and a division of the work same as along the lines indicated above will result in a decrease of the number of toolmakers required.

August 7, 1918.

(Signed) C. U. CARPENTER.

OHMER FARE REGISTER COMPANY

Dayton, Ohio

The training department occupies a space of 25x60 feet and has the following equipment installed as a beginning:

1 13-inch lathe.
1 20-inch lathe.
1 36-inch lathe.
1 No. 5 Cincinnati Milling Machine.
1 No. 24 Osterlein Milling Machine.
1 No. 5 Brown & Sharpe Vertical Milling Machine.
1 24-inch Shaper.
1 Bathe Universal Grinder.
1 4-foot Cincinnati Bickford Radial Drill.
1 20-inch Barnes Drill.
1 Brown & Sharpe Hand Screw Machine.
1 14-inch Wet Tool Grinder.
About 30 feet of benches with vises, etc.

At one end of the space they have an office and class room, 15x20 feet. In it they have chairs, blackboard, drawing board, etc. It is their practice to assemble all of the students in the class room for a few minutes each day and give them short talks about the work and the fundamentals of the business. These talks are made as pithy as possible and only one main fact is presented at a time.

They are taking in green help, either from the laborers in the shop or hired from outside, both men and women, and are training them for machine operators and bench hands. Their conditions are such that they cannot do as many concerns do, train for a single operation, as they must make all-around operators.

Their method is such that if the foreman of the lathe department is in need of a man he makes out a “request for help” form and has it sent to the school where his needs are supplied if possible; the “request for help” is then sent to the Employment Agent stating that the request has been filled and the Employment Agent fills the vacancy in the school.

In teaching the names of parts of the various machines, they are going to give each student a picture of the particular machine he is to work on; these pictures are numbered and on a separate sheet are the names of the corresponding parts. This is done so that they can be examined in the names of parts and not have the name in front of them to refer to.

Only regular factory production which must pass inspection is used for instruction.

In regard to instructors, they have taken a man from the tool room who is a mechanic and a good teacher. He can handle any and all of the machines and has the ability to tell what he knows in a clear way that is readily understood.

Most of the students in the training room at present have been hired from outside but as it is becoming better known among the men, the laborers are applying for admission in rapidly increasing numbers. They have several traveling salesmen, office men and a few who have taken their degree. These latter are not very satisfactory, however—they are not nearly so amenable to instruction as are men who have been brought up to work.

Their training period will probably extend from four or five days to as many weeks, depending on the adaptability of the student and the difficulty of the machine for which they are being trained.

Women have not yet been introduced on the heavier machines but it is intended to do so within the near future.

COURSE FOR LATHE OPERATOR

Names of parts of machine.
Names of cutting tools and their uses.
How to set tool properly and why.
Measuring instruments, uses and how to read.
Reading blue-prints.
Tools used about and in conjunction with lathe.
Files and filing.
Starting and stopping machine.
Changing spindle speed, back gear, etc.
Starting and stopping various feeds.
Changing feeds.
Centering round shafting.
Plain turning operations.
Face plate work, how set and centered.
Grinding cutting tools, clearance, rake, etc., and reasons therefor.
Cutting speeds and feed for various metals.
Lubricants and coolants, use and benefits.
Care and upkeep of machine.
Kinks and pointers.

(Signed) E. M. PIERCE,
_Supervisor of School_.

BURROUGHS ADDING MACHINE COMPANY

Detroit, Mich.

The Burroughs Adding Machine Company established in 1907 an apprentice school (course four years) which from its inception has proved an unqualified success. Our apprentices have also attended classes in the Cass Technical High School in Detroit. In the year 1916 we instituted a course along similar lines to our apprentice course for our service men.

However, the general shortage of skilled male help, the loss of over 800 men through the draft, and the rapid expansion of our business has obliged us to supplement our force with a considerable amount of female help in order that the increased demand for our labor-saving product be met.

Early in the present year, therefore, we established a school for unskilled female labor in connection with one of our departments engaged in the simpler operations. As the young women pass through the Employment Department they are placed in this Training School under the supervision of a competent instructor and are thoroughly grounded in the operation performed in that particular department. While in this school their characteristics are studied and as they acquire proficiency and their ability develops, they are assigned to more intricate and important work in the other departments throughout the factory. The selection for these assignments is determined by their physical condition and their mechanical development and aptitude. The instructor explains thoroughly the nature of the new employment, points out the advantages accruing to the employees because of their increased earning capacities; introduces them into the new department, points out in detail the various operations conducted therein, and painstakingly explains the scope of their new duties.

