Another form of employe's card is shown in Fig. 37. The special feature of this card is that, for each increase in wages, the reason and name of the person granting the increase is noted.
The cards of present employes are filed alphabetically by name. However, in very large establishments, it is advisable to subdivide them by departments and arrange the cards of all employes in the department in alphabetical order. It is seldom necessary to arrange the cards by trades for the reason that the names are, as a rule, so classified on the pay-roll records.
The employe's record proves valuable in many ways. If, for any reason, an employe is away from his work, and it is desired to communicate with him, the address is quickly found; in case of an accident, resulting in injury to the employe, the address is very convenient. Again, when a man is wanted for a position a little above that occupied by the average employe, it is best, if possible, to select a man from the present employes. Whether the position be that of a gang boss, a foreman, or the head of a department, a condensed record of past performance, supplementing the personal observations of his superiors, will be found of considerable assistance in selecting the right man. Many other advantages might be named, but those given should be sufficient to demonstrate the advisability of maintaining these records.
21. Past Employe's Card. In some respects, a record of past employes is as important as the record of applicants and present employes. When more men are needed, it is natural to suppose that past employes, whose services were satisfactory, will be specially desirable. On the contrary, a past employe who has been discharged, or whose work was unsatisfactory, is unlikely to be desirable.
Any record that will show who the past employes are, why they left, and their past record, will therefore be of value. Such a record is provided by the card illustrated in Fig. 38. When an employe leaves, for any reason, one of these cards is filled in and filed alphabetically. At the same time, the employe's card is transferred to another section of the file, and indexed under the name of the department, or the trade or class of employment.
These cards furnish a very complete record of employes, past, present, and future. If the number is small, all can be filed in one drawer, with separate indexes to segregate them into classes. Or a large cabinet, with one or more drawers for each class of records, may be required, but, in any event, the records are complete.
MANUFACTURING ORDERS
22. One of the principles that must be kept in mind when installing a system of any description is that provision must be made for recording every detail of the work intended to be cared for by the system. While this holds true in respect to the systems in every other department of a business, it is of special importance in the manufacturing branch. Accurate costs are out of the question unless every detail of the operations of the plant is properly recorded.
Experience has shown but one method that will insure accurate records, and that method is to manufacture all goods on definite orders and to charge all work not applied to a specific manufacturing order, to expense or operating accounts. The receipt of an order to manufacture before starting the work, is of the same importance to the superintendent as that the commercial department shall receive an order from the customer before shipping goods.
Few managers will accept verbal orders for the manufacture of expensive goods, without asking for a confirmation in writing. When those orders are transmitted to the manufacturing department, it is just as important that they shall be in writing.