10. Qualifications of route clerk.—Any man who is put in a position where he must show other men how things are to be done, should be endowed with much tact. Especially is this true of the route clerk, who must consult daily with the foremen in the shop, seeking their advice as to the best method to be fol lowed in machining various parts and assembling them into groups, etc. Even in the planning room itself he must be in continual conference with the various clerks of the department. It is the time-study_ and instruction-card men who can tell him which machines and what laborers can perform the work in the most economical manner, whereas the balance-of-stores clerk can inform him of the condition of the material and supplies.
1 i. Special-material (foundry) clerk.—Concerns that do a variety of work and do not keep all the materials on hand, find it necessary to order the special material from outside. In cases where this is done continually, a clerk is provided to look after the spe cial work in the planning department. He is fre quently called the special-material clerk, but in ma chine shops where the special material referred to is largely made up of castings which must be obtained from some outside foundry, he is spoken of as the foundry clerk.
12. Duties of foundry clerk.—The foundry clerk's duties do not call for a man trained in the technic of the manufacturing business, but they do require a man who is wide-awake ; because special work of this kind, especially if it is in connection with the foundry, in volves the care of a great number of patterns. The first duty then of the special-material clerk is to see that the patterns are stored and labeled properly. He must know whether they are in storage or whether they are at the foundry. The records will show when patterns were delivered and when returned. His next general duty is to make out detailed orders on the foundry, and these orders it is his further duty to follow up closely. Each, order, therefore, is care fully scheduled; it shows the amount wanted, when wanted and the number in each lot. It has been found that the checking up of these lots when they are delivered from the foundry is a very important thing, since the foundry must deliver the full number in each lot if the job is to be complete before any order is begun.
Anyone familiar with the common shop methods, where special materials are often delivered in broken lots, will easily see where such a foundry clerk will soon earn his salary. Without him, jobs are started
when only a part of the material is on hand, only to be dropped again when the supplies run out. This often requires the machine to lie idle for a long time or to be reset. Altho this position is purely a clerical one, it requires much energy, because the clerk must see that material is in the shop on time.
13. Balance-of-stores clerk, a unique feature.—The taking of the "stores balance sheets" out of the store room and putting them into the planning department is one of the unique features of the planning depart ment. The clerk who has charge of this department is called the balance-of-stores clerk. His chief duty is to keep a running inventory of each article carried in stock. His records are kept on what are known as "balance sheets." The chief items which this clerk must look after are indicated on the sample sheet (Fig. 12) on page 162. In brief they are: (1) the maximum and the minimum quantity, (2) the actual quantity carried in the stores, (3) the quantity on order but not yet received in stores, -(4) the quantity required for orders for shipment or manufacture to which they hav.e been apportioned but not yet issued, (5) the quantity available for future requirement.
14. Major and minor duties of balance-of-stores clerk.—The detailed duties of the balance-of-stores clerk will be indicated by these items themselves. He will have various forms to make out, such as orders on the storeroom as soon as the route clerk hands to him his route chart and bill of materials. Altho these duties are largely those of a bookkeeper, nevertheless there are others, such as checking the balance sheet against the actual stores, which call for considerable expertnes's in the classification of the various orders according to their symbols, since the stores orders are returned to the balance-of-stores clerk at the end of each day by the storeroom clerk.
Of course it is this clerk's duty to inform the pro duction clerk as soon as the supply of stock parts be gins to run low; and in case any of the materials are not available at the time of the apportionment, he must also notify the proper authority in the planning department when the material arrives, so that orders may be issued for the work to be started.