"Lest We Forget"
NEW EMPLOYEES:
- See that all new men are made to feel at ease, by a friendly greeting and by assuring them of your willingness to help, when they need help or information. Inspire them with confidence in you and casually make them acquainted with men, whose influence you know to be good.
- See that each newcomer is told, when being shown to his locker, that lockers are provided not only for the employee's convenience and comfort, but also that there be no apparel or personal effects lying around in the shop (under benches, on machines, etc.), which always creates an unsightly appearance and is, therefore, forbidden.
- See that the new employees are properly instructed with regard to 'ringing in', mornings and noontime - but not before they are all ready to take up their respective jobs (i.e. dressed for work), - and that they understand about 'ringing out' promptly at noon and in the evening, i.e. as soon as they stop work. This regulation must be strictly observed in the interest of shop discipline and also so as to avoid unnecessary investigation on the part of the timekeeper as to the exact time to be paid in each individual case, or as to what proportion of the time is to be charged to any one job. The cards should contain this information correctly and without necessity of further explanation. Instruct men to come to you, in case of an error and not to attempt to make any corrections on the card themselves.
- In the event of a man leaving the shop to go to the hospital or to a physician, for treatment of an injury received in our shop, intending to return promptly, - (in which event time is usually saved by making an appointment for him by telephone before he leaves the shop), - he is to hand his timecard to the foreman, who will enter thereon the time of his leaving and of his return. (In such cases the Company pays for that time). Be sure that the new man understands that "under no circumstances is one man to ring the cards of another".
- Try to enthuse the new man by pointing out the nice and interesting features of his work, the pleasure of doing it well, first, and of being conscious of one's capability to turn out plenty of it, which, of course, is the only sane basis for remuneration.
- Be sure that he understands your instructions fully and is safely familiar with the working of the machine to which he is assigned, or with whatever work he may be given to do. Test him out by asking him questions and by making him show you that he understands the operations, which you ask him to perform in your presence. Clean-cut, specific instructions are most important.
- Instruct him not to take any chances, but to call you as soon as he is in doubt, and never to start on a piece until you have inspected his "set-up" or given him permission to go ahead without calling you. Even then he is to submit the first piece for your inspection. Reduce the amount of spoiled work and impress on him that the expense of such costs comes more directly out of the wages of the men than out of the profit of the company. Spoiled work always discredits the workman, lowers his earning capacity, and lowers the employer's estimate as to his value.
- Keep a watchful eye over him constantly, at least until he is pretty well grounded in his job and at home in the new environments. Observe his influence on others and also try to keep disquieting influences from him. (You know the men in our shop who can be trusted and those whose influence may be questioned). The early impressions a new man receives have much to do with his staying or leaving, (aside from the telling effect of his ability, of which the employer is judge, of course). Warn him promptly in case of boisterous or improper language, or ungentlemanly conduct. We want only good, clean men in our organization.
- Caution new men (and old employees when needed) about General Shop Regulations such as:
A: Keeping good order around their machine or benches; keeping personal effects (shoes, hats, lunch boxes, etc.) only in their lockers; personal tools in tool boxes or drawers, when through using them; fixtures, attachments, etc. in places (shelves, etc.) provided for them, when not in use, which places should be periodically cleaned out;
B: Refraining from smoking during working hours, and not to light matches in the evening, until after they are outside of the shop, or in the outer vestibule, because of the fire hazard and because at the close of the day only one man (watchman) remains in the shop to look after the entire shop. There is no objection to men smoking in the shop before the starting bell rings in the morning or in the noon hour, but they must always be careful with matches and not throw them promiscuously to the floor, nor near inflammable material, nor store greasy rags where they might cause damage, if they should ignite. Each foreman should be familiar with the location and use of our lines of fire hose, and chemical extinguishers;
C: Help men to break themselves of the careless habit of dropping or throwing paper, or anything else, on the floor of the shop, or on the sidewalk (pay envelopes on pay day) or on the grounds of our premises. We have garbage cans for that purpose.
D: At all times careless spitting, whether in shop or water closet, should be stopped for sanitary reasons and for ordinary decency's sake. Men should confine this to cuspidors, sewer connections, chip piles and places where it is not offensive.
E: Loud and improper talk must be controlled and in general any conduct attracting attention held in check;
F: The evil of visiting and talking over private affairs during "working hours" must be impressed on men as being dishonorable, for it is stealing the time which they have sold to their employer for the purpose of "producing" definite results. (No decent man can feel at ease, when taking something, which legally belongs to another, even time). When machines are running to full advantage and two operators can converse without neglecting their machines, such conversation, naturally, is allowable. We want a good congenial atmosphere to exist, but we must remember that our plant is a business establishment and not a place of entertainment. Let's find pleasure in our work and let it have our entire attention.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS:
Safety Precautions must be carefully impressed on employees (new and old) over and over again, especially on new men. For instance,
- On all dry grinding operations and on all chipping and on any operation where chips are apt to fly, the men should wear goggles, as provided by the shop, and you must insist on it, and guards should be provided so that chips cannot hit other workmen;
- Everlastingly remind them to be on the alert to avoid accidents due to poor and careless piling of material on trucks or on the floor, so often resulting in damage to material, as well as injury to men;
- Caution them about not using the hoists, cranes, etc. without first giving them a quick examination as to things which might be out of order (loose bolts, nuts "backed off", pins coming out, hooks opened up, cracked or worn links, etc.), about being sure of safe slings or clamps and caution them to observe carefully the action of such devices especially at the start, putting on the strain gradually, and keeping out from under any load while being hoisted or while hanging suspended from above;
- About listening to belt laces (either metal or leather) slapping against a guard, which usually precedes a break, in which event someone might get hit or the belt might become entangled in machine parts and pull down something;
- About being quick to detect the smell or the heat from overheated bearings, - lubrication is very essential and lack of lubrication often leads to accidents;
- About having sufficient light to be able to see the work, so as to not get hurt, due to being unable to see properly;
- About having even minor cuts promptly cleaned and kept protected, so as not to lead to infection, etc.;
- About never leaning against, or supporting themselves thoughtlessly on moving machinery;
- About having their minds on their work and being careful.
