92 Materials and Thrir Handling 



by familiarity and we cannot effect improvement 

 if we think the question of how it should be done 

 has been answered so thoroughly that it needs 

 no further examination. 



Observe, Then Experiment. In one of the 

 early sections, it was pointed out that, before any 

 progress can be made on anything, the idea of the 

 possible improvement must be in the mind of the 

 man; then this idea must be worked by experi- 

 mentation until it has been changed into a practical 

 accomplishment. The first time a man is brought 

 into contact with a series of industrial operations, 

 the equipment, the operation, and the men repre- 

 sent so much movement that the observation of the 

 man is unable to seize upon and record them 

 clearly. That is why the visit of an outsider to a 

 factory leaves him confused and bewildered. 

 Gradually, as the reasons for the operations are 

 studied and the methods used in performing the 

 operation are determined, they are associated one 

 with the other in an orderly way in the mind, so 

 that they are no longer confusing or bewildering 

 their relation to each other is brought out and 

 their significance understood. 



So, the man who is acquainted with the opera- 

 tions in the grinding room can step into another 

 grinding room and, within a very short time, his 

 observation has separated the familiar from the 

 unfamiliar methods. His curiosity is aroused by 

 the latter, because his interest has centered upon 

 them. Immediately, he wants to know why these 

 changes have been made and how they affect the 





