8 Materials and Their Handling 



can be applied in almost every case, and that prac- 

 tice is based on the element of time. It may be 

 stated thus : 



Sufficient time should be allowed, on the h.< 

 of past experience, to have the order put through 

 the clerical machinery and the mails; to have the 

 material made by the vendor, shipped, received. 

 and inspected, with a reasonable allowance for de- 

 lays all along the line. 



The time which is represented in that paragraph 

 varies from a week to many months, depending 

 on the nature of the item. Stock articles obtain- 

 able from the wholesale houses in the town where 

 the plant is located may require only a day or so. 

 In the case of other supplies, such as steel, the 

 mills may be sold out for months ahead and this 

 must be taken into account. 



Minimum Stock with Safety. The "minimum 

 stock," or that point at which a new order should 

 be placed, would therefore be the quantity which 

 will carry the shop on this article during the length 

 of time required to get the new material, plus a 

 certain quantity for leeway. In Book I, page 1.12, 

 you were given a simple method of keeping track 

 of minimum stock there called "order point." 

 While that method referred primarily to tools, 

 it is equally good for many lines of materials. An- 

 other way of fixing the order point is the "two 

 bin" method, for materials that can be carried in 

 bins. A large bin holds the quantity of stock neces- 

 sary for a given period. A small bin stands beside 

 it, holding the minimum stock. Both bins are filled 



