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U .
S .
D E P A R T M E N T
BUREAU
O F
OF LABO R
L A B O R
ST A T IST IC S
ROYAL MEEKER, Commissioner
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES )
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS j
INDUSTRIAL
ACCIDENTS
AND
/W H O L E O l f k
' ' * \ NUMBER
HYGIENE
SERIES:
No .
IN D U S T R IA L EFFICIENCY
A N D FATIGUE IN BRITISH
M U N IT IO N FA CTO RIES
REPRINTS OF INTERIM REPORT A N D
MEMORANDA OF THE BRITISH HEALTH
OF M U N ITIO N W ORK ER S COMMITTEE
JULY, 1917
W ASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1917
16
AD D IT IO N AL COPIES
OP THIS PUBLICATION M A Y BE PROCURED FROM
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G O VE R N M EN T PRINTING OFFICE
W A SH IN G T O N , D . C.
AT
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V
COPY
CONTENTS.
Page.
Introduction....................................................................................................................
Summary of the committee’s conclusions................................................................
The comparative efficiencies of day work and night work in munition factories.
Introduction............................................................................................................
Previous physiological observations.................................................................
Methods of night work.........................................................................................
Female labor...........................................................................................................
(1) Output.......................................................................................................
(a) Discontinuous system.................................................................
(b) Continuous system......................................................................
(2) Lost time...................................................................................................
(a) Discontinuous and continuous systems..................................
Male labor................................................................................................................
(1) Output.......................................................................................................
(a) Discontinuous system................................................................
(b) Continuous system......................................................................
(2) Lost time...................................................................................................
(a) Discontinuous system................................................................
(b) Continuous system......................................................................
Conclusions............... ..............................................................................................
The causes and conditions of lost time, by Thomas Loveday, M. A .................
Introduction............................................................................................................
(а) General remarks......................................................................................
(б) The form of time-analysis records......................................................
(c) Calculations of lost time and of overtime..........................................
(d) The relations between lost time and overtime.................................
Sickness....................................................................................................................
(a) The differentiation of bad timekeeping and sickness and of
avoidable and unavoidable lost time.............................................
(b) Some causes of fluctuation in sickness curves..................................
(c) Sickness before and since the outbreak of war.................................
Lost‘ *quarters ” .....................................................................................................
(a) General remarks......................................................................................
(b) One-break and two-break systems......................................................
(i) Details of factories.................................................................. .
(ii) Results of the evidence...........................................................
(iii) Some objections considered....................................................
(c) Conclusion................................................................................................
Summary of conclusions......................................... ............................................
7-10
11-13
14-41
14,15
15-17
17
17-34
17-30
17-27
27-30
30-34
31-34
34-40
34-39
34-37
38,39
39,40
39,40
40
40, 41
42-95
42-48
42-44
44
44r-46
46-48
48-70
48-59
59-68
68-70
71-94
71-76
76-93
78-88
88-90
90-93
93, 94
94, 95
4
CONTENTS.
Page.
Incentives to work, with special reference to wages, with an appendix on
wage systems............................................................................................................... 96-122
Incentives to work, with special reference to wages.................................. 96-112
Methods of remuneration............................................................. ............... 97-103
Payment by time...................................................................................
97, 98
Payment by work done........................................................................ 98-103
Comparison of time wages and piece rates...............................
99
Need for explaining piece rates.................................................. 99-102
Need for study of wages earned................................................. 102,103
Instances of failure of wage systems to act as incentives..................... 103-107
Lack of desire to earn more............................................- ................... 103,104
Lack of opportunity to spend............................................................. 104,105
Lack of adjustment of wage systems.................................................. 105,106
Piece rates may cause overspeeding................................................. 106,107
Summary.........................................................................................................
107
Further considerations.................................................................................. 107-112
Necessity for rest pauses....................................................................... 107-111
Necessity for instruction...................................................................... 111,112
Appendix on wage systems......................................................................... 112-122
Systems of piece rates................................................................................. 114-122
Summary.........................................................................................................
122
Medical studies............................................................. ................................................ 123-181
Report on the health and physical condition of-male munition workers,
by Capt. T. H. Agnew, R. A. M. C............................................................... 123-160
Scope of inquiry............................................................................................. 123-127
General results obtained...............................................................................
127
Relation of general health to length of employment, hours, and nature
of work.......................................................................................................... 127-137
Medical defects found....................................................... ........................... 137-144
Considerations arising from the nature of the work............................... 144-148
Hours of labor.................. ' ............................................................................. 148-150
Loss of time through sickness or accident................................................
150
Considerations arising from various features in the environment----- 150-157
Recommendations......................................................................................... 157,158
Appendix......................................................................................................... 158-160
Inquiry into the health of women engaged in munition factories, by Janet
M. Campbell, M. D., and Lilian E. Wilson, M. D ..................................... 161-181
The nature of the inquiry............................................................................
161
Selection of workers......................................................................................
161
Number of factories visited......................................................................... 161,162
General conditions of employment........................................................... 162,163
Hours of work................................................................................................. 163-165
^ Lost time..........................................................................................................
165
Posture.............................................................................................................. 165,166
Nutrition.......................................................................................................... 166-168
Transit..............................................................................................................
168
Personal hygiene............................................................................................ 168,169
Medical inquiry............................................................................................. 169,170
Ailments.......................................................................................................... 170,171
Special points of interest.............................................................................. 171-175
Summary......................................................................................................... 175-177
Table of findings............................................................................................ 178-181
Medical certificates for munition workers (Memorandum No. 16)..................... 182,183
CONTENTS.
°
Page-
Health and welfare of munition workers outside the factory (Memorandum
No. 17).........................................................................................................................
Personal questions.................................................................................................
Housing accommodation and transit.................................................................
Sickness...................................................................................................................
Leisure.....................................................................................................................
Conclusions.............................................................................................................
Appendix:
Contents of other bulletins relating to labor in Great Britain as affected
by the war..■.......................................................................................................
Additional material relating to labor in foreign countries as affected by
the war.................................................................................................................
184—194
185-187
187-190
190,191
191-193
193,194
195,196
196-200
List of official documents relating to labor and the war in Great Britain
received by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics...................... 200-203
PREFACE.
This bulletin is the fourth of a group of bulletins to be published by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of
Labor in compliance with the following resolution voted April 7, 1917,
by the Council of National Defense:
That the complete reports of the committee appointed by the British
Minister of Munitions to investigate conditions affecting the’ health
and welfare of workers be edited so that the salient features thereof
may be made applicable to the conditions pertaining in the United
States, and printed in condensed form by the Department of Labor.
The matter contained in the memoranda and other publications issued
by the British Health of Munition Workers Committee is of such inter
est and importance that their publication is continued in this bulletin,
which contains an interim report on industrial efficiency and fatigue
and two memoranda bearing on the health of munition workers.
An earlier bulletin (Bulletin 221) contains documents, official and
unofficial, dealing with hours, fatigue, occupational diseases, and the
provisions of the Munitions of War Act relating to labor disputes and
the restoration of trade-union conditions after the war, a second bul
letin (Bulletin 222) contains memoranda relating to welfare super
vision and welfare work, while a third bulletin (Bulletin 223) contains
reprints of official and unofficial documents dealing with the employ
ment of women and juveniles.
It is thought that these bulletins published at the request of the
Council of National Defense will be of great service to the country, by
giving wider circulation to the experiences of Great Britain, France,
Canada, and other countries, in dealing with labor in the production
of the largest quantity of munitions in the shortest space of time.
ROYAL MEEKER,
United States Commissioner of Labor Statistics.
B U L L E T IN O F T H E
U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
WHOLE NO. 230.
W A S H IN G T O N .
JULY, 1917
INDUSTRIAL EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH
MUNITION FACTORIES.
INTRODUCTION.
The British Health of Munition Workers Committee was ap
pointed in the middle of September, 1915, by the Minister of Mu
nitions, with the concurrence of the Home Secretary, “ to consider
and advise on questions of industrial fatigue, hours of labor, and
other matters affecting the personal health and physical efficiency
of workers in munition factories and workshops.”
The composition of the committee is as follows:
Sir George Newman, M. D. (chairman).
Sir Thomas Barlow, Bart., K. C. Y. O., M. D., F. R. S.
G. Bellhouse, Factory Department, Home Office.
Prof. A. E. Boycott, M. D., F. R. S.
J. R. Clynes, M. P.
E. L. Collis, M. B., Factory Department, Home Office.
W . M. Fletcher, M. D., F. R. S., secretary of Medical Research
Committee.
Leonard E. Hill, M. B., F. R. S.
Samuel Osborn, J. P., Sheffield.
Miss R. E. Squire, Factory Department, Home Office.
Mrs. H. J. Tennant.
E. H. Pelham (secretary).
The committee took evidence in various industrial centers from
employers, representatives of workers, and other interested persons,
and made numerous special studies and investigations. In addition,
members have visited a large number of factories and workshops,
and discussed matters with the management, with foremen, and with
individual workers. With this information, and having the advan
tage of the special knowledge and experience already possessed by
members of the committee, it has published up to the present time
(June, 1917) 17 memoranda, dealing with one or more of the sub
jects intrusted to it.
7
8
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
As these memoranda are the work of a committee especially quali
fied by technical knowledge and special experience, and as they con
tain many suggestions and recommendations made with the purpose
of securing maximum output over a period of months, or even years,
and at the same time safeguarding the health and physical efficiency
of the workers, it is believed that their reproduction at this time may
be of value in a similar way to industry and labor in this country.
In pursuance of this plan the related subjects in memoranda Nos. 1
to 15, inclusive,1 have been brought together and reprinted as bul
letins of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics under the fol
lowing titles: 2
B U L L E T IN NO. 221, HOURS, F A T IG U E , AN D H E A L T H IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N
FACTO RIES.
Sunday Labor (Memorandum No. 1).
[Cd. 8132.]
November, 1915.
6 pp.
(Summarized in Monthly R eview of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
May, 1916, pp. 66, 67.)
Hours of Work (Memorandum No. 5).
[Cd. 8186.]
January, 1916.
9 pp.
(Summarized in M onthly R eview , June, 1916, pp. 77-79.)
Statistical Information Concerning Output in Relation to Hours
of Work (Memorandum No. 12). (Report by H. M. Ver
non, M. D.) August, 1916. 11 pp. [Cd. 8344.]
(Summarized in M onthly R eview , December, 1916, pp. 105-119.)
Industrial Fatigue and its Causes (Memorandum No. 7).
uary, 1916. 11 pp. [Cd. 8213.]
Jan
(Summarized in M onthly R eview , June, 1916, pp. 79-81.)
Sickness and Injury (Memorandum No 10).
pp. [Cd. 8216.]
January, 1916.
10
( Summarized in M onthly R eview , June, 1916, pp. 88-90.)
Special Industrial Diseases (Memorandum No. 8).
1916. 8 pp. [Cd. 8214.]
February,
(Summarized in M on th ly Review, June, 1916, pp. 83-88.)
Ventilation and Lighting of Munition Factories and Workshops
(Memorandum No. 9). January, 1916. 9 pp. [Cd. 8215.]
( Summarized in M onthly R eview , June, 1916, pp. 81-83.)
The Effect of Industrial Conditions Upon Eyesight (Memorandum
No. 15). October, 1916. 8 pp. [Cd. 8409.]
(Summarized in Monthly R eview , April, 1917, pp. 538-540.)
1 Memoranda Nos. 16 and 17 were not available at the time these bulletins were issued.
2 The list here given contains only the memoranda of the Health of Munitions Workers
Committee. Each of the bulletins, however, includes also other official and nonofficial
material dealing with related subjects. The contents of Bulletins 221, 22 2 , and 223 are
given in full on pages 195 and 196 of this bulletin.
9
INTRODUCTION.
BULLETIN NO. 222, WELFARE WORK IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
Welfare Supervision (Memorandum No. 2).
pp. [Cd. 8151.]
December, 1915.
7
(Summarized in M onthly R eview , May, 1916, pp. 68, 69.)
Industrial Canteens (Memorandum No. 3).
pp. [Cd. 8133.]
November, 1915.
7
(Summarized in M onthly R eview , May, 1916, pp. 69, 70.)
Canteen Construction and Equipment (Memorandum No. 6).
(Appendix to No. 3.) January, 1916. 7 pp. and plates.
[Cd. 8199.]
(Summarized in M onthly R eview, June, 1916, p. 91.)
Investigation of Workers’ Food and Suggestions as to Dietary
(Memorandum No. 11). (Report by Leonard E. Hill, F. R.
S.) August, 1916. 11 pp. [Cd. 8370.]
(Summarized in M onthly R eview , January, 1917, pp. 56, 57.)
Washing Facilities and Baths (Memorandum No. 14), August,
1916. 8 pp. [Cd. 8387.]
(Summarized in M onthly R eview , January, 1917, pp. 150, 151.)
B U L L E T IN
NO. 223, E M P LO Y M E N T OF W O M E N AN D J U V E N IL E S
B R IT A IN DU R IN G T H E W A R .
Employment of Women (Memorandum No. 4).
10 pp. [Cd. 8185.]
IN
GREAT
January, 1916.
(Summarized in M onthly R eview , June, 1916, pp. 74-76.)
Juvenile Employment (Memorandum No. 13).
pp. [Cd. 8362.]
(Summarized in
M o n t h l y R e v ie w ,
August, 1916.
8
December, 1916, pp. 92-97.)
Since the publication of these bulletins memoranda Nos. 16 and 17
have become available and are included in the present bulletin, which
also contains a reprint of the interim report (except memoranda
Nos. 7 and 12, entitled, respectively, “ Industrial fatigue and its
causes,” and “ Output in relation to hours of work,” both reprinted
in Bulletin No. 221) of the Health of Munition Workers Commit
tee, published in February, 1917, and entitled “ Industrial efficiency
and fatigue.” This title has been given to the present bulletin,
which covers the following subjects:
B U L L E T IN NO. 230, IN D U S T R IA L E F F IC IE N C Y AN D
M U N IT IO N FACTO RIES.
F A T IG U E IN
B R IT IS H
The comparative efficiencies of daywork and nightwork in muni
tion factories. 15 pp.
The causes and conditions of lost time. (Report by T. Loveday,
M. A .) December, 1916. 35 pp.
Incentives to work, with special reference to wages. 16 pp.
10
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
Medical studies. (Reports by Capt. T. H. Agnew, E. A. M. C.,
and by Miss Janet Campbell, M. D .? and Miss Lilian Wilson,
M. D.) October, 1916. 37 pp.
(These four reports summarized in M on th ly Review, July, 1917, pp. 14 to 19.)
Medical certificates for munition workers (Memorandum No. 16).
February, 1917. 4 pp. [Cd. 8522.]
Health and welfare of munition workers outside the factory
(Memorandum No. 17). January, 1917. 9 pp.
(To be summarized in Monthly R eview, August, 1917.)
In the present bulletin there is first presented a summary of the
more important findings of the committee, followed by a reproduc
tion in full of the studies and memoranda referred to.
SUMMARY OF THE COMMITTEE’S CONCLUSIONS.
In its interim report here reproduced in part, the Health of
Munition Workers Committee first presents the results of a quite
exhaustive investigation, supplemented by experimental tests and
comprehensive medical studies of individuals, into the comparative
efficiencies of workers on the day and night shifts, with a view to
determining whether or not hours worked at night unfavorably
affect the capacity of the workers, and if so, the extent to which this
impaired efficiency is reflected in reduced output.
It may be stated at the outset that the data collected are in all
cases prejudicial to night work, which is therefore, although necessary
in the present crisis, to be considered undesirable. But granting
that night work must be performed, the committee found that the
rate of output on the night shift is substantially the same as on the
day shift, where both shifts are managed on the discontinuous sys
tem, but that continuous night work is productive of definitely less
output than discontinuous night work. Among* men working on a
continuous day system it appears that the rate of output may be less
and the loss of time greater than when they work on a discontinuous
system, while among women of 19 years of age and upward, working
for alternate weeks on day and night shifts, the timekeeping seems
to be even better maintained than when working on permanent day
shifts. The practical conclusion at which the committee arrives is
that both men and women can more profitably be organized under
the discontinuous than under the continuous system of night work.
The causes and conditions of lost time were considered by the
committee from two standpoints— lost time due to uncontrollable
causes, chiefly sickness, accidents, weather, etc., and lost time at
tributable to controllable causes, that is, intemperance, overtime
work, discontent with working conditions, etc. Particularly is the
unprofitableness of extensive overtime emphasized, the committee
showing how time gained by extraordinary hours may be lost in
normal hours even under favorable factory conditions. This is illus
trated by citing the engineering department of a firm engaged in
heavy work where the normal day-shift week is 53 hours and the
night-shift week is 60 hours, in which 53 per cent of the time gained
by overtime work in a given four weeks in May, 1916, was lost by
bad timekeeping and sickness, while 59.6 per cent was lost in a given
11
12
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
two weeks in June, 1916. This high percentage of loss, it was found,
is mainly due to a very high sickness rate, itself the result of long
hours on heavy work since the beginning of the war. In four se
lected cases where timekeeping was reasonably good and records
carefully made, the unavoidable loss, chiefly due to sickness, was more
than half the total loss. The strain of long hours seems to have had
its effect not only upon operatives, but on officials and foremen who
have broken down in considerable numbers.
Another fruitful cause of lost time characterized by the committee
as “ uneconomical ” and “ unprofitable” is the practice long followed
in Great Britain of requiring workers to put in a brief period before
breakfast, the pause for the morning meal and the noonday meal
constituting the so-called “ two-break system” in contradistinction
to the “ one-break system,” where operatives go to work after break
fast. In one factory working 53 hours per week and requiring work
before breakfast 30.9 per cent of the men lost 5 per cent of the
possible normal hours, while in another factory also working 53
hours per week and requiring no work before breakfast only 1 per
cent of the men lost 2.38 per cent of the possible normal hours, both
avoidably and on account of sickness. It is the opinion of the com
mittee that work before breakfast gives inferior output, lowers
health, and leads to great loss of time as the first spell is so fre
quently missed, and it is suggested that the practice has been ad
vantageously abolished both prior to and even during the war and
ought not to be instituted in any factory opened during the further
course of the war.
In considering the matter of incentives to work, with special refer
ence to wages, the committee was impressed by the fact that earnings
influence the health and efficiency of workers, and that output may
be influenced by the wage system in force. Many munition workers
are paid for the time during which work is done, but this system was
found to have no direct influence in stimulating inclination to work,
since some workers may keep well within their powers while others,
whose inclination to work is greater, may feel it is a grievance that
extra work brings with it no extra rate. Payment by the piece, how
ever, seems to bring a direct stimulus to bear upon the natural
inclination to work. An illustration of these facts is presented
in a table giving a comparison of time wages and piece rates,
showing that 17 girls drilling fuses and working on the piecerate basis in one week increased their output by 24 per cent on
the day shift and by 40 per cent on the night shift, over what
they were able to accomplish when doing the same work on a
time-rate basis. Similarly, three girls retapping fuses by hand,
working on a piece-rate basis, increased their output 28 per cent on
the day shift and 48 per cent on the night shift over their output
SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE *S CONCLUSIONS.
13
when working on a time-wage basis. For a wage scheme to act as an
incentive to workers, it must be easily understood and equitably
adjusted, must offer opportunity to. spend the money earned, must
create in the workers a desire to earn more, and must not lead to
overspeeding. I f the work is repetition work, such as is carried
on in munition factories, especially if it be monotonous, it would
seem that piece rates may be expected to give a greater output
than time wages. Appended to the report is a discussion of wage
systems in force in munition factories.
The medical studies., comprising Part II of the interim report,
deal with examinations of 1,543 men over military age, 1,509 boys,
and 1,326 women and girls employed in factories in all parts of the
country. Though evidence was found of strain and fatigue, thie
majority of the workers appeared to be in good health at the time of
the examinations “ and the medical examiners undoubtedly found
less ill health than they anticipated.” However, the committee does
not assume that because no serious breakdown in health has yet
occurred the risk of future breakdown is negligible. With reference
to the men, sleepiness on the night shift, headache, footache, and
muscular pains, coupled with nervous symptoms, are noted as the
most common signs of overwork. Among the 1,543 men examined
the time lost during 12 months from all causes was 12,964 days; of
which 20 per cent was due to accident and 80 per cent‘to sickness.
The examination of women and girls emphasized the importance of
adequate provision for the health and comfort of the workers.
The report describes the factory and social environment of the
employees, and information is given as to the conditions under
which workers lived and labored during the period covered by the
investigation, including such matters as nature of the food eaten,
housing and transit, the amount of sleep obtained by workers when
on day shift and night shift, respectively, and the employment of
married women.
Memorandum No. 16 includes a form of medical certificate for
munition workers.
Quite as important as welfare supervision and comfort of workers
while on duty is the consideration of their health outside the factory.
To this question the committee devoted some study, the result of
which is reported in Memorandum No. 17. In the present crisis
many women and girls are exported for work in munition factories,
and the committee is of the opinion that it becomes the duty of the
State suitably to house these transplanted workers and secure the
safeguards needful for their health and morals. Suggestions to
this end are included in the memorandum on a Health and welfare
of munition workers outside the factory,” which is reproduced
herein.
THE COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND
NIGHT WORK IN MUNITION FACTORIES.
1. Civilized nations have recognized that except in case of neces
sity or in times of great emergency night work is undesirable; but
the sudden and urgent demand for output which the present war
has brought with it has necessitated much night work for all classes
of operatives.
2. Many general considerations would require examination if the
whole question of night work in industries were under review,
such as—
(1) The remotely injurious effects of permanent night work,
effects which are not manifested until after a long latent period;
(2) The disturbance of normal home life; and
(3) The undesirability of hours which necessitate the passage of
young women through the streets of large towns during the night.
The moral side of this question is of undoubted importance, but
the committeee have before them no facts, either collected by their
investigators or published elsewhere, which can be made the basis
of useful discussion. The following remarks by Prof. Loveday are,
however, of interest. He reports that a certain firm had decided to
discontinue a three-shift system, and that “ one reason is the ex
tremely bad time kept in the night shift. In bad weather, with
darkened streets, many women seize any excuse for not going down
to factories at 10 p. m.”
Although of extreme importance when night work is envisaged as
a permanent feature of our civilization, these considerations do not
assume the came place when we are dealing with an admittedly
temporary state of things.
3. The committee, however, is avowedly taking a short and not a
long view of the subject, and is solely concerned with the factors
which are of importance during the present emergency. Thus, to
take an extreme case, were it to be shown that the efficiency of night
work, measured in terms of output, were but a small fraction of that
of day work, it would not necessarily follow that night work should
be discontinued. I f the night workers produce any appreciable
quantity of manufactured articles, their employment increases
the absolute supply of munitions, and is therefore justifiable;
provided always that the lower efficiency is not an indication
of such damage to health as must, in the near future, involve a
14
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
15
diminution of the already limited supply of available labor, and,
therefore, in the end, a diminution of gross output before the neces
sity for a maximal supply has passed away. Conversely, a high de
gree of relative efficiency in night shifts would not justify the system
if it were purchased by a rapid exhaustion of the health and strength
of available workers.
4. Judgment on this restricted aspect of night work must be based
upon a knowledge of both the comparative output efficiency, and of
the prevalence of invalidity, sickness, and bad timekeeping among
night and day workers.
5. In view of the grave objections which have been urged against
night work on medical and physiological, as well as on purely
economic grounds, especially in the case of women, the committee
became anxious as to the possibility of grave results to health ensuing
with diminished output as a consequence. They therefore some time
ago instructed investigators to study this closely. This study seemed
the more urgent as no accurate data were available upon which con
clusions could be based as to the least harmful system of employing
persons by night, and the committee in an earlier memorandum (No.
5, sec. 17) found it necessary to leave the matter sub judice.
P REVIO U S P H Y SIO L O G IC A L O B SER V AT IO N S.
6. The temperature of the human body is not constant, but is
known to exhibit a distinct cycle during the 24 hours, the maximum
appearing between 4 p. m. and 8 p. m., and the minimum between
2 a. m. and 6 a. m. The difference, although the actual maxima and
minima are not the same in different persons, may be said to be
between 1° and 2° F. The natural explanation of this cycle is that it
reflects the diurnal variations of bodily combustion, in particular
that going on in the muscles; and this surmise is borne out by numer
ous observations, such as those of Simpson1 and Johannsson2 to the
effect that absolute muscular rest in the fasting condition greatly
reduces the amplitude of the daily variation. Gibson,3 Osborne,4
and Simpson have also shown that the temperature cycle conforms to
local time; that is to say, if a person’s day maximum has been found
to occur at 6 p. m. (New York time) in New York, it still occurs at
6 p. m. (Greenwich time) when he comes to Glasgow, and not at
1 p. m., as it should were the rhythm independent of bodily activities.
It ought, therefore, to follow that the temperature cycle in a man
who works at night and sleeps by day is reversed, the maximum
appearing in the early morning and the minimum in the early even
1 Trans. Roy. Soc., Edin. X L V IT I (Part I I ) , 1912, p. 231.
2 Skand. Archiv. fiir Physiolog. V III, 1898, p. 85.
3 American Journ. Med. Sc., 1905, p. 1048.
*Journ. Physiology (Proc. Phys. S oc.), 1908.
16
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
ing. Some observers, such as Jaeger, who reported on army bakers,
claimed that the expected reversal really occurred; but their methods
were inexact, and the careful observations of Benedict1 led to the
conclusion that the curve was modified, but not reversed; rest and
sleep during the day lowered the temperature, but work during the
night did not appreciably raise it.
This result is susceptible of two explanations. Either the cause
of the diurnal rhythm lies deeper than variations of metabolism, or,
in a society the habits of which are based upon the allocation of
daylight hours to work and hours of darkness to rest, the minority
which strives to change its habits is practically unsuccessful. That
the second explanation is the true one has been demonstrated in two
ways. A colony of monkeys can be subjected to much more rigid
discipline than can human beings, and the routine of its existence
can be completely inverted. Simpson and Galbraith2 performed
such an experiment and found that in monkeys, kept active at night
and allowed to sleep in light and sound proof cages by day, the
temperature rhythm was completely reversed.
The second proof is furnished by the observations of Linhard,
who was medical officer to the Danish Arctic Expedition of 1906-08.
During the polar night all work, practically speaking, is done in
doors and by artificial light. When the lamps are put out, which is
done at a fixed hour determined by the commander, it is night;
when they are relighted it becomes day. External temperature
changes are slight in extent. An experiment was carried out by
delaying bedtime once four hours and then eight hours, and by in
serting an extra meal, so that in two days a complete reversal of
“ night ” and “ day ” was effected. More than half the 26 members
of the party felt just as usual so soon as the transition had been ac
complished; by the end of five or six days only a few were a little
indisposed to work, not sleeping so well at “ night” and becoming
sleepy at odd times of the “ day.” The function which was changed
with the utmost difficulty was the time of defecation, and in some it
took about a week before this occurred at the “ normal ” time. All
the temperature curves taken pointed to reversal of rhythm, a delay
of adaptation being found in the cases of those few who experienced
some difficulty in at once adapting themselves to the changed con
ditions.