OUR APPRENTICES:
As it will be increasingly difficult, in the future, to secure really skilled machinists, there seems to be but one course open for us to meet such a need, namely, to train boys, in the hope that enough of them will stay with us to fill the more important places in our organization, as these may become vacant, and to fill new positions of responsibility, created through the growth of the business.
The boys agree to serve a stipulated time according to our shop regulations and we agree to teach them the trade, which includes a very definite scope, generally accepted and clearly defined, even by the government, as setting forth the things with which a "machinist" should be fully conversant. So there is a mutual obligation to which both parties are bound by honor.
To keep these boys thoroughly interested in their jobs, to keep their goal ever before them, to instruct them patiently, painstakingly and effectively is, therefore, a very important task in the line of foreman's duties and one in which he is to represent the management as much as any other. There can be no more satisfactory compensation for such effort, however, than the consciousness of having helped, by precept and example, to put a boy on a plane of earning capacity and usefulness, which he could not have attained without such assistance and to have made our contribution to the national interests, which demand that the machine tool industry be kept at its best. This, in turn, means that the American Machinist must not be allowed to die out. Hence, this is truly a patriotic duty. Let us meet the call of the hour squarely and cheerfully and in the faith that enough others will think correctly along these lines and that presently all things will again become normal and equitably adjusted in the present industrial chaos.
Each foreman should be pretty well acquainted with the division of the apprentices' time in the various departments, what they are expected to learn in each and what their supplementary studies in the classroom consist of. The boys' instructor will always cooperate with the foremen in imparting needed information to them, in trying to help them over personal faults and in helping them to develop as useful men of whom we may be really proud. If the conduct of the work prevents giving a boy all the variety of work he should get in a certain department, enough time must be taken to show him how such work is done. We must not have a boy's failure in a certain representative class of work, while employed by another firm; reflect on the kind of instruction he has received in our shop.
So, every foreman should remember that he is an instructor, an example of conduct as well as of workmanship, for men-in-the-making, as well as for mature employees. He must ever show the boy that developing earning capacity, by a continual effort to do better work and more of it, is "money in the bank" as it will bring in the "cash", when he is "out of his time".
DEPARTMENTAL PRIDE:
Every foreman who is thoroughly interested in his work cannot help wanting his department to be efficient, machines and men working effectively and continuously, at a rate which can be kept up without straining anything, both kept in good condition and neat.
A skilled mechanic should look like a man above the ordinary workman and a foreman should also see that his own appearance is in keeping with his position, singling him out by the latter as well as by his greater skill and wise leadership.
"Sprucing up" helps make a man feel differently toward his job and dignifies his job, without loss of effectiveness in "making blows count". Necessary grease or dirt should never discourage a "high-grade mechanic" from "taking hold", but he ought to feel uncomfortable over unnecessary dirt about his person or place of work.
All men and boys in a department should catch the spirit, help to make the work go through most creditably and to an increasing standard of quality and quantity, help make the premises look "ship-shape", - a place for everything and everything in its place, - and, whenever there is a chance, see to it that the machines and surroundings are cleaned up, bad adjustments corrected, tarnished surfaces polished, etc. without shutting down machines in an unwarranted manner, at the expense of the manufacturing schedule. (Yet bear in mind the state regulations, which forbid the cleaning of a machine while running).
Foremen will make their own work easier by keeping all men and boys wholesomely occupied all the time, and that necessitates proper planning of the work in advance, - so that another job can be started without delay, as soon as one is finished, - and to this end most persistent supervision is needed. It is more important that a foreman keep his men at work, watch them closely, so that they will not make mistakes, so that men, machines and tools work to best advantage, so that none will shirk duty, visit or loaf, than to keep busy himself and thereby not notice how much time his men are wasting, sometimes even working up very detrimental propaganda on the company's time, which is being paid for on the basis of being applied solely to production. (If each foreman is thoroughly "in charge" of his department, disturbances can never occur, for troublemakers cannot gain any headway.) It is essential that a good foreman impress the men with the able manner in which he himself can do a job, but the gain of such efforts to the company can be easily offset by a loss due to lack of supervision, if he becomes deeply engrossed in some specific task. The better a foreman controls his department, the better will be the working conditions for his men, the better the type of men we can attract to the shop and hold, and the more enjoyable for the foreman himself will be his work.
Never forget that a foreman is the shop representative of the management and should be a loyal one above all, and carry out the wishes of the management, as imparted to him, or manfully state why he cannot do so, as long as he serves as foreman, using his best judgment in the absence of specific instructions and considering his department as though it were his own business, which it really is.
An interested foreman will not "pass the buck", but will continue to ask and work for a thing he considers of benefit and value to his department, not dropping it, if there is no immediate response to his efforts by either colleagues or a superior. He will, at the close of the day make a final inspection of his department to see that everything was left in good condition, doors, windows, and transoms inside of the premises of his department, - for which he is held responsible, properly closed and taken care of, and he will even be ready to make up for an oversight of a colleague. He knows that the firm's interests are his interests and the interests of all other employees
The Lucas Machine Tool Company, June 1, 1920
