COST GETTING
In taking of time and in the application of the cost of labor to the cost of work, there are probably as many systems as there are organizations doing work; and even within any one organization using a well-defined system throughout its entire operations, there will be no two men making the same interpretation of the rules laid down, or—more especially—whose methods of attack will be the same. But in spite of these many variations of method, there are several primary systems which are standard, and which can be found in one form or another on all properly conducted work.
The starting point of all cost getting is the taking of the time in the field, and it is here that the greatest variation in individual method is found. The most common way of taking this time record from which the pay-roll and the cost distribution is made, is for the time-keeper to go over the work with a notebook and put down therein with a pencil the number of each man and the particular part of the work that he is engaged on.
Two systems of record keeping, of which small cards form the basis, are also in vogue. One of these systems uses what is known as punch-cards—that is, cards in which the records of time, distribution, and performance are made by means of an ordinary conductor's punch; and the other has the record made in a way somewhat similar to the entries in a notebook—a written record being made on the cards with a pencil. Another system bases its records upon reports turned in by foremen.
Time-Keeper with Notebook. While the manner of taking time with a notebook varies according to the training and experience of the time-keeper, it may be said that there are in general two ways in which such notes are kept. In the first, the time-keeper has a list of the numbers of all men on the work, and, as he goes over the work, simply checks off the numbers, showing that each particular man is at work and indicating upon what branch of the work he is engaged.
A more common way, however, is for the time-keeper to make headings corresponding to the distribution used in making up the office records, and to write under each of these headings the numbers of the men working upon the part of the work so named. This method is often simplified by the time-keeper becoming so familiar with the foreman, and the numbers of the men under the particular foreman, that he is able to dispense with the headings entirely, and simply use the foreman's name or number in place of it. This, of course, makes the time-keeper's notes more or less unintelligible to anyone but himself, and makes it necessary for him to do office work as well as his field work. Moreover, not being a permanent or intelligible record, it is impossible for even the man who made the notes to return to them in case any dispute arises or a mistake is found to have been made, and get information after the notes have "grown cold." The time-keeper becomes so familiar with the appearance of the men who are on the work, that he learns to know their numbers, and often attempts to put them down without seeing their numbered checks. This is often a source of error, as the uneducated foreign laborer is very liable to make a mistake in stating his number; and if he does, there will exist no record of his having worked that day, and he will get no pay for it. The apportioning of the cost of his labor to any work that he may have been on, will also be the cause of trouble.
Of course, the time-keeper's memory serves him if any men are absent from the gang for any reason, and he is able to ask the foreman whether or not that particular man is working. A man may be away from the gang and be missed by the time-keeper altogether. In this case, no chance is given for correction of the record, unless the time-keeper goes over the work again soon after; and the consequence is that costs will be in error, and the men will be short of pay at the end of the month. This is especially liable to be true when night work is being done.
Men may be changed from gang to gang, or a whole gang may be changed from one job to another, and the time-keeper knows nothing of it unless he happens to be on the spot at just the right time. Such a change would not show in his time record; and while the men would get credit for their full time, the distribution of costs would be much in error. The difficulty in recording such changes can be seen from the following extract from a report of a Consulting Engineer after inspecting work upon a road-making contract:
"In one case, at 10:30, there were eight men carrying stone to the crusher, and three men on the crusher platform. Two others were in the cut, loosening earth and loading; and half an hour later, two of the four men who had been blasting were also loosening and loading."