These results are of considerable practical importance. They
show clearly, at least for the period of the experiments, that the
accustomed routine of day work and night rest can be reversed, with
out injury to health or efficiency, but they also show that a necessary
condition is that the workers must either be endowed with more than
1 American Journ. Physiology, X I , 1904, p. 143.
2 Trans. Roy. Soc., Edin., X L V (Part I ) , 1905, p. 65.
COMPABATTVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
17
common powers of self-control to enable them to surmount the tempta
tion to make the best of both worlds, or must live under strict dis
cipline. The evidence collected by the committee’s investigators
places many permanent night workers, whether judged by the test
or output or of lost time, in an unfavorable light in comparison with
day workers, and the explanation is probably contained in the pre
ceding sentences.
M ETH O DS OF N IG H T W O R K .
7. The main distinction is between what may be termed continuous
night work, in which employees work by night and do not attend the
shop at all in the daytime, and discontinuous night work, in which
the employees pass into the night shift at regular intervals, generally
every other week. Between the extremes of entirely continuous
night work and regular weekly alternation, all variations may exist
and many have been found in practice.
FE M A LE LABOR.
I.— OUTPUT.
8. D i s c o n t i n u o u s e m p l o y m e n t o f w o m e n i n n i g h t s h i f t s .— The
first data to be considered1 were provided by Dr. H. M. Vernon, and
this material is of rather special importance, because Dr. Vernon was
able to compare the effect of different systems in the same factory.
The particular data relate to girls engaged in a cartridge factory,
and as several of Capt. Greenwood’s analyses also refer to cartridge
work, a portion of Dr. Vernon’s description of the processes is here
given:
In tlie making of small-arm ammunition the brass cartridge cases pass
through 16 main processes, in addition to the annealings, whilst the bullets
pass through 11 processes* ( N o t e . — The exact number is not the same in all
factories, certain operations being combined.) The operations are carried out
almost exclusively by women and girls, and represent the acme of monotonous
repetition work, for no individual operation takes more than about a second
to perform. In about half of the cartridge case operations the rate of produc
tion is to some extent limited by the nature of the machinery, for in four of the
“ draws ” and in the subsequent rectifying and piercing processes the cartridge
cases are inserted one by one into holes at the periphery of a horizontal wheel,
which slowly jerks onward about twice a second. As most of the operatives are
able to fill in nearly all of the holes, it follows that the quickest of them are
unable to reap the full benefit of their quickness, and so the range of variation
in the output of the quickest and slowest workers is somewhat smaller than in
most of the other operations.
1 The information collected by the committee’s various investigators of which use is
made in this memorandum has been embodied in several reports, frequently of an elab
orate character, which discuss in detail many problems receiving only a passing reference
in this memorandum. The committee desire to state that the extracts given do not al
ways completely represent the amount of work performed by the investigators, or in
some cases the precise deductions drawn by them.
105796°— Bull. 230— 17------ 2
18
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
There are also, as Dr. Yernon points out, some differences in the
demands made upon muscular power on the one hand and alertness
on the other. “ Head-trimming,” for instance— an operation in which
the cartridge case is inserted in a machine operated by pulling a
lever— requires a fair amount of muscular exertion. In “ mouth
reamering” the girls take up a handful of cartridge cases and slip
them on and off a rotating taper hand mill, or roughened spindle, at
the rate of about three a second. This requires more alertness and
quickness than the other operations. In a few of the processes, such
as “ countersinking55 and “ mouth boring,” the pace is set by the
operator, for the machine is not acting until she presses a lever or
pedal. (These two operations did not come within the scope of Dr.
Vernon’s inquiry.)
9. Dr. Vernon’s data relate to 29 women on “ second draw,” 39 on
“ head-trimming,” 24 on “ second cut-off ” (sometimes called “ edg
in g ” ), and 20 on 64reamering.” They worked on the discontinuous
system, changing weekly; the average hours worked were 51.7 by
day, 55.9 by night, and the period of observation was 22 consecutive
weeks from January 3, 1916.
Taking .the mean hourly production over the whole period to be
100, Dr. Vernon found means for the four sets on day shift of 99,
101, 100, 99, and for the same workers on night shifts 101, 99, 100,
101. I f each night average be divided by the corresponding day
average and the result multiplied by 100 to render the figures com
parable with those of Capt. Greenwood— who has usually adopted
such a ratio as a comparative figure— we have 102, 98, 100, 102.
Multiplying each of these figures by the number of girls concerned
in each, adding the results together and dividing by the total number
of girls, we reach 100.1 as the mean of the whole series; i. e., perfect
equality between the mean hourly outputs. This equality is not,
taken by itself, a proof that night work produces no injurious ef
fects upon output. Thus, were night work harmful, its effect might
react upon the subsequent day work, so that the general average was
lowered, although the ratio between the day and night production
might be that of equality. Dr. Vernon was able to test this point by
comparing the performances of girls on continuous or discontinuous
day or night work in the same factory, and found that the comparison
was not unfavorable to the discontinuous system with weekly changes.
The details of this investigation will, however, be more conveniently
considered in the section devoted to the study of continuous night
work.
10. The above investigation relates to discontinuous night work
with a weekly change. Dr. Vernon also investigated the effects of
a fortnightly change in the case of 41 women engaged on bullet
operations. The period available for study was shorter and the data
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
19
complicated by irregularities in the supply of material to the night
shift, but Dr. Yernon concluded that the hourly output was probably
somewhat better in the night shifts than in the day shifts.
11. He secured more extensive data in the case of women turning
aluminium fuse bodies on capstan lathes. Two groups were avail
able, one of them— 21 in number— for two 4-week periods; the
other— 26 in number— for three 4-week periods. The average out
put in the second week of each fortnight on day shift was 3 per cent
greater than in the first week, and that in the second week of each
fortnight of the night shift 5 per cent less than in the first week,
but the average output in night shifts was 7 per cent higher than that
of day shifts. Dr. Yernon writes:
The probable reason of this unexpected excess of output is an interesting
and important one. It depended on the better arrangement of spells of
work and rest pauses of the night shift. This shift usually worked
six nights a week, from 6.30 p. m. to 10.30 p. m., from 11.30 p. m. to 3 a. m.,
and 3.30 a. m. to 6.30 a. m., or for spells of four hours, three and a half
hours, and three hours, separated by breaks of one hour and half an hour.
The day shift, on the other hand, usually worked from 7 a. m. to 12 noon, and
1 p. m. to 6 p. m., or for two spells of five hours each, except on Saturday, when
they worked for spells of four and three-quarters hours and four and a quarter
hours, and on Sunday, when they worked for two spells of four hours each.
A spell of five hours is probably too long for almost any type of labor, and it
was certainly too long for women engaged in moderately heavy lathe work.
Careful observation shows that during working hours the women on day shift
took voluntary rest pauses which amounted altogether to over an hour out of
the 10-hour day, in addition to the hour or so of compulsory rest required for
attention to the machines by the tool setters. These rests were taken at
irregular and often unsuitable intervals, while the night-shift workers were
compelled to stop work at times which divided the working hours into spells
of suitable duration.
12. In face of these peculiarities it would not, as Dr. Yernon
points out, be logical to regard the results as demonstrating the
superiority of fortnightly changes of shift over weekly changes, and
his results for the latter system have been shown to indicate a prac
tical equality of hourly output between the day and night shifts.
13. Capt. Greenwood has furnished the committee with five sets
of data having reference to the discontinuous night work of women.
Three of these relate to cartridge factories, one to lathe work on 18pounder shell fuses, and one to certain operations in the manufac
ture of 9.2-inch naval shells. These data have an advantage over
those supplied by Dr. Yernon in respect of numbers of individuals
studied, but they are inferior in that the length of period available
for study was usually shorter, and the exact number of hours worked
was not always recorded in the factory. The method of statistical
comparison adopted in all but one of the series (for which the neces
sary particulars were unattainable) was to treat each individual
worker separately. Her average hourly output by night was divided
20
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
by her average hourly output by day, and the result multiplied by
100. The mean of the resulting percentage ratios was then taken to
characterize the group, regard being had to its “ probable error.”
14. The first series consisted of 50 girls engaged on cartridge-case
operations, observed through 12 weeks, from April 8, 1916. The
mean weekly hours worked were 52 in day and 55 in night shifts.
The mean percentage ratio of hourly output by night to hourly out
put by day was 1 0 1 .5 i0 .5 j1 i. e., there was no significant difference.
Even the apparent increase of 1.5 per cent, however, slightly exag
gerates the difference; for the outputs improved on the average from
the beginning to the end of the period under observation to the ex
tent of rather less than 0.5 per cent per week. As the series begins
with a day week and ends with a night one, it would be expected
that, if the conditions were identical, the night production would be
slightly higher, since, on the average, the night work is a week later
than the day work. Deducting 0.5 per cent from the 101.5 per cent,
we reach a value which is within a fraction of Dr. Vernon’s. This
series, therefore, is completely concordant with the previous one.
15. The second of Capt. Greenwood’s series is also derived from a
cartridge factory and refers to 11 bullet-shop operatives, observed
from the week ending April 29 down to the week ending July 15, and
27 workers in the case department, observed from the week ending
January 23 to the week ending April 2. The average number of
hours worked were, for both the bullet sample and the case sample,
55 by day and 49 by night. The average for the bullet workers is
not typical of the ordinary conditions, a$ the first week of the period
observed was broken by holidays. Further, the case workers changed
weekly, but the bullet workers, with one or two exceptions, worked
every third week on night shift. The mean percentage ratio proved
to be 89.3 ±: 0.7 for the case workers and 95.9 ± 1.7 for the bulletshop workers. In commenting on these results, Capt. Greenwood
points out that the second figure is not, having regard to its probable
error, significantly different from 100, and that the former is based
upon observations in the winter months, a fact which is apparently of
some importance, as in another series, which will be considered later,
the same relative disadvantage of night workers in the winter is
found. This observation indicates that in this factory the hourly
output in night shifts is somewhat lower than in day shifts.
1 The quantities to which are prefixed the sign ± allow for “ probable errors,’’ and
measure the reliability of the averages to which they refer.
Thus if, on a p riori
grounds, we should expect a certain average to be, say, 100, and we actually find on
trial of a limited number of measurements that the average is, say, 98 ± 2, the ob
served value being only less than the expected value by a quantity equal to the former’s
probable error can not be said to differ significantly from the expected value. The limit
conventionally chosen is three times the probable error, and averages which do not differ
by as much as three times the probable error of their difference are not deemed to differ
“ significantly.”
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
21
16. The third series of data, from a national factory producing
cartridges, is, so far as numbers of individuals are concerned, much
more extensive, but the period of observation is short, only extending
from the week ending on June 6 to that ending on July 11, 1916. In
all, the outputs of 339 girls distributed over 14 operations were
studied. The day and night shifts were of equal length, viz., 10
hours 10 minutes. The mean percentage ratio was found to be
98.7 ± 0.3, or slightly less than 100 per cent. The ratios for the
separate operations varied from 104.8 ± 1.2, in the case of the “ first
draw” (29 girls employed), down to 94.9 ± 0.9 in the case of
umouth-boring” (48 girls employed), see Table I. This variation is
an interesting confirmation of a surmise of Dr. Yernon’s. After
noting that his results pointed to the discontinuous system with
weekly changes being the best, Dr. Yernon wrote: “ It is to be re
membered that cartridge making is more monotonous than almost
any other type of munition work, and so the favorable influence of
working alternate weeks of day and night shift may be due partly
to the fact that it offers a slight relief from this intense monotony.”
As stated above, the drawing operations are typical instances of
monotonous processes, while “ mouth-boring,” in which the operator
can largely work at her own pace and is not forced or stimulated to
maintain a particular rate by the machine, is somewhat less monoto
nous. In the former case we find no inferiority and in the latter a
definite inferiority of production by night shifts in Capt. Green
wood’s data.
17. One further point is brought out owing to the large number of
individuals in this series. In their memorandum on “ Industrial
Fatigue ” 1 the committee wrote:
Measurements of output must obviously be recorded at so much for each in
dividual or for each unit group. The size of total output will be meaningless,
of course, without reference to the numbers engaged. But it will also be im
portant for proper management to take account of the output of particular
individuals. This in many factory processes is easily possible, and when it
has been done the results have shown surprising variations of individual out
put, which are independent of personal willingness and industry, and have
generally been quite unsuspected by the workers and their supervisors before
the test was made. Information so gained is valuable in two respects. Good
individual output is often the result of escape from fatigue, by conscious or
unconscious adoption of particular habits of manipulation or rhythm. Its dis
covery allows the propagation of good methods among the other workers. In
the second place, these tests of individual capacity (or its loss by fatigue) give
an opportunity for a rearrangement of workers and their assignment to par
ticular processes of work. Astonishing results, bringing advantage both to
employers and employed, have been gained in other countries by the careful
selection of individuals for particular tasks, based, not upon the impressions
of foremen, but upon the results of experiments.
1 See M em oran d u m N o. 7, par. 1 0 , published in B u i. 2 2 1 o f the U . S. B u reau o f ljabor
S ta tistic s, p. 5 3 .
22
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
The method of this recommendation is applicable to the compari
son of day and night work. In daily life we find that different
individuals can work best at different times of day, and those who,
can control the arrangement of their working hours, many literary
and some scientific workers, for instance, take advantage of the fact.
Probably the same rule holds good for factory hands, and if so it
might find expression in the existence of small numbers whose out
puts were very uneven, either greatly in excess by day or by night,
of larger numbers showing smaller discrepancies, and of still larger
numbers approximately equalizing day and night outputs. The fol
lowing Table II from Capt. Greenwood’s data shows that the expec
tation is fulfilled:
T a b le I .-N i g h t -d a y ratios.
Operation.
N um
ber of
girls.
T able I I .1— Distributions.
Ratio.
104. S ± 1 .2
101. ± 1 .3
94. 3 ± 1 .4
100. 5 ± 1 .2
98. 6 ± 1 .3
100. 0 ± 1 .2
101. 1 ± 1 .5
91. 8 ± 1 .4
100. 8 ± 1 .4
95. 7 ± 1 .4
96. 4 ± 1 .5
101. 1 ± 1 .3
101. 5 ± 1 .4
94 9 ± .9
First draw .........
Second draw . . .
Third draw ____
Fourth d r a w ...
First indent___
Second indent.
Second t a p e r ...
Third taper----H eading.............
Piercing.............
Scmiaimealing.
Head turning. .
Trim m ing.........
Mouth boring. .
339
General m ean.
S. D ...................
Night to day ratio.
Ob
served. Calculated.
0 - 74.........
7 4 - 7 8 ........
78- 82........
82- 86........
86- 90........
90- 94........
94- 98........
98-102........
102-106........
106-110........
110-114........
114-118........
118-122........
122-126........
126-130........
130.........
0.0
1.0
9.5
21.5
28.0
39.0
62.0
63.5
47.0
30.5
20.5
5.5
6 .0
4 .0
0 .0
1.0
1.32
3.03
7.82
16.80
30.05
44.75
55.50
57.31
49.28
35.29
21.04
10.44
4.32
1.48
.43
.12
Total
339.0
338.98
8.7
i
This table is to be read as follows: The figures in the second column are the actually observed numbers
of girls whose average hourly output when on night work was the percentage of their average hourly output
on daywork shown in column 1. For instance, 28 girls produced, when on night work, from 86 to 90 per
cent of their daytime output. The appearance in some groups of fractions is due to the occurrence of girls
producing percentages on the lim it of a group. Thus a girl whose night production was just 82 per cent of
her production b y day would be entered as 0.5 in the group 78 to 82, and also as 0.5 in the group 82 to 86,
(The third column is a redistribution of the frequencies in different groups on the assumption that the
observations are adequately described by a certain symmetrical curve. The resulting distribution does not,
of course, appear to be symmetrical, as the mean of the whole series does not happen to fall at the center
of any of the groups formed.)
The figures in the third .column show the distribution which
would be anticipated if the observations were symmetrically dis
tributed above and below the mean value in accordance with a curve,
which has been found to describe effectively many forms of anthropo
metric variations. The observed distributions in the second column
agree very fairly with the calculated ones, and tested by exact
methods the agreement has been found to be satisfactory. Clearly,
there are appreciable numbers of individuals whose outputs differ
greatly in the alternating shifts and it is probable that some of these
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
23
are unfavorably affected by the alternation or fail, in some way, to
adapt themselves to the varying conditions. The particular study of
such cases might result in a general improvement of output by elimi
nation of unsuitable individuals or amelioration of special conditions.
18. The next set of data was obtained by Capt. Greenwood and
Mr. S. H. Burchell from a factory turning out fuses for 18-pounder
shells and refers to 68 girls engaged on semiautomatic operations,
chiefly capstan-lathe operations. The system was discontinuous, with
weekly change, and the period of observation from the week ending
January 9 to the week ending March 26, 1916. The full day-shift
week was '56 hours, the full night-shift week 45 hours; the actual
daily working hours of a full day shift were 9^ and of a full night
shift 10J. The mean night to day ratio of hourly output was
101.3±:0.6, i. e., in this series also there is no sensible difference be
tween the rate of production at night or by day.
19. The last series of data concerning women, analyzed by Capt.
Greenwood, was obtained by him and Mr. S. H. Burchell from a
factory engaged in the manufacture of 9.2-inch naval shells. The
period of observation was of 11 weeks, from July 1, 1916. The
organization was into three 8-hour shifts, so that an individual would
be in the third, or night, shift every third week. The system of
records did not enable the investigators to obtain the outputs of in
dividuals and they were of opinion that the data were less re
liable than those of the previous series. Six operations were in
vestigated—“ rough turning,” employing approximately 54 women;
“ finish turning,” with 17 workers; 64boring,” with 25; “ basing and
facing,” with 9; “ parting,” with 16; and “ radiusing heads,” with 6.
I f the output of the morning shift be taken as 100 the relative out
puts of the afternoon shift and the night shift for the whole period
were:
Rough turning______________________________
Finish turning______________________________
Boring______________________________________
Basing and facing__________________________
Parting_____________________________________
Radiusing heads____________________________
A fte rn o o n
s h ift.
N ig h t
s h ift.
100. 2
97.3
103. 0
106.1
100. 2
102. 4
100. 6
95.2
98. 6
103. 4
101. 3
96. 2
The mean values (weighting each with the approximate number
of workers involved and dividing by the total number) are 100.9
and 99.5; in other words, there is no material difference between the
outputs of the three shifts. This result falls into line with the
majority of Dr. Vernon’s and Capt. Greenwood’s series, but the
nature of the material does not permit of any more detailed analysis.
20. Data have also been provided by Mr. P. Sargant Florence.
Mr. Florence’s chief series is derived from a cartridge factory,
24
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
organized on the discontinuous system, with weekly change. The
working hours, exclusive of meals, were 10 by day and 10% by night;
there was no Saturday night work, and the daywork lasted 7%
hours ; on Sunday it was 9^. In comparing the outputs of night and
day shifts Mr. Florence adopted the following device: “ I f the night
output of any one week, from Wednesday to Tuesday, be compared
with the day output, less that of Saturday, of the same week, there
will be on each side of the comparison three days by one shift and
three days by the other; the only correction required will be due to
the six nights totaling 63 hours (66 before Oct. 6), the days
totaling 57% hours (10 X 5 +
f° r Sunday).” Only full workers
were considered, and the observations cover the four weeks from
August 31, 1915. It is not clear what the actual number of different
individuals was, but it can not have been less than 171, employed in
different operations; no single operation, however, provides records
for more than two weeks. Mr. Florence found that the night out
put was 95 per cent of the day output for the whole series (the
appropriate correction having been made for differences in the
lengths of the shifts). I f each operation is considered separately,
and the mean of the separate ratios computed, this is found to be
94.2 ± 1.4. The range of variation within the series is very consider
able, the ratio falling as low as 70 in one operation, and rising to
103 in another. The mean is lower than all but one of the previously
considered series, but, having regard to its probable error, can not
be said to differ significantly from the rest. That this interpretation
is the correct one is suggested by a further observation of Mr. Flor
ence. He compared the gross outputs of the cartridge-case depart
ment in the same factory in two selected fortnights later in the
year, and found that the percentage ratios (allowing as before for
differences in length of shift) were 103.5 and 100. His observa
tions may, therefore, be said to agree with those of the other
observers.
21.
Mr. Florence’s next series is the outcome of a different class
of work. This consisted in drilling and tapping small fuse parts
on sensitive drilling machines. The processes concerned are less
monotonous than the cartridge operations. The system is discon
tinuous, with weekly change; the hours are 10-J on day and 10 on
night shifts, the weekly hours 56 to 58 for day weeks, 50 for night
weeks. The following comparison was instituted: The efficiencies
of the operators during seven weeks from January 30 to March 12,
1916, were analyzed and all cases extracted where an operator worked
more than 10 hours on a certain job during the days of one week
and more than 10 hours on the same job in the night shift of another
week. The number of girls involved was 44, and the comparative effi -
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
25
ciency of night work, in terms of day work, was 91.6 per cent. A
similar difference was found in the case of an intensive study
of the outputs of two individual workers, viz, a reduction of
output to the extent of about 10 per cent at night. In only one of
the earlier series (see par. 15, p. 20) was so great a difference found.
The form in which Mr. Florence’s data are presented makes it
impossible to determine the error of sampling to which the average
is subject, but assuming that the difference is statistically significant,
it adds point to the remarks of Dr Vernon1 with regard to the pos
sibility of the peculiarly monotonous nature of cartridge work having
something to do with the equality of day and night outputs. In
this connection some remarks of Mr. Florence are of interest. He
writes:
A personal visit to the cartridge case department at night showed that girls
tend to drop straight off to sleep immediately their machine breaks down and
they need no longer work. They would appear, indeed, to be continually on
the verge of sleep and yet the output is maintained at the day-shift rate.
Apart from the fact that lengthy repairs to machines are not undertaken at
night and that tliore is then generally less interference from the staff with the
course of work, the explanation of the paradox lies mainly in the nature of
the work. * * * The operatives have only to fill a slot or reservoir with
the material right end u p; the machine does the rest. 2 The girls soon learn
to “ automatize ” the movement required in filling, and can continue to execute
them even when half asleep.
Since the operations just dealt with were less monotonous than
the cartridge work the result is in agreement with Mr. Florence’s
and Dr. Vernon’s surmises. The explanation is not, however, suffi
cient to cover the whole of the facts. Both Dr. Vernon and Capt.
Greenwood found an equality, or even a slight superiority, of the
night output in the case of fuse work, and although Dr. Vernon’s
explanation of his result as due to better arrangement of spells during
the night shift may be accepted, no such interpretation covers Capt.
Greenwood’s case. In the factory he dealt with no uninterrupted
spell of day work exceeded four hours.
22.
The last set of observations provided by Mr. Florence was
obtained incidentally and is of no great extent. It refers to six girls,
engaged in drilling plugs and observed for four weeks, and the
nightly rate of output was found to be 90.7 of the daily rate. This
result agrees with the last set of observations and shows again an
inferiority in comparison with most of the cartridge records. Mr.
Florence attributed the difference to “ the greater concentration re
quired in lathe work, such as the above (i. e., the operation in ques
tion) , which is unofficially described as 4drill two keyholes and fix
1 See M em oran d u m N o. 1 2 , O u tpu t in relation to hours o f w ork, published in B ui.
221 o f the U . S. B u reau o f Labor S ta tis tic s .
2 T h is rem ark refers to th e op eration s M r. F loren ce w a s d iscu ssin g, n ot to a ll cartrid g e
processes.
26
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
screw holes.’ The plugs are placed in position by eye under the two
These drills descend very near the fingers and attention is required
to avoid an accident.”
23. This observation completes the data collected under the direc
tion of the committee with respect to output by women and girls
under the system of discontinuous night work in munition factories.
In the aggregate the investigations comprise some hundreds of em
ployees in representative factories and may justly be regarded as
typical of the conditions obtaining to-day. The individual results
vary, but their general trend is unmistakable and the inference seems
valid that in monotonous processes which call for little physical
effort, such as those concerned with cartridge making, discontinuous
night work of women gives an output which rarely falls much more
than 1 0 per cent below and usually closely approximates to that ob
tained by day. There is a certain amount of evidence that in the case
of less highly monotonous processes the inferiority of night output is
somewhat greater, but even in that case percentages much below 90
have not been obtained.
24. Before basing an argument on this finding it is well to recur
to the point made by Dr. Yernon that aLn equality of output does
not prove the harmlessness of night work, since a control experiment,
in which the absolute output can be contrasted with that reached
by workers on day shifts, who do not work at all by night, is required.
Dr. Yernon secured such a control, but as in all the other factories the
workers who were only employed by day were of less skill and
experience than their fellows, no similar second control was possible.
Capt. Greenwood, however, endeavored to provide an indirect con
trol in the following way: If night work injuriously affects the
worker, then, provided all other conditions were the same, the output
of the day workers in a factory managed on the continuous system
(i. e., the night workers never employed by day and conversely)
should, on the average, exceed that of the workers in a factory
managed on the discontinuous system, where, by hypothesis, all
spend a part of their time in the night shift. It is, of course, a task
of extreme difficulty to secure the postulated equality of all other
conditions; indeed, as Capt. Greenwood pointed out, it was impos
sible to obtain more than an approximation to this. He did, how
ever, find a small number (five) of cartridge processes, carried out
by four important firms on identical machines, the firms being of
equally high standing. An investigation of the hourly outputs
showed that the day workers did not occupy a constantly superior
position to the discontinuous workers. The output for each'of the
five processes was compared, and the place of the day workers in
the continuous factory was first, second, third, third, and fourth;
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
27
that is to say, they took an average position between the second and
third; or, in other words, their production was not superior to the
average of the other factories working the discontinuous system.
The value of this indirect control is, for reasons pointed out by
Capt. Greenwood in his report, definitely less than that of the
direct control furnished by Dr. Vernon, but it leads to the same
conclusion, and the committee think that the generally favorable
results of the day-night comparisons in factories worked on the
discontinuous system are not vitiated by any serious fallacy of the
kind suggested above.
25.
Continuous employment of women in night shifts.—The con
tinuous employment of women in night shifts is not of common
occurrence in munition factories, and the data available for analysis
consist of two sets, provided respectively by Dr. Vernon and Capt.
Greenwood; the great importance of the subject, however, necessi
tates a somewhat detailed examination. Dr. Vernon’s observations
will be dealt with first.
Dr. Vernon’s chief data refer to 72 cartridge workers, who, after
working on the discontinuous system, went on to continuous daywork
for a period of 5 weeks, thereafter reverting to the discontinuous
system; and to 74, who vice versa worked continuously in the nightshift for the same period of 5 weeks, thereafter also reverting to
the alternating system. Three of the operations concerned are in
cluded in those discussed above; the remainder were “ sorting after
head trim,” “ rectifying,” and “ piercing,” all sedentary occupations,
and the two latter semiautomatic. For the purposes of analysis the
whole period was divided into four intervals— (i) a discontinuous
period of 6 weeks, followed by (ii) a continuous period of 4 weeks,
to which succeeded (iii) and (iv) a discontinuous period of 1 0
weeks divided into two portions of 5 weeks each. The hourly rate
of output of the workers employed on continuous day shift was 0.9
per cent less than the average output during the preceding and suc
ceeding intervals when alternate weeks were worked. In the case
of the continuous night workers, the hourly output was 4.4 per cent
less than the average of the same workers when on discontinuous
night work before and after the period. The results for the indi
vidual operations are irregular, as might be anticipated, in view of
the small numbers of individuals of each group, but there is a
decrease in every case among the continuous night workers, varying
from 8.7 per cent to 1 . 1 per cent. The continuous day workers
showed a diminution in 4 out of the 6 operations, the range being
from a decline of 2.5 per cent to an increase of 1 .1 per cent. On
account of the irregularities just noted, the committee do not feel
justified in concluding that continuous daywork was less advan
28
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
tageous than discontinuous day and night work, though they think
it was not appreciably more advantageous.
