Industrial Research 



91 



Quality Standards Improved 



Kesearcli concerning the improvement of standard 

 products is one of the least controversial projects that 

 trade associations can undertake. Almost without 

 exception, manufacturers will agree that anything 

 which raises the general quality level of an industry's 

 products will benefit members. Nothing promotes 

 public appreciation and approval so much as a reputa- 

 tion for excellent quality in an industrj-'s goods. Thus 

 the unquestioned acceptance of all commodities packed 

 in tin cans is an excellent example of the effect that can 

 be achieved bj' association research to improve quality. 

 Again, research by the Underwriters Laboratories has 

 been of such high character as to make their certifi- 

 cation of fire-fighting and fire-prevention equipment 

 acceptable as standard by the public, by official bodies, 

 and by insurance companies. 



New Uses for Products 



Another most appropriate type of research work for 

 trade associations is the development of new outlets 

 for standard industry products, \^^lenever an in- 

 dustry's production or even its capacity for production 

 equals the demand for its product, the competitive 

 struggle of that industry becomes intense. Any new 

 outlet for its products relieves the pressure due to over- 

 production and tends to stabilize the industry. A 

 well-known example is the use of the modern synthetic 

 plastics, of which Bakelite is an example, to displace 

 the various kinds of insulators used in makmg electrical 

 equipment. These same plastics are also replacing 

 many ornamental metal stampings, metal caps and 

 seals, corks, glass covers, and innumerable other prod- 

 ucts. Association research is not believed to be re- 

 sponsible for the development of these new uses of 

 synthetic plastics, private research is to be credited 

 for their discovery and utilization. Trade association 

 research has, however, been forced to undertake the 

 development of new outlets for the products supplanted. 

 Of the 330 trade associations reporting in the Chamber 

 of Commerce survey, 54 include in their research pro- 

 grams the search for new uses for present products. 

 It must be remembered that technical research is only 

 one branch of association research on such a problem; 

 business research, studies of marketing conditions, and 

 of consumer resistance, and the like must accompany 

 the practical teclmical solution of the problem if an 

 industrj^ is to benefit. 



Research on industrial processes and methods usually 

 can best be undertaken by trade associations when 

 comparative uniformity of production methods exists. 

 The canning industry furnishes a typical example of 

 such possibilities. In the main, canned foods are packed 

 in airtight containers, and preservation of the contents 

 depends on sterilization after packing. The quality of 



the contents and the suitability and attractiveness of 

 the package largety determine competitive success or 

 failure. The goal to be achieved by proper processing is 

 the protection of human health. The industry, through 

 its trade association, has not hesitated to provide 

 adequate funds to support a well-equipped laboratory. 



Technical Research Agencies 



Trade associations carry on technical research in a 

 variety of ways.' In selecting the type of agency best suit- 

 ed to carry on an industry's technical research, the nature 

 of the problems to be solved must receive careful 

 consideration. If only improvement of product or proc- 

 ess is contemplated, perhaps the most effective plan is 

 the establishment of an association laboratory. If 

 standardization of members' products is the goal, 

 coordinated study and research within the members' 

 own laboratories may be sufficient. If an entirely new 

 field of fundamental science is to be explored, if expen- 

 sive precision equipment must be used, if policy requires 

 scientific sponsorship more authoritative than that of 

 the technicians of the industry, then the laboratory of 

 some well-known university may afford the best 

 agency to use. 



If a particular problem can be solved, as many can, 

 by oft repeated trial and error methods, one of the best 

 available organizations is the commercial consulting 

 laboratory, the analytical acciu-acy and techniques of 

 which make them peculiarly suitable for this type of 

 research. If the answer is obtainable only by means of 

 accurate determination of mmute variations in physical 

 measurements, some agency such as the National Bureau 

 of Standards at Washington may be the best choice. 



If the problem is that of meeting State or Federal 

 regulatory requirements, grants of financial aid to 

 some governmental agency for research in that field 

 may not only furnish the solution but may result in 

 official recognition of the residts. 



I The foJlowing News Letter was recently issued by the National Association of 

 Manufacturers: 



"Thirty-one percent of the National Manufacturing Trade associations in the 

 National Industiial Council conduct scientific research activities, according to a 

 survey just completed by the Council in cooperation with the N. A. M. Advisory 

 Committee on Scientific Research, of which Dr. Karl T. Compton, president of the 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is chairman. 



"Charles J. Brand, executive secretary of The National FertiUzer Association, is 

 chairman of the N. I. C. Committee in charge of the survey. 



"Of the 113 associations in the national manufacturing trade group 35 conduct 

 research activities and 11 have their own laboratories or cooperate with others in 

 supporting laboratories. The average armual reseaich budget of 27 associations re- 

 porting specific figures was $36,960. The median budget was $25,000. Two associa- 

 tions spend more than $100,000 a year. 



"An average of 10 persons ate employed in the laboratories operated by the associa- 

 tions reporting. 



"Twenty-one of the associations finance research projects at universities, 7 at re- 

 search foundations, and 3 at commercial laboratories. 



"Most of the laboratories reported were established in the decade between 1920 and 

 1930. 



". "Approximately 34 percent of the associations take out patents on the pioducts of 

 their research activities. In the most instances, the patents are assigned to the 

 association. 



"Ten associations distribute information on the results of their research to members 

 only and 25 make the lesults known to the public generally." 



