The Iron Age 1921-03-03: Vol 107 Iss 9

THE IRON AGE New York, March 3, 1921 ESTABLISHED 1855 v4 VOL. 107: No. 9 Production Methods of Rolls-Royce Plant How an Automobile Factory, Operating Along Lines Found Practical in English Works, Schedules Machining of Thousands of Parts HEN the Rolls-Royce Co. decided to establish WV a plant in the United States for the manufac- ture of its automobiles, there was no thought of attempting to emulate American production methods, except in so far as they might be adopted without raising a question of quality, for which the REG. TIME Goiuad IS! OWMOTTY JH 34 TNIV nN z iO 13 io jo Rolls-Royce car has, of course, laid great claims. The plant which the Rolls-Royce Co. of America has equipped at Springfield, Mass., is, therefore, a rep- lica of the plant at Derby, England, in all of the essential details. It was the experience of the company in building 040 4 ' nA® ——$————— [furn,fece both ends ___iehamfer & groove, (¥i; gudgeon pin we ra a. & Ss, HT-68 — NEXT OPERATION No. —— Type bosses and face inside. (Fig. 2) Name of Operation Bore Reever “p Every Machine Tool Supplied with Material and Jobs Ahead, a Central Machine Control Board Is with Pockets Numbered to Correspond with the Machines. Each job card, as the material becomes is placed in this central control board in its proper position and the state of work for every machine may be seen at a glance job card serves the following purposes: Payroll card for bonuses; instructions for moving to the next 4 progress record and a scrap record. The design and form of the cards are arranged to be used with a tabulating machine, 555 f he a Wak nal + + ee inna aryl one or sete i mg ate He gs - © Bu 4 oe ie eng ae Piece ne 0, Ar e t pet a. eae lesa pee ; pitienres ee engl 4 ee rr os 556 THE IRON. AGE March 3, 1921 ROLLS-ROYCE wae OF AMERICA, INC MACHINE LOAD CHART : hE Pla CL POR PEVE | Cea eee NO. | A=-104 TYPE OF MACHINE | 4~1/4 Cleve lmd | ; L sneethaccs ‘i . MAXIMUM LOAD | 288 MINUTE SETTING UP AND INEFFICIENCY ALLOWANCE 25 % Net Losd----- © Key i ee a . Chass LBs Time Operation ‘bos Started Started Stopped Tote Specie’ ogee . pare oun id oe aoe Greve Set Up Production Production Time Tools c M.S, U<-1729 5230 Union Nut 2%—1/2 1 27 So; Rd, Magneto GENS E-17218 5100 Brake Drum 22 1 22 5.8. : G=-481 6100 Spherical Nut 18 1 18 CNS. G-3529 6050 Dog Clutei 37 1 37 Rd. GENS G-3423 5040 istMo,. Pin 41 1 41 Se Ge M.S. G-2137 6040 Coupling Nut 22 1 22 3—3 /4RG, ¥25%, G-1621 6040 Pulley Center 29 a 29 N.S. Ge6483 6060 Carrier Plate 24 1 24 - 220 100% Loaded. L ~ ; ee Sees ~ = Se ee A> — _ —_—_ > = " In Connection with the Operation Lists a Machine Load Chart Is Used to Determine the Exact Amount of Worl That Can Be Performed Upon Each Machine Up to the Limit of Its Capacit; After Allowing for Set-ups Inefficiencies airplane engines in this country during the war that convinced the engineers and management that its cnasses could be built here with the same pains- taking workmanship that has been the standard in England. The F. B. Stearns Co., Cleveland, and the H. H. Franklin Mfg. Co., Syracuse, N. Y., made Rolls-Royce airplane engines to British specifica- tions and under the supervision of British engineers during the war in such a manner as to leave no doubt that, despite the differences between Ameri- can and British machine shop methods, the work done in England could be practically duplicated here. American Machine Tools Used The plant purchased by the Rolls-Royce Co. for its American plant was built originally for the Hen- dee Mfg. Co., manufacturer of motorcycles. It was occupied later by the Wire Wheel Co. of America, and during a period in the war and afterward was used by the Government for the storage of surplus machinery and equipment. The machine shop is 180 x 320 ft. and there are several other buildings utilized for various purposes, such as heat treating, radiator department, assembly of chassis, etc. The piant was equipped mostly with machines which the company had used in the Franklin and Stearns auto- mobile plants during the war, with such additions as were necessary to round out the equipment. With the exception of a cam grinder, which the company designed and built itself, all of the machine tools used are of standard American manufacture. Included in the equipment are Warner & Swasey, Libby and Garvin turret lathes, Gridley and Cleve- land automatics, Carlton radial drills, Le Blond, Lodge & Shipley and Reed-Prentice engine lathes, Bullard vertical turret lathes, Cleveland boring ma- chines, Porter-Cable centering lathes, Garvin turret lathes, Brown & Sharpe automatics, Foote-Burt drilling machines, Henry & Wright sensitive drills, Hammond radial drills, Cincinnati-Bickford radial drills, Garvin tapping machines, Rickert-Shafer tap- ping machines, Pratt & Whitney automatic millers, Pratt & Whitney vertical and horizontal profiling machines, Becker and Cincinnati milling machines, Bilton millers, Garvin duplex millers, Osterlein mill ers, Pratt & Whitney thread millers, La Pointe Lroaching machines, Pratt & Whitney spline millers Fellows, Barber-Colman, Lees-Bradner and Brown & Sharpe gear cutters, Rochester gear tooth rounders, Bilton bevel gear cutter, Craftsman miller, Landi plain and crank grinders, Norton and Brown & Sharpe plain grinders, Heald and Van Normal in ternal grinders, Rivett ball race grinders, Blanchar: surface grinders and Heald cylinder and piston ring grinders. In respect to the large representation of Ameri can machine tools, the American plant does not differ widely from the British plant, where Ameri- can tools also have the preference, although some British equipment is used there. British Procedure Followed in Most Details In planning its American production the Rolls Royce Co. aimed to follow the British procedure in every possible detail. It first brought to th United States about 80 of its trained British me- chanics, each one of whom was placed in a position of responsibility. Every machine-tool bay has 4 foreman who has been thoroughly trained in the British plant, and under him are picked America! mechanics, who have been selected, after much wee¢- ing, because of their willingness to follow the method of workmanship which