26. Dr. Vernon’s second set of data relates to 12 women employed
on continuous night work in “ sorting cartridge cases.” They were
observed through 1 2 weeks, between January 3 and March 25, 1916,
after which they changed to the discontinuous system, with weekly
change. The mean output for the 1 2 weeks on continuous night
work was 89, while for the subsequent 10 weeks, on discontinuous
night work, it rose to 99, an improvement of 1 1 per cent. Another
group of 13 workers, who had been on the discontinuous system
throughout, gave means of 106 and 107 for the two periods, an
improvement of less than 1 per cent, so that the 1 1 per cent increase
observed would appear to be due to the discontinuous system.
27. Capt. Greenwood’s report was based upon a study of the out
put of workers in the 46 case and bullet department ” of a cartridge
factory employing the continuous system. No Sunday work was
done. The night shifts were of 7 hours (actual working time)
or 42 hours a week, the day shifts were 7j hours daily, except
Saturdays, when the shifts were 7^ hours and 4 hours alternately
(the organization was into three shifts, one night and two day
shifts.) All the workers were on strict piece work, and the outputs
were determined from the piece payments. As to the respective
skill of the day and night workers, Capt. Greenwood reports thus:
At first an attempt was made to allocate to the night shift the most skillful
and reliable workers only. This only partially succeeded, but it is probably
true that, particularly in the case of the bullet shops, there is a rather higher
proportion of exceptionally skilled workers on the night shift. This original
intention was, however, largely defeated by the refusal of various girls whom
it was desired to allocate to night work to accept it. In recent months there
has been no difficulty in obtaining volunteers for night work (the piece rate is,
of course, higher for night workers), and such selection as has been exercised
has been directed to securing the more reliable (not necessarily the more skil
ful) and, perhaps, socially superior girls, since supervision at night is neces
sarily less easy to carry out. So far as there is a difference between the workers,
the night hands have the advantage, but it should be emphasized that the
difference, if any, is not great.
Two sets of observations were made. The first set covers a period
of 11 weeks from the week ending January 24, 1916 (excluding the
week ending February 14, the records of which were missing), and
refers to 84 day workers and 25 night workers in the “ case depart
ment.” Fortnightly observations were made over the same period
upon the output of 163 day workers in the “ bullet shop ■
” and of 63
night workers.
28. The second set comprises nine weeks’ observations of the out
put of 92 day and 31 night workers in the “ case department ” and
of 96 day and 48 night workers in the “ bullet department.” This
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
29
period began with the week ending May 1 , 1916, and the persons
observed include many of those dealt with in the first set. The mean
rates of production (expressed in an arbitrary unit) were found
to be—
W inter observations.
Case department:
Day workers____________ 150±3.2
Night workers___________ 125±5.3
Percentage inferiority of the night
workers, 17±4.1.
Bullet department:
Day workers____________ 157±2,4
Night workers___________141±3.7
Percentage inferiority of the night
workers, 10±2.8.
Summer observations.
Case department:
Day workers____________ 170±3.2
Night workers___________ 149±3.9
Percentage inferiority of the night
workers, 12 ±3.0.
Bullet department:
Day workers____________ 169±3.2
Night workers___________ 170±3.5
Percentage inferiority of the night
workers, 0±2.8.
In both series of observations the night workers of the “ case de
partment ” compare very unfavorably with the dayworkers. The
same remark applies to the “ bullet workers” during the winter
period, but in the records of the summer months the two groups
are practically equal. As the actual means in the second series are
all higher than in the first, it might be thought that the partial
approximation was due to the effects of practice, and that the night
workers had had less experience at the commencement of the obser
vations. Dr. Yernon has shown in connection with some data, which
will be examined in the section devoted to the labor of men, that
an apparent inferiority of night shifts is much reduced by allowing
for experience. This is not, however, the explanation of the present
results. Between the two periods of observation the piece rates
were altered, and although allowance has been made for this fact,
the second series of means having been multiplied by the ratio of
the mean rates obtaining in the two periods, it may well have had
some effect upon output. Further, the successive weekly means do
not show signs of regular improvement in either series; in one par
ticular case they show the reverse.
Capt. Greenwood also analyzed these data from the point of view
of ascertaining whether the continuous night workers progressively
deteriorated in comparison with the day workers. He found in one
series signs of such progressive deterioration, but as his other series
did not effectively confirm this result, he was of opinion that the
data did not warrant the formulation of any definite conclusion
upon the point. Since the details of this investigation are necessarily
somewhat technical, and the committee indorse Capt. Greenwood’s
judgment as to their outcome it has not been thought desirable to
reproduce the calculations in this memorandum.
30
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
29. The day and night workers also contrast unfavorably in
another respect. The general question of lost time in day and night
shifts will be considered in a later section, but, as Capt. Greenwood’s
series is the only one based upon comparatively large numbers of
women employed upon the continuous night-shift system, it is con
venient to note certain of his results in this place. The analysis in
the case of the winter samples rested upon 25 night and 84 day
workers in the case department, but the numbers with which he
started were respectively 37 and 1 0 0 . Of these original totals 1 2
and 16 ceased to be employed within the period of observation; that
is to say, 32.4 per cent of the night workers, as compared with 16
per cent of the day workers. This great discrepancy was not
observed in all the samples, but when a complete summary of the
possible and actual weeks worked by both classes was made, it
appeared that the day workers missed 209 out of a possible total of
3,715 weeks and the night workers 133 out of a possible total of
1,529, percentages of 5.63 and 8.70. These figures do not refer to lost
time as a whole, but merely to complete weeks lost. They indicate
that the regularity of employment is decidedly inferior in the case
of the night workers.
30. The committee think that the outcome of Dr. Vernon’s and
Capt. Greenwood’s 1 investigations makes it highly probable that
continuous night work is productive of definitely less output than is
the discontinuous system; and the committee have failed to obtain
evidence that the output of the continuous day shift balances this
inferiority.
I I .— LOST T IM E .
31. The committee are devoting a separate study to the question of
lost time, and only such observations as are directly relevant to the
comparison of day and night efficiency are considered here; and only
passing references are made to the items of which lost time is com
posed, e. g., lost days, lost hours, and lost weeks, and to the reasons
for such lost periods, e. g., sickness and avoidable causes.
Information referring to women employed during March, 1916, on
three 8 -hour shifts was obtained by Prof. Loveday, who found that
for a sample of 2,603 working on the day shifts 10.4 per cent of time
was lost, and for a sample of 1,175 working on the night shifts
13.2 per cent. The amount marked as unavoidable was, however,
rather more by day than by night— a difference which is still greater
1 C ap t. G reenw ood h a s p o in ted ou t t h a t th e in fe rio rity is, in h is d a ta , m ore evident
in th e case o f w in ter obse rv a tio n s, an d he n otes th a t one o f h is discon tin u ou s series
(a lso derived fro m w in ter o b se rv a tio n s) g a v e -an o u tp u t w h ich , a lth o u g h su p erior to
th a t o f th e con tin u ou s w orkers w a s lo w er th a n a n y oth er v a lu e in h is (o r D r . V e rn o n ’ s )
series.
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
31
in the case of men, vide infra; Prof. Loveday suggests this may be
due to selection, employees who appeared to be unwell being excluded
from the night shift; while the greater amount of time lost on night
shifts due to other and avoidable causes may be explained on the
lines of the passage quoted in paragraph 2 .
Further information concerning women and girls employed on
8 -hour shifts was obtained by Mr. Florence.
It refers to a period of
three months, and shows that the gross percentage losses were 5.77,
5.30, and 6.90 for the day shifts and 4.15, 9.16, and 8.40 for the night
shifts.
These observations suggest that there is, on the whole, a somewhat
greater loss of time in night shifts, and this fact renders the com
parison on a basis of the hourly output of individuals somewhat too
favorable to the night workers. The difference is not, however,
absolutely great or constant.
32.
Discontinuous and continuous systems.—Information in respect
of 701 women and girls engaged in the sedentary occupations of
“ viewing,” gauging, and assembling the component parts of fuses
was obtained by Dr. Yernon over a period extending from February
14, 1916, to July 23, 1916. The hours of work, of the day shift were
normally 66.5 per week, except in the second week of each month,
when they *were reduced to 58.5 hours owing to the remission of Sun
day labor. The hours of the night shift varied from 62.5 to 56.5
per week.
T a b le
III.
Girls aged 19 or 20.
W om en aged 21 and over.
Mean percentage of time lost. Mean percentage of time lost.
System of work.
Statistical period.
Due to—
B ro
ken
time.
Permanent day...........
D is c o n tin u o u s
weekly.
Discontinuous fort
nightly.
Short
weeks.
Due to—
Ab
sent
weeks.
Total.
Bro
ken
time.
Short
weeks.
Ab
sent
weeks.
Total.
Feb. 14 to Apr. 30.........
M ay 1 to July 23...........
Feb. 14 to A pr. 30.........
5.0
4.1
4.2
3.0
1.4
2.7
4.3
3.3
1.8
12.3
8.8
8.7
4.4
4.1
3.3
2.8
1.9
2.2
3. 4
1.2
1.8
10.6
7.2
7.3
M ay 1 to July 23...........
4.6
2.1
.9
7.6
4.1
1.9
1.0
7.0
One group of these workers was employed during the first 1 1
weeks on day and night shifts in alternate weeks, and during the
following 1 2 weeks on day and night shifts in alternate fortnights;
the remainder of the workers were employed on permanent day shift
throughout the whole 23 weeks, and their lost time is a valuable check
upon that experienced by the groups working on the discontinuous
32
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH; MUNITION FACTORIES.
systems. The results obtained, which are summarized in Table III,
indicate, as might have been anticipated, an improvement with the
advent of summer, an improvement which for the permanent day
workers is shown under each subdivision of lost time, but which for
the discontinuous workers is not present when “ broken time ” only
is considered. Dr. Vernon looks upon this latter point as in itself
showing that fortnightly alternation produces worse timekeeping than
weekly alternation, for he considers that “ broken time ” probably in
cludes a greater proportion of time lost through unpunctuality and
slackness than do “ short weeks ” and “ absent weeks,” which are
more likely to be due to genuine indisposition and sickness. He con
cludes that:
The' alternate-week system of shifts is certainly better for timekeeping than
the alternate-fortnight system, for in the spring period, when alternate weeks
were worked, the timekeeping was relatively much better than that of the
permanent day shift, whilst in the summer period, when alternate fortnights
were worked, it was almost the same as that of the permanent day shift.
T a b le
IV.
221 women, aged 21 and upward.
Four-weekly period from—
Night shift.
First
week.
Second
week.
M ay 1 to 28....................................
M ay 29 to June 25.......................
June 26 to July 23.......................
5.8
6.7
4.8
6.5
7.3
5.3
Mean lost tim e.................
5.8
6.4
D ay shift.
89 girls, aged 19 or 20.
Night shift.
D ay shift.
Second
week.
First
week.
Second
week.
First
week.
5.4
8 .6
10.6
8.0
6.7
7.8
4.7
6.8
7.5
8.0
6.9
8.9
7 .8
7.0
11.7
6.6
6.0
9.3
8.2
7.5
6.3
7.9
8.8
7.3
First
week.
Second
week.
He also obtained further evidence (Table IV) of the disadvantages
of the alternate-fortnight system by grouping the data according
as they relate to the first and second weeks of the day-shift and
night-shift fortnights^ when he found that—
On an average the lost time of both women and girls was distinctly greater
in the second week of each night-shift fortnight than in the first week, whilst
it was distinctly greater in the first week of each day-shift fortnight than in
the second week, or it corresponded with the hourly output variations of
fuse-turning women described in a previous section. It would appear, there
fore, that night work had a cumulatively harmful effect on timekeeping just
as it had on output, and that this harmful effect extended to the first week of
the day-shift fortnight.
33.
The absolute amount of lost time, however, during the nightshift fortnight was less than that during the day-shift fortnight, and
the same thing held good for the night shift as compared with the
day shift on the weekly alternation. The explanation suggested by
Dr. Vernon is, first, that workers by night are not subject to the
COMPAEATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
33
same opportunity of oversleeping themselves as the day workers
are; and, secondly, that the effects of night work do not appear for
some days, and hence are mainly exhibited in the subsequent period
of day work.
T a b le
V.
Permanent day shift.
11 weeks from Feb. 14 to Apr. 30.
12 weeks from M ay 1 to July 23.
Age of workers.
Percentage of time lost as—
Percentage of time lost as—
Aver
Aver
age
age
number
number
of work Broken Short Absent
of work Broken Short Absent
Total.
Total.
ers.
time. weeks. weeks.
time. weeks. weeks.
ers.
21 and over..................
19-20...............................
17-18...............................
14-16...............................
126
59
41
66
4.4
5.0
4.4
3.9
2.8
3.0
2.2
2.3
3. 4
4.3
2.6
1.9
10.6
12.3
9.2
8.1
96
43
33
63
4.1
4.1
4.3
3.1
1.9
1. 4
.6
.9
1.2
3.3
.3
2.8
7.2
8.8
5.2
6.8
292
4.4
2.6
3.1
10.1
235
3.9
1.2
1.9
7.0
Alternate weeks of day and night shift.
21 and over..................
19-20...............................
17-18...........................
15-16...............................
Alternate fortnights of day and night
shift.
133
52
19
13
3.3
4.2
3.1
3.6
2 .2
2.7
2.9
.7
1.8
1.8
3.3
4.6
7.3
8.7
9.3
8.9
221
89
30
22
4.1
4.6
4.2
3.5
1.9
2.1
1.4
1.0
1.0
.9
1.7
.4
7.0
7.6
7.3
4.9
217
3.5
2.1
2.9
8.5
362
4.1
1.6
1.0
6.7
In addition to the data summarized above for women and girls of
19 years of age and upward^ Dr. Vernon also investigated the lost
timekeeping of younger girls and found that:
Girls of 14 to 16 were the best timekeepers, whilst those of 19 and 20 were
the worst. This result corresponds with the data recorded in memorandum 12,
which relate to 400 of these women and girls for a period reaching from
November 8, 1915, to March 12, 1916. On an average the young girls kept
better time than the rest, whether they were on permanent day shift or on day
and night shift, but the influence of age is in no case very marked. Taking
an average of the four values obtained for each age group, we find that the
total lost time of girls aged 14 to 16 was 7.2 per cen t; of those aged 17 and 18,
7.7 per cent; of those aged 19 and 20, 9.3 per cen t; whilst for women o f 21 and
upwards it was 8 per cent. The girls of 15 to 18 did not take to night work
so well as the girls and women of 19 and upwards, for their average lost time
was 0.3 per cent greater than that of girls of the same age on permanent day
shift, whilst the average lost time of the older girls and the women on day
and night shifts was 2 per cent less than that of the corresponding permanent
day shift.
Reviewing the data, the following conclusions may be suggested:
(a)
The timekeeping of girls and women of 19 years of age and
upward, working for alternate weeks of day and night shift, is even
better maintained than when they work on permanent day shift.
105796°— Bull. 230— 17------ 3
34
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
(b) The timekeeping of girls of 14 to 18 is practically the same,
whether they work on permanent day shift or on day and night shift.
M A LE LABOR.
I .— O UTPUT.
34.
Discontinuous employment of men in night shifts.— The sta
tistical data relating to the employment of men collected for the
committee are necessarily smaller in extent than those upon which
the conclusions regarding the employment of women is based. The
reason is that for the purpose of an exact measure of output it is
usually requisite to study manufacturing processes of a repetitive
character in which a fairly comparable unit of production is usual.
This condition seldom applies to processes which are of a highly
skilled character, or call for the expenditure of considerable physical
force, and so comparatively few operations employing only men
could be studied. All the data used refer to the manufacture of
shells and have been contributed by Dr. Vernon, Capt. Greenwood,
and Mr. Burchell. Apart from forging, the number of operations
involved in the manufacture of a shell is between 20 and 30, and a
few notes on the character of these operations will enable the reader
to contrast them with the type of process dealt with in the case of
women. The operations which have yielded the most individual
records are those of “ boring the powder chamber,” “ turning,”
“ finishing,” “ shaping,” “ copying,” and “ base and nose screwing.”
These operations essentially fall into two groups—that of boring, in
which a conical chamber at the base of the shell is excavated to hold
the explosive charge, and the other operations in which various
lathe tools shape different parts of the steel cylinder and adjust its
dimensions. Dr. Vernon’s succinct remarks on some typical opera
tions may conveniently be quoted. Of boring he writes:
This consists in boring out a shallow conical chamber at the base of the shell
to hold the explosive charge, and in forming a shoulder above it upon which
rests the diaphragm separating the powder from the shrapnel bullets above.
The boring tools are fixed on three arms of the capstan, which can be auto
matically driven forward into the shell by the lathe gearing. As a rule, the
operator preferred to drive it forward by a hand lever, as he could thereby bore
considerably faster, but it meant that he was doing a considerable amount of
work during the whole o f the operation. After the powder chamber has been
bored the shell is faced, rendered conical by hydraulic pressure, and tapped, and
is then submitted to the operation known as “ finish, turn, and form.” A fine
turning is taken off the shell, and as this is for the most part an automatic
process the operative meanwhile files down a previously turned shell to its exact
diameter.
Most of the other operations are more automatic:
In the operation of rough turning, the rough steel shell, after it has been cut
down to the right length by the operation of “ parting off,” is turned approxi
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
35
mately to size. This takes about five minutes, during four of which the opera
tive merely watches the lathe. In that the outer skin of steel becomes hardened
in the forging, this rough turning requires more powerful lathes and tools than
other operations, and there is often some delay from the replacement of a broken
or blunted tool In the operation of “ parting off ” the operator is performing
active mechanical work, either in clamping the shell in the lathe or in adjust
ing the cutting tool, for about a third of the time taken by the operation and
slight mechanical work during the remainder of the time. This operation does
not require much skill. In the operation of “ finishing rough turning ” the
roughly turned shell is fixed to a lighter type of lathe and has a second turning
taken off it, but this time a very thin one. This operation takes less than two
minutes, and during six-sevenths of the time the operator stands watching his
lathe.
35. Dr. Vernon’s notes refer to the manufacture of 3-inch shrapnel
shells, while Capt. Greenwood’s and Mr. Burchell’s data are con
cerned with 6 -inch and 9.2-inch shells. The general characters of the
operations are, however, similar, and the impression created by Dr.
Vernon’s notes, that in comparison with the cartridge processes a
somewhat greater degree of muscular energy and a more intermittent
activity (e. g., the waiting of the operative while the tool pares away
a skin of metal) are involved, is equally true of the heavy shell
processes. The question of muscular activity deserves rather more
emphasis, of course, in the case of heavy shells than in that of
3-inch shells. At each lathe operation a massive steel cylinder has to
be lifted and brought to the working face of the lathe. The degree
of exertion imposed on the operative depends on the perfection of
the hoisting tackle. In one of the factories visited by Capt. Green
wood and Mr. Burchell the individual effort was greater than in
another where the hoisting machinery was of a more elaborate pat
tern, with the result that in the latter shop operations, intrusted to
men in the former factory, were carried out by women.
36. The data provided consist of three series from Capt. Green
wood and Mr. Burchell and one series from Dr. Vernon. The three
former series relate to discontinuous night work, two with weekly
changes, and one with a monthly change. Dr. Vernon’s data come
from a factory organized on the continuous system; they will be
studied in a separate section.
37. Capt. Greenwood and Mr. Burchell’s best series consist of a
study ofvl38 men engaged upon 6 -inch shells, and followed through a
series of 1 2 weeks from the week ending January 1 0 , 1916. The
number of hours worked and the output were recorded for each in
dividual. The men worked for four weeks in the day shift, and then
for four weeks in the night shift, or conversely. The average weekly
hours worked were 54 hours in day shifts and 57 in night shifts.
The investigators state:
Although we had been told that most of the men were old hands, we did not
know that they had always been employed upon the same operation, and before
determining the night and day ratios in the way explained by one of us in
36
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
earlier reports, it was necessary to be sure that no fallacy of comparison due
to increasing experience vitiated the results. In effect we found that an allow
ance had to be made. Thus, we could compare for each operation the outputs
of the same workers after the lapse of two months by taking the relative pro
duction of successive night shifts or of successive day shifts. The result was
that in all 15 operations tabulated only 1 showed a decline, and the weighted
average improvement was found to be 6.9 per cent for the night-night com
parison, 6 per cent for the day-day comparison, or an average weekly improve
ment of about 0.8 per cent. Consequently a simple comparison of the summed
outputs would be misleading, for in some part of the data the night-shift month
preceded the day-shift month, and in others it followed it. As the numbers in
the two groups were nearly equal, the error so introduced would be small, but
it has been eliminated by calculating the individual ratios in the following way.
A man belonging to the night-day-night series had his mean producton for the
months on night work divided by the mean production of the month on day
work. A man belonging to the series day-night-day had his night-month mean
divided by the mean of the two day-months. The means of each of the*two
series did not differ appreciably one from another nor from the mean of the
whole 138 ratios. The general mean was 103.8 with a “ probable error ” of
±0.40. That is to say, the night labor was slightly more productive than the
day labor, significantly so, in the sense that the difference was not likely to be
an error of sampling, but evidently it is of slight practical importance.
38. The investigators also determined whether the change from
work in one shift to that in another was associated with a relative
fall in output. They found that the night-to-day ratio, when the
first week of the night shift was compared with the last week of a
day shift, did not differ appreciably from the general average.
They also compared the average outputs for successive weeks of
night work in several operations and found no uniform changes.
Thus in the operation of “ nose screwing ” the successive weekly
averages were 1.189, 1.223, 1.244, and 1.308; in the operation of
46 copying,” 1.285, 1.289, 1.328, and 1.311; and in the operation of
“ base screwing,” 1.348, 1.342, 1.527, and 1.438. The conclusion to be
drawn appeared to be that no deleterious effects of night work upon
output could be demonstrated, and that on the whole the night shifts
were slightly the more productive.
39. Limitation of output was alleged to be taking place at this
factory, and the question was investigated in the following way: The
variability of output of men working precisely the same number of
hours should be slight if serious limitation of output exists. The
percentage variabilities of men working exactly 60 hours in the case
of “ nose screwing ” and that of “ base screwing ” were found to be
17.01 ± 1 . 2 and 8 .8 ± 0 .6 ; the similar percentages of men working just
6 6 hours were 20.5±1.4 and 8 .1 ± 0 .6 . The weighted average for the
four sets was 13.9. This variability was rather greater than that
found in girls employed on three operations in a cartridge factory,
viz, 7.3 per cent. The investigators write:
The later (i. e., the cartridge workers) no doubt approach the lower limit of
variation in industrial output, since the pace is much more closely set by the
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
37
machine than it is in shell production, where a considerable fraction of the
working time is necessarily occupied in lifting and adjusting the heavy metal
cylinders submitted to the various lathe operations. The greater variability is
therefore what we should anticipate, and the result is not a conclusive proof
that no limitation of the natural variation has been produced. It is, however,
evident that output had not been reduced to a dead level.
40. Capt. Greenwood’s and Mr. Burchell’s next series comes from
the factory providing the three-shift data quoted in paragraph 19.
The men worked in two shifts, a day shift of 9-J hours and a night
shift of 1 1 |- hours. No night work is done on Saturdays. Shifts
change weekly. Four operations were investigated from the week
ending July 1, 1916, to the week ending October 7, 1916 (inclusive).
The hourly output of the night shift, expressed as a percentage of
the day-shift hourly output, was found to be 100.9 in “ profiling,”
102.5 in an operation called “ drawback necks,” 95.1 for “ boring ”
and “facing noses,” and 104.3 for “ grinding.” The numbers of em
ployees are approximately known in the case of three out of four of
the processes, viz, 28 for “ profiling,” 4 for “ boring ” and “ facing
noses,” and 17 for “ drawback necks.” These statistics are of inferior
value to the previous series, but agree in the general result, viz, no
sustained inferiority of night work.
41. The last series is a set of observations upon the hourly output
of the forging squad in a shell factory. The average strength of the
squad was nine in the day and nine in the night shift, and they
changed weekly. The weekly hours were 53 for each shift. Two sets
of observations were available relating to the same men. The first
covers a period of five weeks from September 3, during which period
the men were on time work. The second covers four weeks, and the
men were then on piecework. During the former period the per
centage ratio of hourly production by night to hourly production by
day was 95.5. For the second period it rose to 109.3. The apparent
rise in relative efficiency of the night shift, when the time payment
was replaced by piece payment, was thought by the firm to be due
to the fact that supervision is necessarily less close in the night shift,
so that the incentive of piece remuneration is required to call forth
the maximum efforts of the men. The series is, however, a short one,
and the variations from week to week are considerable, so that no
great stress can be put upon the result.
42. These three series of data, particularly the first, which is the
most detailed, create an impression similar to that produced by the
more extensive data of female employees, namely, that there is no
significant difference between the rate of output in night and day
shifts managed on the discontinuous system. I f there be any dif
ference, it would seem that the output is slightly better by night for
the particular class of work involved.
38
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
43.
Continuous employment of men in night shifts.—Dr. Vernon’s
data consisted, as mentioned above, of records derived from a factory
producing 3-inch shrapnel shells. The day shifts usually worked 53
hours a week, exceptionally 64 hours. The night shift worked either
47| hours or 57J hours, sometimes 67 hours. In the operation of
boring the powder chamber the output was investigated during 14
consecutive weeks from August 30, 1915, the numbers involved being
23 in the day and 17 in the night shift:
In the first four weeks, viz, from August 30 to September 26, the average
hourly output of 17 men on night shift was 25 per cent less than that of 23
men on day shift. This great defect was largely due to the fact that the night
shift was newer to the work and had been on the operation only three weeks
previous to the statistical period, while the day shift had been 10 weeks on
an average. The men appear to take about three months to work up to their
maximum output. The data show that the output is fairly steady after the
day shift had had 19 weeks’ experience, and the night shift 12 weeks’ ex
perience.
23 men on day shift.
W eek ending—
Relative
hourly
output.
17 men on night shift.
Percent
Actual
age of
hours of
broken
work per
time per
week.
week.
Relative
hourly
putput.
Percent
age of
nightPercent
Actual
shift out
age of
hours of
put on
broken
work per
tim e per day-shift
week.
output.
week.
N ov. 7 .................................................
Nov. 1 4 ...............................................
N ov. 2 1 ...............................................
N ov. 2 8 ...............................................
December 5 .......................................
108.0
108.0
115.0
106.0
101.0
48.5
47.0
59.5
60.5
59.1
2.0
5.1
7.0
5.5
2.3
95.0
89.0
93.0
94.0
92.0
46.3
46.6
46.8
66.9
64.6
2.5
1.9
1.5
.2
3.6
88.0
82.0
81.0
89.0
91.0
Mean.........................................
