Part 17

When the Time Clerk has compared the cards, he will send the job cards to the Cost Clerk, who will enter the amounts in a _Job Time Summary_ book of the form shown in Fig. 16. On this blank, the number, name, and rate of each man are written. The succeeding columns are headed with the various current order numbers. Entries are made opposite the man's name, of the pay─roll value of the time he has worked on the various orders or jobs for the day. The total, carried out in the extreme right─hand column, represents his pay for the day. The totals at the bottom of the job columns represent the value of the time spent on each order, for the day. The work is checked as correct when the sum of all the totals of the right─hand column is exactly equal to the sum of all the totals at the foot of the columns.

[Illustration: Fig. 16. Job Time Summary.]

[Illustration: SOUTH END OF ERECTING SHOP, WEST ALLIS WORKS Allis─Chalmers Company, Milwaukee, Wis.]

The entries in this book are made by quite young clerks, who handle only these job cards and books as their daily tasks, and who become very expert, accurate, and rapid at this work. The totals are carried by the Cost Clerk or one of his assistants to the _cost ledger_, in which the costs of both labor and material, as well as all expense charges, are brought together. Sometimes this work is done upon cards, each one representing an order and containing in brief and condensed form all the charges of whatever kind made against the order.

=Methods of Paying Employees.= The methods by which pay─rolls are made up and the employees paid, are important; and whatever plans are adopted, they should realize the following desirable requirements:

1. The record of amounts due the men should be absolutely accurate and in accordance with the rates at which the men were employed, subject (_a_) to such modifications as may be made by reason of properly authorized changes in rate; (_b_) to such modifications as may be made from week to week by overtime work, or by the operation of methods of "piece work," "premium work," or any of the several plans for rewarding exceptionally efficient work; (_c_) to such deductions as may properly be made on account of advance payments that have been made upon due authority.

2. The methods of making up the pay─roll and paying the men should secure promptness in this work, so that the pay of the employees may not be held back for an unreasonable length of time pending the necessary clerical work.

3. The methods of payment should be such that no workman can know the amount paid to any other workman.

To accomplish the results desired in the first requirement, if the amounts due the men are made up from the time recorded by the men themselves──that is, in a recording clock──is a comparatively easy task, since it is principally a matter of mathematics, with a strict attention to details.

Changes in rate of pay do not usually take effect until the week following that in which the order is given. This order will be in the form of a request by the foreman of the department in which the workman is employed, stating the reasons for the increase. This is sent to the Superintendent or Factory Manager for approval. If approved it is then sent to the Pay Clerk, who files the notice for future reference and makes the required change on his pay─roll.

Premium work rates will be made up by the foremen of the departments, and approved by the Superintendent, in smaller shops. In large plants the rates will be made up by a clerk in the Production Department, and approved by the Production Engineer. In either case they will be sent directly to the Pay Clerk.

Advances to men will be made only in special cases, upon a written request from the foreman, stating the reasons and approved by the Superintendent.

The second requirement can be met by having the time cards of the style used in recording clocks (as shown in Figs. 13,14, and 15). The convenience and rapidity of making up the time of these cards is apparent from the fact that the record of the entire week is contained upon the face of one day time card, lost time being checked only in red ink in the total column at the right, and the sum of the amounts of lost time being subtracted from the regular working time for the week Thus, if the working time is 55 hours per week, and the lost time was ½ hour one day and ¼ hour another, making ¾ hour, we subtract that from 55, leaving 54¼ hours as the time for the week. This is much more rapidly done than to carry out the total time for each day and add up these totals for the six days of the week.

The _Pay─Roll Sheet_ or _Pay─Roll Book_ is shown in Fig. 17. This is now frequently made as a loose sheet or such number of sheets as may be necessary to contain all the names, frequently as many as 50 names on the sheet. Upon examination of this printed form, it will be seen that the regular time is divided into _productive_ and _non─productive_ labor. This is for the purpose of ascertaining what portion of the labor is applied directly upon the product, and what portion is applied indirectly, such as foreman, clerks, general laborers, etc., whose work is classed as non─productive.

The amount of the regular time is computed, and entered in the column headed _Amount_. If there is an amount due in premiums, it is entered in the next column, and the two amounts added in the column headed _Total Amount_. In the next column is entered the amount of any advances that may have been made, which is deducted from the total amount, leaving the net _Amount Due_, which is entered in the next column. This amount is paid over to the employee, who signs his name in the space under _By whom received_, and the operation is complete. The men's numbers are placed at the extreme left hand and right hand of the form as a matter of convenience in rapidly handling the work of paying off.