The following day they are started at their new operation, and by frequent observation, instruction and encouragements improve to a degree where they become expert in the one operation.

In this manner girls are gradually developed from the simpler burring and filing operations until we now employ them in departments performing such varied operations as indicated below.

Spring-winding, riveting machines, drill-press and milling machines, straightening of parts, assembling of special features, assembling and fitting type, the erection of machines, adjusting and inspecting machines, assembling and adjusting motors, punch press and hand and automatic screw machine work.

As the girls graduate from the starting department, or school, they don the regular shop uniform, consisting of a suit of overalls, and take their place alongside the men and under the same general conditions as to hours of labor and rates of pay. This stepping-up method of training the unskilled females has been a success with us as far as it goes, and _has enabled us to increase our production 50 per cent. for the current year in spite of the acute skilled labor situation_.

From April 1, when the training school was established, up to the present time, 412 young women have been received in Department 35, and 260 have been trained and transferred to other departments. At all times there are about forty or fifty young women undergoing training. Only nine young women have been returned to Department 35 for further training since April 1. After receiving additional training these nine were again placed and in no case has one failed for the second time. It is just a matter of finding the right place for the right young women, and then there is no question about them making good on the jobs, as they are proving every day.

In conclusion, tribute must be paid to the 1,200 women in our factory whose earnest desire to help their country in its time of need, and whose mentality and courage have enabled them to make a success of a kind of employment entirely foreign to them on the general conception of their abilities.

(Signed) WM. EARL LEEVER,
_Assistant to General Manager_.

UNDERWOOD TYPEWRITER CO., INC.

Hartford, Conn.

The Underwood Typewriter Co., Hartford, Conn., has undertaken the employment of women on a part-time basis, such as will permit them to attend to their household cares to a reasonable extent. Further, they are offering employment to women having small children between two and one-half and nine years of age, having given over a space in their plant for the care of such children throughout the work day, practicing the kindergarten plan. They have found many who are willing to engage with them under this plan, and are pleased to report the whole general scheme is working out well. Many of the women of either class have become expert in skilled work with but a limited time for training. Under their method, however, the instructing is done in each of the manufacturing departments where the plan has been introduced, as they have operated under good regulations as to quality and quantity for many years back, rendering it very practicable in their case to not instruct and train in separate spaces, although they appreciate the need for acting otherwise with new work, such as has been brought about by the war, and wherein the tasks at hand are not subject to accurate measurement to start with.

(Signed) C. D. RICE,
_Manager of Factory_.

Photos are herewith shown which illustrate the mothers on part-time work in the factory while the children attend the kindergarten in the plant under expert instruction.

The experience of the Underwood Company indicates conclusively that advanced age is no barrier to productive value.

THE NATIONAL CASH REGISTER COMPANY

Dayton, Ohio

The Training School for women, of whom over eight hundred have been placed in the various departments, was started in the latter part of March, 1918.

Because of the demand for trained help in the factory, we have not been able to keep them in the Training School as long as we would wish, but even this short experience has been sufficient to take away the fear of the shop, as many of our women have never had any factory experience before.

While in the Training School the students are paid the regular starting rate for women, and after they enter the factory and become more efficient their rate increases until they can do the work that a man previously did both as regards quality and quantity and they receive a man’s wage.

In some departments it has been found necessary to put slightly more women on the same operations than men formerly employed to obtain the same production, but as the women gain experience, their production increases rapidly and the quality is as good, if not better. The women have proven themselves very apt in picking up the smaller class of assembling on account of their nimble fingers and care in handling stock.

We use our regular production to train the students, and as it must pass 100 per cent. inspection, we emphasize quality and not quantity.

We find the best class of workers comes from those between twenty-one and forty years of age, with, of course, exceptions.

We not only teach the new employees the mechanical operations, but also give them “Health and Safety” lectures, and show them pictures of many ways one can become injured if they do not use precaution while working around machinery. They are also instructed in the use of time and instruction tickets.

Our Inspectors are selected from the factory, preference being given to those who are experts on their particular class of work.