107.6
54.9
4.4
92.6
54.2
1.9
86.2
These data show that the average output of the night shift was 13.8 per cent
less than that of the day shift over a five-week interval. During the last fort
night it was only 10 per cent less, but in any case the inferiority of output was
considerable. In another group of men wlio were using a different type of lathe
to bore the powder chamber, the average hourly output of 18 men on day shift
was 100, 106, and 105, respectively, in the three weeks ending September 5,
12, and 19, while the average hourly output of 20 men on night shift was 96,
94, and 99 for the same weeks. On an average the night-shift output was 7 per
cent less than that of the day shift, but in that the night shift had had only
7 weeks experience at the operation previous to the statistical period dealt with,
while the day shift had had 10 weeks, it is probable that the difference of output
would ultimately have become less than this figure. We may sum up by saying
that the average output of both groups of night workers was probably 9 per cent
or 10 per cent less than that of the day shift.
44.
In the operation of u finishing, turning, and forming ” 2 2 men
on day shift were compared with 17 on night shift for seven weeks.
In this case the comparison was also complicated by differences in
length of employment and by the fact that, prior to the period in
vestigated, the hours worked were 12 to 15 hours longer per week
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
39
than during the period itself. Dr. Vernon concluded that the dif
ference shown during the last two weeks, viz, 1.5 per cent, was more
nearly a measure of the real difference than the average over the
whole period, viz, 7.9 per cent. In the operation of “ rough turning ”
a comparison of 18 men on day shift with 2 0 men on night shift
showed the hourly output of the night workers during the last five
weeks of the statistical period to be 6 per cent less than that of the
day workers. Dr. Vernon further states:
If the deficit in the output of the night shift on that of the day shift in the
“ powder-chamber boring ” operation be taken as 10 per cent and in the “ finish,
turn, and form ” operation as 2 per cent, the mean deficit comes to 6 per cent,
or the same as for “ rough turning.” In two other smaller groups of operatives
the mean deficit likewise amounted to 6 per cent, though probably by reason
of the smaller numbers involved the differences of day and night shift output
in the two operations was considerable. Thus, in the operation of “ finish rough
turning,” or taking a thin turning off the roughly turned shell, the output of
nine night-shift workmen was 14 per cent less than that of nine day-shift work
men over a period of four weeks. In the operation of “ parting off,” or cutting
down the rough shell to the right length, the output of seven workmen on
night shift was 2 per cent greater than that of seven on day shift over a period
of three weeks.
45. I f now the general results of the investigations of Capt. Grenwood and Mr. Burchell on the one hand and of Dr. Vernon on the
other be contrasted it seems that with men, as well as with women,
the discontinuous system is preferable to continuous night work.
I I .— LOST T IM E .
46. Consideration of time lost by night must always be weighted
by the fact that at night the rate of remuneration is higher, and
therefore that there is a greater incentive for workers not to lose
time as compared with workers by day.
Discontinuous system,— Prof. Loveday has provided data relating
to some 5,500 skilled workers employed by day who lost 11 per
cent of time “ avoidably” and 5.5 per cent unavoidably; that is to
say, 16.5 per cent in all; and of 2,700 skilled workers employed by
night who lost 6.3 per cent of time avoidably and 2.1 per cent un
avoidably ; that is to say, 8.4 per cent in all; and also of over 8,600
unskilled workers employed by day who lost 1 0 per cent avoidably
and 5.2 per cent unavoidably; that is to say, 15.2 per cent in all; and,
lastly, of 4,376 unskilled workers employed by night who lost 8 . 1
per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively, 10.3 per cent in all.
These data definitely suggest that men employed on the discon
tinuous system lose less time at night. All comparison, however,
of the time lost by day with that lost by night must make allowance
for one important probable cause of bad timekeeping in the day
period, namely, time lost before breakfast in the morning, which
accounts generally for a very high proportion of the total amount of
time lost during day work. This matter is examined in a separate
40
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
study, but it takes away any value the percentages might be thought
to have as evidence of the inherent advantage in night shifts.
47. Contmmms system.— Dr. Vernon has provided data which
refer to 83 permanent day-shift workers and 50 permanent nightshift workers for an average period of eight weeks lying between
July 25 and December 5, 1915. He found that the total lost time
of the night workers was 5 per cent and that of the day workers 4.4
per cent, or 0 . 6 per cent less, a difference which was due to the smaller
number of short weeks put in by the day workers. He considered
the data sufficient to be some indication that the health of the perma
nent night-shift male workers is not quite so good as that of the
permanent day-shift workers, but does not consider the difference
one of much practical importance. Capt. Greenwood investigated
the timekeeping in another factory employing a permanent night
shift through 47 weeks between June, 1915, and September, 1916.
During this period out of 409,727 possible day shifts 16,418 were
lost, a percentage of 4. Out of 132,334 night shifts 7,593 were lost,
a percentage of 5.7. In both shifts there was a substantial improve
ment in shift keeping (the data refer to absolute losses of shifts,
not to broken time) in the summer; but over the whole period the
night shift keeping was nearly 43 per cent worse than the day shift
keeping. Capt. Greenwood pointed out that the relative losses were
similar to those found in the cartridge factory managed on the con
tinuous system. This observation confirms that of Dr. Vernon and
strengthens the case against permanent night work for men.
G E N E R A L CON CLU SIO N S.
48. The investigations were not primarily aimed at comparing the
output of day work with that of night work, as the case against night
work was considered to be sufficiently established; some of the data,
however, permit a comparison to be made, and in each case the com
parison is to the detriment of night work. Night work, though
necessary in the present crisis, is, then, undesirable; but the commit
tee consider that the extensive and varied data which have been sum
marized above provide material upon which certain conclusions,
having reference to relatively light repetition work, may be based as
to the result upon output to be anticipated from different schemes of
night work.
49. Women.— (1) In monotonous processes which call for little
physical effort, such as those concerned with cartridge making, dis
continuous night work of women gives an output which rarely falls
much more than 1 0 per cent below, and usually approximates closely
to that obtained by day.
(2 )
Continuous night work is productive of definitely less output
than is the discontinuous system; and the committee have failed to
COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF DAY WORK AND NIGHT WORK.
41
obtain evidence that the output of the continuous day shift balances
this inferiority.
(3)
(a) The timekeeping of girls and of women of 19 years of
age and upward, working for alternate weeks of day and night
shifts, is even better maintained than when they work on permanent
day shifts.
(b) Timekeeping of girls of 14 to 18 is practically the same
whether they work on permanent day shifts or on day and night
shifts.
The committee, basing their opinion upon these conclusions, con
sider it undesirable to adopt for women continuous night shifts in
any factory not at present so working or not yet open, and suggest
that wherever practicable this system should be discontinued.
50. The committee believe that this inferiority of the continuous
night worker may ultimately be referred to a failure to secure proper
rest and sleep in the day time. Women on continuous night work
are likely to perform domestic duties which, when they work alter
nately in the two shifts, is impracticable; and this extra domestic
strain may account for the inferior results of their industrial activi
ties. The committee has, indeed, some evidence of women employed
in permanent night shifts who still carry on their ordinary day
time avocations, but it is not sufficiently extensive (statistically) to
be offered as a proof of the suggestion just made.
51. Men.— The conclusions arrived at with respect to women are
true, with slight modifications, for men.
( 1 ) There is no significant difference between the rate of output
in night and day shifts managed on the discontinuous system.
(2 ) With men, as well as with women, the discontinuous system is
preferable to continuous night work.
There is no reason to think that the nightly output need be much,
if at all, inferior to the output by day in the case of a discontinuous
system, and there is evidence that the timekeeping by night is rather
better than by day. The contrast between permanent night shifts
and permanent day shifts is, however, less striking than in the case
of women. On the whole, it appears that the rate of output may
be less and the loss of time greater than in the discontinuous system.
This result is what might be expected if the surmise regarding the
cause of the inferiority seen among women were correct. Men do not
naturally take so much part in domestic work as women, and the temp
tation to burn the candle at both ends is, from this point of view,
smaller. On the other hand, the incitement to devote the time which
should be given to sleep to amusement is certainly as intense among
men as among women, so that some inferiority might be anticipated.
The practical conclusion seems to be therefore that, equally with
women, men can more profitably be organized under the discon
tinuous than under the continuous system of night work.
THE CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
B Y T. LOVED A Y , M . A .
I. IN TR O D U C TIO N .
(A ) G EN ER AL R E M A R K S.
1 . The following notes are based in the main on an inspection of
the records of lost time in a number of factories situated in different
parts of Scotland and England. Occasionally I have made use of
figures from factories which I have not visited, when I knew the
figures to be well authenticated. I have also had the benefit of the
opinions of a number of directors, managers, and other officials, as
well as of employees, to all of whom I am greatly indebted. 1 In all
matters affecting lost time the variables are so numerous as between
different factories, and even as between different departments in a
single factory, that more weight ought properly to be attached to co
incidence or divergence of opinions among experienced persons than
to coincidence or divergence of figures; unfortunately, the former are
less easily reproduced on paper and are apt to lose force in telling.
But much of what follows is based on an estimation of experienced
opinions. I am very sensible of, and wish to emphasize at the outset,
the danger of easy generalizations about lost time. Much that has
been written on the subject is marred by a failure to recognize the
large element of conjecture necessarily present in any general conclu
sions on the subject. At the same time it is likely that a comparison
of results under varying conditions may convey to persons interested
some useful information.
2 . The present communication does not pretend to treat exhaust
ively the whole problem of lost time in factories. The chief causes
of loss of time operative at present may be summarized as follows:
A . CAUSES
M A IN L Y UNCONTEOLLABLE.
(1) Necessity of employing persons of
inferior physique or irregular
habits.
(2) Lack of housing accommodation.
(3) Lack of transport facilities.
(4) Bad weather and dark streets.
(5) Lack of material coming from out
side.
(6) Domestic duties of married women.
(7) Sickness and accident.
1 I have also to express my great obligation to Mr. II. O. Quin, of the Ministry o f
Munitions.
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
43
B. CAUSES M A IN L Y CONTROLLABLE.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Drink.
Indifference.
Discontent with conditions of work.
Morning “ quarters.”
(5) Overtime work.
(6) Faulty internal organization, Leav
ing employees without work.
Other causes, of less importance, might be added, and even those
mentioned differ considerably both in influence and in generality.
The first seven of them are for the most part beyond the control of
either employer or employee; the remainder might to a great extent
be remedied by the one or the other. The discussion that follows is
mainly concerned with the proportions of lost time that are due to
sickness and to “ sleeping in ” or loss of morning “ quarters ” ; but
in both connections some discussion of the influence of overtime is
unavoidable.
3. I have in the main confined myself to the records of factories
which existed before the war, are still largely engaged upon work
not very remotely different from that on which they are normally
engaged, are admittedly well managed, and in which the relations
between employers and employed are tolerably harmonious. My
attempt has been not to lay undue stress on extreme, uncharacteristic
figures, but rather to compare average results in well managed con
cerns. So far as conclusions are drawn or suggested at all, they
appear to me to have a bearing upon problems that will arise after
the war as well as upon immediate practical questions, and this is
most emphatically true concerning the necessity of improving the
form and raising the value of medical certificates.
4. The kind of work on which a factory is engaged is distinguished
as light, medium, heavy, and so on. This classification, though ac
curate in respect to particular shops, is somewhat arbitrary in respect
of whole factories, since even in marine engineering and other heavy
works a considerable proportion of the labor is light; these terms,
therefore, must be taken as characterizing only the main features of
a factory. All the factories recorded may be brought under the
general title of “ engineering” (use'd broadly) with the the excep
tions of two cotton factories and one in which women were engaged
upon rope making. All but the cotton factories are “ controlled.”
Shipbuilding is excluded from consideration, except in one table
introduced for comparison.
5. Correct and ample records of timekeeping and sickness are rare.
In small factories they are often considered unnecessary; a mental
note or a few jottings in the works manager’s pocketbook are often
all that is available. This is unfortunate, for the ease of supervision
in carefully managed small factories makes their records specially
valuable. Factories which are well satisfied with their employees’
44
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
timekeeping often hold that continuous records are not worth while—
again a scientific misfortune, since comparison with other factories
becomes impossible. In large factories, on the other hand, stress of
work and depletion of staff have often made it necessary to abandon
records which were once carefully kept. Fortunately, however, in a
few cases I have found records either instituted or enlarged during
the past two years, and they have been of great utility.
(B ) T H E FORM OF T IM E -A N A L Y S IS RECORDS.
6.
The lost time records of different firms vary greatly in form.
A very convenient form for purposes of calculation is a weekly record
tabulated as follows:
W E E K E N D IN G
Shop or department.
N um ber
em
ployed.
N um ber of normal
hours actually
worked.
D ay
shift.
Night
shift.
Num ber of hours
worked overtime.
W eek
days.
Sundays.
N um ber of hours lost.
A void
ably.
B y sick
ness.
B y leave.
The individual figures in each department can be read off the em
ployees’ cards with great rapidity by clerks accustomed to the work
and entered on lists, which may then usefully be preserved with the
summary table.
The summary may be expanded as desired by adding columns for
such further information as “ added time,” the number of employees
on overtime, the number of “ quarters ” lost, the number of employees
sick, the number of bad timekeepers, and time lost on day shift as
distinguished from night shift; while some of the columns (or, pref
erably, percentages calculated from them) may usefully be recorded
from week to week in graphic curves.
(C) C A LCU LATIO N S OF LOST T IM E AN D OF O V E R T IM E .
7.
Subsequent calculations may be made in averages of hours per
employee or in percentages; for some comparisons both methods are
needed.
Time lost either with leave given or for sickness or for other ade
quate reasons is considered as time lost unavoidably; and time lost
which is not accounted for in these ways is spoken of as time lost
avoidably, i. e., by “ bad timekeeping.” In making calculations, if
percentages be used, the strictest measure of time lost avoidably, i. e.,
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
45
,
hours lost avoidably X 1 0 0
by
1-----rs-------------- •-j-ui
—z
j bad timekeeping,
if to? is-----------------n-------gross normal hours less
those unavoidably lost
but in comparing time lost due to “ bad timekeeping ” with that due
to sickness, the data for these two causes respectively must be ex
pressed as percentages of gross normal hours less those lost by leave;
while time lost for all causes must be expressed as a percentage of
gross normal hours simply.
In the following pages the stricter measures are sometimes used,
but it will be seen that as a rule the percentages are not greatly al
tered by taking gross instead of “ practically possible hours ” 1 as the
denominator throughout.
8 . It is sometimes argued that calculations based on the amount of
normal time lost are misleading and should be replaced by calcula
tions based on the average number of hours worked, whether normal
or overtime. An example will make this argument clear: Suppose a
factory in which the average normal hours a week are 55 and the
average hours worked overtime are 1 0 , and that the average hours
lost are 5 per man, or about 9 per cent of the normal hours. This
percentage can not be fairly compared with that of another factory
whose average normal hours are 50, with no overtime, and where the
average hours lost are
per man, i. e., 5 per cent of normal hours;
for, in fact, the men in the former factory are working 60 hours a
week and those in the latter only 47J.
9. This argument is so far sound that comparisons of the lost
time percentages of different firms are of little value unless accom
panied by comparisons of the average hours worked. But it neglects
two important points:
( 1 ) Absences of workmen, especially when unexpected, entail a
certain amount of disorganization and therefore (quite apart from
questions of fatigue) the comparative effective value of the longer
hours with a high percentage of lost time is diminished; and
( 2 ) So far as work overtime causes loss of normal time the re
sults are greater cost and (usually, at any rate) lower efficiency.
1 0 . To find a satisfactory measure of overtime for purposes of
comparison between different factories is difficult. The ratio of
hours worked overtime to ordinary hours actually worked is totally
useless. The ratio of hours worked overtime to gross possible nor
mal hours is a very rough measure, since there may be much un
avoidable absence in one factory and little in another. The total
number of hours worked overtime divided by the total number of
employees is also a very rough measure for the same reason, and be
cause the proportions of employees working overtime may differ
greatly. The simplest and best measure, when the information can
1
T h e term “ p ra c tic a lly possib le h ours ” w ill
possible n o rm a l h ours less th ose lo s t u n avoidably.
be
used
th ro u g h o u t
to
m ean
gross
46
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
be obtained, is (a) the percentage of employees working overtime
together with the average hours worked overtime by each employee
so working, and it may be combined with (&) the ratio of hours
worked overtime to practically possible ordinary hours, allowance
being made for unavoidable absence. But in using these measures
consideration must be given to the length of the normal working
week if the comparison is not to be very misleading, and in using
(b) reference should be made, under the two-shift system, to the
size of the night shift if the night week is longer than the day week,
for in a factory working little or no night shift the ratio will be
higher than when the night shift is large though the hours actually
worked overtime are the same.
(D ) T H E R E L A T IO N S B E T W E E N LOST T IM E A N D O V E R T IM E .
11.
If the term “ overtime” be taken in the ordinary sense of
hours worked beyond the normal time of a factory any attempt to
correlate lost time and overtime is apt to be misleading, since the
normal hours of different factories vary. Nor is the attempt much
more hopeful if some such figure as 53 hours be arbitrarily selected
as a normal working week and any excess reckoned as overtime; for
length of hours is only one of many conditions of lost time and it
would be difficult to find two factories varying in that condition
alone. Yet overtime admittedly does cause loss of normal time. The
point will be frequently illustrated later on in this memorandum,
but a few general observations may be in place here.
Overtime may act either as final or as efficient cause of lost time.
( 1 ) Employees may deliberately miss normal hours in order to
make the better-paid hours overtime necessary. In no factory that I
have visited has the management believed this practice to be fol
lowed by any but an insignificant minority of the employees. If it
be anywhere at all common, an extension of the rule found in many
places would seem desirable, by which the full normal week must
be worked before overtime is paid as such— always provided that
normal time is not excessive and that allowance is made for sickness
and other unavoidable absence.
(2 ) Work overtime may have loss of time for a consequence.
(a) If this happens in the way that high earnings lead to slack
ness— and this has certainly been so among the less responsible
employees in many places—the case is not practically, though it is
theoretically, very different from that just considered; and the same
remedy is indicated.
(b) In so far as long hours lead to loss of time by fatigue and
sickness, insistence upon them is most deplorable. The keenest men
are not always the most robust, and it is the keenest who have most
47
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
strain to bear. The hours gained are more costly than the hours
lost, and, coming as a rule at the end of a long day, their cost is
altogether disproportionate to their output; and the resulting fatigue
which drives some men to bed produces lassitude and decreased effi
ciency in many of those who continue to attend regularly, so that
the output of normal hours also declines. The effects of Sunday
labor are, as has now been recognized, still worse than those of over
time hours in the evening or on Saturday afternoon.
12.
How considerable a proportion of the time gained by extra
ordinary hours may be lost in normal hours even in a well-managed
factory in which the good will of the employees is undisputed, is
illustrated by the following figures which refer to the engineering
departments of a firm engaged on heavy work. The normal dayshift week is 53 hours and the night-shift week 60 hours.
T able I.
Period.
May, 1916 (4 w eeks).....................
June, 1916 (2 w eeks)....................
Percentage
Percentage
ratio of
ratio of
hours
hours lost
Percentage
Average
worked
Percentage
b y bad
Percentage
ratio of
hours
of
overtime to
of
timekeep
worked
Sunday
practically employees
ing and
employees
overtime
hours
to
working
working on
sickness to
possible
b y those so
total
normal
overtime.
Sunday.
hours
working.
overtime.
gained by
hours of
all
w ork
©vertime.
employees.
78.4
72.0
13.0
12.7
19.7
16.9
62.0
60.0
61.0
57.0
53.0
59.6
The high percentage of loss is mainly attributable to a very high
sickness rate, itself the result of long hours on heavy work since the
beginning of the war. Further figures illustrating this point will be
quoted below (cp. especially Table II).
Obviously, however, a mere comparison of hours gained by over
time and normal hours lost is worthless if unaccompanied by other
figures; since if little overtime be worked it may be more than coun
terbalanced by a very moderate loss of normal time, not in any way
due to the overtime work.
13.
The very long hours worked in many factories during the past
two years have, perhaps, been necessary, but so far as my experience
goes the necessity has been imposed upon and is deplored by em
ployers and managers, who have noted the decreasing briskness and
resilience of the workers. The strain has told, not only upon opera
tives, but still more upon officials and upon foremen, who have broken
down in considerable numbers. Unhappily, the men too often wel
come long hours because of the extra pay. In one factory where
48
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN "BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
overtime had been kept as low as possible men told me quite frankly
that there was a good deal of grumbling in consequence. But the
sickness rate in that factory was correspondingly low and there can
be no doubt that for the average man high wages earned by long
hours are too dearly earned.
II. SICK NESS.
(A ) T H E D IF F E R E N T IA T IO N OF B A D T IM E K E E P IN G A N D SIC KN ESS A N D OF
A V O ID A B L E A N D U N A V O ID A B L E LOST T IM E .
14. Of firms which keep a continuous record of lost time only a
small minority attempt to determine accurately what proportion is
due to sickness or to distinguish accurately between avoidable and
unavoidable loss of time. In some factories no distinction is tabu
lated at all; sometimes it depends wholly on foremen’s opinions;
sometimes absence is classified as sickness only if a medical certificate
is handed in and certificates are carefully demanded; in other fac
tories the word of trusted employees is accepted and their absence
classified under sickness; in others, again, their word is accepted,
but their absence in default of a certificate is reckoned under bad
timekeeping. Here all absences for less than two or three days are
counted as bad timekeeping, but certificates are demanded after long
absence; next door longer absences are simply assumed to be un
avoidable except in the case of notorious slackers.
15. One principal cause of the present confusion is the dissatis
faction of employers with medical certificates. This dissatisfaction
is very widespread; it is not confined to any particular locality, or
any particular size of town, or any particular kind of employment.
Moreover, it is in the main justified. Upon analysis it resolves itself
into two principal grievances:
( 1 ) Some certificates are given when they are not deserved. This
must under any circumstances happen not infrequently, if a doctor
has no data for his judgment beyond the statement of a man whom
he has rarely, if ever, seen before. But, while this difficulty must
be fully recognized, there is no doubt that some undeserved cer
tificates are the result, not of excusable error, but of extreme slack
ness or sometimes of deliberate dishonesty upon the part of medical
men. Unconscientious doctors are comparatively rare, but they are
widely distributed; one or two are to be found in nearly every
populous district; they find their mates in equally unconscientious
employees (like themselves, a small minority of the whole); and
they infect the minds of employers with a distrust which unfor
tunately reaches beyond themselves.
(2 ) Very many certificates, though honest, are so brief as to be
practically useless. Often they state nothing beyond the bare fact
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
49
that a man is unwell and unable to follow his employment. Now
the employer would perhaps learn little from the name of the
patient’s complaint, but he is seriously interested to know, especially
at the present time, whether the patient must leave work at once or
may continue on something urgent for a few days, and also to know,
if possible, how long he is likely to be away. On the other hand,
a statement of the patient’s age and of the nature of his complaint,
though not always directly useful to the employer, would be of the
utmost service to the investigation of industrial disease, supposing
that certificates, when no longer required, were sent for tabulation to
the Medical Research Committee.
16. Some advantage that would follow from more trustworthy
and informative certificates are these:
( 1 ) Employers would receive information assisting them in the
organization and coordination of work, and so facilitating output;
( 2 ) Employers would be encouraged to distinguish accurately
sickness as a factor of lost time, and so to keep closer watch on the
conditions of health among their employees; and
(3) There would be furnished data for a study of the statistics of
industrial diseases.
The first is the most important point at this moment, but after the
end of the war the second and third advantages will become increas
ingly important.
17. The need of improved certificates is urgent, both temporarily
in reference to munition workers and afterwards permanently in
reference to all employees in factories. Much could be done imme
diately by supplying a standard medical certificate to panel practi
tioners and other medical practitioners in the neighborhood of muni
tion factories and controlled establishments, with a request that the
form be used for all certificates given to munition workers.
18. A result of defective records seems to be a very frequent under
estimation of the part played by sickness as a factor of lost time, and
generally of the proportion of unavoidable to avoidable loss of time.
19. The following table concerns a body of over 1 , 2 0 0 men (with
a very few women) in an engineering department. Smithy and
foundry are excluded from these figures, but the general character
of the work is heavy (though, of course, some shops are exceptions),
and in most weeks of the record there has been much work overtime,
especially on Sundays. The figures for sickness refer to well-authen
ticated and for the most part to certified cases only, and accidents
are left out of account; there is an inducement to employees to send
in certificates when sick, and the record of sickness is carefully kept.
The normal day-shift week is 53 hours and the night-shift week 60
hours.
105796°— B u ll. 230— 17------- 4
50
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
T
rQ O £
PI ^
+3 d
o 8
a as
-P o d
«M
O
o
Weekending— 0 .9 s 1 1 1 o
o '"
g g s f3 © 58
bps © & 2 ©
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able
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rg
Notes.
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d
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+° ■§sB S d 9 ©
§JS
O O d
§3a
p4
10
1915.
June 2 ____
Dec. 21___
3.5
3 .6
1916.
A pr. 4..........
May 9...........
May 16.........
May 23.........
May 30.........
June 6 ..........
June 13........
June 20........
June 27____
July 4...........
July 11.........
July 18.........
July 25.........
Au g. 1 .........
4.4
3.7
2.9
4.0
4.4
3.7
3.4
4.1
4.3
3.0
3.6
3.6
4.6
4.7
4.0
3.4
2.7
3.7
4.1
3.5
3.2
3.8
4.0
2.8
3.4
3.5
4.3
4.4
A ug. 8 .........
Au g. 15____
7.2
5.4
4.1
3.7
Aug. 23____
Aug. 26-Sept
Sept. 12___
Sept. 19___
Sept. 26___
5.3
5.8
8.6
9.2
57.3
60.7
61.5
63.0
7.8
6.5
6.5
7.4
6.5
6.5
6.3
7.3
7.9
6.6
5.8
6.8
7.6
7.8
11.9
9 .9
9.2
11.2
10.7
10.0
9.6
11.1
11.8
9.5
9.2
10.3
11.9
12.2
64.0
63.2
68.6
64.1
59.1
63.6
63.9
60.1
58.8
65.0
60.7
64.7
61.4
59.0
66.0
65.2
70.2
66.4
61.2
6 .2
5.8
5.8
5.7
5.3
5.3
6.4
6.9
6.4
1.0
3.4
2.7
3.7
4.1
3.5
3 .2
3.8
3 .9
2.8
3.4
3.4
4.3
4.3
6.7
4.9
6 .8
8.6
6.6
4.9
8.2
9.8
14.8
14.7
50.5
63.5
55.4
65.6
48*
48*
3.7
3.9
3.5
4.8
3 .7
4.1
3 .6
3.9
3.5
5.4
4.0
4.6
59.5
50.1
56.8
57
55f
57*
4.5
5.3
7.2
6.0
6.0
6.7
6.0
64.8
66.0
66.0
66.6
71.6
62.6
66.4
62.5
64.0
56i
58*
59*
551
58
59J
57*
56^
9 .0
8 .0
8.1
56.8
48.3
43.6
Extra p ay on W hitm onday.
57
E xtra pay on June 27 and 28.
58J
58f
57*
56i
55*
59.8
6.1
Daylight saving.
Extra pay on the 7th. Over
time much reduced; little
Sunday work.
A n extra day in this pay.
H olidays.
[
2 0 . In every week recorded save one the proportion of lost time,
apart from absence with leave, due to sickness alone (column 8 ) is
more than a half, and in most weeks it is over 60 per cent, while in
all weeks certified sickness and leave together (column 9) account for
more than half the total time lost, and in all weeks save four they
account for over 60 per cent of it, and twice for over 70 per cent of it.