the company adopts as its cardinal principle of manufacture. To familiarize these American workmen wit! the British product, the company brought over models—some 3000 of them—of every part o! the car. Thus the machine-tool operator is given n° only a blueprint, but also a working model, fron which to acquire a knowledge of what, in the op! ion of the management, constitutes a perfect job These model parts are stored in open racks, within wire cages, at one side of the machine shop, a¢ are passed out to the men when a job is begun, ane must be returned when the job is completed. - With the exception of one steel casting, 4! “* the parts of the Rolls-Royce chassis are made one drop forgings. No malleable or other iron ee. are used: Even the one'steel casting is being M©” fied so that drop forgings may be used in its stead The forgings are of 3% per cent nickel, except case hardening steel, which is 5 per cent nickel and we carbon. Every part of the chassis is heat treated, March 3, 1921 heat. treatment being: varied. aceording to the ss which the part undergoes in use. The heat treating is done after the rough machining opera- s so as to get uniform sections. An interesting feature of the exactness with h the work is done lies in the fact that no es are punched, all being drilled. For example, frame side members of the chassis are first nted white and then marked out by hand for ng, so that there may be accurate alignment. A works testing laboratory is an active depart- ent of the plant. A Brinell testing machine is ised for hardness and the Stanton testing machine y fatigue strain. Those parts tested for fatigue strain are given 5500 impacts to determine their reliability under driving conditions. For correct determination of heat treatment the Leeds & North- transformation point apparatus is used. Raw metal is tested when it comes into the plant, and ter the finished form. Symbols are painted on steel so that the responsibility can be quickly placed upon the steel maker in the case of faulty material or error in the alloy content. Shop officials of the Rolls-Royce plant state that American mechanics have been found thoroughly efficient. At first some weeding out had to be done intil a force of men was employed that would ob- serve the first rule of the plant, attention to work- manship, but now difficulties of this kind seem to have disappeared. lé THE IRON AGE 557 A comparison of costs shows that in some in- stances parts can be produced more economically in the American plant than in the British plant. The differences are due in part to the restrictions imposed by the British labor unions, which make certain machining costs higher in England. The bonus system is more extensively employed here, resulting in larger production at lower unit cost. The Rolls-Royce plant got into production in January on a schedule of eight completed chasses per week. A production schedule has been mapped out providing for the completion of 250 chasses by September, 1921. In the manufacture of a stand- ardized product, such as an automobile chassis, in which the number of operations run into the tens of thousands and where the number of machine tools is limited, it is, of course, essential that the machine-tool equipment shall be so balanced that no one part or group of parts will hold back the assembly of the complete chassis by the time scheduled. In the production plan at the Rolls-Royce works the machine-tool capacity has been determined by calculation of the loads. To ascertain this so-called load a master machine-tool load chart was prepared with the help of a number of experts. This chart embodies every operation on every part, summarized from details charts, each covering a section of the chassis. The time of each operation was laid out against the particular type of machine best suited BRAM WM4IIT.0 aw REFERENCE | ALTERATION NO, cauces NAME OF PART PISTON | OPERATION LIST AW91620 A=-133 ¢. DIE CASTING (LOW COMPRESSION) 5040 : - P PARTIAL LIST MATL . Te Se ae Toy ee OF TE PART No. £=18125 SAND CASTING —manepetnss = arr seen + ena ete carry.» n ~enerortaceermenpcetitingsnre a guemearensseigentitl sights sensenalitine eres owe. ,* te I OPERATION MACHINE | wc. mo. Te TOOLS TOOL NO. <r silt Ree ences ~ yininnsitlh plana nities Peatideitp= . + oatenageree——dh=, ~<a anenneseyttipenandialissditsatealite li tnaiyetatiliattite dg ped SAND CASTING, AML 1. | Turn, face doth ends, chamfer and groeves hare - | Bwh3699 OPERATION LIST tes Paeey, jroaseer* . . e Shoe & | H-43644/ seaton) 5040 Lists wawe OF PART COMPRSSS+ #) wo, OF LIS 5/6. Oe _TERATION NO ow Gauces 31% cast PISTON (10 th Gauges He45277 Block H=45748 Toot NO . mere 6 : ‘ auge H<4527 1620 4n135. - ehatian vist WAT ae mc. NO. vtonpt. “—_e L6ev ' “9 Be O86 5 rs — } ga29647/ | PART NOS ee oreraTION a Delii sige 8 : | “ -- <a gy bo He He H=-43769 ‘ pcan e ee Pee ' Rar HeAZANa. oa BEAU OMEITO we = ‘ prill oireuntere REFERENCE © ALTERATION NO GAUGES NAME OF PART OPERATION Ol Je : DI? Sf PISTO? { A > ac : 5 AM91620 A=133 6 z # PARTIAL LIST MATL wO. OF LISTS PART No. 2=16126 >» gach gadgeon v= . = ows sOPERAT MACHIN vc. NO TOOLS TOO. NO ziha Grind. 10x50 6-243 Jig H=65010 rton Snap Gauge AE-895 Adapter Plate (A#-4292 Ream gmail ne atop holes ® 12. Mark on part no. Fitting Dent. : 13. Remove burre & finish slots, Fitting Depte senablaet % | Inayection Inspection Testing Bar AH=4889 9. Bore skirt ; : } . 10., M420 slots 1 | : ast pe a OEE tee . ey : oPERATIONNPLANE 4 t » ee i i - Ee a ol 4 che | e thm. Bee omar? : Mee PP Ty ae Whe aa Bas ae " Pat 2 Le eA? ’ ee ie . * - meee <t peed ® 3 3 +3 ~ or Fife Mone | ot lege peeve” SFIELD> MA: Bae zi e PSB Suonyog? tatiana = copa Regeactee cnr 5s y of. rte iat 3 t Sih Re os tres MRS the ning Job Is Routed Through the Shop by Means of What Are Termed Operation Lists, Which Show Not Only the Operations, But Also the Precise Number and Piece Number of the Tools Used in Each Set-up and the Type and Number of the Machine Tool Upon Which the Operation Is Performed has"o * wig Jee Sr 4 S +> allt» * ee ee en ee en Rie prem o SE ee AA ty 1d sofa Y Un RRR I rtm a ini Eee eee * a b fa hope pei Tee: a ot a vd pes ~~ Pim <I . 