It is our opinion that the Training School is the proper way to teach the inexperienced help in order that they may learn the work quickly and get on a production basis in a short time instead of hiring and placing help right in the shop and letting them pick it up with what assistance and instruction they can from their fellow workmen.

In the Training School the most efficient workers can be reorganized in a short time, and the less efficient ones can be given special attention, and usually _we can bring them to a degree of efficiency not possible under the old method_.

We try to find out in the training school where the student’s strong point is, whether on machine operation or bench work, and are enabled in this way to place them in a job they are particularly suited for, thus keeping the problem out of the factory. If they show a proper degree of interest, they are given all possible encouragement.

We have had to materially increase the size of our school, and with the hearty co-operation we are receiving from the heads of the different departments, we believe the employment of women on our work is proving a success in every way.

Another point that we think is good is that the school itself is nearly self-sustaining.

The accompanying photo, number one, will give an idea of the size of our school, and also the various classes of work we train them on.

Number two shows a gang of hand mills “manned” by women. These girls have all been through our Training School and are now working on a piece basis and doing it successfully.

(Signed) WM. A. HARTMAN.

PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY

Detroit, Mich.

In the spring of 1914 labor conditions were somewhat disturbed in Detroit. We lost a good many of our expert varnish rubbers, and we could not get skilled men to replace them, and we tried to break in men on the varnish rubbing deck, but found that too much work was spoiled by the green men, and the experienced men did not have time or inclination to properly instruct those who were unskilled. This led to the establishment of a school for training varnish rubbers and was the beginning of our efforts to train unskilled workers. The result of this experience was so highly successful that we carried it to all of the other branches of body manufacture, and _a school for training unskilled help became a permanent part of our institution_.

We were able to teach women how to trim automobile bodies, and they learned in an average of less than ninety days. Their work was of a very high order, and we were very much gratified with what they accomplished. Very often we found that we were able to train men to an exceedingly high degree of skill in less than sixty days. All men were not so apt. Some of them could not be placed in the skilled class even after three months of training.

As the war activities took workers we turned our school into training quarters for mechanics. For instructors we aim to use the best workers in a particular class that we have, providing that they have the natural ability to instruct others. Some men lack the ability to impart their knowledge to others. This type of man does not make a good instructor. A man should not only be an expert in his trade, but he should have the natural ability to impart his knowledge in order to become a good instructor.

In teaching some of the women we find that some women pick up very quickly some particular trade and when they become experts we in turn make them instructors. We have not yet developed any toolmakers. We have developed men to tool room work, such as turning, grinding, etc., but this is not really toolmaking.

We believe that it is possible to turn out good toolmakers and we are turning our energies to this end.

(Signed) F. F. BEALL,
_Vice-President of Manufacturing_.

NORTH AMERICAN MOTORS CO.

Pottstown, Pa.

Our production is about half of what it should be, due to lack of skilled help, in other words, due to lack of machinists. We have not had much trouble in getting green men and we have had no trouble in training these green men to do the operations on the shell both accurately and quickly, but we have had trouble in _getting men to maintain the tools or to equip for these operators_.

Facing this condition and being unable to obtain machinists, we decided to train men to do machinists’ and toolmakers’ work.

Our scheme as outlined is as follows: We are taking operators who have had experience of a year or more in our shop and are putting them _into the school_ under a good mechanic who fortunately is a teacher also. After a few weeks in the school we are _putting them into the tool room as operators_, that is, they will be on work where they will get work _of a repeating nature_ and they will stay on the same class of work for a considerable period of time, depending on the man and how fast our other pupils come on, the idea being then to take the first man back again to the school and teach him to operate some other machine tool, then send him back in the tool room, where, after he has operated on the second type of tool for a certain length of time, he would then be of more use, as the tool room foreman could then place him on either one of two machines. For the more attentive and interested men we would continue this scheme and thus teach them the operations of all machines and tools used in the tool room. We have also provided for a certain line of bench training.

Within the next few weeks we hope to be able to take some of our machine tools from the shell shop and put them into this school and we will then train our operators in this school with the idea in mind, as stated in our previous letter, of teaching them the proper care of a machine tool, as we consider this of vital importance. In fact, the writer would say that from observation in other plants and experience here that it is his opinion that one of the greatest, if not the greatest, causes for lack of production in machine shops now on shell work is due to _machine breakage_, this coming from several causes, among the foremost being the lack of knowledge on the operators’ part.