The part played by these factors is diminished on two occasions, and
then for two opposite reasons. In the first part of August there was
less urgency of work, and the men, knowing this, were inclined to
take a rest to which the time of year also prompted them, so that
“ bad timekeeping ” increased; and after the holidays at the end of
August there was a remarkable improvement in health.
2 1 . It is doubtful, however, whether even the careful records kept
by the firm to whom these figures refer do complete justice to the
facts. There remains the possibility that some part of what is
reckoned as “ bad timekeeping ” is due to fatigue and minor ailments
which are genuine enough, though no one would ask for or give a
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
51
medical certificate in respect of them. If that be so, the curves of
“ bad timekeeping ” and of sickness will tend to move in the same di
rection. Now, in Diagram I, which represents graphically columns
2 , 4, and 6 of Table II, this tendency is apparent; the curve of bad
timekeeping does on the whole move in the same direction either as
the curve of sickness or (e. g., at the end of June, when a generous
amount of leave was granted for the sake of the men’s health) as the
curve of sickness and leave combined. But after the holidays at the
end of August, there is no such coincidence. It seems likely, there
fore, that during the main period the figures of “ bad timekeeping ”
include some absences which should be attributed to a sort of in
validity rather than to slackness. This is specially likely to be true
of lost “quarters,” which, in the steadiest shops, account for a very
great part of the so-called bad timekeeping in this factory. 1
22.
In the attempt to ascertain by a comparison of curves whether
the figures of “ bad timekeeping” include absences due to physical
disabilities of a minor kind, it is more important to notice whether
the curves rise than whether they fall concomitantly, especially when
hours are long, for the factors which first produce absences deemed
avoidable may go on to produce definite sickness, and thus the curve
of bad timekeeping may fall while that of sickness rises, simply
because those are now declared sick who were previously “ off color.”
In other words, it is sometimes necessary to observe whether a rise
in the bad timekeeping curve is followed rather than accompanied
by a rise in the sickness rate. In the records of one factory employ
ing about 950 males I examined the figures for 58 successive weeks.
After setting aside 8 weeks in which they were seriously affected by
holidays, I found that in the remaining 50 the curve of bad time
keeping rose 24 times. In 13 of those 24 weeks the rise was accom
panied by an increase of recorded sickness; in 7 weeks by a fall;
while four times the sickness rate was unchanged. On six of the
seven occasions when the rise in bad timekeeping was accompanied
by a fall in sickness, and on three of the four occasions when there
was no simultaneous movement in the sickness curve, the amount of
sickness increased in the following week. I had other reasons for
supposing that sickness was considerably understated in this factory,
and these figures confirmed the supposition. Where the facts of sick
ness are more carefully ascertained and the doubt is only concerning
minor ailments, such definite figures are scarcely to be expected. 2
1 See below (p a rs. 33 ( 5 ) and 4 7 ) th e figures o f tim ekeep in g fo r certain h eavy m a
chine shops.
2 F u rth e r d a ta con cern in g th e corr ela tion or lack o f correla tion betw een figures o f
bad tim e k eep in g an d o f sickn ess are d e s ir a b le ; and I should be g lad i f an y em ployer
in terested in th e su b je ct, w ho keeps ca re fu lly collected and ta b u la te d records, w ould
com m u n icate w ith m e th ro u g h th e secre ta ry o f th e com m ittee an d w ou ld a llo w m e to
in sp e ct th em .
52
——
------.— .
„
„
to gross norma! hours Iess leave.
„ b?d timekeeping to pr&ctical/y p s ss/5 /e normst hours.
EFFICIENCY
AND
FATIGUE
IN
BRITISH
MUNITION
FACTORIES.
DlAGftAMT t .
mmmmm Hath xjf sickness plus leave to gross norms! hours.
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
53
23.
It might be supposed that so high a proportion of unavoidable
lost time as that given in Table II is peculiar to heavy work carried
on at very high pressure, but the following table shows that this is
not necessarily true. It refers to a body of about 270 males and 290
females engaged upon light work in one department of a large fac
tory. Sickness is not separately recorded, but careful inquiries are
made into the reasons for all lateness or absence. More than half the
lost time, and usually much more than half, is lost unavoidably. It
will also be noticed that, though the total time lost by the females is
higher than that lost by the males, the proportion unavoidably lost
by the females is also higher in most weeks.
T able
III.
W eek ending—
Percentage
ratio of tim e
lost avoidably
to practically
possible nor
mal time.
Percentage
ratio of time
lost avoidably
to gross nor
mal time,
taken as 52|
hours a week
per employee.
Percentage
ratio of time
lost unavoid
ably to gross
normal time.
1
2
8
4
Males.
1916.
June 6.................................
June 13..............................
June 20..............................
June 27..............................
July 4 .................................
July 11...............................
July 18...............................
July 25...............................
Aug. 1................................
Aug. 8................................
Aug. 15...............................
Aug. 22...............................
Aug. 29 i . .
Sept. 8 ...............................
Sept. 12.............................
Sept. 19.............................
Average for the
period.................
Percentage ratio of
total tim e lost to
gross normal time.
Percentage
ratio of time
lost unavoid
ably to total
time lost.
5
Fe
F e
Fe
Fe
Males.
Males.
Males.
males.
males.
males.
males.
6
A ll.
Males.
F e
males.
2.4
2.0
1.8
2.1
2.0
1.9
2.5
2.5
1.8
1.3
2.1
1.3
1.4
1.0
2.0
1.9
1.4
2.3
1.8
2.0
2.7
1.2
1.5
2.4
2.3
1.9
1.7
2 .0
2.0
1.8
2.4
2.4
1.8
1.3
2.0
1.2
1.3
1.0
1.9
1.7
1.3
2.2
1.7
1.9
2.5
1.2
1.5
2.2
2.6
2.8
4.9
4.8
2.7
4.6
3.5
3.9
4.2
3.5
4.5
3.2
3.7
4.3
5 .2
7.5
6.2
6.9
7.2
7.3
7.2
5.3
4.7
5.8
5.0
4.9
6.7
6.9
4.7
6.5
5.9
6.3
6.0
4.8
6.6
4.4
5.0
5.3
7.1
9.2
7.6
9.1
8.9
9.3
9.7
6.6
6.2
8.0
5.0
5.2
6.9
8.1
6.2
7.9
7.5
7.9
7.9
5.7
6.4
6.2
52.9
50.9
73.0
70.0
68.0
71.2
69.8
61.1
69.8
78.9
69.5
71.8
73.2
81.0
72.9
81.0
82.1
75.7
80.9
79.1
73.9
81.6
76.0
71.9
1.8
1.5
1.8
2.6
2.9
1.6
1.7
1.5
1.7
2.4
2.7
1. 5
3.0
2.8
2.6
5.6
4.0
5.0
4.8
4.4
4.4
8.1
6.8
e.5
6.5
5.6
5.5
68.2
65.1
60.2
69.3
59.4
76.4
1.9
1.9
1.9
1.8
3.6
5.7
5 .? 1
I
7.6
6.6
65.7
75.8
1 Department closed:
In only two other factories besides those to which Tables II and
III refer have I up to the present discovered figures of sickness or
unavoidable absence generally that appear to me reasonably trust
worthy. Both are small factories, engaged on moderately heavy
work, with moderate overtime. In one, employing about 240 men,
the total loss of possible time for 1 2 months to the end of September,
1916, was 7.27 per cent, and sickness alone accounted for 54 per cent
of this loss. In the other the total loss in a period of August, 1916,
among about 130 men in the engineering and tool shops was 5 per
cent; sickness accounted for 46.7 of this loss and unavoidable causes
generally for 59.9 per cent of it.
54
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
24. In all these four places, then, where timekeeping was reason
ably good and records were carefully made, the unavoidable loss is
more than half the total loss; and the inference is, therefore, sug
gested that elsewhere also, unless attendance is very slack, more
careful inquiry than is usually made into reasons for absence would
reveal the same fact. Obviously, however, in factories where time
keeping is really bad, the proportions of time lost avoidably and
unavoidably may be reversed. The following figures are of some
interest in this connection, though in default of more precise infor
mations as to the means of determining sickness and as to the pre
cision of the returns not much stress can be laid on them.
25. For the week ending February 4, 1916 (a period in which lost
time was likely to be considerable, and the sickness rate especially
likely to be high), of 77 firms returning their time lost as not more
than 6 per cent of possible time, 56 attribute at least half to sickness
(including accidents), and 2 1 attribute less than half of it to this
cause; of 41 firms returning a percentage over 6 and not more than
1 0 , 24 attribute at least half to sickness and 17 attribute less; and of
25 firms whose employees lost more than 10 per cent of possible time
only 7 attribute more, and 18 attribute less than half the loss to
sickness.
26. The following tables are an example of records in a factory
where the timekeeping was not satisfactory. Table IY refers to an
engineering department mostly engaged on heavy work except in
some shell shops; Table V distinguishes the women operatives in
shell shops, who were included in the preceding table; and Table VI,
which refers to a shipbuilding department, is added for comparison.
The record is for week ending March 4, 1916, at which period a high
percentage of lost time is to be expected, especially as overtime was
considerable, the percentage ratio of hours worked overtime to prac
tically possible normal hours being in the engineering department
for the skilled day shift 17.1, for the skilled night shift 16.9, for the
unskilled day shift 17.4, and for the unskilled night shift 22.4;
among the women on day work 14.6, and on night work 23.3; and
in the shipbuilding department for the skilled day shift 19.1, for
the skilled night shift 13.5, for the unskilled day shift 20.3, and for
the unskilled night 2 1 .2 . The normal day-shift hours were in most
shops except the shell shops 53, and the normal night-shift hours 57|.
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
IV.
T a b le
Percent
age ratio
of tim e
lost
Number
avoid
em
ployed
ably to
(approxi practi
m ately).
cally
possible
normal
tim e.
Grade and shift.
1
2
Skilled, day shift (except shell
shops)...............................................
Skilled, day shift, in shell shops.
A ll skilled, day shift.......................
Skilled, night shift (except shell
shops)...............................................
Skilled, night shift, in shell
shops.................................................
A ll skilled, night shift...................
A ll skilled employees....................
Unskilled, d ay shift (except
shell shops)....................................
Unskilled, day shift, in shell
shops.................................................
A ll unskilledj day shift.................
Unskilled, m ght shift (except
shell shops)....................................
Unskilled, night shift, in shell
shops.................................................
A ll unskilled, night sh ift.............
A ll unskilled employees...............
A ll employees...................................
Percent
age ratio
of tim e
lost
avoid
ably to
gross
normal
time.
8
7
15.7
20.5
16.5
33.1
33.5
33.2
524
521
52^
2.5
7.8
32.0
62
.8
2.1
4.3
10.5
8.4
13.8
24.9
31.5
55
60
55
9.9
7.6
17.5
43.1
52|
10.2
10.0
3.2
5.2
13.4
15.3
10.4
13.6
11.0
5.2
6.9
5.5
1,950
5.4
5.3
750
2,700
8,200
9.7
6.5
9.8
9.6
6.3
9.4
3,740
10.7
4,930
8,670
10.6
10.6
1,230
4.0
4.0
1.1
5.2
3,150
4,380
13,050
21,250
10.5
8.3
9.8
9.8
10.2
8.1
9.4
9.4
2.7
2.2
4 .2
4.3
12.9
10.3
13.7
13.7
8.0
24.0
84-1
48J
501
22.7
66i
21.1
47
52|
51
52jf
21.4
31.0
81.3
V.
Percentage
ratio of time Percentage Percentage Percentage Percentage
Average
Number lost avoid ratio of time ratio of time ratio of total ratio of time hours (nor
employed
ably to
lost avoid
lost un
time lost
lost un
mal and
(approxi practically
ably to
avoidably
avoidably
to gross
overtime)
normal
mately).
to total
worked per
possible
gross nor to gross nor
normal
time.
mal time.
mal time.
time lost.
employee.
time.
2
1
W omen, day, in
shell shops..............
W om en , mghts, in
shell shops..............
A ll women in shell
shops.........................
8
4
5
6
7
8
2,600
8.6
8.4
1.9
10.4
19.0
42
1,170
12.3
12.2
1.0
13.3
7 .6
421
3,770
9.8
9.6
1.7
11.3
14.5
42*
T a b le
Grade and shift.
6
5
11.0
14.6
11.7
T a b le
Grade and shift.
Percent
Percent Average
age ratio Percent
hours
age ratio
of tim e age ratio
(normal
of tim e
of total
lost
lost
and over
unavoid tim e lost
time)
unavoid
ably to
to gross
worked
ably to
norm al
gross
per em
total
normal
time.
tim e lost. ployee.
time.
4
3
4,500
1,000
5,500
55
VI.
Percentage
ratio of time Percentage Percentage Percentage Percentage
Number lost avoid ratio of time ratio of time ratio of total ratio of time
employed
ably to
lost avoid
lost un
time lost
lost un
(approxi practically
ably to
avoidably
to gross
avoidably
mately).
gross nor to gross nor
possible
normal
to total
mal time.
normal
mal time.
time.
time lost.
time.
1
Skilled, day shift. . .
Skilled, night s h ift..
Unskilled, day shift.
Unskilled, n i g h t
shift...........................
A ll employees...........
2
4
3
5
6
Average
hours (nor
mal and
overtime)
worked per
employee.
8
7
2,530
360
1,260
17.3
11.6
19.6
16.5
11.3
18.9
5.1
2.4
3.9
21.6
13.7
22.8
28.4
17.0
17.4
50£
57*
51
160
4,310
7.8
17.0
7.8
16.2
3.6
7.8
19.8
.0
20.8
69
52
56
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
27. The percentage of possible time lost is high throughout, the
proportion ranked as unavoidably low. A low proportion of un
avoidable loss is to be expected on night shift, since employees who
are obviously “ off color ” will, as far as possible, be kept on day work
if the management is sensible; but here even on day shift the unavoid
able loss is barely more than a third of the total lost time. That it
has been underestimated is a reasonable conjecture, but it probably
was well under half the total loss, for attendance was evidently slack.
It is noticeable that the “ unavoidable ” proportion is markedly higher
among unskilled than among skilled men on day shift except in the
shell shops where (allowance being made for the women’s bad time
keeping) the men’s records are nearly the same for skilled and un
skilled. In the very bad figures of the shipbuilding department,
however, this difference is not repeated.
28. It might be expected that the most accurate records of un
avoidably lost time would be those based on the records of foremen
or officials who have satisfied themselves concerning reasons offered
for absence. In fact, however, such records are not very trustworthy
except where some superior official, e. g., a departmental manager,
takes an interest in the matter, as in the department to which Table
III refers. Foremen vary in strictness and sometimes in personal
preference, and those employees who are trusted and know them
selves to be in no danger of the tribunal often fail to report their
quite valid reasons for absence. Moreover, in large factories foremen
often forget to enter a note of sound reasons, which accordingly never
reach the time office.
29. The payment of a bonus for good timekeeping, against which
sickness does not rank, is more likely to insure good data for records
by making it worth employees’ while to send in certificates when they
are ill. Even the payment of a bonus, however, does not guarantee
absolute accuracy. Where there is a keen and reputable body of em
ployees the few cases of dishonest certificates will be balanced by the
few cases in which men forget or, having already lost time unduly, do
not think it worth while to send in certificates though genuinely sick.
But there remains the likelihood that some proportion of what is
reckoned as bad timekeeping is due to minor ailments; and a further
cause of inaccuracy arises if attendance is slack and if a number of
the employees are able to earn wages much higher than those to which
they are used, the result being sometimes that they are indifferent to
the bonus and careless about sending in certificates. (To a certain
extent the tribunals have checked such carelessness and so have in
directly improved records.) The following figures relating to about
200 men on very heavy work are an illustration: Their normal day
shift was 53 hours; only three or four men were on night shift; over
time was moderate, about 40 to 60 per cent of the men averaging
57
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
nine hours each (80 per cent in June, 1915), and there was practi
cally no work on Sundays. While they are probably a hardier lot of
men than those in most machine shops and the like, and while their
undoubtedly bad timekeeping has very likely helped to keep down
sickness, still it is most improbable that the proportion of lost time
due to sickness in 1915 is accurately given in column 8 . It is evident
that they have been induced both to keep better time and to report
sickness more carefully, though it is possible that even the 1916 fig
ures understate the real amount of sickness.
Table V II.
Percent
age ratio
of time
lost by
bad time
W eek end
keeping
ing—
to prac
tically
possible
normal
time.
1
2
Percent
age ratio
of tim e
lost by
bad time
keeping
to gross
normal
time, less
leave.
Percent Percent
age ratio age ratio
of time
of time
lost by
lost by
sickness bad time
keeping
to gross
normal
to gross
time, less normal
time.
leave.
6
5
4
3
Percent
age ratio
Percent
of time
age ratio Percent
lost by
age ratio
of time
lost by
sickness
of total
sickness time lost to time
lost by
and leave to gross
normal bad time
to gross
keeping
time.
normal
and sick
time.
ness.
7
8
Percent Average
age ratio
hours
of time
(normal
lost by
and over
sickness
time)
and leave worked
to total
per em
lost time. ployee.
9
10 %
1915.
June 2.........
Dec. 21___
13.9
15.6
13.7
15.6
1.7
1.3
13.6
15.4
2.2
1.7
15.8
17.1
11.4
7.9
13.9
10.0
51
1916.
Apr. 4 ........
May 9 .........
May 16____
May 23___
M ay 30____
June 6 ........
9.9
9.2
8.5
9.9
8.8
10.4
9.5
8.7
8.1
9.3
8.6
9.9
4.1
4.9
5.0
5.0
3.1
4.3
9.5
8.7
8.1
9 .2
8.5
9.9
4.3
5.1
5.0
5.1
3.7
4.5
13.8
13.9
13.1
14.4
12.2
14.5
30.0
36.0
38.3
34.9
27.0
30.2
31.0
37.0
38.3
35.7
30.2
31.5
49i
59£
51
51*
51
50
30.
An easy and frequently useful test of the accurac}^ of sickness
records is to compare the number of absences for a whole week re
corded as due to sickness with the number of absences for shorter
periods so recorded. It is common experience that one is more likely
to be ill for a day or two than for a week, and this experience is re
flected in accurate records. Thus in Table V III, which refers to the
same men as Table II, about 3 per cent of the employees lost a
whole week from sickness in May and June, 1916, while nearly three
times as many were sick for shorter periods. Even among the men
just mentioned in Table V II the average figures for the weeks of May
were— absent sick the whole week 2.9 per cent, less than the whole
week 4.4 per cent. If, then, weeks lost by sickness are found in rec
ords to equal or outnumber the shorter periods, it is probable that
employees are not troubling to report genuine sickness unless it is
worth their while for other reasons to obtain certificates. For ex
ample, in one factory 134 men are recorded as losing in nine weeks of
August, September, and October, 1916, 17 weeks or longer periods by
sickness and only nine periods of less than a week. This was a case
in which the payment of a (rather small) bonus for good timekeep
58
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
ing to a limited number of examiners, specially important mechanics,
etc., had very little effect; the 134 whose records were examined by
Mr. S. H. Burchell and myself lost in those weeks 1 0 . 6 per cent of
possible normal time, allowance being made for leave, accidents, and
the like, 2.1 per cent being attributed to sickness and 8.5 per cent re
garded as avoidable. Timekeeping was certainly bad, but the test
suggested makes it certain that a considerable amount of sickness
remained unrecorded, despite the bonus.
T a b le
W eek e n d i n g -
VIII.
Average
number of
Percentage
Percentage
hours lost
of employ
of employ
b y each em
ees losing
ees losing
ployee who
the whole
an y tim e
week b y
lost less
bysickness.
sickness.
than the
whole week.
1915.
June 2 .....................................
2.2
9.2
18
1916.
Apr. 4 .....................................
H ay 9 .....................................
May 16...................................
May 23 ...................................
May 30...................................
June 6 .....................................
3 .7
3.4
3 .3
3.4
3 .3
3.0
14.9
11.6
12.0
12.9
12.1
12.4
14f
16|
16f
17i
m
m
31. Another test of the accuracy with which sickness is discrimi
nated from bad timekeeping [is to] inquire whether the time recorded
as avoidably lost in days is abnormally high in proportion to the time
recorded as avoidably lost in u quarters,” where the two-break day
shift is worked; for in that case the days reckoned as avoidably lost
very likely include some lost by sickness. This test is useless if at
tendance is very slack and men are willfully missing days in great
numbers; 1 but when timekeeping is reasonably good the loss before
breakfast may be expected to be at least 35 per cent of the total
avoidable loss. If it is less than that, and if the ratio of unavoidable
loss to total loss is also low, the sickness record may be regarded with
suspicion.
32. My conclusions may be summarized as follows:
( 1 ) Sickness records which suggest that even the best managed
factories are health resorts are probably untrustworthy. Nearly all
records understate, and most records understate greatly, the propor
tion of lost time due to sickness and other unavoidable causes.
(2 ) The main reason for the unsatisfactory sickness records is
employers’ distrust of medical certificates.
(3) On other and practically urgent grounds it is imperative to
improve the form and the credit of medical certificates.
1 Or i f th ere is n o w ork o w in g to lack o f m a te ria l, an d m en are n o t discou raged
fro m ta k in g d ays off, since i f th ey a tten d ed an d w ere refused w ork on con secu tive
flays th ey m ig h t claim le a v in g certificates.
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
59
(4)
The best tests of the accuracy of sickness records are to in
quire :
(a) Do the curves of bad timekeeping and sickness coincide in
direction ?
(b) Is the number of whole weeks lost through sickness abnor
mally high when compared with the number of shorter periods
similarly lost ?
(c) Is the number of days lost through sickness abnormally high
when compared with the number of quarters similarly lost?
An affirmative answer to any of these questions, unless explicable
otherwise, gives good reason for supposing the rate of sickness to
be understated.
More definite conclusions are not to be expected with the present
unsatisfactory medical certificates and consequently defective rec
ords. But it should be noted that, while in some places and in some
trades timekeeping has really been slack, yet the underestimation of
sickness and unavoidable absence generally has led to much misin
formed and unjust rhetoric about the lethargy and irregularity of
the whole body of employees in controlled factories. The chief of
fenders in this matter, however, have not been employers.
(B ) SOME CAUSES OF F L U C T U A T IO N IN SICKN ESS CURVES.
33.
The following notes are not concerned with a comparison be
tween different factories or different occupations, nor with those
factors of sickness that may be regarded as constants in any given
factory, but with a few of the variables which produce conspicuous
temporary changes in the rate of sickness in any given factory.
(1)
Climatic conditions.— It is, of course, a familiar fact that
fluctuations in the sickness rate are mainly seasonal. The graphs in
Diagram II are based on the statistics of a large and very important
trade-union concerning the percentage of members on sick benefit in
each month of the years 1910 to 1915. That the curves for different
years may be comparable one with another, the mean of the per
centages of members on sick benefit in the months of each year has
been found and taken as = 1 0 , and the variation of each month from
the mean for the year is shown as a variation from 1 0 . The curves
are comparable, therefore, only in respect of their form, and not
in respect of the total amounts of sickness in the several years. There
is added a typical curve for the six years, showing the mean monthly
variations from the mean of the means of these years. The rate of
sickness is always above the mean in January, February, March and
April, and occasionally so in November; in the remaining seven
months it is always below the mean; July and August usually show
60
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
D IA G R A M
If.
CAUSES- AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
D IA G R A M
II.
61
62
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
least sickness. 1 Despite minor irregularities and great differences in
the amount of mean variations, the curves are generally very similar,
especially in respect of the fall in late spring and early summer and
of the tendency to rise in November.
The figures upon which these curves are based refer to all parts of
the country. Diagram III refers to a factory near London, with
about 8 , 0 0 0 employees on light work, and shows the fluctuations in
the sickness rate for 1915, calculated in the same way. The general
features are similar, though the effect of the onset of spring is more
marked, and the hot weather of August has had an unfavorable ef
fect. The marked rise in the sickness rate for September does not
appear to be genuine, but to have been the result of air raids.
In Diagram IV are given extracts from the curves of sickness
among over 900 males in a factory in northeast England which
further illustrate the close dependence of health on climatic condi
tions. They represent absolute numbers of employees sending in
medical certificates, but as only the form of the curves is here of
interest the absolute numbers are replaced by letters. The curves
reflect the conditions of weather with remarkable fidelity. In both
Novembers the weather was bad in the middle of the month and then
improved again. In both years, as is usual in that district, mid
winter was less inclement than the later part of February and
March. In 1916 January was unusually mild and bright, but the
weather broke in the first part of February and remained cold and
for the most part wet and sunless till the middle of April. In 1915
the advent of springlike weather was at the beginning of April, and
correspondingly the curve declines a fortnight earlier than in 1916.
The general influence of climatic conditions upon health being ad
mitted, it follows that if the sickness curve of a factory, though
1 T h is is probably due in p a r t to h o lid a y s.
I n som e lo ca lities and in m an y kinds
o f w ork th e h o t w eath e r brin g s an in crease ove r th e sickness rate o f Ju ne.
H o lid a y s
m ay also accou n t in p a rt fo r th e lo w D ecem ber levels.
CAUSES
AND
CONDITIONS
OF
LOST
TIME,
DIAGRAM rvr
05
CO
64
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
calculated with reasonable accuracy, does not respond to considerable
changes in the weather, or fluctuates independently of the weather,
there are present other determining conditions which deserve con
sideration by the management.
(2 )
Of these, one of the most conspicuous, though not of the most
important, is the approach of holidays, which very frequently occa
sions a reduction in the sickness rate. This reduction is most marked
before Christmas, and by no means always occurs before other holi
days. The following table shows the character of changes before
holidays in the sickness curves of two factories, one near London, the
other in northeast England. (R = rise in sickness rate, F = fall,
S = steady.) The week in which the holiday actually occurs or be
gins is not included, as for a number of obvious reasons the records
of the broken week itself are unreliable; as a rule, though not always,
it is marked by a fall in the curve.
T able
Before
Easter.
Firm.
IX .
Before
K ing’s
birthday.
Before
W hitsun.
Before race
week (end
of June).
Before
August
holiday.
Before
Christmas.
Year.
Second First Second First Second First Second First Second First Second First
week. week. week. week. week. week. week. week. week. week. week. week.
I ................
I ................
I I .............
I I ..............
I I .............
1914
19 L5
1911
1915
1916
R
F
R
F
R
0)
R
C1)
R
F
R
F
F
F
R
R
R
F
S
F
R
F
F
R
F
F
F
F
F
s
F
F
i
1 N o holiday.
With these data may be compared the marked fall of the sickness
rate for week ending August 23, 1916, in Table I I ; but it is im
possible to say how much of this fall is attributable to approaching
holidays and how much to restriction of Sunday labor in the pre
ceding fortnight.
The drop in sickness curves before the longer holidays, and espe
cially before Christmas, is sometimes taken to argue, if not malinger
ing, at any rate an unjustifiable readiness of employees to “ go sick ”
at other times; they can come down to work when they want to earn
money before the holidays, and therefore they ought to have come
down in previous weeks. This conclusion, though no doubt true of
some persons in any large body of employees, does not follow from
the data and is probably unjust if generally applied. For, in the
first place, it sometimes happens that the Easter and Christmas holi
days occur at a time when the sickness curve would in any case de
cline— Easter, when spring is setting in, and Christmas, when the
characteristic outbreak of sickness is over that occurs in mid-Novem
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF LOST TIME.