[Illustration: Fig. 17. Pay─Roll Sheet.]

When the pay─roll has been completely made up, it is submitted to the Superintendent, who certifies as to its being a correct list of men actually employed, and to the rates of the different men. It is then submitted to the Factory Manager for approval. After the amounts due the men are actually paid and receipted for, the Treasurer certifies the fact, and the pay─roll becomes a voucher for the amount represented on the roll.

=Giving Orders for Manufacturing Work.= As ordinarily considered, orders are of two general classes, namely:

1. _Production Orders_, by which the production departments are set to work manufacturing some regular or special product which is to be sold to customers.

2. _Plant Orders._ These orders relate to the repairs and maintenance of the grounds, buildings, and equipment of the plant, and to new additions to and alterations of the same.

Both of these classes originate with the Factory Manager, who receives instructions as to all important orders from the General Manager of the company, who will authorize and keep in touch, not only with the production of the plant, but in a general way with all changes, improvements, and maintenance expenses of the establishment.

[Illustration: Fig. 18. Production Order.]

=Production Orders.= Fig. 18 shows the form of a regular production order. This card or blank is made of such dimensions as the kind of manufacturing business to which it pertains may require. It is customary to use a card 4 by 6 inches; but if such is to be written upon the central space in order to describe the work properly, it should be somewhat larger. The principal features of this form are spaces for the title of the card, the order number, and date. At the bottom is given the date when the work is expected to be completed, and the date of its actual completion. These dates are important as a matter of reference in considering the promptness and efficiency of the departments where the work has been done.

The work to be done is briefly described in the central portion, together with such references to sets of drawings, etc., as may be necessary to render the terms of the order indisputably certain. This order is signed by the Factory Manager and sent to the Superintendent. In a large concern it is sent to the Superintendent of Production or the Production Engineer, according to the particular manner of the organization of the official force.

[Illustration: Fig. 19. Sub─Production Order.]

In any event the order is turned over to the official having charge of production, who will make out _Sub─Production_ orders (Fig. 19) for each department in which the particular work described upon the orders is to be done. A time limit is given for the completion of the work, and a space provided for the actual date of completion. They are not signed when issued, but are dated and signed by the foreman when the work is completed.

=Plant Orders.= As has been described, plant orders are those necessary for the changes, improvements, and maintenance of the plant and equipment. In some establishments there are two series of orders, namely: (_a_) those for improvements and maintenance of the _plant_ proper──that is, grounds and buildings; and (_b_) improvements and maintenance of _equipment_. This is a very proper and natural division. These accounts may be subdivided to a very great extent, but not with corresponding value.

[Illustration: Fig. 20. Plant Order.]

Plant orders are usually issued by the Superintendent (or General Superintendent, in a large plant), and are returnable to him, as will be seen upon reference to the form shown in Fig. 20. This order is usually directed to a certain department. If more than one department is involved in the work, a separate order is issued to each. The general form of the order is the same as in the two preceding ones, the instructions being changed to suit the nature of the case.

On the back of this order is a form for entering the cost of material and labor, as shown in Fig. 21. The dates upon which each item (or group of items) of material is furnished, are given, as are also the dates for the various items of labor, although the work of an entire week may be entered upon a single line. On the second half of the card, space is provided for the totals of both material and labor cost; also such general expenses in the form of a percentage or such other apportionment as may be authorized, are entered.

[Illustration: Fig. 21. Back of Plant Order Shown in Fig. 20. For entering cost of material and labor.]

By this method the order for the work, and a summary of the expense of executing the order, are contained upon the same card, which is very convenient for future reference and comparison.

=Storing and Issuing Stock and Materials.= The orders having been put in force in the shop, the next step is to obtain the necessary material or stock with which to do the work.

All purchased stock, material, and stores are turned over to the General Storekeeper, whose duty it is to classify them, store them properly, and issue them only on properly authorized requisitions. A large portion of his stock he obtains by making requisitions upon the Purchasing Agent.

