SCIENCE IN OFFICE WORK.

Shannon News, 13 April 1928, Page 2

SCIENCE IN OFFICE WORK.

ELECTRICAL RECORDING SYSTEM.

In these days of super-efficiency and keen competition the. business man must watch his costs with the most meticulous accuracy. By the most searching analyses he must resolve the total into its elementary units and thus discover accurately how much of his expenditure has gone to the production of the finished articles whether in materials, wages or other charges. Only by such means can he ascertain what is the true position of affairs, and, if there are weaknesses, Jie can find them and take the necessary steps to remedy them.

; Ordinarily this detail work involves a great deal of clerical labour and time. It is for this very purpose that the electric sorting, counting and tabulating machines, invented by Dr. Hollerith, came into being and became the recognised media for accounting and statistical work.

Briefly records of descriptive data are represented by holes punched in cards, the positions of which control electrical mechanism of the machines. Thus, in the case v of labour records, for instance, the details of time sheets, etc., originally made out by workmen or shop clerks, are recorded on Hollerith cards in the office by punching holes in the required position. This record card can then be dealt with by the electrical machines, and any dissection such as cost or hours by department, man, separation of piecework and daywork, production of indirect labour jobs, etc., can be obtained as desired.

All ,|hese details can be collated at the same time giving a tabulated return showing quantity, hours and wages paid. The punched cards are.run through the Hollerith machine each week which adds up the amounts recorded thereon, which are agreed with the amount on the pay roll. Having agreed this, any analysis desired with regard to labour cost can be proceeded with in the certain knowledge that the figures dealt with are in agreement with the total amount paid in wages.

Once all the details of a transaction have been recorded by punched holes on the card, the original ground never requires to be traversed again. It is only necessary to sort the cards by machine into any order desired and put them through the tabulating machine.