65
ber, and people are becoming more acclimatized to the weather of
late autumn and early winter. And, secondly, it does not follow be
cause a man, while feeling unwell, goes down to work when a holiday
is coming within a week or two, that therefore he would be judicious
or would be afcle to carry on were he, under the same conditions of
health, to go to work with no prospect of a break.
(3)
A more important factor of change in a sickness curve is a
holiday just past. It should cause a fall, and usually does so, as is
shown in the next table, in which the sickness rate of the week fol
lowing that in which the holiday occurs or ends is compared with the
rate of the week preceding that in which the holiday occurs or begins.
T able
Firm.
Year.
I .........................................
I .........................................
I .........................................
I I .......................................
I I .......................................
1914
1915
1916
1915
1916
After
Christmas
and New
Year.
R
F
R
F
X.
After
Easter.
After
W hitsun.
After
King's
birthday.
R
F
F
F
F
F
R
After race
week.
After
August
holiday.
F
R
F
F
A very striking example of the restorative effect of a holiday is
to be found in Table II, when the sickness rate for the three weeks
immediately following a considerable holiday at the end of August
and beginning of September is 4.2 per cent, as against 5.4 per cent
in the week immediately preceding the holiday, and 8 . 6 per cent in
the week before that; it had not been so low for many months
previously.
It follows here that if the sickness curve fails to respond to a holi
day, especially to a break of several days, and if its steadiness or rise
can not be attributed to worsened climatic conditions, epidemics of
influenza, or the like, there is reason for receiving employees’ reports
of sickness with caution, and sometimes with suspicion.
(4)
Patriotic enthusiasm certainly affects sickness curves. There
are many employees who will keep at work when they are con
vinced of its urgency, even though they are unwell and really need
the rest which they take when the urgent demand for their labor is
past. This factor can seldom be illustrated by figures but an ex
ample will be found in Table I I ; the reduction of overtime in the
first half of August, after a long period of very heavy pressure,
indicated that some relaxation of effort was allowable, and not only
the bad timekeeping but the sickness rate also rose to a very high
figure. Several managers have expressed their sense of the devotion
of many of their employees, though some of them (but some only)
105796°— Bull. 230— 17-------5
6U
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M UNITION FACTORIES.
consider that the readiness to “ go sick” on comparatively slight
grounds is now again more frequent than it was in the early stages
of the war, and that there is now little difference in this respect from
times of peace. For this, in addition to the familiar difficulty of
maintaining an exalted mood indefinitely, there are in some eases
two special reasons, firstly, that long hours of work have diminished
the men’s resilience, and, secondly, that they have too often been
told that a piece of work was specially urgent and been pressed to
stick to it against the interests of their health, and then have seen
the completed product of their labor lying for weeks in the factory
before removal. This failure to remove what has been made at high
pressure produces incredulity and has a lamentable effect upon at
tendance.
(5)
The effect of long hours, much overtime, and especially of
Sunday labor, upon health is undoubtedly most deleterious. In
one factory in the Midlands, when there was much Sunday work in
the spring, no fewer than 2 2 per cent of the men were at one time
sick; but the number of men on the sick list in August, when Sunday
work had been much reduced (though overtime on week days re
mained heavy), was only a trifle over 4 per cent of the whole body.
This enormous reduction is partly attributable to the change of
season, but the figures of a neighboring factory showed that in that
district last spring, though inclement, was not abnormally unhealthy,
and I see no reason to doubt the manager’s view that the weather
was less accountable than the restriction of Sunday work.
Excessively long hours, and especially Sunday work, are similarly
responsible for the high sickness figures in Tables II and V III and
for the remarkable reluctance of the sickness curve to drop with the
improving weather. Neither the loss of men to the forces, which
took place chiefly early in the war, nor the introduction of a small
number of women (about 40) accounts for the rise between 1915
and 1916, and the 1915 figures themselves are not particularly low,
There appears to be in these figures elear evidence of increasing
strain due to incessant work.
Further analysis, however, discovers a striking difference between
different departments in this factory. The following table refers
to a body of about 180 extremely keen and steady men in heavy
machine shops. In June, 1916, their average age was about 3 9 years,
but 40 of the men were between 50 and 70 years of age. Eoughly,
80 were skilled, 60 semiskilled, and 40 unskilled. The night shift
was large and overtime was severe, especially on Sundays. The
amount of time lost avoidably was wonderfully low, considering
the nature of the work, but the total time lost shows a great increase,
owing to the remarkable rise in the sickness rate.
67
CAUSES A N D CO N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
T able
XI.
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A pr. 4 ..........................
May 9 ..........................
May 16........................
May 23.........................
May 30.........................
Junes.................
June 13........................ .
June 20........................ .
43.8
91.7
42.9
42.3
41.5
41.4
41.5
40.0
43.6
43.2
87.0
85.9
83.5
79.8
83.6
83.2
83.3
3.1
23.9
20.3
21.1
20.8
21.0
20.2
19.6
19.6
19.2
2.3
1.4
81.2
74.8
81.9
80.0
80.0
71.0
67.5
68.9
72.0
74.5
s ®-
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1915.
June ..........................
S
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1.1
1.6
2.4
1.4
1.6
2.7
4.5
7.8
6.4
7.0
8.3
8.0
10.2
6.9
6.8
8.4
9.3
8.4
65*
57f
62
61|
61
59f
60
60i
59^
i In the earlier weeks of these records Sunday overtime, though worked, was not separately entered.
The next table concerns between 300 and 400 men on heavy work in
shops with considerable smaller night shifts and Sunday shifts. The
record is in all respects less regular, but there is again an increase in
the sickness rate, as well as in bad timekeeping, despite some reduc
tion of overtime.
T able X II.
T) w
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10
1915.
June 2..................
1916.
A pr. 4 ............................
May 9..................
May 16.................
May 23.................
May 30.................
June 6..................
1
32.9 77.9 19.0
3.3
30.1
29.4
33.1
36.6
33.5
33.6
4.6
3.7
2.5
4.0
5.3
4.2
**75.3*
75.2
57.8
69.6
58.6
15.8
16.9
17.4
15.4
16.9
15.2
55.5
68.5
57.2
75.6
72.9
73.2
7.1
3.4
6.5
5.2
6.1
11- 4
6.9
7.3
10.2
10.3
10.1
55^
57
59i
SI
56^
In the earlier weeks of these records Sunday overtime, though worked, was not separately entered.
68
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
On the other hand, in four light shops with about 200 employees,
whose figures follow, the record for 1916 compares on the whole
favorably with that for 1915. The sickness rate is rather high
throughout, but it shows a tendency to respond to the influences of
improving weather and decreasing overtime, with the result that
the average hours worked at the beginning of June, 1916, are nearly
as many as in the heavy machine shops, though far more overtime
was wrorked in the latter.
T
able
X III.
2’eS'rt
o o
“ s
© W>c3
r/J
Cl
<*-i
-*-s
OX! o
Week ending-
<D0
s lg
SP” ?
03 ® o
©
03
111
O
o -S o
o f*
II
feS
2 a 3
|o
y. ►
>=
c3
o
•S
Eo
©+* C
J 91
III
© t> ©
c3©
■SSI
«oO
<73^ £
Si2
I 'i J
£
1.11
5
W«©
»d-D<'D
JSl
0
•2U«
ts fs
bJOd «
03 5
+5Ss
§■§& g ©o*
> O ft
<
9
1915.
June 2...........................
35.3
84.6
23.5
3.5
1916.
A pr. 4 .......................... .
May 9 ..........................
May 16..........................
May 23.........................
May 30.........................
June 6.......................... .
40.8
34.9
35.5
34.3
35.2
39.8
65
66.8
58.9
60.2
60.7
17.4
15.8
16.7
14.4
15.2
13.1
5.0
2.9
2.8
3.2
3.1
54.1
58.9
59.9
68.4
72.8
69.1
7.*
r.3
e.o
5.7
5.-5
8.9
12.1
10.0
8.7
8.8
8.4
7.6
10
52}
57
57|
57
59%
59}
( 0 ) SICKNESS BEFOR E AN D SINCE T H E O U T B R E A K OF W A R .
34.
Comparisons of figures of sickness before and since August,
1914, are hard to make and of little value when made, because, even
in factories which have not greatly expanded, the groups of em
ployees would be constituted to a very great extent of different per
sons. Right at the beginning of the war a large proportion of the
most vigorous and robust men left the factories, being reservists,
territorials., and so on; many others volunteered; and only a small
proportion (say 10 per cent) of the most necessary men had, last
summer, returned from the army to civil occupations. In one factory
42 per cent of the men between 18 and 35 left at the outbreak of
war; another had by July, 1916, lost over 800 out of the whole body
of about 1,800 men and recovered 85; another had lost over 180 out
of 800 and recovered 20; and so on.
CAUSES AN D CO N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
69
35. The loss of so many of the physically strongest men has meant
their replacement by boys, women, older men, and physically inferior
men. One firm writes in a very carefully considered letter that some
of their men “ had not done any regular work for years and are
probably not physically fit for even a normal working week. One
or two of them have been receiving parish relief, and one has been in
the workhouse.” Aged, decrepit men to whom charitable persons used
to give occasional light jobs in a garden now form part of the
regular body of employees in controlled establishments.
36. An increase in the sickness rate is therefore to be expected, the
newcomers being less robust and frequently unused to the noise and
atmosphere and hustle of factory life. The increase has certainly
occurred where and while very long hours have been worked, espe
cially where work has been heavy in character. It has also occurred
most conspicuously among officials and foremen. But where hours
have been reasonable, and where, having been long, they have been
reduced, it seems that, on the whole, sickness has been lower than in
normal times, especially among those engaged in light work.
The figures of one large trade-union show that the percentage of
members on sick benefit in 1915 (after allowing for those serving in
the forces) was lower than in any of the five preceding years; and
though the number of members had greatly increased., and they were
no doubt largely different persons, these changes merely reflect the
changes which have taken place in factories and do not detract from
the value of the evidence.
Similarly, in a large factory in the Midlands, while the number of
men coming under the State insurance scheme had decreased by a
sixth only., as between the spring months of 1914 and those of 1916,
the amount paid in sick benefit decreased by a fourth; and under
a voluntary scheme the amount paid decreased by over a fourth,
though the membership had actually increased.
37. The explanation of this somewhat unexpected result lies in the
fact that periods of good employment are periods of decreased in
validity. This law is excellently illustrated by the too little known
curves of attendances at the out-patients’ department of the London
Hospital, which the superintendent (Mr. H. C. Barker, M. A.,
LL.B.) has kept for the last eight years, bringing them into relation
with the general curve of unemployment published in the Board of
Trade Labor Gazette, and with a special curve of unemployment
in the London district so long as figures for the latter were avail
70
E F F IC IE N C Y AND FATIG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
able. I have to thank Mr. Barker for his kindness in allowing me
to consult these valuable diagrams. From them it is apparent that,
when allowance has been made for seasonal fluctuations, holidays on
which the department is closed, and other temporarily distracting
influences, there is regularly an increase in the number of patients in
the general medical department during protracted periods of unem
ployment, and a diminution of their number to a certain minimum
as employment recovers. For instance, during 1908, when the
percentage of unemployment rose from about 5f to over 9, the
monthly attendances rose from 5,000 to nearly 7*000; in 1909 unem
ployment fell gradually to about (>| per cent, and the attendances to
under 6;000; about midsummer, 1913, the figures had dropped after
various fluctuations to 1.9 per cent and 3,600; early in 1914 both
curves rose again; and in 1915, as unemployment fell away to under
1 per cent, the attendances were once more reduced below 4,000, and
have since remained remarkably steady at a minimum determined
by other factors than employment. It is also noticeable in Mr,
Barker’s curves with what regularity the figures of attendances,
unless already at this minimum, drop in each year during several
weeks preceding Christmas, these weeks being a busy season in that
part of London. The attendance of out-patients at a hospital are,
of course, not directly comparable in all respects with the figures of
sickness in factories, but they are in part affected by the same
influences, and if good employment improves the health of the
whole working-class district of east London, we should expect its
effect to be still more apparent in factories themselves. What may
cause surprise is that its effect has been so great as at least to counter
balance that of the withdrawal of a large proportion of the strongest
and most healthy men from factories. But employment has been
good, not only in the sense of being general, but also as being well
paid. The explanation therefore is partly that employees have been
too busy to visit the doctor or to meditate on the state of their health,
and partly that they have been more amply fed and with more nutri
tious food, more warmly clad, and (not least) more adequately shod;
so that high wages, while they may (as is often alleged) have pro
duced some loss of time by way of slackness, have prevented a far
greater loss by way of sickness. Not a little credit, too, is due in
many places to the efforts of the welfare supervisors, especially
among women, and to the provision of canteens where food may be
obtained at reasonable prices.
CAUSES A N D C O N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
71
III. LOST “ QUARTERS”
(A ) G ENER AL R E M A R K S.
38.
Work before breakfast is a topic closely connected with indus
trial sickness, for there is evidence, as will be seen below, that the
abolition of early hours often results in an improvement of health.
It is well known that, when the day shift is worked on the twobreak system, a large proportion of time avoidably lost is com
monly lost before breakfast. The following table illustrates this
fact:
Period.
Overtime.
Amount.
W hen worked.
Percentage
of practi
Hours
cally
possi
before
breakfast. ble day shift
hours lost
avoidably.
5
10
A . M.
6.20-8
I. Light (females).
May-October, 1916>
n . L ig h t..
May, 1916..............
1,400
53
2.7
1,300
53
.do..
6.45-8.30
c. 3.0
45.3
7.9
300
230
9,000
53
54
53
Moderate..
.do.......
H ea vy___
Evenings................
....... d o ......................
Chiefly Sunday___
7-9
6-8.15
6-8
2.8
C. 3.3
2 14.0
54.1
C. 95.0
20.0
6.6
c. 12.7
c. 13.5
V II. Fairly h ea vy ..
May and August,
1916 (average).
August, 1916.........
Year 1915-16.........
February - May,
1916.
Year 1915-16.........
Evenings and Sat
urday.
------ d o ....................
6.45-8.30
III. L igh t.
900
53
6-8
11.2
29.0
1 14.3
October, 1916.......
120
53
Moderate (fluctu
ating).
V e ry :
Chiefly evenings...
V III. H ea vy...........
6-8
6.1
58.0
15.7
I X ..M ixed...............
August - October,
1916.
May, 1916..............
130
53
Considerable.
Evenings and Sat
urday.
....... d o ...............
43.0
c. 17.0
1,200
53
Very h e a v y ..
200
250
53
53
Moderate___
Very heavy.
1,000
400
53
53
Moderate.......
Considerable.
May-Jime, 1916..
___ d o...................
Evenings and Sun
day.
Evenings..........
Evenings and Sun
day.
Chiefly evenings..
____d o ....................
6-8
4.9
57.0
14.6
6-8
6-8
9.0
9.5
53.0
51.0
21.0
21.4
6-8
6-8
<5.6
< 6.0
35.9
58.5
c. 12.0
c. 18.5
F A C T O R IE S .
1 Percentage of practically possible “ quarters” only; shorter periods not recorded.
2 Percentage of gross normal day shift hours lost for any reason.
8 Percentage of all practically possible hours; no allowance for night shift.
* Percentage of gross normafhours (day and night) lost for any reason.
In this table Nos. IIL IV , V, and Nos. X , X L and X II, together, refer to entire factories; in No. I a comparatively few men are omitted, and in Nos. V I and V II a comparatively
few women; Nos. II, V III, I X , and X II, and X IV , refer to some shops or departments only in large factories. A ll the factories are situated in populous areas except No. V , which
is a small country town.
M U N IT IO N
X III. H eavy.........
X IV . Very heavy.
.do..
.do..
6-8
35.0
BRITISH
H eavy................
i 7.3
IN
X
X I. Very heavy..
X I I . Very heavy.
Evenings.,
F A TIG U E
IV . Medium..
V . M edium ...
V I. M ix ed ....
900
C o n s id e r a b le
to end of July;
little since.
Considerable.........
8
AND
Hours.
53^
Percentage
of such
Percentage
avoidable
of practi
loss on dav cally possi
shift that is ble early
lost before hours lost.
breakfast.
E F F IC IE N C Y
Class of work.
Number
of em
ployees Normal
con
day shift
sidered
(approxi
mately).
XIV.
72
T able
CAtrSES AN D CO N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
73
39. In column 9 the percentage of avoidable loss on day shift that
goes before breakfast is slightly understated for No. IX , where it
has been impossible to distinguish day-shift hours from all prac
tically possible hours; it is considerably understated for No. VII,
since the firm’s figures undoubtedly exaggerate the amount of avoid
able loss by underestimating the amount of sickness, and do not
record losses of less than a full “ quarter ” ; and it is equally under
stated for Nos. VI, X III, and X IV , where the loss in “ quarters ” is
compared'with total lost time and not with avoidable lost time only.
The figures in this column, therefore, are rough, and probably rather
too low throughout, despite the fact that sometimes employees coming
a few minutes late are recorded as losing the full quarter hour or
half hour which they are fined. Allowance made for underestima
tion, it is clear that loss of early hours in all these 10 factories con
stitutes at least 30 per cent of the so-called “ avoidable ” loss on day
shift, and probably more than 30 per cent throughout, while some
times the proportion is so high as to be the main determinant of the
curve of bad timekeeping.
40. It must be borne in mind, however, that not all loss of early
hours is really avoidable. It often happens that a large number of
the employees live at a distance from the factory, and any breakdown
in transport may entail loss of time. As would be expected, it is
often the most keen and sensible men who choose to live well away
from their work, and on the whole they may lose less time than those
who live near by; still, they are bound to lose quarter hours and
half hours occasionally through no fault of their own, which go to
swell the total loss in factories which fail to distinguish unavoidable
lateness very carefully. At the present time, of course, factories
which have greatly increased their numbers are often employing
very many operatives, keen and slack alike, who can not find lodging
near their work.
41. Further, part of the loss of quarters is in some cases really
due to fatigue and to minor ailments. The man who is “ fagged ”
and “ off-color ” after long hours of work, the man who has a heavy
cold on a wintry morning, the man who suffers from rheumatism
and has to start from home at 5 o’clock through the rain, may some
times lose a quarter unnecessarily, but very often they save them
selves from a more serious loss by occasionally “ sleeping in.” The
officials of carefully managed firms are generally well aware that
not all bad timekeeping is morally bad, and in their minds make
allowance for this fact; but in records, as a rule, the point is not
made apparent.
42. Column 10 of the same table, giving the percentage of prac
tically possible early hours lost, refers only to loss of quarters or
shorter periods as such, and does not include the loss of a quarter in
volved in the loss of a ha>lf day or day; in factories No. I and No. V II
74
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
only full quarters are accounted, the loss of shorter periods not being
recorded. In Nos. VI, X III, and X IV a conjectural allowance has
been made for sickness, etc., in arriving at the percentage, so as to
make the figures comparable with the rest, but they are to be taken
as approximate only.
43. It will be noticed that the loss of possible early hours is much
less in the factories which start after 6 a. m. than in those which
£»tari at that hour, and this appears to be the general rule, though
of course there are exceptions. In only one case do I happen to have
obtained figures from a factory starting work at 6 o’clock where the
percentage of possible quarters lost was low, and those figures were
not sufficiently accurate to be included in the above table. The fac
tory was engaged on heavy work, with considerable overtime but
little night shift. In May last roughly about 3.6 per cent of prac
tically possible day-shift hours were lost avoidably; of this loss 41.5
per cent occurred before breakfast, but as the quarter was
hours,
this means a loss of only about 5.3 per cent of possible quarters.
In March the loss had been much heavier, and altogether these
figures seem to be exceptional rather than typical.
44. Officials are often inclined to surmise that if their rules about
late entry were stricter, when they are easy, or more lax, when they
are strict, attendance would improve. The arguments for and
against either course are obvious. The tendency during the war has
been toward a relaxation of rules, especially when a large number of
the employees live at a distance. In point of fact, however, there
does not seem to be any normal relation between degrees of punc
tuality and degrees of strictness or laxity in rules. On the whole,
experience seems to favor rather strict rules combined with a reason
able willingness to make exceptions in case of transport breakdown
or other unavoidable accident; but in large factories this is difficult
to arrange, and even in small factories strict rules are not always
successful.
E. g., No. V, above refers to a small factory, most of
whose employees live near by; the rule is that after 6 a. m. up to
6.15 a man is counted as having lost half an hour, and after 6.15
can not enter till 9; most of the men are time workers, and in addi
tion to losing their time rate, late comers are (by arrangement
between the firm and employees) fined for the benefit ofxthe men’s
sick club; and yet the percentage of time lost before breakfast is
high, practically all the avoidably lost time going in the early hours.
45. In some of the factories whose results are tabulated above the
proportion o f lost quarters is higher than in normal times, and this
for four principal reasons:
First, employees have been taken on who are unused to factory
life, and some of whom are too unstable either physically or morally
or in both respects to work full hours.
CAtTSSS A N D CO N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
7-5
Secondly, dearth of men, especially in some skilled heavy trades,
compels employers to tolerate irregularity which would be punished
by dismissal in time of peace.
Thirdly, the present darkness of the streets on winter mornings
militates in some places against punctuality,
46. The first and second reasons apply to lost time generally, but
especially to lost quarters, and against them must be set regularity
above the normal on the part of the best and keenest employees.
The effect of overtime on lost quarters is difficult to determine at all
precisely. The different ways in which overtime may cause loss of
normal time have already been mentioned; here the only question
is how far it necessitates lost quarters by overstrain. Evidently, if a
person by a sleeping in ” occasionally prevents a breakdown in health
which would mean a much longer absence, the loss o f a quarter now
and then may be entered as bad timekeeping, but is really com
mendable,
47. -Now in some cases where heavy overtime is worked the lost
quarters are partly attributable in this way to fatigue and reasonable
prudence. Thus, e. .g_, the men in heavy machine shops recorded in
Table X I, whose overtime hours in May were over a fifth of their
practically possible normal hours, and whose average loss of such
normal hours by bad timekeeping in that month was only 1.6 per cent
(or a little over three-quarters o f an hour a man), made on an aver
age 71 per cent of that loss before breakfast (or about 36 minutes a
man). There is no doubt in the case of these amazingly steady
workers that the bulk of this loss (which equals 5 per cent of possible
early hours) is really unavoidable. As was pointed out on p a g e 6,
the same is probably true of a proportion of the quarters lost by the
whole body of employees recorded in Table II. A t the same time it
can not be argued that overtime accounts for the majority of lost
quarters. I f it did, we should find (1) reduction of overtime con
stantly accompanied by a drop in the number of latecomers, and we
should probably also find (2) some relation between the days on
which overtime is worked and the days on which most quarters are
lost. Frequently, however, no such connections can be traced. Thus:
(1)
In the factory whose figures are given under No. I in Table
X IY , the women were up to the end of July working
hours over
time on three or four evenings each week. (The normal day shift
ended at 5.30; they had then, when on overtime, f hour for tea,
which was provided free, and worked on from 5.45 to 8.30.) It
might have been expected that cessation of overtime would have
reduced the number of quarters lost, especially as over 50 per cent of
the girls live at a distance, with very poor transport facilities; as
a matter of fact, however, the attendance in the morning decreased
in August, and showed no improvement even in September after a
holiday. Again, the men recorded in No. X I of the same table,
76
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N ItT O N FACTORIES.
working moderate overtime, lost many more quarters than those in
No. X , and nearly as many as those in No. X II, both working very
heavy overtime.
(2)
The days on which quarters are principally lost bear no rela
tion to those on which overtime is worked. Monday is universally
the worst day; as a rule the morning after the day to which pay is
accounted is next to it in loss of quarters. The day-to-day curve of
lost quarters is sometimes remarkable for the regularity of its move
ments. In Diagram V the absolute figures, which are high, are re
placed by letters. Pay in the factory referred to is accounted to
Tuesday; Monday is the worst day, Wednesday comes next to it, and
Saturday (being a short shift) is the best. The curve has had this
form for years past; this extract from it refers to four weeks in
May and June, 1916.
One curious result of this selection of days is that a holiday on
Monday is apt to lower, and a holiday on Saturday to raise, the
weekly percentage of time lost avoidably. Monday is from this
point of view the most economical full day for a holiday.
48. The regularity with which a greater number of quarters is lost
on certain days indicates deliberate choice of those days, and the
preference for 66sleeping in ” on Monday, even when there has been
no Sunday shift, disproves any direct connection between overtime
and much of the loss of early hours. It is, of course, true that a man
who feels “ fagged ” or “ off color ” may to some extent choose his
peaceful mornings with other considerations in view besides his need
of rest, but if definite fatigue were the main motive, the tendency
would be for most absences to occur in the second part of the week
among men not engaged in work on Sunday. Another negative
argument is the heavy loss of quarters on the day after a general
holiday. The true motive, there, as on Mondays, is the drag of the
flesh against beginning the same old grind again.
(B ) O N E -B R E A K AND T W O -B R E A K SY STE M S.1
49. Seeing that in the factories quoted in Table X IV the best
results are obtained when work is started later than 6 a. m., the
further question suggests itself whether the two-break system would
not be better abolished. The mere number of absences, whether avoid
able or not, is by itself a serious matter. It involves considerable
disorganization; sometimes a night-shift man has to be kept at a
machine on overtime rates when he ought to be in bed; sometimes
a man has to be brought from other work to a vacant machine; fre
quently the supply of material to a further stage in manufacture
is retarded.
1 A s h e r e a fte r used, th e term “ on e-b rea k system ” m ean s s ta r t in g w o rk a fte r b re a k fa st,
a n d th e term “ tw o-b rea k sy stem ” m ean s s ta r tin g b e fo re b re a k fa st. T h e te rm s h a ve n o
r e fe re n ce to w h a t m ay be th e op tim u m n u m b er o f su b seq u en t breaks.
CAUSES
AND
CONDITIONS
OF
LOST' TIME.
77
50. But this is only part of the objection to the system. It is only
a minority of persons that can put out their best work before having
a proper meal in the morning. One manager observed that when
he was in the shops he had calculated his own output and found
that, even when he was equally keen and interested, it was only
about a third in the early hours of what it was after breakfast. In
O fA 6R AM V .
78
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIGTJE I N B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
heavy works this point may be obscured, and men will sometimes
airgue for early hours on the ground that their best work is don©
then. But, of course, the comparison must be between the first few
hours of work when begun before breakfast and the first hours when
fbegun after breakfast, not between the first couple and the second
icouple of hours on the same day.
■51. A third objection to the two-break system is that every break
mieans some waste of time before and after. Attention is apt to be
diverted from the work in hand to the food’s condition some time
before the interval, and after the interval a shop generally takes a
little time to get into full swing again. This waste of time may
indeed be diminished by the provision of a breakfast canteen or by
very efficient arrangements for warming the breakfasts, but power
[records are apt to show a gradual drop in the half hour before breakifast and again a gradual rise in the half hour after it. Fourthly,
the much later entry of the superior officials has a bad moral effect
upon the operatives. Fifthly, in the absence of superior officials
the foremen’s supervision is often lax. Lastly, lost quarters are
apt to lead to lost days, as is shown by the figures of firm D below.
(i)
DETIALS
OF FACTORIES.
In view of these objections a certain number of firms have in
recent years gone over from the two-break to the one-break system,
while there are others that have throughout worked on the latter
system, as, indeed, has long been done in some factories, especially
those controlled by Sir William Mather and Sir Robert Hadfield.
The following notes concerning some such firms contain figures
which may be compared with those in previous tables.
Firm A .—Light work (textile).—Two factories in the same town.