To account properly for the receipts and issues of this stock so as always to have on hand what is wanted, and at the same time to avoid carrying an unnecessarily large stock of any of the articles in store, he uses a _Stock Ledger Card_ of the form shown in Fig. 22. This gives the name of the article listed, and its dimensions, weight, etc. At the right of this are entered the maximum and the minimum quantities to be kept in stock. Whenever the stock on hand is reduced to near the minimum quantity, the Purchasing Agent is requested to order enough more to bring the quantity up to the maximum.

[Illustration: Fig. 22. Stock Ledger Card. Same form is printed also on back of card.]

[Illustration: Fig. 23. Form of Requisition. Carbon copies of the entries are made on the Invoice form, Fig. 24.]

In making requisitions upon the Purchasing Agent, the Storekeeper must take into consideration the length of time necessary to obtain the article wanted. Wire nails, wood screws, and such articles can usually be obtained in 24 hours, while brass tubing may take three weeks. Iron castings can be had in two days, while steel castings will frequently require six weeks.

When articles are _received in stores_, the date and quantity will be entered under the heading _Received_, and other quantities added to these as received. Articles issued will be charged under the heading _Issued_, giving the date and amount. The quantity on hand may be quickly ascertained by adding the quantities received and the quantities issued, and subtracting the sum of the issues from the sum of the receipts.

[Illustration: Fig. 24. Form of Invoice. Entries are made by means of carbon paper, duplicating those made on the Requisition form, Fig. 23.]

As most articles are purchased in considerable quantities and issued in small lots, there will be few entries of receipts and a large number of entries of issues; therefore the greater portion of the card is devoted to records of issues. The card is printed with the same form on both sides; and when the spaces on the first side are filled, the account is balanced, and the results carried to the opposite side.

These cards are kept in filing drawers, where they are located in alphabetical order by the names of the articles they represent.

A foreman, on receipt of a regularly numbered and authorized production order or sub─production order, is thereby authorized to make requisition for such stock and material as may be necessary to use in the execution of the order. This he will do by the use of the _Requisition_ shown in Fig. 23, entering the order number and date, and specifying the quantities and descriptions of the articles required. Ordinarily each requisition will contain but one article or class of articles. At the bottom of the requisition, the foreman will enter the name of his department and his own signature.

These requisition blanks are made up in pads (the form shown in Fig. 23), of white paper alternating with tinted paper on which is the _Invoice_ form shown in Fig. 24. This latter form has its ruling and other principal features identical with the form of the requisition, so that by the use of carbon paper the foreman makes a duplicate on the Invoice blank, of the order number and date, the articles required, the name of his department, and his own signature.

[Illustration: Fig. 25. Returned Material Card.]

When the Storekeeper issues the articles, he first enters upon the requisition blank the date issued, and then passes it to his assistant, who notes the issue on the _Stock Ledger Card_, and then places it on file. The Storekeeper will enter on the invoice the rate and value of the articles issued, and the date of issue, and will sign it under the foreman's signature. He will send it, with the articles issued, to the foreman, who will in turn make it a part of his report of material used.

When the work on an order is completed, such serviceable stock and material as may remain will be returned to the Storekeeper, together with a _Returned Material Card_ of the form shown in Fig. 25. The Storekeeper will enter upon it the value of the material returned, credit it to the department from which it came, and sign the receipt in the lower left─hand corner. The card will then be returned to the foreman as his authority for deducting the amount from the material account in the order in question.

=Follow─Up Methods for Tracing Orders in the Shop.= The Sub─Production orders having been put into the departments, the first one will order the material for starting the work. For instance, the first step may be upon iron castings. Theoretically all stock and material come from the Store─Room. Therefore we might say that upon a strict construction of this general rule the castings should be furnished by the Foundry and sent to the Store─Room, from which they might be drawn upon requisitions the same as any other material. Practically this would be not only a troublesome but an expensive method, requiring a great deal of unnecessary handling and transportation. The problem is much more practically solved by considering the Foundry as one of the manufacturing departments receiving its raw material (namely, pig iron) through storeroom accounts, and thus "constructively" from the storeroom, while physically it is in the foundry yard. This answers the demands of a theoretical as well as a practical view of the case.

Therefore the first sub─production order will go to the iron foundry, which will make the castings and deliver them to such departments as are required to do the first work upon them, as directed upon the order. The sub─production order which this department has received, directs to what department they shall be sent when completed; and so on, until they have gone through the last department and are sent to the Finished Parts Store─Room.