7 a = “ “= Sina ne art aa aaaeaiatiaiall chee ati ee ie ee ee Naa tact ee ee 558 THE IRON AGE March 3, | for the work, with allowances for set-up and other ations but also the precise nature and piece ny, factors. The resultant figures showed the aggre- ber of the tools used in each set-up, and the ; gate time per type of machine per chassis. and number of the machine tool upon which It will be readily seen that such a basic chart operation is performed. A sample operation s} would enable one to specify and order the exact is shown herewith. Copies of the operation sh number of machines to suit any given output by are distributed to the production office and to simply multiplying the time per machine tool by _ tool crib. ihe number of chasses required and dividing by There are, therefore, three factors, viz: 0; the working time in any given period. ation times, machine loads, routing of parts, w! Progress Control Boards Enable the Production Department of the Rolls-Royce Plant to Tell at a Glance the Number of Sets Completed, the Number of Parts in Operation, the Number of Operations Completed, the Location of Parts by th Machine Number and the Total Amount of Scrap Produced. Celluloid buttons are used to denote the progress of t! parts in operation and are moved from one space to another as the work proceeds In preparing the individual machine tool load help to place the planning of production on a scien charts each machine was allocated a certain number tific basis. of parts up to the limit of its capacity after allow- Having ascertained and provided machine too! ing for “set-ups and inefficiencies.” Assuming the capacity equal to the load, it is essential that the number of working hours per week to be 48, or machine output be maintained. With this object in 2880 min., and the required weekly output 10 mind, every effort has been directed toward relieving chasses, then the time factor per machine per the foreman of all clerical work and to centralize chassis would be 2880 divided by 10 equals 288 min- in the production office all planning, recording, utes. issuing of job cards, making charts, etc., leaving In other words, the number of parts to be loaded the foremen free to concentrate their time and at- against each machine must not be more than could tention upon the efficiency of the machines, te be done in 288 minutes. The machines are num- quality of the work and the proper supervision | bered consecutively but distinquished by the addi- their respective departments. In the producto! tion of a letter indicating the particular department methods described it will be observed that this con in which the machine is located. For instance, all sideration has entered into every detail. Further machines in the automatic department bear the it has been the object of the management that every” letter A; those in the hand turret department, HT; thing relating to the progress and position 0! eacn those in the drilling department D, and so on. job shall be visible and prominent to every ol In preparing the machine tool load charts, it will concerned or interested, and not hidden awa) be understood that this would have been an almost desks and files. impossible task, without having route charts for It is a matter of first importance that +n . 7 . : ; ¥ y1ed W itn each piece. These route charts, which are termed production office keep every machine supp!! yr operation lists, are prepared by the tool planning material and jobs ahead. To insure this a cet" a, s : : ; : ‘kets num- department and are as complete as it is possible to machine control board is provided with po nas make them, showing not only the order of oper- bered to correspond with the machines. © n 10U h 3, 1921. _as the material becomes available is placed on entral control board in its respective position, the state of work for every machine can thus seen at a glance. There are also placed at the of each bay in a prominent position depart- tal machine control boards, which are numbered th the corresponding numbers of the machines in t department, and provided with three pockets each machine. It is the duty of the production ‘to see that each machine is provided with three ; ahead, in correct sequence according to the urgency of the job, so that tools, drawings and models may be obtained from the tool crib in ad- vance and thus avoid delays. These departmental control boards are fed from the central control board in the production office. By this method the foreman is saved the neces- sity of spending a large amount of his time con- sidering which jobs should be put on next; and as everyone can see at a glance which jobs are sched- uled for operation next, it saves time asking ques- tions and thereby harassing the foreman, as is so often the case in shops where no such plan is in- stalled. Job cards are prepared by the production office in advance for all operations, the operation sheets serving as a complete guide as to the nature and sequence of the operations and the type and num- ber of the machine. The job cards are typed in duplicate, the duplicate being placed on the central machine control board described above when the card is issued to the shop and retained there until the job is completed, thereby indicating the jobs at the machine. The job card serves the following purposes: (a) Payroll card for bonus (b) Instructions for moving to next operation (c) Progress record (d) Serap record. The design and form of the card are arranged to suit the electrically operated sorting and adding machines on the Hollerith system made by the Tabu- lating Machine Co. with which the payroll and costs department is equipped. Completed job cards after inspection and count are returned to the production office, which records progress on progress charts and places the next operation job card on machine control board. The job cards are then passed on to the payroll depart- ment for calculating bonus and distribution of costs, The progress and exact location of each part of the chassis are shown on progress control boards the production office. These are large framed swung from the wall allowing both sides ve used. The number of parts to be dealt with ecessitates the use of twenty-four such boards and ‘he parts are shown in sectional or unit order. The factors covered by