Under the old system work began at 6 a. m. and the first break was
at 9 o’clock; pieceworkers worked 55 and timeworkers 55^ hours
a week, the odd half hour being used for cleaning up. Some years
ago hours were reduced to 49 and 49J a week, with shifts as follows:
Monday to Friday, 8-12*30. 1.30-6.
Saturday, 8-12.
There is no night shift.
In the first factory the following records compare the absenteeism
among about 3,700 female workers for the six months ending in
August of the year before and the year after the change.
B e fo re th e
ch a n g e .
A ft e r th e
ch an ge.
Average number of hours lost (each week over
3. 77
2. 54
head for any reason____________________________
Percentage of gross possible hours lost for any
reason___________________________________________
6. 84
5.16
Percentage of employees absent one morning a
week------------------------------------------------ --------------------10.93
2. 51
(for 3 hours), (for 4£ hours).
CAUSES' A N D CO N D ITIO N S OF LO ST TIME.
79
The improvement in respect of morning attendances was most
marked among the pieceworkers; before the change they lost on an
average more mornings than the timeworkers, but after the change
fewer, though their total percentage of time lost continued to be
higher than that of the timeworkers.
In the second factory (somewhat larger, but more accessible) y a
comparison of three corresponding months before the change and in
1915 (some years later) shows:
B e fo r e
th e ch an ge.
Average number of hours lost each week overhead
for any reason___________________________________
Percentage of gross possible hours lost for any
reason___________________________________________
Percentage of employees absent at all for any
reason_________________________________________
1915.
2. 66
1.85
4 .8
3 .8
18.0
7 .6
The change of system did not involve any loss to time workers;
pieceworkers’ earnings on an average improved all round, owing to
their more regular attendance and greater vigor; health has im
proved; work is better both in quality and quantity; and the total
output has increased, despite the reduction of hours which, although
the attendance has improved, has considerably lowered the average
number of hours worked. No separate record of sickness is kept, but
the management considers that most of the time now lost is due to
sickness, though sometimes of a minor kind.
Before the change was first introduced, a ballot of the workers was
taken (in a January) to ascertain whether the 8 o’clock start was
preferred for the winter months; 77.4 per cent of the workers voted
in favor of it. In the May following a further ballot was taken to
determine whether the change should be permanent; 62.84 per cent of
the workers voted in favor of it. The reduction of the majority was
probably due to several causes. First, in the summer months the
early start was less disliked. Secondly, the immediate effect of the
change had been some diminution of output and decrease of piece
workers’ average earnings. Thirdly, when reduced hours are said
to bring in the end an increase in average pieceworkers’ earnings, it
must be remembered that the strongest and deftest workers, who had
made most under the old system, may earn rather less than before.1
The management after some years’ experience of the change is ex
tremely well satisfied with it, and considers that, were a ballot taken
now, not 10 per cent of the employees would vote for reversion to
the old system.
Firm B.—Engineers; work of medium heaviness. Factory in a
small town, with fair train service and good tram service to larger
1 Cp. th e R e p o r t o f th e C h ie f I n s p e c t o r o f F a c t o r ie s , 1 9 1 3 , p . 60, on re d u c tio n o f
h ou rs w ith 8 o ’ clo ck s ta r t in lin e n -w e a v in g sheds a t D u n fe rm lin e .
H o u rs w e re red u ced
1 5 p e r ce n t, p ie ce ra tes ra ised 5 p er cen t. T h e b est p ie ce w o r k e rs ’ e a rn in g s (t h o u g h
n o t th e a v e ra g e ) w ere red u ced a b ou t 10 p e r cen t.
80
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIGU E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
towns (3 miles or more away) where some of the employees live. A
few years ago the weekly day-shift hours were reduced from 54 to 50,
with shifts as follows:
Monday to Friday, 8 to 12.30, 1.30 to 6.
Saturday, 7 to 12.
There is little or no night work. Exceptions to the change are the
iron foundry, which is on two shifts, and another very hot shop,
which is on three 8-hour shifts; but these tw^o shops are small. Total
employees, from 600 to 700, nearly all males.
Timeworkers received the same actual wages as before the change;
pieceworkers soon came to earn as much as, or more than, before.
Output, after the first few weeks, showed no decrease, but, if any
thing, an increase.
Men are not allowed to bring breakfast with them, and the rules
of late entry are very strict. Anyone at all late runs the risk of los
ing the whole day. The works manager makes a point of being in
the factory by 8 o’clock, so that he requires no more of the men than
of himself—a point to which he attaches great importance. Loss of
time, except through sickness, has practically ceased altogether; and
sickness itself has shown a marked decrease. Neither management
nor men would on any account revert to the old system.
It is worth noting that overtime, when necessary, is worked in the
early morning. The extra pay induces regular attendance, and the
most highly paid work is done when men are fresh and not wThen they
are fagged. Moreover, it was found after experiment that early
overtime is a healthier arrangement, especially, in the summer, than
extra hours at night.
Firm C.—Engineers: Factory in a small town; work fairly heavy;
an unusually high proportion of skilled men. Number of employees
over 1,000 at the time of the change of system, all males, mostly living
reasonably near the factory. Until a few years ago a 53 hours day
shift week was worked, starting at 6 a. m. A change was then made
to the one-break system with the following hours:
Day shift.—Monday, 7.30-5.30.
i .
Tuesday to Thursday, 7-5.30. I With an hour off for
Friday, 7-5.
j dmnerSaturday 7-11.30.
A 51 hours week.
Night shift.—7-10, 11-7, when necessary.
The rules about late entry are now very strict. Before the change
there had been quite unusual slackness, even foremen missing quar
ters, and the amount of time lost by bad timekeeping only (apart
from sickness) wTas as much as 16 per cent of possible hours. More
over, power records showed much waste of time just before and after
the breakfast interval. The result of the change was to reduce the
CAUSES A N D CO N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
81
loss by bad timekeeping to 2.5 per cent. No doubt this striking im
provement is not wholly due to the change itself, but partly to stricter
supervision, and to the dismissal of very slack foremen by a new and
very energetic managing director. The latter himself, however, is
very strongly in favor of the new system, and considers the hours
particularly good. It will be noticed that an allowance is made for
the difficulty men feel in getting out of bed on Monday morning, and
that the strain is eased off toward the end of the week.
In order to meet the objection that under the one-break system the
spells of continuous work are too long, a traveling tray goes round
at about 10.15 a. m. on day shift and 2 a. m. on night shift bearing
biscuits, mineral waters and (at night) tea, and so on, which men
may buy and consume for quarter of an hour in the firm’s time with
out leaving their machines.
Firm D .—Engineers: Factory situated in a small town in a ver}^
populous industrial district, employing about 900 males, with a com
paratively small number of women and girls. Work mostly heavy.
No regular night shift; overtime moderate. Employees mostly live
fairly near the works.
The two-break system was worked until the middle of March, 1916.
Under that system the hours were as follows:
Monday, 9 to 1, 2 to 5.
Tuesday to Thursday, 6 to 8.30, 9 to 1, 2 to 5.
Friday, 6 to 8.30, 9 to 1, 2 to 6.
Saturday, 6 to 8.30, 9 to 12,
making a week of 51| hours. The day-shift week of the district is
54 hours, but the Monday “ quarter ” had been abandoned as hopeless.
The loss of quarters had long been a serious trouble. At one time
men missing quarters were fined sixpence [12.2 cents], the fines going
into a central fund which was periodically distributed in proportion
to the hours men had worked; but this device was not very successful,
and being also unpopular was in the end abandoned. Toward the end
of 1915 the firm suggested a change to the one-break system, the hours
to be 8 to 1, 2 to 6 on Mondays to Fridays, and 8 to 1 on Saturdays.
Various objections were raised by the men, of which the chief was
that a clash with school hours would prevent their children from
bringing their dinner to the works. It was agreed to continue the old
system for a month on trial, with slight modifications, but the result
was unsatisfactory, and finally the change was made last March, with
the strong approval of the Ministry of Munitions. To meet the ob
jection mentioned, the spells are arranged as follows:
Monday to Friday, 8 to 12.30, 1.30 to 6,
Saturday, 8 to 1,
an arrangement which has the further advantage of avoiding a
5-hour spell except on Saturday. It has been agreed that the change
105796°— Bull. 230— 17----- 6
82
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B B IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
shall be in the first place for the period of the war only, and that at
the end of the war a reversion shall be made to the old system, if
employees so desire.
Under the new system the rules about late entry are strict. No law
is allowed, but foremen are instructed to accept reasonable excuses.
The day-shift week having been reduced to 50 hours, a man working
the full time gets 4 hours’ bonus, i. e., is rated as having worked the
54 hours of the district. But before going on to overtime rates
he must actually work 54 hours (rated as 58). Overtime work is
partly carried on in the morning—from 6 to 7.30 a. m.—steady men
being selected for that period.
This example of the change of system is important as having been
effected during the war. Some doubt may be felt whether such a
change must not, even though advantageous in the long run, result
in reduced output for a time. The firm’s experience shows that
such a reduction need not always take place; output increased imme
diately after the change, and the improvement has been maintained
ever since.
The effect upon timekeeping is illustrated by the following figures:
Under the two-break system the hours avoidably lost in days and
quarters were in January, 1916, over 5 per cent of gross possible
normal time, and in March over 7 per cent. Under the one-break
system the avoidable loss was in July 0.8 per cent and in November
1.5 per cent. Thus while the nominal weekly hours had decreased
as between February and November from 51| to 50, the average
hours actually worked (unavoidable absences apart) increased from
under 48 to 49^. Exact figures of unavoidable absences are not
forthcoming, but the firm is certain that sickness has also decreased.
Before the change over 40 per cent of the total avoidable loss
went in quarters. But the following figures also confirm the opinion
which is often expressed that lost quarters bring lost days with them.
1915
January................
February..............
July.......................
N ovem ber............
Percent
age of
quarters
lost
avoidably.
8.3
12.1
Percentage of days lost
avoidably.
Over 4. o}tw °-break system.
g|one-break syswm.
Even under the new system Monday remains the worst day for
absences. In July there were on an average twice as many men
away on Mondays as on the other days and in November over four
times as many; indeed, the increase in loss of time ii? November over
CAUSES A N D CO N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
83
July is almost entirely due to absentees on Mondays. But the gen
eral improvement in attendance is very remarkable.
Firm E .—Engineers: Factory situated in a large town; about
1,050 males and 350 females employed. Work varies from light to
fairly heavy. Until June last a 53-hour day-shift week was worked
with daily hours as follows;
Monday to Friday, 6.30-8.30, 9-1, 2-5.30.
Saturday, 6.30-8.30, 9-12.30.
A change was then made to a 50-hour week, with the following
daily hours:
Monday to Friday, 7-12, 1-6*
The night shift is small, but when needed works from 7 p. m.
to 6 a. m. with a one-hour break. It is not usually necessary for
day shift and night shift to meet.
The new day-shift hours involve two 5-hour spells, but the work
ers are allowed to have a drink of tea and some food between 8.45
and 9 a. m. on the understanding that the work proceeds at the
same time, and in the afternoon a boy is told off to prepare a can of
tea for any workers who wish it on the same condition. Moreover,
the men in the foundry, which is large, are allowed some latitude
in going home before closing hour if their work is done. A point
of special interest is the abolition of normal work on Saturday.
At present most of the men are working overtime from 7 to 11 a. m.
©n Saturday, receiving pay at the rate of time and a quarter; but
in normal times, when there is no pressure, they will have Saturday
free. The firm considers that this scheme has two great advantages:
When overtime is necessary it is worked when the men are com
paratively fresh, and when it is unnecessary the two days7 rest at
the end of the week will give them time to pursue their private in
terests and will be beneficial to their health.
It will be noticed that this change also has been introduced during
the war. A few objections were raised at first, chiefly on the ground
that the new dinner hour differed from that usual in the district,
but the firm considers that the men are now all in favor of the fiveday week. Most of them are timeworkers, and they receive the
same amount of wages for 50 hours now as for 53 hours previously.
Output probably fell for two or three weeks immediately after the
change, but is now greater than before, timekeeping having im
proved remarkably. The avoidable loss of time in the spring before
the change was sometimes as much as 10 per cent of possible normal
time; in December, 1916, it had dropped to 2| per cent. Health has
also improved. Rules about late entry are now strict, the right of
late entry at 7.30, which was at first allowed, having led to irregu
84
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
larity. Monthly certificates, which carry a cash bonus, are issued
to those who keep perfect time, and a further annual bonus is
proposed.
The following notes refer to firms which have never worked on
the twTo-break system:
Firm F.—Engineers: Work light but in large part highly skilled.
Over 1,500 employees, including now about 10 per cent women.
Day-shift week, 50 hours, with shifts as follows:
Monday to Friday, 8-12.45, 1.30-6.
Saturday, 8-11.45.
From 11 to 11.20 a. m. and 4 to 4.20 p. m. men are allowed to
smoke at their work, smoking in lavatories, etc., having been pro
hibited. Power records show a slight decline at these times, but on
the whole the result is regarded as beneficial. Women get a break
of 10 minutes or so. The night shift is comparatively small. Over
time is worked in the evening. The firm would have preferred
overtime on Saturday, as the normal Saturday shift is too short to
be very useful; but after a trial the men objected.
Rules about late entry permit considerable latitude, allowing five
minutes’ grace in the forenoon and two minutes in the afternoon,
after which men lose by quarter hours, coming in when they will.
Records of lost time, taken occasionally, are very regular and show
that the total loss is, according to the season, from 2.5 to 3.5 of
possible ordinary hours, i. e., the average ordinary hours worked
vary from 48J to 48J. Notified sickness accounts for 0.5 to 1 per
cent of possible time, i. e., for quarter to half an hour in every
working week, but the managing director regards a great part of
the remaining lost time as being due to minor ailments. He considers
that the late start combined with great cleanliness in the factory
and excellent dining arrangements have a very beneficial effect on
the health and vigor of the men, with the result that the quality
and quantity of the work done are superior to those usual under
the ordinary arrangement of hours. He was, however, inclined to
think 6 p. m. a trifle late for stopping work and to think the
Saturday shift rather too short.
Finn G.—Engineers: Factory in a small town employing over
2,200 males and over 600 females; weight of work very much varied.
Day shift.—Monday, 7.30-12.15, 1.15-5.45.
Tuesday to Friday, 7.15-12.15, 1.15-5.45.
Saturday, 7.15-12,
i. e., a week of 52 houss.
The night shift is comparatively small and works from 5.45 to 10,
from 11 to 3.30, and from 4 to 7.15, all hours over 52 in the week
CAUSES A N D CO N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
85
ranking as overtime. (Recently a change has been made in twoshift shops, lengthening the day-shift hours by overtime and reduc
ing the night shift.) Munition workers on shells, etc., are on the
special-schedule shifts. About half the employees were working
overtime in July, 1916, averaging nine hours each.
Rules about late entry are fairly strict, and after 7.45 employees
can not go in without special permission till dinner time. To en
courage punctuality comparative returns are posted of the per
centages of employees in different shops losing half hours in the
morning. A note is added calling attention to the importance of
regularity and appealing to the employees’ patriotism. In most
departments the number of late arrivals is from 2 to 5 per cent in
good weather and from 3 to 8 per cent in bad.
In the period of 13 months to the end of July, 1916, the propor
tion of possible time lost for any reason, if broken holiday weeks
and the week of the blizzard at the end of March are excluded, was
just over 7 per cent. This is not a specially low figure, but its height
is mainly due to unusually bad transport facilities; about 15 per
cent of the employees live in villages up to 6 miles away, and they
are largely dependent on bicycles for getting to their work. Bad
weather has therefore a trebly evil effect on timekeeping, discourag
ing some from leaving home, making others late, and causing illness
in others. The figures for the early summer of 1916 are distinctly
better than those for 1914, before the war. The management of
the firm emphatically prefers the one-break system and believes it
to be preferred by employees also. But a rather later start would
probably improve timekeeping and health in this factory.
Firm H.—Engineers: A very large factory on the outskirts of a
large town; work very various in weight and comparable with
Firm G’s.
Day shift.—Monday to Friday, 7-12, 1-5.30. Saturday, 7-12, a
52|~hour week.
Night shift.—8-12, 1-6, a 45-hour week. The shifts are con
nected by overtime where necessary.
Rules about late entry are easy, time being lost by quarter hours
up to 9 a. m., after which there is no admission before dinner.
Some girls are on three shifts, and their record is the worst in the
factory; generally, there is no material difference from pre-war
figures, though the presence of a considerable proportion of less
efficient men may have increased slightly the percentage of time
lost. At the end of July, 1916, this was 6.4 per cent of gross possible
time (about 3.4 hours overhead) lost for any reason Avhatever. It
had been considerably lower, but the hot weather raised the figure.
86
E F F IC IE N C Y AND FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
The proportion accountable to sickness and other unavoidable rea
sons is not separately recorded, but as 15.7 per cent of the employees
lost 6 hours or more each, it is probably considerable; and this view
is supported by the more detailed figures for one department quoted
in Table III. There the percentage of possible time lost for any
reason was 7.9 at the end of July, and of this about 61 per cent
among the males and 79 per cent among the females (72 per cent
overhead) was unavoidable, the percentage of practically possible
time avoidably lost being 2.5 among males, 2 among females, and
2.2 overhead. In that department, during the weeks whose figures
are tabulated, an average of 57.5 per cent of the males and 63.7
per cent of the females (60.6 per cent of all employees) lost no time
at all each week.1
Firm /.—Engineers: Three factories, Nos. 1 and 2 in proximity to
one another in a large town, No. 3 in a small town in the same district*
Factory No. 1 (of which some shops are recorded as No. II in
Table X IV ) employed in the spring something under 7,000 men and
about 400 women on light work, a comparatively small proportion
being skilled. Factory No. 2 (the No. I l l of Table X IV ) employed
from 1,300 to 1,500 men, with a higher proportion skilled. Factory
No. 3 employed under 1,500 operatives, also on light work, and a
small number of women.
Factories Nos. 1 and 2 work the following day-shift hours:
Monday to Thursday, 6.45-8.30, 9-1, 2-6.
Friday, 6.45-8.30, 9-1, 2-5.30.
Saturday, 6.45-8.30, 9-12.
In factory No. 3 the day-shift hours are:
Monday to Thursday, 8-1, 2-7.
Friday, 8-1, 2-6.
Saturday, 8-12.
The day-shift week is, therefore, 53 hours in all three factories.
1 In re g a r d t o b ad tim e k e e p in g g e n e ra lly a re c o rd o f th e p e rce n ta g e o f e m p loy ees
lo s in g tim e a v o id a b ly is a u s e fu l ch eck u p o n th^ p e rce n ta g e o f tim e a v o id a b ly lo st.
T h u s, in th e w eek e n d in g M a y 23, 191 6 , th e em p loy ees r e fe rr e d to in T a b le I I lo s t 4
p er ce n t o f p r a c t ic a lly p o ss ib le tim e, b u t 48 p er ce n t o f them lo s t n o tim e, a n d a n o th e r
25 p e r c e n t lo s t less th a n 4 p e r cen t.
In th e sam e w eek th e m en r e c o rd e d in T a b le
V I I lo s t n e a rly 10 p er c e n t o f p r a c t ic a lly p oss ib le h o u rs, b u t o f th em 5 3.5 p er ce n t
w ere lo s in g n o t m ore th a n 2 h ou rs, a n d a n o th e r 23 p er ce n t n o t m ore th a n 4 h o u rs,
s h o w in g th a t th e h ig h loss Was m a in ly due to a fe w m en.
In a su b seq u en t w eek in
S ep tem b er th e d is tr ib u tio n o f lo ss w a s m ore gen era l, b u t even th en 4 0 p er ce n t o f th e
m en a cco u n te d fo r 75 p er ce n t o f th e tim e lo s t.
A g a in , in th e fa c t o r y r e fe r r e d to as
N o. V I I in T a b le X I V , w h ile th e a v o id a b le lo ss fo r a p e rio d o f 61 w eek s w a s re co rd e d
as 11.2 p er c e n t o f g r o ss p o ss ib le tim e, o v e r 65 p er ce n t o f th e m en a re re c o rd e d as
lo s in g n o t m ore th a n 2 h o u rs fn ea ch w eek, o r, in o th e r w o r d s , as b e in g re a so n a b ly
g o o d tim ek eep ers.
87
CAUSES A N D CO N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
In February, 1916, a comparison of the records of the men only
in the three factories gave the following results:
T
able
XV.
Percentage of men losing
avoidably.
Hours lost.
Avoidably.
Fac
tory.
System.
5
Under hours
5 hours but
a week.. under
10.
10
hours
or
more.
A ny
time
at all.
Through sick
ness or leave.
Total.
Per
Per
Per
Per
Per
cent
Per
cent
cent
of pos
em
em
of pos
em
of pos
sible
ployee
ployee
ployee
sible
sible
(hours). normal (hours). normal (hours). normal
hours.
hours.
hours.
No. 1
2-break.........
23.9
5.5
6.6
36.1
1.602
3.2
1.237
2.3
2.929
5.5
No. 2
2-break.........
22.3
2.8
5.7
30.9
1.458
2.7
1.197
2.2
2.655
5.0
N o. 3
1-break.........
.4
.5
1.0
.060
.1
1.197
2.2
1.257
2.38
.00
In the middle of March factory No. 1 showed an avoidable loss
of 1.17 hours (2.2 per cent) per male employee and 1.79 hours (3.3
per cent) per female; while in factory No. 3 the male employees lost
avoidably 0.066 hours (0.1 per cent) and the 170 female employees
no time at all, the average loss overhead being 0.058 hours (0.1 per
cent).
Timekeeping is good in all three factories, none of which starts
work very early, but uncommonly good in the third. One might
be inclined to attribute its superiority to local conditions or to the
fact that a larger proportion of employees were on overtime in the
other works, were it not that a few years ago factory No. 1 had
the same arrangement of shifts that factory No. 3 now has, and the
total lost time recorded for a period under the one-break system was
only 1.670 hours overhead (or 3.1 per cent). The average loss by
sickness in February, 1916, is much the same in all three factories,
viz, about 1.2 hours. This is not a high figure—in factory No. 1 it
had mounted a fortnight later to 3.15 hours for males (7.23 for
females)—and we may fairly deduct 1 hour from the 1911 record
on this score. That leaves an avoidable loss of 0.6 hours per em
ployee under the one-break system, as against 1.69 hours in Febru
ary and 1.17 in March, 1916, under the two-break system. Examples
of a reversion from the one-break to the older system are very rare;
in this case the step was taken for reasons irrelevant to this discus
sion, and the results scarcely give cause for satisfaction/ The records
of this firm are specially interesting because the difference in early
hours is not complicated by a difference in the number of hours
88
E F F IC IE N C Y AN D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
worked a week, whereas in all the other instances quoted of the onebreak system the total hours are shorter than is usual under the twobrealf system.
(il)
RESULTS
OF TH E
EVIDENCE.
53. It appears:
(1) That if early hours be worked, the loss is likely to decrease
if the start be later than 6 a. m .;
(2) That when the total day-shift week is the same, there are
likely to be more hours actually worked without than with work
before breakfast, other conditions being similar;
(3) That a reduction of hours may be compensated for or even
outweighed by the abolition of early hours, partly owing to reduced
absences, partly owing to reduced waste of time, and partly owing to
the greater vigor of work after food.
These conclusions need some amplification and qualification.
(1) Early work in factories seems to be an inheritance partly
from the necessary habits of agriculture and partly from the urban
habits of a period when towns were small and unlit at night, and
the population went early to bed. The modern industrial town does
not begin to be interesting or stimulating, or even to veil its ugliness,
until the lamps are lit. It is vain for employers to recall the cus
toms of their forefathers (whom after all they do not emulate),
and to bewail the degeneracy of these latter days. The village can
rise early because it goes early to bed. But the town dweller will not
go early to bed, which would mean for him having no life of his own.
The first and simplest way of meeting the difficulty is by starting a
little later and ending a little later. Even to do so on Mondays only
(or to abolish the early hours on Mondays only) is a gain of time;
but a somewhat later start throughout is better, because it assists
those employees who live at a distance and gives all more chance
of taking some food before leaving home.
On the other hand this plan does not avoid the inferiority of work
before a regular meal or the disadvantages of two breaks, and it
presents this difficulty, that if a full two hours be worked before
breakfast, the meal is put still later than on the usual system, while a
shorter spell is in some classed of work too short to be effective. Of
course, if timekeeping alone is considered, the shorter the spell the
better.
(2) It is rarely that a direct comparison is possible, such as that
between the factories of Firm I above. Differences in management,
kind of work, local customs and character, amount of overtime^
accessibility of the factory, and so on, are so numerous and important
that comparative figures should, as a rule, be regarded as at most
indicating a tendency, not as establishing a law. The opinions of
experienced managers and other officials acquainted with both sys
CAUSES AN D CON DITIO N S OF LOST' T IM E .
89
tems are really more valuable than any number of figures, and I have
found such opinions unanimously against the two-break system, in
consideration alike of effective organization, timekeeping, health,
and output.
(3)
A discussion of reduction of normal factory hours after the
war is outside the scope of this memorandum. I have found among
managers and employers a frequent (though not unanimous) opinion
in favor of it, coupled with considerable difference of opinion as to
the best mode of effecting it. Anyhow, where abolition of work
before breakfast has been accompanied by a reduction of hours, the
result has been all to the good in the factories mentioned. When
loss of quarters and wasted time about the breakfast interval are at
all considerable, a reduction in hours may mean a gain in time
worked, if early hours are abolished. Suppose 100 men on a normal
day-shift week of 53 hours, losing “ avoidably ” 10 per cent of pos
sible quarters, and suppose that each man present wastes 2J minutes
before the breakfast interval and 2^ minutes after it, the time lost or
wasted in these ways is 165 hours in all. Suppose that after a change
to the one-break system 15 per cent of the men lose half an hour
each day, or 45 hours a week^ there will be a gain of over an hour a
man each week, or, in other words, the day-shift week can be reduced
by an hour with no loss in time actually worked.
The example is artificial, of course. It takes no account of sickness
or of avoidably lost days; but the evidence is that both decrease on
the one-break system. It supposes that before the change loss in
the early hours goes entirely in whole quarters, which is never the
case; but the waste of time is as bad or worse if men trickle in gradu
ally. It certainly underestimates the amount of wasted time that is
frequently found about the interval,1 and does not put the case for
the one-break system in an unfairly favorable light. The gain in
time may easily be greater, and, as has been pointed out, time is only
part of the gain.
54.
In this connection the following table has some interest, show
ing the average number of normal day-shift hours actually worked in
certain factories. It must be read subject to the warning already
given against hasty comparisons and generalizations^ and allowances
must be made for the different times of year, but, that understood,
it does appear to indicate that, as the nominal hours are reduced, the
hours actually worked do not fall in proportion. In this table aV
normal time lost is allowed for, whether due to slackness or to sick
ness and other unavoidable causes. (The average total hours, norma “
and overtime, differ, of course, more widely than the average normal
hours only, the highest total averages being those of Nos. 8 and 13.)
1 Cp. D r. V ern on , supra, p a rs. 29 and SO.
90
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E I N B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTO RIES.
T able X V I.
Class of work.
1. Light (textile)..
2. L igh t...............
3. Mixed.
4.
5.
6.
7.
7.
7.
M ixed....................
L igh t.....................
L igh t......................
L ig h t .....................