When the idea of the school was first brought up there was some feeling among the skilled mechanics that the men trained in the school would replace them to the detriment of the mechanic, but this idea has passed or is passing away very rapidly and we find a considerable interest shown by the mechanics in the things that we are teaching. Two of our good machinists who are on maintenance or repair work have asked to be allowed to go to the school so that they may become better workers and get a training on finer work. Others have shown similar interest and we have tentatively agreed to start an evening school this fall for mechanics, our proposal being to work in conjunction with the Y. M. C. A. for shop drawing and the reading of drawings and to use our own shop for special instruction on machine tools.

(Signed) GEORGE C. LEES,
_Secretary and Works Manager_.

THE H. E. HARRIS ENGINEERING CO.

Bridgeport, Conn.

We are enclosing herewith three photographs showing work in our vestibule school for women on gauge finishing work. The picture of the six women in a line with the instructor at the end shows the pupils on gauge finishing work, lapping plug, thread gauges, snap gauges, etc. These women have proven themselves very apt, but difficulty is being experienced, due to the fact that the necessary laps requiring highly skilled mechanics are often made defective, on account of the feeling of the skilled tool and gauge makers who do not wish any of the women to do any of this work.

The women show a better spirit and give a much better production, at least three times as much as the men do on the same work. The one photograph showing the six women in a row and the instructor at the far end, shows a group in the school lapping these gauges.

The two photographs of the same woman, Mrs. H——, show her in one photograph lapping a thread gauge which has to be correct within .0002. She is about four times as proficient as any man that we have in the place. The other photograph shows her measuring the same thread gauge between the lapping operation with the three-wire system, which is rather a difficult feat of measurement.

(Signed) HARRY E. HARRIS,
_President_.

OAKLEY MACHINE TOOL COMPANY

Cincinnati, Ohio

Our shop has an average of 75 men on its pay roll, making a Precision Tool Room Grinder. Before the United States joined the forces of Liberty we had felt a shortage of labor and had taken steps to break in untrained men.

Thinking we were not large enough to inaugurate a Vestibule Training Room, as it is generally understood, we inaugurated a system of training men directly in our shop.

We sorted out applicants and put them in our shop, two at a time; if they had never worked in a shop before we started them on simple machines, such as the hack saw, centering machine, etc., in order that they might get used to the noise and methods of the machine shop. They were then advanced to Roughing Lathes, being given simple jobs, such as turning and facing.

By having only two at a time the foreman was able to give them personal supervision, without interfering with his regular work. As they developed they were given more difficult jobs. We found, as a rule, inside of sixty days such men made very fair machine hands.

We also broke men in on drill presses and shapers, using same tactics and had very successful results. To give you an idea as to the class of men from which we have made machine operators, we have working in our shop to-day one bartender, piano tuner, street car conductor, bricklayer, coal miner and an artist—self made. The other unskilled men had had some previous experience on productive labor, either running punching presses, nailing machines, or work requiring a smattering of mechanical ability.

Our experience is that if you take a man over 30 that has become disgusted from a blind alley profession, where there is no hope of advancement, point out the possibilities of the machine tool trade, and give him a living wage to start, even though at first he is not worth it, he develops into a good and loyal man. They are, however, like children, they have to be encouraged every so often by a personal talk or suggestions from the head man.

Of course we have had our failures, but our successes have been in the majority, so we are continuing to break in green help.

(Signed) ALBERT A. THAYER,
_Treasurer_.

LINCOLN MOTOR COMPANY

Detroit, Mich.

Our school is going along nicely and while we are not perfecting machine tool operators to the degree I would like because of the necessity of rushing them through the school to the shop proper, we are accomplishing, I think, that which we set out to do, namely, to take away from the girl the fear of the shop and to give her a fair knowledge of the tool she is to handle. The women undoubtedly have benefited beyond measure by the short time spent in the school room, and have gone into the factory with the confidence that carried them through the first few days and made them efficiently productive in a shorter period of time.

The training room is located in the smaller of our two plants and is equipped with a lathe, milling machine, gear cutter, drill press, profiler, etc., those being the tools upon which it was decided to train operators. In charge of this room was placed an instructor who had had some slight experience in a continuation school and _who went to work under the direct supervision of a high grade specialist secured from a well known eastern factory efficiency organization_. The instructor was given no special instruction beyond being told what we hoped to accomplish in the way of building up an organization of women of more than ordinary ability and moral character.

