RECORDS OF MANUFACTURING ORDERS
27. An essential record in any system of cost or factory accounting, is a record of manufacturing orders. A system of records shouldbe maintained, which will show the exact number and nature of the orders issued to the shop or factory, and from which it will be possible to locate every order—to determine in what stage each order is, and to estimate closely the date of completion.
Fig. 46. Front and Reverse of Card Showing Total Production and Progress of Orders.
Such records are equal in importance to records of material, both raw and partly finished, in store at all times. Without them, it is impossible to obtain authentic information about work in process. Orders are certain to be side-tracked, and it is extremely difficult to estimate, with any degree of accuracy, delivery dates for either new or old orders.
The records should be so complete that it will be literally possible to run the business from the office—without calling foremen from the shops, who must return and investigate the condition of an order before an intelligent answer can be given. The manager who can conduct his business from the office is following modern ideas; he is far-seeing—not lucky—for this condition is the result of carefully made plans to insure records that will show him exactly what he wants to know.
Along the line of running the business from the office, Mr. F. E. Webner, in an article in the Engineering Magazine, cites an apt illustration. Two very large corporations with a common line of product were concerned. Each of these in turn was asked verbally by an executive officer of a concern which is a large user of the product, as to what delivery could be made on a stated quantity of goods. One concern used the long-distance telephone to a number of its plants; the other concern consulted records within its office and was able to give a decisive reply within half an hour, and to know just which of its works was best able to turn out the goods. The first concern had a number of superintendents on edge looking up data and could not give a positive answer short of two days.
As in every other department of a business, the expense of maintaining an adequate system of order records in the manufacturing departments is infinitesimal, when compared with the results obtained. A single contract lost for the lack of needed information may mean the loss of a valuable customer, the profit on whose business would pay the cost of an adequate system many times over.
28. Manufacturing Order Register. The form of the manufacturing order register necessarily depends on the nature of the business, the product, and the number of operations or departments through which an order must pass. It need not be complicated—simple forms always are to be preferred—the main thing is that all orders be so recorded as to be readily located.
Fig. 47. Daily Report of the Transfer Clerk
Fig. 48. Foreman's Daily Report of Shop Production
A simple and convenient form for a register of manufacturing orders is shown in Fig. 45. This should be in loose leaf, a sheet being used for each style or size of machine, part or piece manufactured. If, for instance, a typewriter is made in five styles, five sheets would be used—one for each style. Separate sheets would also be used for each part—as many sheets for each as there are sizes.
The sheets should be indexed under the names of the parts and those in each division arranged in the order of sizes. Supposing type bars to be made in ten sizes—numbers 191 to 200—the sheets would be filed in the order of these numbers. Should the industry be one in which orders are issued to assemble parts into complete machines, the sheets on which assembling orders are recorded should be filed with a separate index, but may be kept in the same binder. It is also advisable to use sheets of a different color for these orders.
The heading of this form, Fig. 45, shows the name of the part, the machine on which it is used, the drawing number, pattern number, and style or part number. Orders to manufacture are entered in the columns at the left of the body of the form, giving the date, order number, quantity ordered, and total ordered to date—that is, if 500 parts are ordered on the 10th and 300 on the 25th, the sum of the two, 800, would be entered in the total column. Following the order record columns are columns for the departments, the form illustrated being designed for a furniture business. Under the heading for each department, a daily record is made of the quantity received, quantity delivered to the next department or to stock, and balance in the department, the latter being in an uncompleted state. This form can be adapted to almost any class of manufacture by a proper arrangement of departmental columns.
In most all industries, it is practical to keep a continuous record of all manufacturing orders; sometimes it is best to keep a record for each order. A form of this class, designed for the use of a machine shop, is shown in Fig. 46. This form shows the progress of a single order through all of the departments. A card is used in this case, both sides being required to accommodate the number of operations, and they are indexed by order numbers.
29. Tracing the Order. The system of tracing orders through the shop or factory is very important and should be as nearly automatic in operation as possible. There may be many orders which need not necessarily be traced, but a system that will automatically keep the office informed on the progress of all orders, will pay for itself in the time saved in tracing a single order without proper records. To attempt to find the exact condition of work in progress without a tracing and recording system, is not alone expensive, but unsatisfactory in results; the degree of accuracy is measured by the ability of foreman to make accurate estimates. Practically, foremen should be best able to estimate the time required to complete a job, but their estimates will be found to vary greatly on similar jobs; time standards are more accurately determined by a comparison of the records of past performances.
When practical—and it has been found practical in many industries—a transfer office should be maintained in the works. This office should be in charge of a transfer clerk, who will record all transfers of work in progress from one department to another. Theoretically, all work should pass the transfer office. In the manufacture of small parts, this can be done without loss of time, provided the transfer office is centrally located. When heavy work is the rule, it is not practical to carry out this plan in detail, but such transfers should be conducted under the supervision of the transfer clerk.
The transfer clerk should maintain records of orders in progress, which will be duplicates of the office records, reporting all transfers to the office on the form shown in Fig. 47. This is a simple report form, giving order numbers, part numbers, quantities, and names of the departments between which transfers are made.
When no transfer clerk is employed, it is necessary to obtain reports, in the same form, from the different foremen. This report should provide for an acknowledgment of the receipt of work, as well as a record of deliveries. The form shown in Fig. 48 gives a double check, since the quantities received must agree with the report of deliveries from the department from which the work was received.
From these reports, the order records are made in the office. In addition to their value in maintaining a record of orders, the tracers and reports are used to advantage in compiling an inventory of work in progress.
COST DEPARTMENT, NATIONAL CASH REGISTER CO., DAYTON, OHIO