.
In it are also shown a cumulative total and the plotting of two or more curves to scale on the same chart.
5. Reports.—Reports from subordinate officers to the management are the most common means of col lecting information. The trouble with them in most cases is that they are too long delayed to be of real service. This need not be the case; reports can be kept up to date. All that is needed is a time schedule. The payroll, to give a familiar illustration, is always complete at the end of the week, because the men must be paid at noon, but the cost department, using the same data and doing the same work, merely making the debit instead of the credit entry, is allowed to fall a month or more behind in its work. In fact, the only difficulty in keeping a department up to the minute lies in catching up at the beginning. The depart ment that is regularly three months behind is hand ling a full day every day; otherwise it would continue to fall behind instead of remaining regularly three months in arrears. After it has once caught up, the same effort will enable it to stay caught up. In fact, work that is up to date is more easily handled; since errors or discrepancies are readily detected while the matter is still in mind, they are difficult to get at after the incident has been forgotten. Improved account ing methods, which utilize perpetual inventories and controlling accounts, make it possible to keep in daily touch with the financial condition of the business, in stead of waiting for a monthly or yearly stock-taking. Robert Owen, at the beginning of the last century, was accustomed when away to receive daily reports from the mills at New Lanark ; present-day execu tives who are not in daily touch with conditions are more than one hundred years behind the times.
6. Determining facts by inspection.—Another method of determining the facts of a business is in spection. One may be well assured that in these days of keen competition and close scrutiny of expense of all kinds, the outlay for inspection must be considered a good investment, or it would not be tolerated by so many important companies.
The inspection methods of the Westinghouse Elec tric and Manufacturing Company 1 are typical of large engineering concerns. The inspection depart ment, which is under the supervision of the manager of works, consists of several hundred men and tbis force is divided into two sections ; one for the inspec tion of apparatus building in its own works, the other for the inspection of all materials coming fKom out side manufacturers—including the various raw and partly finished materials—and of apparatus of its own manufacture returned for any reason, such as for repair or exchange, or sent back from loans or ex hibits, etc. Materials coming from outside manu facturers are generally inspected upon arrival at the works, tho certain kinds of a special nature, such as bar pulleys, etc., are often given a preliminary inspec tion or test at the place of manufacture.
In addition, representatives of the company are sometimes delegated to inspect the works of manufac turers with whom there seems a likelihood of doing business, to see if their facilities are such as to enable them to furnish materials of the degree of excellence required.
The material specifications prepared by the Ma terial Committee are made use of by the inspection department in seeing that the materials supplied are actually what was ordered.
A very complete chemical and testing laboratory is maintained by the company, and full advantage is taken of it not only in the preliminary testing of raw materials but also in the examination of partly fin ished material or apparatus at various stages during the process of manufacture.
Careful records are kept of materials rejected or found defective in any respect, and steps are taken to see that they are promptly disposed of, to prevent any possibility of their becoming mixed with accepted ma terials.