SCIENCE AND BRICKS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 143, 26 September 1910, Page 8

SCIENCE AND BRICKS.

HOW A MAX'S WORK WAS NEARLY TREBLED. What Mr. F. W. Taylor, a consulting engineer, of Philadelphia, termed "mo° tion study" of labor—increasing the output of the workman by reducing his" movements on particular work to a minimum-created much interest at a joint meeting of the British and American Institution of, Mechanical Engineers' in Birmingham recently. Mr Taylor stated that "motion study" was being more and more taken up in j America ivery year, and he gave a striking illustration of what has been ac-l complished in the bricklaying trade He! said:— *

'Every individual motion of a bricklayer throughout the laying of bricks was scientifically investigated, with the result that the number of motions necessary in laying a Av^e brick wag re .; dueed from eighteen to five in one case, and eighteen to two in another Consequently on a particular job in Jioaton eaeh man was able to lav 350 bricks an hour, against 120 previously. t ??°{ d f' of P"J<«1«» on the part oi the trade unions had to be overcome but it was done in this way: The unions agreed to leave their men in the hands ?i T, ol '" S '' mitol ' s of the s 3-stem on one job Ilie men were offered about 33 per cent higher wages than the standard on condition that they did exactly what they were told, and the result in output was as I have stated." '