these charts include: Number of sets completed Number of parts in operation Number of operations completed Location of parts, i. e., machine number Total amount of scrap made. iloid buttons are used to denote the progress parts in operation and are moved from one another as the work proceeds. The quan- achine number are shown on the celluloid 250 M-115. A imn is provided to show the total amount Crap which is indicated on yellow buttons. Parts spares are also shown. The progress con- 's, therefore, show the exact status of ‘, and give at a glance the progress made 3, thus THE IRON AGE 559 on each section of the chassis. The value of such a chart in clearly showing backward items and as a means of controlling progress will be apparent. The moving of material is governed by the job card. It will be noticed that on the reverse side of the job card, the next operation and machine num- ber are shown, which information is transferred to the move tag by the checker and enables the trucker to place the material right up against the particular machine upon which the next operation is to be per- formed. It will be noticed that the principle which is applied in the loading of the machines is followed through to the issuing of job cards under machine headings, and to the actual moving of the material to the right machines. The bonus system in operation at these works is the Halsey premium bonus system, in which the operator and the company share equally: in the time saved. In this, as in the production scheme, every- thing is “above board” and notices are posted around the works which state “No matter how great a bonus is made no reduction will be made on the time allowance under any circumstances other than improvements in the method of manu- facture.” As each time allowance is made, a record is taken signed by the operator and foreman, which is available to every operator and any one attempt- ing to change a bonus time is liable to dismissal. Convention and Exhibition of American Steel Treaters The board of directors of the American Society for Steel Treating has decided to hold the third annual con- vention and exhibition during the week of Sept. 19 to 24 at Indianapolis. On the State fair grounds is the manufacturers’ building, 220 x 360 ft. in size, or with a total floor area of 76,800 sq. ft. The central section, 100 x 240 ft., is known as the sunken garden, and is 20 in. below the level of the surrounding floor space. The management has divided the floor space into 161 sections, 10 ft. x 20 ft. The booths along the north wall are to be used for the live exhibits and are supplied with gas and compressed air, while arrangements have also been made for the exhibitors who require heavy electrical current to be on the promenade on the same side of the building. The floor plan will probably be ready for distribution by March 15, when reservations can be made. The technical meetings are to be held in the women’s building, about 400 ft. from the exhibition hall, where there will be available three or more large meeting rooms for holding simultaneously several sectional meet- ings. The Indianapolis chapter of the society is planning for the entertainment of the visiting members and guests. George Desautels, national member of the pro- gram and papers committee, is organizing the members of the chapters into 15 committees. The Indianapolis chapter intends to raise $5,000 for entertainment pur- 90s8es. The requests that have been coming into the national office at 4600 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, for informa- tion as to reservations and floor plans indicate that the exhibition will be larger than it was at Philadelphia last year, and indications point to an attendance of at least 15,000 people. Steel Plant Started in Manitoba The first open-hearth furnace in Manitoba recently commenced operations at Selkirk, about 10 miles north- east of Winnipeg, says Metal Trades of San Francisco. The plant, which represents an investment of about $1,000,000, is known as the Manitoba Rolling Mills. Its equipment consists principally of one 15-ton furnace, three 15-ton ladles, crane and molds. All machinery is operated by electricity by Winnipeg hydroelectric sta- tions. Pulverized Canadian bituminous coal is to be used. i. Ee AR RET ER Bs ACE... Ps est etn es Ria ee de pS poten tenet ee Tee re: Tee aaa BCS hE apa er ee ee ne a Ps a ee ee re Res Or SF | ede hs ie iY. ilies elit ina Tati Ra A a EO AS PO LAEIE BARE Nh i MR tt Se io ate . Y The Country's Pig Iron Making Capacity In Excess of 51,000,000 Tons Per Annum of Coke Iron—The Next Four Years Call for Twenty Large New Stacks if History Repeats Itself BY W. NDICATIONS are that 20 or more blast fur- I naces need to be built in the next four years. In the last four 30 new furnaces were put into operation and others were enlarged or otherwise remodeled to increase output. The stimulated pro- duction of the war period may have given a total of 10,000,000 tons of pig iron beyond the theoretical needs the period, after allowing for the iron which went into ships to replace sinkings and into shells and other engines of warfare. The under- production of 1919 and 1920 may have resulted in an offset of 7,000,000 tons to the war’s excess, but put- ting it at 6,000,000 tons and counting on, say, only 65 per cent operation this year, the constantly in- creasing needs of the country, even though dor- mant, point to a wiping out by the end of 1921 of the remaining 4,000,000 tons of the 10,000,000 tons war-time increase over charted needs. A study of the pig iron production over the last 20 years shows an increase in requirements of at least 14 lb. per person every year, with the population expanding at the rate of the last decade, an increase in theoretical needs equal to 1,300,000 tons per year (expanding gradually until five years hence it would amount to 1,350,000 tons annually). Based on the performance during the war and on the incentive of demand and high prices since then, the country’s dependable capacity at this date for foundry and steel making irons is 140,000 tons per day. As a 600-ton furnace operated continuously at 90 per cent of capacity would produce 200,000 ol or ’ *THE IRON A New Yorl NEEDS OF