Foremanship Training

By Mr. E. R. Maule, Elammond Lumber Company, Los Angeles, before the Millwork Institute of California.

Mr. -Presldcnt and gentlemen: We were to have had with us to4:l Mr. B-enjg-nin {. Jolnson, who is in charge of industrial training at the Univcrsity of California, southern division. and it was upon him that I relied to give tfie information to this bodv in referencc to foremanship training. As Mr. Johnson has not sh'own up, it suddenly devolves upon me to give i clear outline of whai might be ac.complished i! thisline._ My knowledge comes only from experrence ln our oyrn ptant; but that experience has been sufficicnt to make me realize the nece-sslty for all-manufacturers to give the subject of foremanship trainin-g intensive thought and stud-y. One of my competitors the other day in talking to me about plint effi_ cie-ncy stated that he walked through his plint vrith his foriman and pginted to some three or four trutkloadi of lumber and estimaied with the yard foreman the saving that could be accomplisnea Uy using an appropriate kind of lumbir for the purposcs intinded. iir that- one trip this man selected some three oi four trucks and con- clusively proved to that foreman that some $60. could ha;; bJ;; saved in-running the material in those trucks inio the finished ;rd;i;. .tslc turther made the statFment that he estimated S20(x) a month was -being wasted because the foreman did not studi hiJ D;obi;;;: I think thc 92000 which he state4 considering the size ofihe plant in qucstion falls -far short of the- ictual wastige that was ociuFini and had occurred for long periods.

^ If Mr.-Johnson, were here he would give you this definition of foremanship.ttaining:_Foremanship. training is teaching a man to rnrnK- aDout nrs JoD. 'l-nere rs nothrng more or less to it than that. but there i8 no part of the manufacturing business that can save thi manufacturer more money- than the foreman being taught to think. Now, thinking. con-sists -o!--th!s_, of -?sking yourse-Ives, :.fs tt ii iiii b-est yay of doing this job?" My talks with Mr. Johnion left a verv deep_impression with.mc, .and-after- rny training as a foreman unddr nrm r analyzeo tne srtuatron in this way:

Some eight years ago I had a motor boit, and that motor boat had a central control with the steering wheel just like an automobile. To start the boat ahead you push-d it frorir neutral f;*;;t: b;;i to_ neutral and back to you for ieverse. Gentlemen, I have rioiiatedlv withirr t-he last_ year movcd the control of my automobile iorwarf, and backward because -I -got th9 habit of ma[ing that boat i" f"i: ward and baokward and forgetting that you havJ to move thE lever of the automobilc sideways to obtain thi various "ta"g"".:N;-i did that because that was f.orce-of habit; and the forerian o" i lbU is do.rns hundreds of operations because that is his habii of a"i"dii and he never_stops to think -if that is the best way to do it.

In.o.rlc of -Mr.-Johnson's lcsso,ns, for that is what they were, I hcard him ask a foreman to stand up and take off his coa[. and riut ig o4 -ag1in, and after the man had done that ht-;id, l.N;;;-;J;; the blackboard and write down the opcrations of titinc oif -;; coat, and after the man had put down the opcrationJ "f-uti"i "f that coat,- thc other .foremen prescnt wutc -sivi;- t["-;;dfi"it" ot suggcsting or mentioning the operation that the man weii throucir m ta5qg ott-hrs coat that vrere not mentioned on thc blackboari: and before thcy got -through they had added some five times aj r_nqny operatioll_s al the man had originally put down. Then Mr. Jonnson sa-td, "Let's see how-many of those operations we can dis_ capl.: ala ne wegt dolvn thc line one aftcr anothcr, ,,Is this esscntial -is ttrat essential-can it be done in a quicker wajr this -av oi tiiii way," and eventuallv he had cut down tle fist oripiiiiioi#b; t;;'ii. and in conclusion stated, "Gentlemen, your job is similar to iakinc off_your coat. You rnust tlke-each io-.tiott;ie"etthil; ;;;-i;;: undcr.you.r control .and s-tudy it- and-see if you are-doi"E iti*oi[ with the least number of possible operations.,'