The training room up to the present time has been used only in connection with supplying the factory with women workers. Women of the age of twenty-one and upwards have been taken, their references carefully examined, and they have been given _from one to three days’ training in this school_. Because of the demand of the shop for help it has not always been possible to keep them in a training room for as long a period as would seem desirable, and in some instances they have stayed only one day.

During the training period they have been paid the regular rate for women, thirty cents per hour, which rate maintains after they enter the shop until such time as they are placed upon a piece-work basis.

We believe, however, that through the medium of the training room we shall be able to instruct women workers in machine tool operation so they will go direct from the school room into the shop without fear of what is to be encountered therein, and with a better knowledge of the tool they are operating, and the reason they are operating it, than they could possibly acquire through any other method.

The school is favorably looked upon by all of the employees, and in those cases where it is found that a woman is not working out well upon the work to which the school has assigned her, and is returned to it for further instruction, she has in all cases gone back to it with a cheerfulness and willingness that is both surprising and gratifying.

The writer is of the opinion that the school in this factory has come to stay and that when we build up our organization and get through the strenuous times we are now experiencing, the advantage of the vestibule school instruction will be given men employees as well as women.

(Signed) J. M. EATON,
_Assistant to President Henry M. Leland_.

TRAINING FOR THE TOOL ROOM

You mention training in the more difficult lines of effort, such as Tool Room, Machine Shops, etc. We agree with you as to the wide possibilities in this field, and are now organizing to accomplish this very thing at the Lincoln Motor Company.

At the beginning of the war when labor shortage was seriously manifested, I had charge of the reconstruction of a tool room, employing 270 toolmakers and machinists, engaged in the making of cutters, reamers, broaches, drill jigs, milling fixtures, etc.

Realizing then the difficulty that the future held in store of securing competent, reliable toolmakers and machinists, we undertook to train men who had no previous experience in this line. Our results were quite gratifying. We classified all work and trained men to operate specific machines against the various classifications.

To illustrate: We engaged a carpenter 67 years of age, who had no previous machine shop experience, trained him to run a Universal Milling Machine; not only did he meet successfully all work scheduled against his machine, but developed such skill in the operation of this machine, that later he compared favorably with the average good toolmaker, and in six months’ time we depended on him entirely to set up his own machine and proceed as a regular toolmaker. This represents intensive training and what was accomplished here can be accomplished in other general lines of tool room work.

We ultimately had 215 of these trained operators who were able to carry on the work, supported by 55 good toolmakers. I am with you in the confidence that it will be necessary to plan quite considerably in the adoption of some means to overcome a situation which looks really serious for the future.

(Signed) W. H. EBELHARE,
_General Superintendent, Lincoln Motor Co._

MUELLER METALS COMPANY

Port Huron, Mich.

I am pleased to advise you that we have been using many unskilled workers, also women, at both our Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Michigan, and Decatur, Illinois, plants and find that women are able to do the light operations on turret lathes quite satisfactorily.

Our greatest difficulty is in our Toolmaking Department, but we have lately installed the following plan.

We are selecting a good lathe hand from among our toolmakers and giving him from one to three students, paying him from 20 per cent. to 30 per cent., depending on the number of students he is able to take care of successfully, and we then pay these students about 50 per cent. of what the instructor receives with stipulated raises in pay until they have served two years, at the end of which time we pay them a very liberal bonus.

We have been able to secure some young men just out of High School who are going to make good workmen, but as the new draft will possibly take some of these boys we are now figuring on using women on this work and believe that they will be able to carry it on quite successfully.

(Signed) C. G. HEIBY,
_Vice-President and General Superintendent_.

DETROIT LUBRICATOR COMPANY

Detroit, Michigan

New employees are started on simple work and given individual instruction. They are then advanced to more difficult work.

By this method of training we have operators giving top production who only a short time ago were automobile salesmen, cigar salesmen, letter carriers and watchmen.

The women trained in this way are producing excellent results and are making as good pay as the men on the same piece-work. At some types of inspection they excel any men we ever had on the jobs for speed and accuracy.

We have two men, with _only one arm_ each! (after proper training) doing more work than the average two men.

