ENCOURAGING IDEAS

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12615, 27 November 1926, Page 4

ENCOURAGING IDEAS

TO IMPROVE RAILWAYS BOARD TO CONSIDER INVENTIONS SCALE OF AWARDS MADE Part of the work of reorganising the New Zealand Railway Department last year was the inauguration of an inventions and suggestions committee, sot up to consider suggestions and inventions which aim at producing improvements in railway operations. Since June of last year, when tho hoard was set up—comprising principal officers of tho department—ideas have conic freely from all brandies of the railway staff and from the public, indicating the keenness with which the innovation was received. Up to the end of October last over 1500 proposals have.been dealt with, and they continue to come in at the rate of 15 to 20 a month. There is hardly a phase of railway work which lias not been the subject of an idea calculated to improve the working, including signals, rolling stock, equipment, safety devices, travel, etc. The members of the board are officers acquainted with railway conditions in Great Britain, America, Canada, and Australia, as well as having an intimate knowledge of tho New Zealand system. They represent transportation, locomotive, maintenance, commercial, and signal branches of tho service, and meet weekly to go through, new proposals. Their experience enables them quickly to appraise the valuo of any suggestion or invention, and naturally many of the ideas are old or impracticable, and others do not fulfil what is claimed for them. On the other hand quit© a number of them prove useful, and others require closer examination and testing, while occasionally the rare work of a genius is apparent. If necessary the committee does not hesitate to call in experts if a somewhat intricate proposal comes before them and requires special consideration, and any trials necessary ar© given on this part of the work referred to the head of the branch concerned. The names of those putting forward suggestions or inventions ar© not disclosed to the board, so that each and every one receives fair and unbiased consideration. Many devices have already been accepted and put into use for facilitating operations, and it sets employees thinking how to produce improvements in their work, while the scheme has made operative a scale of award© sufficiently attractive to induce enterprise along the right lines in all grades of the service. Awards varying from ,£1 to £2 have recently been made for suggestions for improvements in office stationery, wagons, numbering of tarpaulins, repairs, eto., while a number of others were commended by the board.