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The Board would recommend the abolition of the existing arrangements, and the establishment of a central producer-gas electric power generating station with electric transmission to, and drive in, the different shops. The larger machines to have independent motors, the smaller machines to be group-driven. An approximate investigation points to a saving of nearly .£3,500 per annum being effected in actual working-expenses by such a change. 11. The System of Wobk adopted. Detect of grouping new and repair work together. The practice existing at AddingUm of carrying on together new and repair work, and of transferring men and machines from one to the other must tend to level down to repair standard the general rate of working of the shop and in other ways to increase the cost of production. The wholesale transference of men from new to repair work in connection with holiday rushes is an especially bad feature of the system. The practice which obtains of manufacturing parts during the period of assemblage of the whole, and to o'-dinary rule and caliper measurements, is faulty. There is a lack of system in connection with the machine-shop tool-room and the method of dealing with tools for the machines. The equipment of the tool-room is unsatisfactory. Whilst the drawings furnished from the Chief Mechanical Engineer's office for the manufacture of rolling-stock are generally excellent, the practice of requiring the blacksmiths to work from other than full-size detail drawings leads to much loss of time. Time and cost keeping unsatisfactory. The system of time and cost keeping in use is, in the opinion of the Board, complicated and unsatisfactory, in that information as to time and money cost is difficult to extract and cannot be obtained for any portion until some time after the completion of the whole job, and even then detailed information is not available to the Works Manager. Foremen spend too much time in office. In connection with this system the foremen seem to spend 25 per cent, of their time in their offices going through and initialling the workmen's time-books. The pattern-book is not kept in the best or most convenient manner for reference. To effect necessary improvements in the system of working, the Board would recommend,—System of working to limit-gauges and into store recommended. • The complete separation of the new from the repair work, separate shop sections to be allotted to each. The systematic manufacture of new work to limit-gauges, each portion as completed being inspected, and, if satisfactory, sent into stock (the smaller parts actually into store), from which the whole of the various parts would be drawn before the erection of the complete machine was commenced. True interchangeability and rapid assemblage would thus be assured. Tool-room system recommended. The abolition of the existing tool-room and the adoption of a system which would necessitate the provision of a well-equipped room, furnished with modern tool-room machines, in which all tool-room repairs would be done. Under such a system the machine-shop would be divided into sections, to each of which a labourer would be allotted, whose duties, in addition to cleaning and giving necessary assistance at machines, would include the replacement of all dulled tools by- fresh ones from the tool-room; where all tool-room grinding would be done by a tool-room hand to pre-determineel standards. The machines would in this way be kept constantly at work, all delays due to machinists being absent grinding tools being prevented. Cost-keeping system recommended. For cost-keeping the adoption of a production order and card system, under which a card issued by the foreman for any particular part of the work accompanies that portion through the shops and receives upon its face a record of the time expended in the operations upon it. For each part such a card is issued, and on the completion of the job these cards, together with similar cards upon which the material is charged, are returned to the office bound up in the production order, and the time and cost summed up by the Cost Clerk in a few hours. The whole being filed, a detail record of time and money cost for any portion of the work is readily available. It is desirable that the Cost Clerk, should be located and the records filed at the works. 111. Discipline maintained. No systematic loafing. Though a general, air of leisurely movement is apparent at Addington, the Board are satisfied from the evidence put before them and from their own investigations that there has been no systematic loafing on the part of the great bulk of the workmen, and in view of the small amount of real power for exercising authority possessed by the workshop manager and foremen, are of opinion that the fact that greater advantage has not been taken of the security of their position by the men is creditable alike to themselves and their officers.