The company has created a new department for the production of Liberty Motor Aeroplane Carburetors, and the work of this department includes a great variety of machines. It writes:

In order to furnish employees for this work with at least partial training, we are recruiting them from other departments in the shop doing similar work; in each of these other departments we have a section set aside which includes type machinery, and new employees are put at this work under careful supervision and training to develop them and thoroughly determine their value before being advanced on to aeroplane work.

(Signed) G. B. DUFFIELD,
_Superintendent_.

INDEPENDENT PNEUMATIC TOOL COMPANY

Aurora, Illinois

Since installing our Vestibule Training School some seven weeks ago, we can gladly say it has proven a success, even beyond our expectations.

To date we have enrolled 109 students; 81 men, 28 women. The women workers have proven that they can in the emergency take the place of practically all our male workers, that is with from five to ten days of intensive training. We have placed women on such machines as Gear Hobbers, Screw Machines, Grinders, Drill Presses and are well satisfied with the result obtained. The percentage of scrap material has been less by the female workers than by the male.

In beginning our course of training each week our Mr. F. B. Hamerly, Works Manager, has made it his duty to tell these workers the vital need of training unskilled men and women so as to replace the boys that are called from our plant, that is, he tries to raise them to the highest pitch of enthusiasm.

(Signed) A. H. BOEHM,
_Vestibule Training School_.

August 16, 1918.

In training on regular production.]

Our training school has been running about five weeks with a capacity of 12 students per week. We are indeed surprised at the results we are getting.

Next week we intend to put on a double dose running through 24 students per week. We are trying to start a night shift in one of our important departments and will need about 48 or 50 men. These men are to be recruited entirely from our Vestibule School, where in the past we have been playing in the open market competing for the desired help.

_We are satisfied that if the larger corporations and manufacturers were to install a Vestibule system in their factory that within the next six months the severe competition for skilled mechanics would be practically eliminated, and production would be increased considerably._

(Signed) F. B. HARNELLY,
_Works Manager_.

ROYAL TYPEWRITER CO.

Hartford, Conn.

REPORT OF TRAINING SCHOOL FOR JULY, 1918

Total entries since July 1 100
Total number of operations taught 18
Total number of permanent instructors 6
Instructors from other departments 5
Total number transferred to other departments 73
Total number left factory from school 13
Total number in school August 1, 1918 14

NAMES OF OPERATIONS TAUGHT IN TRAINING SCHOOL

Milling
Heavy Power Press
Copper Bar Grinding
Brackets to Base Assembly
Linking
First Carriage Building Assembly
Inspection of Base Assembly
Drilling
Light Power Press
Small Parts to Base Assembly
Shift Arms and Bottom Rails to Base Fitting
Keycard Assembly
Second Carriage Building Assembly
Riveting (machine)
Retapping
Type Soldering

GENERAL

All students but three are women, ranging from fifteen to fifty-seven years of age.

Intensified training, speed and accuracy, physical and mental condition of employees, proper mental attitude to company.

A matron has been appointed who comes in contact with the women and is responsible for their deportment and personal needs.

(Signed) CHAS. B. COOK,
_Vice-President_.

CINCINNATI MILLING MACHINE CO.

Cincinnati, Ohio

We put the new employee into a department and assign him or her to a machine in charge of a skilled operator. The new employee becomes at once an observer and a helper, and in a little while takes charge of the machine and the skilled operator stands by and gives special instructions.

We have detail instruction cards or process sheets for all operations, and one of these cards in the hands of the new operator will serve as a guide for turning out the work properly after the instructor leaves the new employee to himself or herself.

In addition to this we have certain selected engineers from the Time Study Department, who are attached to both the day and night shifts, and devote their entire time to coaching the new operators, and see to it that they learn to acquire the desired degree of skill and proficiency.

We find that the women who are selected for this sort of work just about equal the men. They show considerable enthusiasm for the work, as is indicated by a less degree of lateness and absenteeism than that of the men, but we have not had enough experience as yet to say anything definite in this regard.

It is also perhaps true that we are taking greater pains instructing the women than we would in the ordinary course take in instructing green men.

(Signed) CHARLES S. GINGRICH.

THE STANDARD PARTS CO.

