464 THE HUMAN MOTOR 



results, in any industrial operation, are only to be attained by 

 accurate time records of the various motions involved, and by 

 careful selection of those which are useful, and the elimination 

 of those which are useless. 



Taylor's system, however, does not give sufficient weight to 

 the physiological factors. The writer, on the other hand, has 

 endeavoured to emphasise these. The true interest of industry 

 lies, not in the realisation of the maximum output, irrespective 

 of the health of the worker, but to conserve and husband human 

 energy in the interest, both of employer and employed. There- 

 fore a strict observance of the principles laid down by Chauveau 

 must supplement the methods of Taylor. 



Organisation on these lines cannot fail to be financially bene- 

 ficial, and to turn to full account the mental and physical energies 

 of the six million male, and three million female workers in the 

 seventy-one industries of France, who represent 24% of our total 

 population^ 1 ) If we add our soldiers and sailors, our employers 

 and their staffs, we may say that the social efficiency of at least 

 half the population can be improved. ( 2 ) 



Apprenticeship, as has been shown by the experiments in the 

 use of the file, is particularly susceptible to the benefits of scien- 

 tific control. Its neglect, in such cases, is almost criminal. Even 

 in the domain of sport the following strong remark has been made 

 by Lieut. Hebert : In some cases the body is required to exert 

 efforts quite beyond its power, which cause rapid depreciation ; 

 in other cases, the efforts called for are so small that its powers 

 are but paitially utilised. ( 3 ) 



The problem of the best utilisation of human strength is of 

 particular importance in the Army. We have only to refer to 

 the results attained in the German Infantry. Mosso made the 

 trenchant remark that " the catastrophe of Sedan represents 

 in history the triumph of German legs." ( 4 ) 



347. The Universality and Utility of the Science of Work. 



We see, therefore, that physiological mechanics, the science of 

 human energetics, has a very wide field. It satisfies Aristotle's 

 aphorism, " every true science is universal/' although the 

 general public do not yet appreciate this. When Gilbreth's 

 Motion Study was first published, it was thought that its principle 

 were only applicable to Building Construction. It was only at 

 a later date that the applicability of his principles and methods 

 to all branches of industry was recognised. Gilbreth's first 

 article in Robert Kent's publication, Industrial Engineering, 



( l ) Census of March 4th, 1906 (Ministers du Travail, 1911, p. 210). 

 ( a ) Reyer, he. cit., p. 400. 



(*) G. Hubert, Le Code de la Force, p. 11 ; Paris, Laveur, 1911. 

 ( 4 ) A. Mosso, Les Exercises Physiques, p. 56 (loc. cit.). 