This arrangement is all right as far as it goes. If every man attended strictly to his business and pushed work along as rapidly as possible, and every foreman sent his work along to the next department as soon as his department had completed its work, this plan _might_ work fairly well. Unfortunately, however, these conditions seldom or never exist; and there must be ways and means devised to keep the work moving and to be able to _trace_ and _locate_ the work upon any order at any time when information is desired upon it or its state of progress.

To accomplish this, there is a _Transfer Office_, located as conveniently as may be for all departments, and serving as a sort of "clearing house" for all departments in transacting inter─departmental business so far as it relates to the transfer of the work in progress. By this method, departments send all their work by way of the Transfer Office, where proper records are kept of all such transfers, so that at any moment the Transfer Clerk can locate any piece of work in progress in the plant.

[Illustration: Fig. 26. Transfer Card.]

The operation of this method is as follows: The sub─production orders are sent to the Transfer Clerk, who fills out two _Transfer Cards_, as shown in Fig. 26, one of which he sends with the order to the first department that is to do work on the order, and the other he retains. This card provides spaces for the various departments, which are designated by numbers. Following these are spaces for entering the dates of transfers, the entries being made with a rubber stamp. After these spaces are columns for the number of pieces of work received and the number of pieces delivered.

When the first department has finished its work, the number of pieces is entered in the column headed _Pieces Delivered_, and the work and the card sent to the Transfer Office. The duplicate transfer card that was retained by the Transfer Clerk was filed in a compartment in a _Transfer Case_ corresponding to the department where the work began. He stamps the date of transfer on both cards, entering the number of pieces on his own, and sends the work on its way to the next department, together with the transfer card. His own card he removes from the compartment representing the first department, and places it in a compartment representing the department to which he has now sent the work.

Subsequent transfers are made in the same manner, small lots of work actually being sent to the Transfer Office, but large lots or heavy and bulky work being sent directly from one department to the next, but under the personal direction of the Transfer Clerk or his assistant.

When the parts are completed and ready for inspection, the Inspector is notified; and upon inspecting the parts previous to their being sent to the Finished Parts Store─Room, he enters the results of his work in the space at the bottom of the card that has accompanied the work in its progress through the departments.

[Illustration: Fig. 27. Transfer Clerk's Card Tray.]

The Transfer Clerk's _card tray_ is shown in Fig. 27, and is made with compartments of sufficient dimensions to hold the number of cards expected to be on file in any one department at the same time. The cards are filed in numerical order. In a large concern the usual card─index method of guide cards is used, so as to render the work of finding the right card when wanted, easy and expeditious.

=Tool─Room Methods.= A large number of small tools such as drills, taps, reamers, and the like, and also numerous jigs and fixtures of various kinds, are drawn daily from the Tool Room and returned there after being used. The problem of keeping track of these valuable tools, of knowing where to locate every tool that has been issued, and getting them back promptly after they have been used, is an important one.

The simplest method of doing this is by the use of small brass checks bearing the individual numbers of the men. For this purpose a _Tool Check Board_, as shown in Fig. 28, is provided. This is lined off in small square or oblong spaces, the number of spaces equaling or somewhat exceeding the number of men employed in the departments served by the Tool Room. At the top of each of these spaces is the name of one of the men; and beneath the name two pins project about an inch from the face of the board. Under each pin is the man's individual number. Two forms of brass checks are used, a circular disc of ⅞ inch diameter, and a rectangular one ½ inch by 1¼ inches. Each check has a hole by which it may be hung on the pins, and each bears the individual number of the man, the checks being used in pairs of one circular and one rectangular check.

[Illustration: Fig. 28. Tool Check Board.]

All tools are kept upon shelves, divided for individual tools or, in some similar manner; and in front of each tool is a pin similar to those on the board, upon which checks may be hung.

The operation of this method is as follows: the circular checks (there are usually twelve of them) are issued to the men of corresponding numbers. The rectangular checks are held upon the left─hand pins under the men's names. When a man goes to the Tool Room for a tool, or sends a boy for one, he presents one of his circular checks. This the Tool Keeper hangs on the right─hand pin under the man's name. He also removes one of the twelve rectangular checks, and hangs it on the pin in front of the space from which the tool was taken. If the workman sends for another tool, another circular check is added to the first one, and another rectangular check removed from the board.