PIG 4rithmetical Needs Based on } icai Needs Based on 2.4 Pe Geomet 10.11 04 »00 448 g g 83,983,420 $11 8 8 KO 10 547,477,000 pk pd fet Pd ped t Ww. 4.] MACON* - tons per year, the apparent increase in dema would seem to call for 6 or 7 new furnaces eve, year. However, the apparent average annual needs fo; the years 1922 and 1925 inclusive appear to be 40,500,000 tons. This would require a daily outpu averaged over the year of 111,000 tons. With exis ing furnaces operating at an everage rate of 75 per cent, 105,000 tons daily would be available fron present plants, leaving 6000 tons to be supplied new blast furnaces. Assuming that these could be operated at 90 per cent of capacity, new furnace capacity of 6600 tons per day would be required This is equivalent to 11 more furnaces operating every year. As the commercial incentive is now small, or, expressed otherwise, as furnace building is not ex- pedient, the 11 furnaces would hardly be built in 1921 ready for use in the four succeeding years. Instead, different numbers will be built in different years, but their sum total in terms of the number of years they will each be available for production should be such that the result is equivalent to 4x11 = 44 furnaces producing one year. Thus five furnaces built every year and ready for use each succeeding year would give an output equivalent t 5x4 (yr.) +5x3+5x2+5x1] 50 new fur naces running one year. But three might be built in 1921 ready for 1922 business; 6 in 1922 and 5 each in 1923 and 1924. Numerous combinations could be suggested, but the fewer that are built in the early future the more will be required later 1: IRON ACCORDING TO RECORDS OF CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA OF POPULATION b. Increase Per Person Per Year Cent Increase Per Person Per Year s oreti 1 Need Theoretical Needs I ai Lb. Per Capit Millions of T Arithmetical Geometr l Arithmetical G 4 176 i79 16.15 C 490 490 16.95 6.95 504 502 17.85 708 18 514 18.7 32 26 19.6 16 39 20.5 60 21.4 57 565.5 22.35 »X8 i9 602 93 616 607 650 621.5 644 636 658 651.5 8 2 672 667 29.25 686 683 700 699.5 i14 716.5 728 733.5 127.30 742 751 34.5 191.05 756 769 35.7 534 io 770 788 36.8 ; 784 807 37.9 +e 798 826 39.1 4 812 846 40.3 43.6 826 866 41.5 euevapenenegunenvesnens si issicvernenenierssorcepnncsnnenanecneneentsasanscneenenett THE IRON AGE 561 Increase in the Con- sumption of Pig Iron rds of the production of pig ate that the consumption ron has been increasing i: two decades at a rate of { lb. every year for every x n the United States. In de- 2 g the slope of the line of z i the years of the war pro < were not considered. Where- ce of pig iron seemingly sat a I person in the United 1900, the figure is now y about 756 lb. per capita. cations are that by 1925 ige individual need will be TA CAP xpansion in the use of pig i long term of years is in cal ratio, but the analy- ; expansion indicates that e has been at a rate of cent per annum per cap figures of the last two dec- vever, show that this rate has been dropping off metrical progression for vears, shown in the corresponds to a vearly person of 2.4 per cent IRON POUNDS PER 2 F period. In the calculations it is assumed that e new furnaces could probably be credited with perating at 90 per cent of capacity, in view of the that they are likely to be particularly effective roducers. It is attempted in this analysis to err n the side of conservatism, as the subsequnt dis- ission is calculated to show. There are two definite branches of the investiga- tion. One has to do with present productive capac- , and the other with the trend of demand and the ossibility of forecasting from this the needs of the future. A study of the pig iron production statis- tics Of THE IRON AGE shows that in the face of the war stimulus and the commercial incentive since hen a total of not more than 378 of the 430 fur- es of the country contributed to the manufac- f foundry and steel making irons. Problems tuel supply, transportation and labor had their ence, but the fact remains that with attempts grease the ways to great production many of the ices proved to be for one reason or another ily non-existent. Some of the furnaces in were producers principally of ferroman- e and spiegeleisen but at times made pig iron. ' the remainder are figured in the country’s because, unusual though the conditions were such that these furnaces could be to swell the output. production figures show further that in the tivity of the fall of 1916, a time when some nade monthly outputs they have never ex- e, the daily output arrived at by a com- { the best performances in this period of nths was 126,297 tons per day. New fur- ded meanwhile and new records made by furnaces swelled the capacity of the pig icing machinery of the country by the fall 35,567 tons per day. Further additions pressure for delivery brought the capacity h, 1920, to 137,124 tons per day, and at ng the daily capacity may be put at ns. It is to be remembered that these » based on the actual output the furnaces try have proved capable of and that they ne fact that in some groups never was it all furnaces of the group could be op- one time, such are the practical handi- ‘ necessary repairs, relining, plant acces- ty and the like. zh daily output of October, 1916—113,189 . ~~Fepresents 89.6 per cent of what has been + 1 Ul diamcliiidead souporpemynapeeieienmenetiningemms : a Lhe oa \A available capacity at that time, Incidentally the year’s output showed figured as the 126,297 tons. that the pig iron making plants were run at a rate of 84.6 per cent for the year, undoubtedly a record rate. Similarly in September, 1918, when output averaged 113,942 tons per day, output was 84 per cent of the 135,567 tons apparently possible. The vear 1918 showed a 78 per cent rate of operation. In March 1920, the daily output represented 79.4 per cent of the then daily capacity of 137,124 tons. On the basis of the actual performance it is noted that the average capacity of the 378 stacks is a little more than 370 tons per day. Their total capacity exceeds 51,124,000 tons, which compares with 50,522,500 tons given in the directory of the American Iron and Steel Institute as the capacity of the 430 stacks there listed, including