Fig. 1. Time-Keeper's Slip.
Duplicate record is made
automatically on a similar slip
by carbon paper.
This, of course, indicates an unusually loose organization, but is an example of what a time-keeper with a notebook has to contend against.
In case of emergency—say in steam shovel work—a train of dump cars goes over the side of a dump, and a track gang is called upon to help the regular dump gang so that the difficulty may be overcome as soon as possible. The time-keeper might fail to make record of an hour or an hour and a-half which the track gang put on this work, because he did not see them at work at that particular time. This, of course, affects the distribution of cost. One advantage from the notebook is that much of the distribution is made in the field, with a corresponding reduction of office work.
Punch-Cards. The keeping of time by means of punch-cards has been tried with considerable success on many jobs, but only recently has it been reduced to a practical basis for use on large construction work.
The Construction Service Company of New York City has developed a system of time and cost keeping, using the duplicate punch-card almost entirely. Several of these cards are reproduced in connection with this text.
As a general thing, the punching of the cards is done by foremen of the gang, or by someone who has the performance of the gang under direct observation. The cards show not only the time worked by each man upon any one day, but just as exactly the time worked upon any job by all the men. A duplicate of the record is made automatically, to be kept in the time-keeper's office, the other going to headquarters for permanent record.
The record thus obtained is absolutely exact, especially as to distribution; but the system has some of the same objections that the notebook has. For instance, unless the cards are kept by the foreman himself, whoever punches them may inadvertently miss a man. This, however, is not so liable to happen as when a notebook is used. Whenever a single punch appears opposite a man's number, it is apparent that all his time must be accounted for in some way or other; while, with a notebook, it may be that, having been missed once, no record of any time will appear.
There is absolutely no opportunity for a time-keeper or for a foreman to "fudge" his account in any way, for a punch mark once made in the card cannot be erased or destroyed in any way. The record stands.
Time-Keeper's Cards. Instead of the time-keeper keeping his records in a notebook, as has been described, he may be provided with slips of tough paper of such size and shape as will readily go into his pocket, or will fit in a filing cabinet.