Obligations of a Contract

Men vary, and they vary greatly, in their in dividual efficiency. Under the ordinary system of handling outside work in use to-day, in taking on a number of men, there will be perhaps some very good workers, some fairly good workers, and some altogether bad workers. The general average of the workmen's performance is what the contractor figures on in making his estimate; and if he gets a certain man or gang of men better than the average, he is that much better off; if they are worse than the average, he is just that much the worse off. His chance of getting a combination that is pretty close to the average is greater on large jobs and in large communities where there are many men looking for work, than on‘small jobs or in small communities where there is not so much doing. Therefore, the gam bling chance as to the quality of workmen is greater in small communities on small jobs of work than vice versa, and this feature usually involves a larger contract price.

Superintendence. Superintendence of the work, to see that it goes smoothly and economic ally, is the special service which is expected of the contractor, and the one which the nature of his business makes him particularly fitted to render. He is supposed to know how to get the best foremen, and to see that they get the most out of their men; and his office is supposed to buy materials at the lowest prices. He may be seriously limited in his opportunity to get the best foremen for any particular piece of work, because in dull times, in order to reduce ex penses, he discharges his idle men, and when business becomes lively again it is difficult to get good men at short notice. Many large con tractors, therefore, keep a few of their good men over dull times; but this is done under the pen alty of increasing the "overhead" charges, thus making it difficult to compete with small con tractors on anything but large operations.

Some contractors are particularly skilful in handling certain kinds of labor, and have indif ferent success with others. A manager accus tomed to the type of bricklayers to be found in the New England States might have difficulty in getting satisfactory work out of negro labor in the South.

Some contractors can purchase materials and supplies more economically than others, because their credit is better, since the dealer will always quote better prices when he is sure of his money than when he is not; and some men have a natu ral gift as buyers which is not always possessed by other men equally clever as regards the han dling of men.

It is clear that in furnishing superintendence or managerial skill, the contractor is delivering something which cannot be measured or esti mated with much accuracy before commencing work, and not always afterward. If the con tractor has a record as an efficient manager, and has in his employ some good men who are avail able for the work to be undertaken, he may be expected to manage or superintend the work effi ciently, provided that his financial inducement to do so is sufficiently strong. This is supposed

to be insured in the unit-price or lump-sum forms of contract, by having him guarantee the cost.

Experience.

A contractor may be a good manager and may have an excellent organiza tion, and he may have a very good plant and be able to obtain satisfactory labor—all of these without being able to do efficient work. Unless his experience has been of the right kind to fit him for the particular work to be done, he is likely to have a good deal of trouble. For the best results, he requires to have had experience on the type of work in question. There are, for example, a great many "tricks of the trade" which are peculiar to a piece of brickwork, for the knowledge of which some experience seems to be necessary. In bricklaying the contractor employs a very high-priced class of labor for the actual laying of bricks; and he employs an en tirely different class to act as helpers to keep the bricklayer supplied with material, to raise and move scaffolding, and, in general, to facilitate the brick problem. The management of the work so that the bricklayer can handle his bricks with a minimum of labor on his own part, can always find a brick at the right place when he reaches his hand for it, and not only find the brick there but find it in its proper position with the right side up so that the bricklayer standing upon his scaffolding is always at the proper posi tion with regard to the growing wall—this kind of management is an art by itself. It is, more over, a highly intricate art—one involving not only the ability to manage men well, but the ability to plan and foresee conditions that are likely to arise during the day's work. While this art can be studied scientifically, and a great deal can be learned about it that pertains to the economics of the subject, its efficient carrying out requires practice.

In concrete construction the amount of ma terial on the work is pretty rigidly limited by the plans and specifications, and the most vari able feature is that of labor. This labor consists not only in the placing of the concrete itself, but in the making and setting of the forms; and it is likely to be the case in most work of this kind that the keynote of successful performance is experience and ability in handling these forms. Forms are generally made of wood that can be used again and again, and if properly treated, can be used much oftener than when improperly handled. The life of the forms is also very much governed by the manner in which they are de signed and put together. To handle them pro perly upon the work and manage the general work so that they can be used to the best ad vantage, is an art entirely distinct from brick laying, and one which seems to require a consid erable amount of training and experience before it can be mastered. One reason for this is that heretofore no very thorough economic study of this subject has been made.