ferroalloys and charcoal iron. always used for the making of ferroalloys and in a few cases they include duplicate stacks never run simultaneously because of insufficient blowing en- gine or other accessory machinery, the 52 stacks representing the difference between the 430 fur- naces in the American Iron and Steel Institute list and the 378 now used at one time or another for general pig iron making may be disregarded in the reckoning, as stated. Incidentally on the basis of the published ratings the average capacity of the 130 furnaces is 322 tons per day. As to the needs of the country, represented by the absorption of consumption, a charting of the production figures was made to ascertain what if any law could be drawn to evaluate the trend. In plotting, it was decided to use the consumption per annum per capita of population. Such a charting for a long term of years, as, say, from 1800 to date indicates, particularly when plotted on logarithmic cross-section paper, that the individual consumption of pig iron follows closely a geometrical ratio. For the last 20 years of such a curve the divergence of the curve of geometrical progression from the straight line is not great, and it is possible to ap- proximate the apparent gradual increase in con- sumption of pig iron in this period by a straight line, corresponding to an arithmetical progression, or by a curved line corresponding to a geometrical progression. The statistician’s propensity to con- sider the so-called law of diminishing returns sug- gests some modification of the curve based on a geometrical progression. Accordingly a mean be- tween the values obtainable on the arithmetical in- Because some of the stacks are NAS a ll ee i j a4 ar nian: canine gener Se oe ae os sor eylbege cee? Rap RB amet or ee ee 562 crease and those based on the geometrical increase has been taken as probably better representing the tendency of the next few years. The accompanying chart shows both the straight line relation and the geometrical relation. To as- certain the curves, use was made of the theory of least squares, thus to establish curves which best satisfy all the production figures on which the curves are based. To exclude the abnormal, the figures for the years 1914 to 1918 inclusive, the years on which the war had an unmeasured influ- ence, were eliminated from the calculations. So, on the basis of the figures of 1900 to 1913 inclusive and those of 1919 and 1920, it was found that the equation for the straight line was y = 14x + 476. In this y is the number of pounds of pig iron needed per person per year and x is the number of the year after 1900. Thus for 1900, z being equal to zero, the number of pounds required per capita is 476. The equation for the geometrical progression is y = 479 x 1.024” Here also y is the number of pounds of pig iron required per person per annum and 2 is the number of years dating from 1900. The mean between the values thus obtained ex- 4.000.000 33,200,000 tons ° 0.65 «* 365) 1921, Jan. 1, theoreticai surplus Operation, 65 per cent (140,000 x oO ee 5 Wikiig tee .. 87,200,000 37,200,000 Total iron available, Calculated needs 1921, a eee 1922, Jan. 1, surplus, tons........ 000,000 CeRnee DOOGE: CHE, oi sca s scons wade rcs 38,500,000 Two hew furnaces (2 * 600 X 0.90 * 365), tons 394,000 Existing furnaces (140,000 « 0.75 x 865), tons 38,300,000 ty Es SN tie eo Nabe S be wee OREO 38,700,000 200,000 39,800,000 1923, Jan. 1, surplus, tons. Calculated needs, tons 39,600,000 800,000 38,700,000 39,500,000 Total requirements, tons 394,000) tons supply), tons Four new furnaces (2 Existing furnaces (1922 Total supply, tons 1924, Jan. 1, deficit, tons 100,000 Calculated needs, tons 41,150,000 Total requirements, tons 41,250,000 Fight new furnaces 1,575,000 39,500,000 Existing furnaces (1923 supply), tons Total supply, tons 41,075,000 1925, Jan. 1, deficit. tons 175,000 Calculated needs. tons 42,500,000 Total requirements, tons 42,675,000 Fight new furnaces, tons 1.575.000 Existing furnaces (1924 supply), tons 41,075,000 Total supply, tons 412.650.0000 1926, Jan. 1, deficit, tons 25,000 tended beyond 1920 and marked on the chart shows the apparent per capita pig iron needs. In the accompanying tabulation of the theoreti- cal needs, the actual production of pig iron in the 14 years before the war, 309,453,000 tons, exceeded the calculated amount by 1,253,000 tons, or by one- third of one per cent. The four active war years of 1915 to 1918 inclusive show an actual production of 147,027,000 tons, or about 19,700,000 tons more than the calculated needs. If one-half of this ex- cess is regarded as that wasted through war uses, or, in other words, not utilized for the progress of the country, there is left about 10,000,000 tons to be absorbed because of the possibility that that amount of pig iron was put into industry ahead of its needs through the false stimulus of the war. For the 21 years from 1900 to 1920 inclusive the THE IRON AGE March 3, excess of pig iron production over the cal amounts is, according to the straight line re 12,700,000 (547,477,000 — 534,750,000) tons. if 10,000,000 tons may be written off as the a; which does not have to be absorbed, there is | apparent excess of production over consun needs of 2,700,000 tons. However, for the | of this calculation it may be assumed that th: 1921 opened with perhaps 4,000,000 tons mo) iron than was as yet needed. The calculati, volving 22 new furnaces may then be mai shown in the accompanying table. A recapitulation to show the additional furnace capacity needed may be made as fo! The calculated needs for the seven years ended with 1925 are about 270,000,000 tons. The output of 1919 and 1920 and that expected in 1921, plus : remaining 4,000,000 tons of the extra-theoretics production of the war period, make a total for three of the seven years of about 105,000,000 tons. Ther is thus left to be supplied against the charted need of the remaining four years of the seven-year period a total of 165,000,000 tons. The fact that three o! the seven years are relatively lean justifies the ex pectation of activity in at least a part of the last four years. To produce 165,000,000 tons means a average of more than 40,000,000 tons per