196 Materials find Tlirir Handling 



they can be adapted to the arrangements which 

 we have and which are necessary for our continued 

 living. 



The arrangements which are made in your fac- 

 tory or in your work have grown up little by little, 

 as you find that one detail or another can be 

 changed without destroying the chance of getting 

 things done. Some of these arrangements are 

 good and some of them can be bettered. No job 

 and no arrangement in any part of the industrial 

 world is altogether as good as it might be. There 

 is always room for improvement, provided that 

 the improvement does not stop the work of get- 

 ting things done and provided it proves itself to 

 be valuable, as the result of practical experiments 

 that insure profit. 



Plans from the General Standpoint. Plans 

 may be projected from the general standpoint. 

 Many of them must be done that way in order 

 that everything will fit together. The arrange- 

 ments which will put those plans into effect must 

 start at the bottom with the detail; and, conse- 

 quently, they must begin at the bench, the machine, 

 the dye vats, the road bed, or whatever it may be. 

 That is what makes your work so important in the 

 improvement of the factory efficiency. Both in 

 the arrangements of the equipment and the work 

 of the men, the improvement must start with the 

 unit. The unit of work, the unit of equipment, 

 and the individual man are the elements in the 

 work of arranging the improvements so that they 

 can be of use. 