Cleveland, Ohio

Each individual department at the start of the year had its own training division, that is, while we had the orders we lacked a good many of the machines necessary to do our work and the proper tool equipment to start with. We also required the services of eight hundred additional people.

We trained absolutely unskilled men and women during this slack period, so that when we started in quantity production we had also obtained speed. An item that might be of interest to you is the fact that we are now employing women in Drill Presses, Milling Machines, Hand and Automatic Screw Machines, Turret Lathes, Speed Lathes, Engine Lathes, Assembly Work and Inspection Work.

These women and the majority of the unskilled men whom we employed are doing work in most cases where dimensions are held to one-half thousandth of an inch limit variation. In a plant employing excess of five thousand people am absolutely convinced that a separate vestibule training school is a necessity, and in plants already producing work in large quantities there is liable to be a heavy demand for trained skilled workers, a separate training school would be necessary.

However, where the number of workers needed do not exceed ten people on an individual operation training on machines in the department would be sufficient.

August 7, 1918.

(Signed) J. A. ROTHENBERG,
_Employment Manager_.

THE YALE & TOWNE MFG. CO.

Stamford, Conn.

We have had in operation for over a year a vestibule school for the training of women employees in our plant, and are obtaining good results from it.

We are training the women mostly for bench and machine work which was formerly done by men, such as: Lock assembling; drill press work, which was formerly considered inappropriate for women employees; hand screw machine and automatic screw machine operators.

We are also training female help on lathe and shaper work. We plan to do the same thing on milling machines and expect eventually to include tool room work.

Our vestibule school activities include the training of male foundry workers, and the training both of men and women to become instructors and machine adjusters.

We also have an Apprenticeship School.

August 13, 1918.

(Signed) THE YALE & TOWNE MFG. CO.,
J. A. HORNER, _Vice-President_.

ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS

154 E. Erie Street, Chicago

We are planning to have this school in operation within the next month. The writer expects to be responsible for the results. We expect to take one good man from our own plant as an instructor, and we are also in communication with an instructor from a college in a Western State whom we may have in direct charge of this work should he prove to be the proper person.

At the present time we have in our factory about 75 female employees, on Lathes, Milling Machines, Grinders, Finishing Gauges, Lapping, etc., also inspectors, timekeepers and stock chasers.

Since your last visit we have employed a trained nurse who is in charge of the employment and welfare work of all women employed in the factory. This we have found has given us much better results and can truthfully say that with very few exceptions, every girl employed is certainly making good.

We have one instance where a man employed in the screw machine department, employed in that capacity for about a year, was having trouble in not producing on his machine. We had him exchange machines with a woman who had had a month’s experience and found that she practically doubled his output the first day.

(Signed) J. D. SHERMAN, _Factory Manager_.

August 5, 1918.

GLEASON WORKS

Rochester, N. Y.

When you came to Rochester we were very much impressed with the suggestions you made as to the introduction of women into industry. We sent two representatives together with others from Rochester to Dayton, as you advised, to investigate the conditions there and also in Cincinnati. The excellent arrangements made by the Cincinnati manufacturers to relieve the shortage of labor by placing women at work in machine shops and elsewhere were extremely interesting.

After learning what had been done we started using women in our machine shop in line with your idea and the results have been very satisfactory. * * * It is not a question of economy with us but of releasing men for other work in the foundry which women cannot perform. We believe that an intensive training of two weeks would enable women to turn out practically as much work as men are now doing.

August 5, 1918.

(Signed) JAMES E. GLEASON.

DIAMOND CHAIN AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY

Indianapolis, Indiana

I am sure that you will be interested in knowing that we have already undertaken this work. For some weeks we have had a school going on for the training of screw machine operators with every success. We also have here a man who is giving detailed attention to the personnel in connection with our hardening and cyanide work. He is talking to these men individually and in small groups, thus instilling into them the fundamental principles of heat treatment, which is making a marked impress on the character of our product.

We are also having a detailed study of the operations now being done by women with the idea in mind to substitute women where possible when it becomes necessary and we have here two women studying our operations preparatory to giving instructions to women as to how to perform the operations that men are now doing.

July 25, 1918.

(Signed) L. W. WALLACE.

HENRY DISSTON & SONS

Philadelphia, Pa.

We have established a school for vocational training, appointing an instructor in each department who takes direct charge of each new employee. Through this system we have placed many women on work which was entirely operated by men heretofore.