September 25. 1917 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



29 



a veneer dryer, clip, tape and match, lay the veneers, 

 work with the presses, assist in drying the panels, operate 

 the Sander, work in the shipping department — in fact do 

 anything and everything that had to be done to produce 

 the panel from the time the veneers and the lumber for 

 corestock were moved into the plant until the crates were 

 loaded into the freight cars. 



After a thorough course along this line, a man could 

 be said to be an expert panel maker, and in fact would 

 come closer to being one than if he had been employed 

 continuously at one operation. From the standpoint of 

 the worker, training of this kind could not be improved 

 upon, since it kept him constantly on the jump, mentally 

 and physically, and prevented him from being stagnated 

 by the monotony of his occupation. An employe going 

 from one department to another, handling all kinds of 

 equipment, all sorts of operations and every variety of 

 wood, naturally picked up information about features of 

 the work which would never have come to him if he had 

 been confined to a single operation or series of operations 

 in one department, and more especially if his experience 

 had been limited to but one wood. 



It goes without saying that w^hen men, even picked 

 men, are swung around from one thing to another, they 

 will introduce a lot of unnecessary motions, and do the 

 thing the wrong way a few times. Ultimately, though, 

 they get the swing of it, and use their intelligence enough 

 to discount their lack of experience. But it is evident 

 that looking at it purely from the standpoint of produc- 

 tion, the results were not so good as if every department 

 had been manned, as before, with men who w^ere com- 

 pelled, by the nature of their jobs, to specialize along 

 certain lines. 



Then, after the period of dullness referred to, came 

 a reawakening of business. Some of the billions spent 

 by the allies in this country got into trade channels of 

 every kind, rejuvenating the building business, the fur- 

 niture trade and other lines in which the panel trade is 

 directly interested. Orders for built-up stock began to 

 flow in the direction of the panel factories. The concern 

 referred to got its share of the business, as it w^as known 

 for the high quality of its product and the reliability of 

 its methods. More men had to be employed. More 

 departments had to be operated simultaneously. The 

 picked men who had made up one crew began to be dis- 

 tributed over the plant, according to evidences of special 

 aptitude which they had given previously. 



Some of those who had been working before merely 

 as ordinary hands without special authority were raised 

 to the positions of department heads. Others, because, 

 of their obvious cleverness in certain directions, were 

 paid more than the job usually called for. In this part 

 of the experience of the plant, specialization seemed to 

 be justifying itself again, inasmuch as those who had 

 demonstrated their ability to do certain things especially 

 well were given those things to do continuously, and 

 were paid exceptionally well for doing them. And in 

 the organization of the plant specialization necessarily 



was carried out as far as practicable, to the extent that 

 there was no switching of labor while business remained 

 good enough to continue all departments under full steam. 



Another feature was introduced that knocked the idea 

 of special crews for each wood into the proverbial cocked 

 hat. The war had brought about two changes of im- 

 portance. One was that Circassian no longer could be 

 had in sufficient quantity to take care of trade require- 

 ments, and the other w^as that American walnut had been 

 adopted by most manufacturers in its place. Instead of 

 working with a finicky, more or less unsound material, 

 which had to be treated gently and coaxed into place, 

 the panel concern was able to treat its v^ralnut operations 

 with no more concern than those involving oak or mahog- 

 eny. Furthermore, variety was still further brought about 

 by the increasing call for figured gum, so that instead of 

 having but three major divisions of the face veneer work 

 — oak, mahogany and Circassian — the panel manufac- 

 turer now^ had four — oak, mahogany, American walnut 

 and figured gum. That made it seem that to carry out 

 the idea of specialization for the crews handling each 

 wood in preparation for the glue-room it would take 

 four separate units, and this was not practicable. 



At last accounts this plant v^^as operating just about as 

 all others are, handling the jobs as they come, and without 

 attempting to specialize any more than is necessary in 

 the run of the work. There is a good deal of this 

 necessary, and the chances are that going a great deal 

 further would not prove a profitable investment of time. 

 But there are some interesting angles to the subject. 



"After studying the matter of distributing labor used 

 in the panel plant," said this manufacturer, "I have come 

 to the conclusion that the best specialist is the man who 

 knows all the processes. That is, I don't believe it is a 

 good idea to take a green hand, put him at one job and 

 keep him there the rest of his days; not, at any rate, from 

 his standpoint. 



"But our best results have been obtained from men 

 who, during the lean periods which hit the country every 

 so often, have worked all over the plant; who have 

 learned how to handle the material in every process of 

 its manufacture, and who understand just what part is 

 being played by every unit in the organization, personal 

 and mechanical. These men, vs^ith a general understand- 

 ing of the requirements of the business as a whole, handle 

 a particular job with intelligent enthusiasm, and not only 

 are efficient specialists, but are fine material for depart- 

 ment heads and important positions throughout the plant. 



"It may be, therefore, that the ideal system w^ould be 

 not to specialize, but to institute a system of rotation 

 covering a preliminary or apprentice period in the em- 

 ployment of the individual, after which he might be per- 

 manently assigned to one kind of work, with a general 

 understanding of all. I frankly believe that this would 

 tend to solve some rather difficult labor problems, by 

 making for greater satisfaction with the work, and at the 

 same time would make for specialization based on real 

 aptitude and inclination for the job." G. D. C, Jr. 