yea: against no better than about 38,000,000 tons wit! to-day’s complement of stacks working at the un- usual rate of 75 per cent of capacity, or 105,000 tons per day. Production for the first ten months of 1920 was at a daily rate of 101,200 tons, or about 72 per cent of capacity. The 40,000,000-ton rate requires a continuous average daily output over the four years of 109,600 tons, or over 4500 tons more per day than can be expected of existing equipment, with transportation, labor and fuel problems pre- senting no difficulties and every factor contributing toward maximum production. Booklet of Iron and Steel Extras The Steel Producers Export Corporation, 12) Broadway, New York, has published a_ pocket-siz booklet of standard extras on iron and steel products which is being distributed. The booklet is of valu because of the fact that it combines within one cover all of the lists of extras issued by manufacturers many different iron and steel lines. In general, th booklet is similar to that issued by the American Iro! and Steel Institute during the war, but it is more con plete, as it contains many specialties in addition t the major iron and steel products. There is an adde! dum of useful information, such as comparison of gages thickness and weight of sheet iron and steel, weights of round and square iron per lineal foot, stancare weights and gages of tin plates, etc. Decreased Demand for Tin Plate SEATTLE, Feb. 21.—The outlook for the sale of she tin plate is poor, owing to the disastrous season In tic salmon canning industry in Alaska. Jobbers who so 3500 boxes of tin plate last season say this season ' will be fortunate if they sell 100 boxes. By thi each season cannery ships are being outfitted W! plates, gear, nets and machinery and tools for sailing into the cannery fields. There has ~ activity whatever, jobbers reporting only on sania sold, that to Libby, McNeil & Libby. The canner. business is one of the chief sources of reve! jobbers here. mee anf gamenve study as fu! ht Time study and motion factors in planning and control are to be discussed ' Dr. Frank B. Gilbreth, consulting engineer, N. J., before the Baltimore section of the Society of Mechanical Engineers at the Club of Baltimore, March 22. ; Montclair, sean 4 merican gineers [achine Tool Builders Meet in Cleveland Recommendations in the Matter of Uniform Cost Accounting—Activities of Association Formulated —Waiting Attitude in ry HE predominating feature of the meeting of the + National Machine Tool Builders’ Association in i Cleveland last week was the presentation and ission of a uniform cost accounting plan. The that was outlined in a lengthy preliminary report ; approved by the members after the various sec- had been thoroughly discussed, this taking ially the entire first day of the meeting. Other s were presented, having in view an enlargement he constructive activities of the association, and whole the meeting was devoted to educational The convention was held at the Hotel Cleveland, 24, 25 and 26, and was one of the best attended tings ever conducted by the association. The ber of members registering was about 165. August H. Tuechter, Cincinnati, president of the association, sided. Atlantic City Meeting to be Held \lthough it had been announced that the Cleve- nd meeting was to take the place of the May meet- ng in Atlantic City, it was decided by the president ind executive committee that the semi-annual con- vention in May should be held as originally planned. This is scheduled for May 19 and 20. The question of machine tool prices was not brought ip at the general meeting, the sessions of which were executive, but the market tendencies were discussed at a number of committee meetings. These discussions were for the most part the interchange of personal views regarding present conditions and the outlook. Sentiment apparently was divided among those who have not already reduced prices, but at least some f the machine tool manufacturers seem determined to lake no price reductions in the near future. The preliminary report on the uniform cost of ‘ounting plan was presented by C. H. Scovell, Sco- Wellington & Co., accountants and industrial rineers. This subject was taken up at the special eting of the executive committee held in December, luring the following months regional meetings ere held in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Worcester { New York. In addition many members filled out | returned questionnaires which had been prepared bring out some of the underlying facts in respect t accounting in the machine tool industry. The was approved by the executive committee before submitted to the members. he report recommended the use of a job order cost that will show the cost of the jobs that are to the shops, including material, direct labor erhead. It was found that the machine tool s were already handling material and labor in nably satisfactory way, so it was stated a dis- f better or more uniform methods of account- iid be concerned almost entirely with the dis- | of overhead. A chart was presented showing pproved plan of collecting costs, particularly In this chart it was the aim to allocate epartment or operating center all the charges belong there and which should be absorbed in | work done in that department. One feature overhead distribution is the plan for adding the overhead on to the material as it goes in process. A somewhat similar charge is the cost of finished stock, storage and ship- ’ overhead charge is only on material used, se being made to the value of unused inven- interest on Investment as Cost Factor ecutive committee unanimously recommended est on investment. be included in calculating Respect to New Business the cost of manufacture. It was stated that were this not done the overhead of different departments on different machines would not be correctly stated, and particularly that large expensive tools would otherwise have an insufficient overhead rate, as there would be nothing to measure the cost of tying up capital in such equipment as compared with light and compara- tively inexpensive machines. The interest on investment would be reckoned on all assets, including land, buildings, equipment and inventories. The immediate