138 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES 
appreciate fully the varying considerations of first cost, running expenses, 
maintenance charges, and the like. Where, as with Government depart- 
ments or municipal authorities, the scheme has often been developed to 
a considerable extent before tenders are called for, less preliminary work 
by a firm is required. The difficulties of preparing an estimate are not 
always fully appreciated, for changes in the costs of labour and materials 
must be envisaged, while urgent work will require the working of over- 
time, at higher rates. Consideration must be given to the financial stand- 
ing of the customer, the necessary safeguards for both parties must be 
provided, and, in recent years, where foreign customers are concerned, 
the fluctuating rates of exchange have created further problems with 
corresponding anxieties. 
In the engineering of a large installation it is not always possible for 
those at the head of affairs to attend to more than the general scheme. 
An engineer of suitable experience is consequently deputed to conduct 
the whole contract in all its branches, and he will call upon the technical 
experts attached to the various departments concerned. A document, 
referred to as a technical order sheet, is issued containing a concise synopsis 
of the client’s specification, all special requirements and relevant matter 
concerning duties, speeds, consumptions of the various units comprising 
the whole installation. ‘This document must further contain all informa- 
tion necessary for the various departments of offices and works. Accurate 
detailed records must be kept of all expenditure incurred in the con- 
struction and installation of the machinery. This can best be done by 
assigning to each section of the work a letter to indicate the class of 
machinery, and a series of numbers to denote the individual items. ‘These 
identification marks will be stamped on each of the parts and will appear 
finally upon the finished article, thus facilitating the ordering of spare 
parts at a later date. Against these numbers, the draughtsman will book 
his time, the foreman will draw his materials from the stores, and the 
workman will fill up his time sheets. The cost office will then have no 
difficulty in ascertaining the expenditure at any stage of a contract, and 
will ultimately arrive at the total cost in full detail, for guidance in future 
estimates. 
The question of housing the machinery has also to be considered, and 
if new plant has to be erected and operated beside existing plant which 
must meanwhile be kept running, difficulties may arise, the overcoming 
of which may call for ingenuity and resource of a high order. The 
preparation of drawings is the most important step in the earlier stages 
of a contract, and success will depend very largely upon the amount of 
thought and time that has been given to the work in the design and 
drawing office. As in the case of correspondence, so also with the drawing 
office, one leading draughtsman must be in charge of the whole of the 
work, so that the various sections of the scheme may be in harmonious 
relation with each other. Having obtained all the necessary technical 
details from the design office, the leading draughtsman will prepare 
a preliminary lay-out of the scheme, and this is critically examined, in 
conjunction with the customer, to settle any new points which may then 
have arisen. When all has been suitably arranged, a general arrangement 
