10 Materials and Their Handling 



stock small, assures a continuous supply of mate- 

 rial, ind keeps down the inventory. 



Anticipate Needs for Stock. For his own 

 peace of mind, the wisest thing a foreman can do 

 is to form the habit of anticipating his needs. The 

 time of many foremen is taken up in chasing short- 

 ages, the larger part of which might have been 

 avoided by forethought and planning ahead. The 

 purchasing of material to meet emergencies and 

 shortages is a bad thing all around. It takes more 

 time for everybody concerned than routine order- 

 ing through the regular channels, the prices are 

 almost invariably higher, the quantities smaller 

 and more troublesome, and the shipments fre- 

 quently have to be made by express instead of 

 freight. All this can usually be avoided by antici- 

 pating the needs. 



Make Allowance for Shrinkage. In making 

 requisitions, proper allowances should be made for 

 shrinkage. It is seldom that 100 per cent of the 

 material put into a process will come out in the 

 final product. Whether it be cloth, wood, or steel, 

 some material is cut away, some lost, and some 

 spoiled. Proper allowance, therefore, must be 

 made in the requisitions for raw materials to care 

 for this. In many cases, such as an automobile 

 plant or a gun shop, a "bill of material" is madi 

 out covering every piece, however small, which ap 

 pears in the finished product. On this bill is listed, 

 not only each part, but also the number required, 

 the rough size of the material from which it is to 

 be made, the amount of stock required, and allow- 