effect is to increase the overhead on work done with large expensive machines in comparison with that done with a smaller capital investment. It was pointed out that it is only when interest on investment is computed in the assets that are utilized in the business that correct costs can be figured on patterns made in the company’s shop, in comparison with patterns bought outside, or castings produced in the company’s foundry, in comparison with castings purchased. A similar situation arises in respect to an auxiliary department like a power house, and by following the plan a company can de- termine whether it is cheaper to operate its own power plant or buy power. Make Up of Normal Overhead The normal overhead is made up of the land and buildings factor distributed to the several departments on the basis of area occupied, equipment factor ap- portioned according to value of equipment used, steam and power distributed pro rata, general burden dis- tributed in proportion to the number of employees, and repairs, supplies and indirect labor charged to the several departments as actually incurred. A plan of distributing the overhead to departments was presented that is intended particularly for the larger shops. For the small shops the plan is to develop all the overhead that exists and add it to the cost of production. It was pointed out that in a very smal! shop, particularly a shop making one product, there would be no serious inaccuracy in having one rate for the whole shop, or possibly two or three rates, but if there were varied working conditions or a great variety of products, distinctions must be made to get accurate costs. The report stated that a correct overhead rate in any department will be obtained by dividing the over- head of the department by the normal number of operating units, that is, the normal man-hours or machine-hours of the department. Care should be taken to see that the calculations of an overhead rate is made on the basis of operating units that can be realized with good management, but not considering a night shift or overtime period. In determining the per cent of theoretical hours to be taken as the standard in setting burden rates, allowance should be made for shut-downs of a department for tool re- pairs, absent workmen, etc., but this particular cal- culation should make no allowance for shut-downs resulting from lack of orders. No Allowance for Shut-Downs in Overhead Rate All the work done in a shop should uniformly carry the normal rate of overhead, not more when the shop is partly idle or less when it is unusually busy. This arrangement gives costs that are comparable at all times, varying only in proportion to operating effi- ciency. This plan of having a normal rate of over- head, the report stated, is particularly important in an industry subject to such ups and downs of produc- tion as the manufacture of machine tools. According to this plan, when his shop is busy all of this over- head will be earned and will be carried into work in progress. ‘When the shop is operating on part time 563 0 es > . tk lag a4 as 24 w= 4a = ig ') i 1g We ik a at ® = o €3 i s¢ § r eal 4 » & a : de i aa + gions aes THE 564 a corresponding portion of the overhead will be un- earned or unabsorbed and will go into loss and gain. Taking up the kind of rates to use, the report stated that a rate-per cent-on-wage-cost as a method of distributing overhead is acceptable only when wages of all the operatives and the facilities are very uniform. As these conditions are rarely present in a machine this method of distributing overhead is not satis- factory. The use of the man-hour rate removes the inequalities that arise by reason of the varying earn- ings of employees and recognizes the fact that over- head corresponds more nearly to the number of em- ployees than it does to the wages they earn. Under conditions the man-hour rate is a satisfactory distributing shop overhead, but generally the facilities with which the men work will vary so greatly that thoroughly accurate costs cannot be secured without the use of a machine-hour rate, which will be greater or less for different machines, accord- ing to their size, value, and the power they use. The method of fixing a burden rate and a plan of reckoning an earned and unearned burden was explained. The report contended that a comparison of actual hours with standard hours may be made important factor in securing an economical administra- tion. Shops with best management have daily oper- ating reports summarized at frequent intervals ac- counting for all idle time of their machines. In order to fix the standard hours and to reduce to a minimum loss resulting from idleness, this record needs consistent executive attention. In analyzing a monthly statement form attention was called to the need of showing the gross gain, as the margin of gross gain must be secured before there is any profit, and it is especially important to a ma- chine tool builder who is making two or more lines of product, for he should see clearly the margin of gross profit on each line separately. If members are engaged in other lines of business besides making machine tools, a separate statement of gross profits should be prepared for each line. The same plan should be ap- plied to the operation of a machine shop or foundry If a foundry is operated, the castings should be charged to the machine shop at a fair price, so that the company will know whether it is losing or making on the foundry. shop, some method of the an the } Charging for Spoiled Work and Repairs The ference of opinion at report stated that there was considerable dif- the regional conferences as to There how spoiled work should be treated. are two plans for spoiled work, one is to let it stand as a part of the job and let all good pieces absorb the ‘ost, and the other plan is to subtract all material, labor and overhead cost on the spoiled pieces from the cost of the job and charge this total, less salvage, to overhead. The first plan would properly be followed in a drop forge or custom stamping plant where the pieces are individual and might have such peculiari- ties of design as would make more spoiled work in some cases than in others, but it was contended that