I consider that training one of the-most essential thinss we havc today, -to pgt our busincss on the most economicat maiutactu-iing b_asis; but there was considerably more to the foremanship trainini than te-aching thc man to think about the job. It included th" G;-k ot tcachrng a man co-operation, and it is maryelous to hear what co-op.eration r-eally rncan- fr-9m a man who has given it i"t"""i,i"dv. rossr.b.ry tbe best way to illustrate that is through our daily livci. As ctttzcns of our country,we have two responslbilities, on-e is to ourselves and thc othcr to the othcr fellow; a'na ttrJ f;;;in;;H-ti; rnill also have those two responsibilities. 'eict jnai".ry-;-;i 1gu havp gone.out i. yo,!" miil and asked thi foreman;at;-;"fi shop qhy such and such an order is not completed as -promised. to rsceiyc t*re information that BilI down in ttri iuttinc;;-;;;;;i scnt up the material as yct, and if you go to BiII do*n j; tiliud;; room he tells you the yard man has not scnt in thc lumber yct, and whcn y,ou get hold of the yard man he tells you the purchasing agent hasn't delivercd it, and the purchasing agent tells you hi c,anngt find thc stock, and so it goes all down the linc, of passing thc buck. Foremanship training consists as much as anything in burying you' buck-passing and holding a man responsible -for every case that isn't right, and that you c:rn only do when you teach each man what his responsibility is-that his responsibility is to run his department, arrange his men and his machiires and work the most economically, and having done that, consider it just as much his responsibility to see that the department n€xt to him, that cooperates with him and has to handle the material in turn receives full support.

Now. that !s th_e_ high-lights of foremanship training. f regrct e-xceedingly, tha-t Mr. Johnson is not herc becausc he could give these thoughts far better than I can.

The State of California is ready and willing and desires to put men in your plants gratis to train your foremen to think and briild up a-real organization. .We can co-operate all througbout so that one foreman has consideiation for thC next foreman's-requircments and that the men under him receive the kind of treatnrint which American mechanics are entitled to. I will endcavor to have Mr. Johq!91 write an article on this subjec! dealing more with tho possibilities of 9'our obtaining the co-operation oflhe Statc in this matter than I have just mentioned, so we, each onc of us, can obtain the benefits of this kind of education if we dcsire it.

Just one thing more. I saw a few'minutes some catalogs of a veneer door. Some three of foui- years ago the millmen-of my acquaintance began to talk about thc possibilitics of Philiooine mahogany. San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Dicco are -;rts of entrance from the Philippines, and this most uscfill wood undoubtedly_-in yeary. !q come will be used throughout the United States. The possibilities that lie ahead of the West Coast millmcn are wonderful in developing markets, not only in our state but in the east, for the use of Philippine mahogany, We have arranccd pricelists on Philippine finish-in Los AnEelis so that the oricc- ii within reach of the modern home, and we have received wo'ndcrful gg-gnelation,from thc lumbermen in obtaining distribution of this kind- of wood, and it was- left to some plant to -put a mahogany dooi on thc market to go hand in hand with-the finish because v6u iannot sell finish without thc veneer door. One of the plarits in Los 4ggeles is now manufacturing a door in stock quaritities ana iii able to_ p-ut_t_h!q door on the-market. Those of -you who are interested .in Philippine mah-ogany ca-n obtain some-real inforrriation y you wul prck up. one ot th-ese catalogs as you go out, and examine rt. Any rntormatron regaraling prices or rcgarding direct deliverv can be obtained- by Mr. Didescfi of the Millwdrk Buieau, and I warit !o-F-ay this-lhis is purely a product of the MilIwork'fnstitute of California with the distribution of it entirely in their hands, and the methods of distribution have been left to th; disposition of this body. I thank you.

