Fig. 9
This is a sample of photographs that are taken to impress upon the foreman the reasons why certain methods are wrong. For example, this picture shows two “Gilbreth” tables resting on their long side at their low height, so fixed that they can be picked up by “booster” trucks. The in-and-out bins are not the same size. The outward one is considerably too high to be convenient for the worker, and the worker is provided with a box instead of a comfortable stool.
The change in industrial conditions has made this problem important. The question once was, “Can we make it of a quality that will pass?” Since the day of intensive outputs, the question has become, “How many can we make of a given quality?” In the first case, any kind of work-bench was good enough,—the worry being limited to the question of “Can we make it?” Now it is no trouble to make almost anything; but the worry is “Can we make enough so that the cost will enable us to pay the required wages and still compete, or must we give up manufacturing in this location?” This makes us think of the least fatiguing conditions and of making work-benches of two levels, etc.
The Chair or Other Fatigue-Eliminating Device.
Closely related with the work place is the work chair. It is distinct from the rest chair in that it is specially devised to be used during work periods. The ideal work chair is of such a height that the worker’s elbows will bear the same relation to the work place when he is sitting as they would if the work place were properly adjusted for him to do standing work. Types of chairs that have been designed and that are proving effective in eliminating fatigue while at work will be described more at length in the next chapter. The important point to be considered here is to adjust the work to the worker if possible. Where this is not possible, immediately, adjust the worker as best you can to the work. Make the relation of his elbows to the work the deciding point. If at present the work must be done standing, and the worker is too small, and it is easier to raise the worker than lower the work-bench or table, provide some sort of a stand or platform that will put him at the proper level. If he is large, raise the work-bench by lengthening the legs, or adding a false top, or, in some rare cases, by lowering the standing place. If the work is seated work, adjusting the chair will probably be the simplest change to make. Arm rests often afford an immediate and immense relief, but must fit the particular arm and be adjustable for best results. A head-rest may also be a valuable first aid, though often a later improvement in working methods will eliminate so much eye and head fatigue that the head-rest will not be needed. In other types of work, the foot-rest will often do the most immediate good. If every manager were made to sit for a certain number of hours to-day with his feet hanging, there would be an enormous increase in the number of foot rests in our industrial plants to-morrow morning.
Fig. 10
Very few people realize that the working girl should be measured for her working chair in which she spends one-half of the time that she is awake during her entire working life. For this purpose we have had testing chairs of varying heights made for the girls to sit in, and then have made a chair for each girl, particularly adapted to her and her work. The correct height of chair is determined much quicker and fits much more accurately than does an adjustable chair.
Fig. 11
This picture shows a worker seated at standing height operating a drill press. The pieces arrive in his inward box by means of a small belt conveyor that transports finished pieces from the machine that performs the previous operation.
Placing the Material Worked On.
In cases where it is difficult to readjust the work place, much fatigue may often be eliminated by placing the work in a better position. In fact this aspect of the problem should always be considered along with the readjustment of the work itself. For example, in folding handkerchiefs, a folder may be seated at a table, folding directly on the table. The table may be too low for the work. If she is given a board upon which to fold, this may not only put her work itself at the proper height, but it is also possible, with trifling added expense, to provide her with a table in two adjoining sections at two different heights, and a sloping board that will make the work less fatiguing, as she can maintain a much better posture. She will also be enabled to put the finished product at a lower level. This will increase speed, while at the same time eliminating fatigue, which is, of course, an ideal condition.