Efficiency Methods
An Introduction to Scientific Management

88 EFFICIENCY METHODS reference to his body, and the rearrangement of the motions by which he spread the mortar and put the bricks in place. The trowel and the mortar-carrier were also constructed according to a new device. The actual number of necessary motions to lay one brick was decreased from 18 to 5. The effect of Dr. Taylor s study of shovelling was to increase the number of tons of material handled per man per day from an average of 16 tons to an average of 59. Mr. Gilbreth’s bricklayers, after being trained in his methods, could lay as an average 350 bricks per man per hour, whereas 120 bricks per man per hour had been the average.1 While acquainting ourselves with extremely in- teresting results of this kind, emphasis must con- tinually be laid on the new feature in these studies of operations the taking the job apart ” into small elements. In older methods of time determination the whole time of an operation was observed ; and a shorter whole time proposed, usually by guess-work. Taylor found that the only way to establish a case for the possibility of quicker work was to take each action separately and constitute a just and right time for it. This was the great innovation; but Taylor found also that it was of the utmost im- portance to see that everything in the situation was helping towards quick work, and nothing hindering. . PrmciPles °* Scientific Management,” pp. 71 and 81. It should be remarked that the bricklayer received a little more help from his labourer by Mr. Gilbreth’s arrangements than he did before ; i.e the labourer arranged his bricks for him more elaborately than before.