Twenty Varieties of Harduood also Oak & Maple Flooring-P"nels in stoch at all times

Printing Or Yelling

BBfore printing come into existance, tradesmen on the streets had only one way to attract attention to their places of business. Imagine what the retail lumber business would be like today if printing had not been invented' There would be a man out in front of the door, shouting the merits of two by fours.

Sign On Back Of Ford

"Don't Hit Me Big Boy I'm Getting Old"

Dreier On Home

"Every home should be a church erected to the worship of God. It should be the visible expression of the beauty that is in the souls of its owners. There should be alive in it a spirit of love and kindliness and high idealism. To every home lover the ground which gives him his fowers and vegetables is holy ground. ft is to the worshipper of what may seem to be the commonplace that the happiness of heaven manifests itself."-Thomas Dreier.

Hard Boiled

Two negroes were lying behind a packing case on the dock at Brest taking the labor of the Labor Battalion' Said one of them boastfullY:

"Boy, Ah comes f'um a tough breed. Mah ole man done cut his nails wid a ax an brash his teef wid a fiIe."

"He ain't so tough. Mah ole man am a plumber an twice a week he done shave hisself wid a blow torch."

Carelessness

"I am not a mathematician," says Carelessness' "but I can add to your troubles, I can subtract from your earnings,'I can multiply your aches and pains, I can take interuri fto- your work, and discount your chances for safety' Besides this, I can divide your thoughts between business and pleasure, and be a potent factor in your failures. Even if I am with you only a small fraction of the time I can lessen your chances of success. I am a figure to be reckoned with. Cancel me from your habits and it will add to your total happiness,"-CliPPed.

Nixy On The Home

Real Estate Agent, trying to interest a fair flapper in a home: "Buy a home."

Fair Flapper: "Buy a Home ? I should say not-haven't a bit of use for one.

You see, I was born in a hosPital- 'Was educated in a college- 'Was courted in an automobileWas married in a churchWe live out of a paper bag-lovely delicatessen right nearSpend the mornings Playing golfThe afternoons playing bridgeAt nieht we iazz, or go to the moviesWheri I die, I'm Coing to be buried from the undertakers, All I need is a gaiage, with a bedroom above."

WAS HE RIGHT?

Owner (rebuking clert for rudcocle to e orrtocr):

"You must always rsnembr, young Eian, that ttc cttstoner is always right"

Clerk: "\t/ell, sir, be iust said you tctc !o csoobd you could hide behind a corltcrcw.'

Business Is Business

"Business is Busincss" tte Littlc fan rei4 "A battle where 'everlzthing gocct Where the only gcpcl is 'gct abce4' And never spare.friends nor focr; 'Slay or be slain' is the dogan co[4 You must struggle, and slarh, ud tcar, For Business is Busincss, a 6gbt f* gol4 Where dl ttat you do iE fairl"

"Business is Busincss" thc Big Ian sai4

"A battle to make of carth, A place to yield ua raoa; wine end brce4 More pleasure and joy and Eirth. There are still come bandits and btrcanccrs Who are jungle-bred bcasts of trade, But their nurnber dwindlcs with parsing ycare And dead is the code they made!"

"Business is Business" the Big fan sai4

But it's something that't more, far norl; For it makea swcet gardcrrs of deccrtr dced' And cities it built, notr roar.

\f,rhere once tte deer and the gtcy wolf ran From ttre pioneer's swift advence; Business is Magic that toils for rnan, Business is tnre Romanca"

"And those who male it a ruthlcrs 6ght Have only t'hgmsclvc to blamc

If they feel no whit of thc hccn dclight

In playing the bigger game. The game that cdls on tbe heert and bce4

The best of man's strcngth and nenc; 'Business is Buciness'ttc Big Ian sai4

"And that busincss is to SERVEI" f am not on speaking terms with the butchcr. f am too small to buy a pint of icc crcam.

-Bcrtron Braley.

I am twenty-five cents.

I am not large enough to buy your girl candy.

I am too small even to buy a movie ticket with.

I am hardly fit to buy a boy's top.

But, believe me, when I go. to church on Sunday I AM CONSIDERED SOUE ilIONEY.