March i, 1904.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



189 



PROBLEMS OF RUBBER MILL MANAGEMENT. 



By an Assistant Superintendent. 



THE really modem rubber factory should have tor super- 

 intendent a man who has years of practical experience 

 back of him, and who has learned, among other things, 

 that the business of rubber manufacturing is progres- 

 sive, and that to hold his own as a superintendent he must not 

 only progress with it but push. Such a man will strive to pro- 

 vide machinery that will enable him to produce a pound of fin- 

 ished product at a cost that will allow of its finding a quick 

 purchaser at a fair percentage of profit. 



What, then, is the dominant proposition that constantly con- 

 fronts the factory superintendent? Evidently this: What is 

 the lowest price per pound at which rubber goods acceptable 

 to the trade can be made? Into this proposition enter the 

 entire gamut of processes from washing the crude rubber to 

 packing the finished product. 



How many men engaged in this industry absolutely know 

 this? How many on the other hand assume a cost or guess 

 at it? 



The manufacturer who guesses at the cost of his goods, not 

 only reflects upon his own acuteness, but deliberately paves 

 the way to disaster. For there is no process, however compli- 

 cated, but should be laid bare, and the more complicated the 

 process, the greater the necessity for knowing, for the compli- 

 cated process is the expensive one. 



The superintendent should be a good reader of human na- 

 ture. He should know his men, and he should know also that 

 firmness, good judgment, and kindness will produce more goods 

 at a minimum cost, than the harsh and frequently tyrannical 

 methods adopted too often. He she uld also be a good planner, 

 laying out and carrying forward the various processes, guard- 

 ing constantly against " lost motion." This requires method; 

 method requires thought and executive ability. But all of 

 these conditions can be conceived, and sent a long way on the 

 road to realization, through what a very successful manufac- 

 turer of rubber goods called the " scientific use of the imagina- 

 tion." 



Wages and Discipline. — The average workman needs 

 some sort of stimulant above and beyond the mere question of 

 wages, to incite him to do his best. Without such a stimulus 

 he becomes " rutty," and will make his job as easy as possible. 

 The superintendent, on his part, however, should know just 

 what constitutes a day's work on a mill, or a press, or a table, 

 in any process, and knowing this is in a position to remedy 

 abuses on their inception. 



Factory discipline should be exacting. An employe is a cog 

 in the complete machine ; he must be in perfect adjustment. 

 His usefulness must be so well established that there is no 

 doubt that it " pays " to keep him. It is not a matter of senti- 

 ment, but the fact of pounds that he can produce. His capac- 

 ity should be known, and wherever practicable he should be 

 paid in accordance with it, and he should be encouraged al- 

 ways to do his utmost. 



The fact established that the superintendent " knows his 

 business " and " will stand no nonsense " acts as a stimulant to 

 the average workman. Without it, it is remarkable how soon 

 he lapses into a state of acute carelessness or shiftless indiffer- 

 ence. With it, he becomes a producer. Foremen should be 

 encouraged to a friendly rivalry with each other in bringing 

 their departments to the high-water mark of efficiency. 



Heads of departments are necessarily chosen for the special 

 knowledge they possess, but they should be encouraged to take 

 a broad view and wide interest in the general work of the fac- 

 tory, and appreciate that cooperation is one of the keynotes in 

 any manufacturing proposition. As they are looked up to and 

 copied by the workmen under them, they should understand 

 the necessity of being on hand promptly for each session of 

 work, and that intelligent, painstaking effort, in execution of 

 all matters entrusted to them, is essential to their own success. 



Waste and Inspection.— The daily product of "waste," 

 consisting of trimmings from all sorts of goods, cured and un- 

 cured, is always an important item, but its limits are so well de- 

 fined that it can be readily controlled. Waste, however, from 

 goods spoiled in manufacture through improper construction 

 or carelessness, is a much more serious matter, causing frequent- 

 ly great loss in time, and material, and, when such goods reach 

 a customer, in prestige. There are at least two safeguards 

 against this: First, a department devoted to experiment and 

 test, in which a new stock can be put through its paces and its 

 qualities thoroughly known. Second, the most rigid inspection 

 as the work goes forward, and by the different foremen through 

 whose hands the materials or product must pass, and finally by 

 an expert inspector upon whose acumen dependence can be 

 placed to pass on the finished article. As an adjunct to such a 

 system, the plan of daily deliveries of all trimmings and spoiled 

 goods to a designated location, will act as a constant check on 

 a careless workmanship, and serve the especially desirable end 

 of keeping departments clean and in order. Intelligent care is 

 a paying investment. 



Basis for Factory Orders.— A factory that manufactures 

 to fill customers' orders only, and nothing for stock, not in- 

 frequently finds on its hands an accumulation amounting to 

 thousands of pounds of mixed stocks and other material, the 

 excess on orders previously executed. This situation is never 

 entirely satisfactory to the superintendent, and on the other 

 hand it ties up too much money in the wrong way. This sur- 

 plusage can be guarded against by ascertaining in advance the 

 exact quantities required for each order, adding sufficient to 

 cover waste, and then confining the compounding to actual re- 

 quirements. Moreover, quantities required should be worked 

 out by a clerk employed for the purpose, and not by foremen. 

 This method has several advantages. It limits the compound- 

 ing of a special or rarely used stock to actual requirements ; 

 it acts as a check on extravagance in making samples; it im- 

 presses workmen with the necessity for special care ; and when 

 misfortune or carelessness has depleted a stock before an order 

 is completed, it brings the matter directly to the notice of the 

 superintendent. 



Not alone does this method of figuring up requirements help 

 the factory, but it serves the very desirable end of posting the 

 purchasing department as to the quantities of all commodities 

 required to fill orders. To illustrate : One thousand feet of % 

 inch hose is ordered by a customer or for general stock. It 

 calls for, let us assume, 94 pounds of mixed stock for the tube, 

 68 pounds of mixed stock for the cover, 68 pounds of friction 

 for the friction, and 39 pounds duck. This information has 

 been gathered from estimates, and verified in actual weights; 

 therefore a safe working basis is assured. Dissecting all orders 

 in this manner, whether they aggregate 100 pounds or 100,000 



