January 1, 1921 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



239 



Artificial Lighting in the Rubber Industry 



By E. Leavenworth Elliott 



IN a recent issue of this publication there was an article describ- 

 ing in detail the equipment for a tire plant. Under the head- 

 ing of "Power, Heat and Light," the subject of illumination is 

 disposed of as follows : 



"The lighting required is a good industrial lighting unit with 

 the exception of around the calenders, where a special unit is 

 required so that there will be a sufficient light both in front and 

 back of the calenders. The lighting unit for the plant as out- 

 lined is one light to a bay, the bay being 20 feet square." 



How extremely simple is this matter of lighting; "a single light- 

 ing unit to each bay," and it is done! Call the next case. 



It must not be inferred that this is intended as a personal 

 criticism of the 

 writer of the 

 article ; t h e quo- 

 tation is given as 

 a n example o f 

 the treatment 

 which the vitally 

 important subject 

 o f lighting too 

 often receives at 

 the hands of con- 

 sulting engineers 

 and architects. 

 What is still 

 more unfortu- 

 nate, the question 

 is also quite gen- 

 erally either side- 

 stepped or bun- 

 gled by produc- 

 tion managers 

 and the execu- 

 tives "higher up." 

 There i s still a 



prevalent notion, inherited from the days of the candle and the 

 gas flame, that artificial lighting at the best is but a makeshift, 

 which has to be resorted to when daylight fails, but which of 

 necessity reduces the efiRciency of those working under it. The 

 actual fact is, that modern electric light can not only furnish a 

 full equivalent of the best daylight, but in many cases may 

 appreciably surpa,ss it, by increasing the productive efficiency of 

 labor. In a comparison of the relative merits of daylight and 

 electric light for industrial illumination the advantage rests with 

 the latter. 



THE HIGH COST OF BAD LIGHTING 



In one large city the electrical engineer of a large tire plant, 

 which was running three 8-hour shifts, told me that the first night 

 shift was 60 per cent efficient, and the second only 40 per cent 

 efficient, as compared with tlie day .shift, lie explained the greater 

 inefficiency of the second shift by the fact that the learners were 

 put on it. I also found in this same city a specialized plant in 

 which the night shift was 17 per cent more efficient than the day 

 shift, and a number of gigantic works in which the night produc- 

 tion was fully equal to the daylight output. 



The difference between 40 per cent discount and 17 per cent 

 premium on factory output is certainly no small matter in manu- 

 facturing cost. To what can such wide discrepancy be due? 

 Certainly not to mechanical equipment, nor difference in the per- 

 sonal skill of the workmen ; it was simply a matter of good and 

 bad lighting. The plant which was turning out 17 per cent more 

 product on its night shift was by no means an isolated case; plenty 



.^RTiFici-\L Lighting by Which Labor Operates as Efficiently as by Daylight 



of instances could be given in all branches of industry where the 

 output under electric light regularly exceeds that under daylight. 

 What can be done in one factory can be done in any other of its 

 type. 



THE REMEDY FOR WAR HYSTERIA 



The feverish condition of industry, running often into hysteria, 

 that was induced by the war, reached its climax a year ago, and 

 the inevitable reaction has set in. Efficiency, economy and thrift 

 are the tonics essential to this period of convalescence. The more 

 thoroughly they are administered the quicker and more complete 

 the final recovery of our declining industries will be. 



In other words, the remedy is : Get the utmost out of the 



physical equip- 

 ment, and out of 

 the human ma- 

 chine ; eliminate 

 waste, of both 

 energy and ma- 

 terials ; and keep 

 to a steady course 

 that does not in- 

 volve too many 

 or too long 

 chances. 



Taking these 



up in order, we 



lind one of the 



greatest trans- 



gressions at the 



very beginning. 



The most is not 



being gotten otlt 



of plant and 



equipment. What 



is called "full 



time" operation 



Taking the 8-hour 



that is running the 



time. What physical 



is in actual fact not one-half full time, 

 workday as the standard, the factory 

 usual day shift is idle two-thirds of the 

 reason is there for this gross inefficiency? Nothing but the sub- 

 stitution of artificial for natural light. All other conditions are 

 exactly the same throughout the twenty-four hours of the day. 

 If the artificial light enables the workman to do his work as 

 rapidly and as well as natural light, then there is nothing in the 

 way of uniform production — of a "flat production curve" — so far 

 as physical facil'ties are concerned. 



HYGIENIC ASPECTS OF NIGHT OPERATION 



So far as statistics go, there is no evidence that the health of 

 night workers suffers in proper night work, and there is no 

 scientillc reason why it should. The great fact is that night 

 work means daylight leisure. Day leisure means outdoor recrea- 

 tion; and the value of open-air enjoyment to indoor workers is 

 unquestioned. The general outcry against the repeal of the "day- 

 light-saving" legislation is an impressive lesson on the apprecia- 

 tion of daylight leisure by the indoor worker. 



What direct action has light' upon the health of the workers? 

 Such knowledge as we have on the subject points to two hues of 

 inquiry: first, the action of light in promoting the vital processes; 

 and second, the germicidal effect of the violet and ultra-violet 

 rays. Without attempting to discuss these highly technical sub- 

 jects, it may be said that one of the two kinds of electric light 

 now in common use possesses the same quality as sunlight in 

 respect to these rays ; and there is reason to believe that this 