L ig h t.....................
Light (some de
partments).
, L igh t.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
M edium ...........
M edium .............
Fairly h ea vy______
H ea v y .....................
H e a v y ......... ............
H e a v y .....................
H ea v y ......................
System.
Period.
Num
ber of
hours
before
break
fast
in
week.
One-break 3 m onths, 1915.
____ do-____ Spring, 1916___
.d o .
Y ear, 1915-16..
____d o . . . .
___ d o ____
Two-break
____d o ____
____d o ____
____d o . . . .
July, 1916..........
February, 1916.
------ d o ................
____ d o ................
March, 1916____
May, 1916..........
.d o . .
........d o .
........d o.
........d o.
........d o.
........d o .
........d o.
........d o .
m
104
10l
10|
A utum n, 1915..........
m
A pril-A ugust, 1916.
Year, 1915-16...........
........d o .......................
May-June, 1 9 1 6 ....
........d o ........................
May, 1916.................
March, 1916..............
12
13J
12
12
12
15
12
Tim e of start on
day shift.
a. m ........................
. . .d o .......................
30a. m ., Monday.
15 a. m ., TuesdaySaturday.
a. m ........................
a. m ........................
.45 a. m ...................
.. .d o .......................
. . .d o .......................
. . . d o .......................
a. m ., M onday___
a. m ., T uesdaySaturday.
a. m .......
a. m .......
.. .d o ___
. . . d o ___
. . . d o ___
. . .d o ___
__ d o __
A ver
age
Nor
normal
mal
hours
dayshift actually
week. worked
on day
shift.
Hours.
49
50
47.2
48.5
48.1
52i
53
53
53
53
53
49.1
51.7
50.4
50.1
48.7
50.1
53
49.4
53
54
53
53
53
53
53
50.5
50.0
46.2
50.1
48.3
49.4
44.3
55. That, sickness apart, the 53 or 54 hours weekly day shift
represents an ideal which is often scarcely expected to be attained
may be seen from the details of arrangements for a good timekeep
ing bonus.. One manager of great experience and insight told me
that in his opinion a man on heavy work who does not lose more
than three hours (a “ quarter” and two half hours) in the week
should be reckoned a good timekeeper, which comes to much the
same thing as saying that 50 hours is a fair week. Under another
scheme two hours are allowed to be lost avoidabty before the bonus
is forfeited; under another, where the work is lighter, two half
hours are allowed and a “ quarter ” occasionally; and in yet another
case, while the full bonus is paid only if no time be avoidably lost,
five-sixths of it is paid when two hours are lost and two-thirds of it
when four hours are lost..
But, however strong the arguments may be in favor of shorter
hours of*work, the question of doing away with the early quarter is
in principle independent of them and particularly it ought not to b e
confounded, as it has often been, with the question of a 48-hour week.
(h i)
som e
o b j e c t io n s
c o n s id e r e d .
56. It appears to be a fairly common experience that proposals
for abolishing early work are not liked beforehand by employees and
occasionally employers who contemplated the change have given way
to the objections expressed. Some of these objections are peculiar
to the details of particular schemes. I f the proposal is to r e d u c e
hours, time workers naturally object unless their earnings remain as
CAUSES A N D C O N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
91
before; and it is only fair that they should not be losers if they are
expected to maintain the same output by working harder. Piece
workers, too, are apt to underestimate their power of increased pro
duction under the better and healthier conditions and, as has been
mentioned, the best pieceworkers are likely to lose a little (even
though the majority rather gain) unless their rates are raised. On
the other hand, if hours are not shortened, employees fear over-long
spells and sometimes not unjustly, unless the spells be eased by a
traveling canteen, a period when smoking is allowed, or short pauses
occasionally. Moreover, wThen hours are long and work is hard the
early spell does provide the good workman, who is a trifle off-color,
with an economical means of saving himself from overstrain; if it
be abolished and hours remain equally long, and if rules about late
entry are strict, he may have to lose a half day where previously he
lost a quarter. This objection, though not very frequently advanced,
is important; and while it does not outweigh the opposed difficulty
that the short spell before breakfast is a standing temptation to
slackness, it deserves sympathetic consideration. It may be met
partly by pointing out that to start wrork after instead of before food
by itself diminishes strain, and partly by giving foremen or other
officials power to grant leave for an occasional hour or two in the
morning to those w^ho genuinely need the rest.
57.
But the most general ground of objection is domestic. At
present the man is often out of the house before his wife gets up.
I f he has sense and time he makes himself a cup of tea on a cold
morning before starting and takes a cup up to her; when he is gone
she gets up, makes the children’s breakfast, and sends them off to
school. The man’s own breakfast, which he takes with him, has been
prepared overnight. Under the one-break system, men fear an addi
tional burden will be put on their wives, wiio must rise earlier be
cause they themselves rise later. The sentiment is laudable, but
the anticipated difficulty does not, as a rule, come to anything in
point of fact. When hours are shortened and work begins at about 8
a. m. there is obviously little or no ground for complaint, and it is
clearly to the good that men should have one more meal with their
families. Even when work begins at 7 a. m. the difficulty seems not
to materialize; thus when firm C made the change much trouble was
prophesied, but it came to nothing. In that case, however, the men
lived fairly near the factory and clearly there may be a real diffi
culty when a large number of men live, say, an hour away. When
this is so it may be doubted whether work should start so early as
7 a. m .; but if it must, the difficulty may be met by providing a mess
room where men can buy breakfast Mess rooms with kitchens are
increasing and will, it is hoped, become permanent institutions; and
where dinner is cooked, breakfast presents no insuperable difficulty.
92
E F F IC IE N C Y AN D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
58.
A remarkable example of prejudice (for it is little more)
among employees in favor of early hours is to be found in the town
where firm D ’s works are situate. In that town are a number of
other factories engaged on work of a different character from firm
D ’s—hot work in part, but not heavy. They employ a large num
ber of females as well as males, the latter doing most of the hottest
work. One of these factories is managed on the one-break system
and there little time is lost. The remainder work 2J hours daily
before breakfast, with a day-shift week of 54 hours, and timekeeping
in them is bad. In one of them, for example, where over 500 opera
tives are employed, 21.8 per cent of possible quarters were avoidably
lost in November. In another, employing about 150 males and 100
females, the figures were still worse. During the first six months of
1916 the men and boys appear to have lost over 20 per cent and the
women and girls nearly 50 per cent of possible quarters, the loss of
time before breakfast in some weeks amounting to over 10 per cent of
normal day-shift hours. The total loss, especially among the women
and girls, continues high. Thus, in a week of July, the male em
ployees lost for every reason 10.6 per cent of normal hours, most of
the loss occurring before breakfast; in a week of October they lost
9.1 per cent (6.1 per cent avoidably); and in a week of December
9.5 per cent (5.5 per cent avoidably). In the same weeks the women
and girls lost 20.9 per cent, 23.6 per cent (16.4 per cent avoidably),
and 20.8 per cent (IT per cent avoidably). In the factory last men
tioned the figures of unavoidable absence may have been under
estimated and the conditions of work are partly responsible for the
bad timekeeping; but, however, that may be, the desirability of
adopting the one-break system in this whole group of factories is
patent. In the two factories that have adopted it in the town (firm
D ’s and another), the results have been entirely satisfactory, the
avoidable loss being about 1J per cent of gross normal time. The
remaining employers wish to copy their example, starting work at
8 o’clock and reducing hours from 54 to 50. Timeworkers would
not lose and all but a small minority of the pieceworkers miss so
many hours at present that they could without difficulty maintain or
even increase their output in the shorter week. Yet whether from
mere vague suspicion or from unreasoning conservatism or because
the advantages have not been lucidly explained to them the em
ployees, and especially the men, have objected so strongly to the
proposed alteration of hours (principally on domestic grounds) that
up to the present, after months of negotiation, it has not been car
ried through. The fact seems to be that most of the objections
usually raised by employees in anticipation against the change of
system are rooted in custom and in a general suspicion of any pro
CAUSES A N D CO N D ITIO N S OF LOST T IM E .
93
posal, the results of which they do not precisely foresee. Hence it
follows that the more employees are alert, well-informed, and welleducated and the more their employers have in the past studied
their comfort and won their confidence by so much the more easily
is the change effected.
(C) CONCLUSION.
59. The case for doing away with early quarters is strong in re
spect of factories engaged on light or moderately heavy work, with
no night shift or a comparatively small one, and especially where
women and girls are employed. Of the disadvantages already men
tioned as arising from working before breakfast the most serious,
perhaps—though all are serious—are the inferiority of hungry work,
its bad effect upon health, and the temptation to lose time owing to
the shortness of the early spell. In my opinion it is safe to conclude
that work before breakfast ought not to be instituted in any fac
tories answering to the above description which are newly opened
during the further course of the war; and the evidence also shows
that even during time of war it may under some circumstances be
advantageously abolished in old-established factories. As a rival to
the two-break system with an early quarter the one-break s3^stem at
present holds the field and usually hours are shorter under this
system. But to what extent hours may be reduced without diminu
tion of output, at what hour exactly it is best to start work, whether
in some kinds of work a new break later in the day might not in
volve less waste of time than a breakfast break commonly does and
be in other respects desirable—these and similar questions, though
some of them have been incidentally discussed above, depend for
their answer on a number of varying local conditions, require further
accumulation of experience, and are in any case secondary to the
main contentions that food should precede work and that the first
spell of work should be of such a length that employees do not miss
it light-heartedly.
60. The range of applicability of the above conclusions has been
carefully limited because in heavy works where there are a number
of continuous processes or where generally a large proportion—a
third or even in some shops a half—of the men are on night shift
the fact that day shift and night shift must meet raises serious diffi
culties. It makes impossible any genuine shortening of the daily1
day-shift hours, for it is out of the question to increase the night1 T h e w e e k ly d a y -s h ift h ou rs a re a n o th e r m a tter. A d ir e c t o r o f a firm to w h ic h 1 h a v e
been s p e c ia lly in d eb ted in th is s tu d y t o ld m e th a t, in h is op in io n , a fte r the p re se n t stress
is over, th e a b o litio n o f S a tu rd a y w ork (e x c e p t, o f cou rse , as reg a rd s co n tin u o u s p rocesses,
m a in ten an ce, e t c .) m ig h t be d esira b le, es p e c ia lly as g iv in g m a rrie d m en tw o co n s e cu tiv e
d a ys a t hom e. B u t th a t s u g g estion b elon gs to th e la rg e r q u e stio n o f re d u ce d h ou rs in
gen era l.
Cp., h ow ev er, firm E ’ s e x p e rim e n t a b ov e m en tion ed .
94
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FA T IG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
shift hours, which are as a rule in heavy works already fully long,
enough. No doubt the night shift might start later and end later—
say at 7 a. m. But it is very doubtful whether in really heavy work
a five-hour spell, from 7 a. m. to noon, would be good for the men
or profitable to the firm.
Moreover, it must be admitted that, at any rate in summer, the
cool of the early morning is very suitable to some kinds of heavy and
hot work, i f only better attendance could be secured, though the im
portance o f this point has been diminished by the daylight saving
scheme. The solution of the difficulty may be an extension o f the
three^-shift system in heavy works. Such a solution is not applicable
at present, owing to the dearth of skilled men in many trades and the
difficulty of increasing the number of foremen and of staff generally.
But it has the advantages of shortening hours, of giving men respite
from early rising, and at the same time of keeping the plant running;
and in heavy works with big machines, where the ratio of plant cost
to wage cost is exceptionally high, this last advantage is of great
importance. The three-shift system for women does not appear to
have been universally successful. It seems likely, however, that its
lack of success has been due to conditions which affect women rather
than men—e. g., to the women on the third shift objecting to go long
distances at night through darkened streets, and to a frequent ten
dency of women to overtire themselves with housework during their
periods of rest. Moreover, the great majority of the women are new
to factory life, and no conclusion can be drawn from their experiences
as to the effect of the three-shift system on men in established indus
tries. A study is desirable of the results o f that system where it is
now working, not merely in shell shops and the like, but also and
specially in factories engaged upon heavy work which corresponds
fairly closely to their normal work in time of peace.
IV. SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS.
61.
(1) There is pressing need for an improvement in the form
and credit of medical certificates. (Pars. 15-18.)
(2) The proportion of lost time that is due to sickness and other
unavoidable causes is, as a rule, greatly underestimated in factories?
records, and the proportion due to slackness consequently overesti
mated. (Pars. 20-25.)
(3) The accuracy of sickness records may be tested by asking—
(a) Do the curves of bad timekeeping and sickness coincide in
direction ?
(b) Is the number of whole weeks lost through sickness abnor
mally high when compared with the number of shorter periods sim
ilarly lost?
CAUSES A N D CO ND ITIONS OF LOST T IM E .
95
(c)
Is the number of days lost through sickness abnormally high
when compared with the number of quarters similarly lost ?
An affirmative answer to any of these questions, unless explicable
otherwise, gives good reason for supposing the rate of sickness to be
understated. (Pars. 20-32.)
(4) Long hours, much overtime, and especially Sunday labor, have,
a pernicious effect upon health, particularly in heavy trades. (Pars.
20,21, 33 (5).)
(5) Except where hours have been very long relatively to the class'
of work, sickness does not appear to have increased in factories gen
erally since the war, despite the withdrawal of many of the most
robust men; and the absence of such increase is to be ascribed to good
employment and high wages. (Pars. 34^37.)
(6) Work before breakfast gives inferior output, lowers health,
and leads to great loss of time, as the first short spell is so frequently
missed. Experience shows that in certain descriptions of work the
early quarter has been advantageously abolished both prior to and
even during the course of the war, and under similar conditions it
ought not to be instituted in new factories opened during the further
course of the war. (Pars. 38-59.)
December, 1916*
T h o m a s L oveday.
IN CEN TIVES TO W ORK, W ITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
W AGES, W ITH AN A P P E N D IX ON W AGE SYSTEMS.
INCENTIVES TO WORK, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO WAGES.
1. The rate of output, which is frequently, even for individuals, a
measurable quantity, may be an indication of the presence or absence
o f fatigue; and the occurrence of sickness, as indicated by irregular
timekeeping, and of injuries, may be some measure of the health
and efficiency of operatives; but of all the varied influences affecting
the health and efficiency of munition workers, the committee have
found that of incentives to work the most intricate and difficult to
investigate. Nevertheless the subject is of such immediate import
ance as to demand consideration.
2. The inclination to work rather than to be idle, even though this
inclination is a variable quantity in different individuals, is an im
portant natural phenomenon, as important as the desire for rest which
follows work at periodical intervals. Various incentives, such as the
necessity to earn a daily livelihood, may reinforce this inclination,
and some incentives are operative to-day which are peculiar to the
present crisis, such as a patriotic desire to contribute to the defense
of the realm, or a wish to avenge a lost relative. When once in
dustrial life has been entered upon, the ordered and systematic
routine of a modern factory is a direct stimulus during every 24
hours to the rhythm of activity and rest; the better the organization,
and the better the hygienic environment, the greater is the stimulus
to activity; and the worse the organization and environment, the
sooner comes the desire for rest.
3. Whatever the original motive to undertake munition work may
have been, the vast majority of operatives so employed to-day earn
their living thereby; and the stimulus systematically used as a reward
for work done and to procure even greater activity is payment of
wages. Any discussion of wages from the standpoint of political
economy would be foreign to the scope of the committee’s delibera
tions, though they recognize that considerations of the greatest mo
ment must, on this ground, be excluded from the present study; but
they have constantly found that the health, i. e., the absence of sick
ness, physical and mental, and efficiency of workers is influenced by
their earnings, and that output, which has been closely investigated
96
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO W AGES,
97
as an indication of fatigue, may be influenced by the wage system in
force. They have, therefore, considered it desirable to state how far
they have found the efficiency of workers affected by the method of
remuneration adopted. Other influences may arise to stimulate the
inclination for work—pride in craftsmanship and in wTork well done,
personal rivalry to outstrip a fellow worker, or hope of promotion;
but the main incentive for consideration is that of wages.
The absence of incentives may be presumed to lead to neutrality,
while the operation of some factors may result in actual repression
of the normal working activity. Among these latter the committee
would attach particular importance to any circumstances which may
bring the operatives to the opinion that they are not being “ fairly
treated.”
4. The problem of the present moment in munition factories is
how best to obtain a practically unlimited supply of munitions of
war, of such articles as artillery, shells, and cartridges, all of which
are required in great numbers and of fixed sizes and patterns. Here
in, because constant repetition work gives the best opportunity of
standardizing means of production and of organizing labor, the prob
lem is somewhat different from, and so far simpler than, that of most
industrial productions which must be varied to meet the fluctuations
of popular demand, and is largely influenced by the question of eco
nomic production and profits. The problem has been further simpli
fied by the guarantee that when once a scale of pay has been fixed
there shall be no “ cut55 in prices, a constant source of fear among
operatives in the past.
M ETH ODS OF R E M U N E R A T IO N .
5. Wages may be paid either—
(i) for the time during which work is done, that is by the hour, the
day or the night;
(ii) for the work done, that is by the piece; or as a minimum sum
up to the completion of a certain task beyond which piece rates are
paid.
(I)
P A Y M E N T B Y TIM E .
6. Certain work, however subdivided and specialized the processes
of manufacture become, can not be paid for by the piece, and such
work, roughly speaking, lies at the two extremes of labor, the most
highly skilled and the least skilled. Managers, foremen, craftsmen,
skilled fitters, and pattern makers are instances of the former class,
and general laborers about the yard, shop cleaners, and watchmen
are instances of the latter.
Among the highly skilled workers wTho are paid comparatively
high wages commensurate with their skill, but little further incentive
105796°— Bull. 230— 17-----7
98
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
should be called for except that supplied by patriotism, and the
pleasure and pride in their craft for its own sake. Certainly for this
class of worker any fear of dismissal is to-day small, since the supply
of skilled workers is below the demand.
Among the least skilled workers time wages act as an inducement
to work, because their daily bread depends thereon, but they hold
out no inducement to special endeavor. Supervision by foremen,
inevitably associated with more or less friction, may be required
to obtain increased effort from a proportion o f workers paid by this
method. Fines may be found necessary to prevent bad timekeeping,
or rewards or bonuses may be offered for good timekeeping; but good
timekeeping does not always mean good work.
Payment by time possesses one advantage over payment by piece in
that it removes from the operative an element of uncertainty con
cerning his earnings; an uncertainty which, especially in the ease of
juvenile and female labor may create a nervous anxiety detrimental
to sustained effort Combination of time wages with piece rates has
been used as a method of obtaining this advantage in connection with
piece rates.
Generally speaking, payment by time alone, which is unavoidable
for a large proportion of work, has no direct influence in stimulating
the inclination to work; and under this system some workers may be
expected to keep well within their powers, while others, whose in
clination to work is greater, may feel it a grievance that extra ex
ertion brings with it no extra return.
The good results, however, which are attained from payment by
time indicate that, given suitable environment, the inclination to
work is a deep-seated natural phenomenon; and it is questionable
whether in the end the best results may not be obtainable by follow
ing the principle of a u good day’s work for a good day’s pay,” with
reasonable good faith on the part of both employers and workers.
(XI)
P A Y M E N T B Y W ORK DONE.
7.
The desire to bring a direct stimulus to bear on the natural in
clination to work has led to the introduction of payment by work
done, or piece rates; and the manufacture of munitions of war, which
is so largely constant repetition work applied to a great number of
minutely subdivided processes, lends itself particularly to this form
of payment.
The problem is to determine how wages can be arranged so as to
provide the maximum incentive to production without so tiring the
operatives that they are unable to maintain the pace over long
periods, or that an ever-increasing number of “ stragglers ” (who
might have developed into useful workers) are constantly dropping
out by the way.
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO W AGES.
99
Many forms of piece rates have been devised and are in use in
this country, and the principles underlying them are discussed in an
appendix.
8.
Comparison of time wages and piece rates.—Although good
output can undoubtedly be obtained by the system of time wages,
and the unfavorable environment often found in industrial concerns
should, perhaps, share the blame for some of the poor results which
advocates of piece rates have instanced, yet under suitable conditions,
particularly for monotonous repetitive work, increased output can
be secured by well-arranged piece rates. One instance is sufficient to
demonstrate the incentive value of such rates; and in the following
table (obtained by Mr. P. S. Florence while investigating for the
committee) the daily output of the same groups of girls is compared
for two consecutive weeks, for the first of which time wages were
paid, and for the second progressive piece rates.
Day of the week.
June 12-16— Time
wage.
June 19-23— Piece
wage.
17 girls drilling fuses.
17 girls drilling fuses.
D ay shift.
Night shift. D ay shift.
Night shift.
2,567
2,959
3,143
3,066
3,291
3,050
3,242
3,255
3,114
2,171
3,005
24
2,966
40
M onday......................................................................................
T uesday. . 1...............................................................................
W ednesday...............................................................................
T hursday...................................................................................
F riday........................................................................................
2,266
2,050
2,037
2,610
3,188
2,094
1,552
2,537
2,394
Average output per shift.......................................................
Percentage increase.................................................................
2,430
2,144
Three girls retapping
fuses b y hand.
Three girls retapping
fuses b y hand.
M onday......................................................................................
Tuesday.....................................................................................
W ednesday...............................................................................
Thursday...................................................................................
F rid ay........................................................................................
1,997
1,351
1,260
2,023
2,139
1,414
1,684
1,375
1,691
1,636
3,040
1,534
2,180
2,520
1,955
2,388
2,046
1,584
2,592
2,900
Average output per shift.......................................................
Percentage increase.................................................................
1,754
1,560
2,246
28
2,302
48
9.
Need for explaining piece rates.—Whatever system of piece
rates is adopted, there can be no doubt that, if it is to influence out
put, it must be clearly understood by the operatives; that is to say,
any operative of average intelligence must be able readily to compute
how much extra pay he will earn at any stage for extra output. The
committee have found that sufficient attention is not paid to this
question, and that workers frequently complain, either that they
do not know how they are paid, or that they are simply content to
trust their employers to pay more for greater output. Thus Capt.
Agnew, after investigating the health and conditions of employment
100
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
of a large number of male workers, reports in reference to wages
that—
Mistrust, discontent, and misunderstanding are frequent among employees,
who imagine that they are being exploited when, as not infrequently happens,
they are unable to estimate for themselves their exact earnings. When wages
are paid by the ton or by the piece the method is clearly understood; but when
payment is made by some decimal of a total output unkonwn to the workers,
by a share of a sum allotted to a large group of workers, or by a varying piece
rate with a bonus added, the calculation is either impossible or too complicated
for the wage earner, and suspicion as to its exactness is prevalent, at least
among adults— indeed, the wages department itself often seems doubtful about
the exactness of the methods.
10.
A definite example may be given of restriction of output which
was reported to the committee by Mr. P. S. Florence as coming
under his observation while carrying out an investigation with the
object of discovering whether the efficiency of certain workers was
on the upward or downward grade over a relatively long period of
overtime and night work, and attributed by him to failure on the
part of the operatives to understand the system of wages in use. He
reports:
Certain girls were chosen at random in an 18-pound shell-case department
(where the work of each individual was of sufficiently uniform nature), and
the average,output per hour of each of them was found to be as follows:
Process.
N um P a te of start
ber of
ing work.
worker.
Average hourly output for one week in the
m iddie of—
Sept., 1915. N ov., 1915. D ec., 1915.
Plugging m ouths----Washing and drying
Head turning............
Finish underheads...
Finish boring and screwing
primer holes.
Boring m ouths........... ......... .
Rough boring prim er holes.
Cutting to lengths................
June, 1915..
____d o .........
July, 1915..
June, 1915..
___ d o .........
___ d o .........
........d o .........
Dec., 1914..
June, 1915..
Jan., 1914...
Jan., 1915...
May, 1915..
July, 1915..
Jan., 1915...
May, 1915..
Sept., 1915..
June, 1915..
July, 1915..
........d o .........
A ug., 1916..
Sept., 1915..
........d o .........
Oct., 1915..
July, 1915..
June, 1915..
Aug., 1915..
........d o .........
........d o .........
........d o .........
Sept., 1915.
........d o .........
........d o.
257
150
167
51
58
58
48
28
25
25
25
25
25
38
38
38
25
25
25
25
25
25
70
70
70
33.2
34.0
34.3
100
100
100
163
201
193
63
54
49
62
25
25
25
25
25
25
38
38
38
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
70
70
70
34.0
34.0
34.5
100
100
100
202
173
197
58
61
61
60
26
25
25
25
25
24
38
38
38
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
70
70
70
34.0
34.2
34.4
100
100
100
Jan., 1916.
214
194
190
64
65
70
72
29
27
25
25
25
25
38
38
38
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
62
70
70
34.2
33.8
34.4
100
100
100
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO W AGES.
101
The striking feature of the above table is the extraordinary stability of
output of individual girls, and the still more extraordinary similarity in out
put of different girls employed at the same process; and for the process of
finish boring and screwing, and of “ head turning,” the recurrence of 25 as the
rate per hour for four different weeks seems almost to attach a mystical sig
nificance to that figure; and the same thing applies to the output of 38 for the
process of “ finish under heads,” of 70 for “ boring mouths,” of 34 for “ rough
boring primer holes,” and of 100 for “ cutting to lengths.” Further inquiry,
however, elicited that the wage system (which was what is known as the pre
mium bonus scheme) was not understood by the wage earners; and that the
foremen, unable to make it intelligible, indicated a standard of output which
would satisfy the firm. Independent evidence that this standard was well
within the capacity of the workers, and that they made no effort to exceed it
was obtained by a study of the amount of electrical power used in driving the
machines from hour to hour, which was recorded in curves by self-registering
meters. These curves showed a deep and continuous fall in the power in each
of the workshops concerned in the last two hours of the day and night shifts;
from which the conclusion may be drawn that most of the girls completed
their standard of output about two hours before the end of the shift and then
went “ easy.” Since other girls who started work at the same factory in June
or July, 1915, but who were employed on processes for which no such standard
was indicated (workers numbered 1 to 7 in the table) attained an output in
January, 1916, at least half as much again as their output of September, 1915,
the firm seems to have lost considerably by the failure of the management to
make their wage system intelligible to the workers.
11.
A special clause of the factory acts (S. 116, Factory and
Workshop Act, 1901) deals with wages—a clause which is of great
value to pieceworkers. This applied first of all to spinning and
weaving only, but has by degrees been extended to a great variety
of other industries. It provides that, when workers are paid by the
piece, particulars in writing shall be furnished to each worker re
specting the rate of pay and the work to be done so as to enable the
worker to compute the total amount payable to him. The particu
lars necessary for this purpose vary according to the method of
calculating the wage and the nature of the work to be done; and
great care has been taken in framing orders for the different indus
tries to safeguard the worker from a mere perfunctory compliance
which may rob him of the benefit it is the aim of the clause to se
cure—that benefit being the possession of data sufficient to enable
him to compute the total amount payable and to feel confident that
effort to secure increased pay by increased wTork will not be frus
trated by fraud or negligence on the part of the employer or any. of
his agents. A study of the various orders made under the act since
1901 will show that there has been a progressive effort to make the
giving of these particulars more precise in order that they may
leave the worker in no uncertainty. But various as are the trades
included, there is no order which covers munition factories. An
order was in draft intended to apply to all engineering trades, and
102
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FA T IG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
the draft with a covering letter had been sent to employers, but on
the outbreak of war it wTas not proceeded with.
12.
Need for study of wages earned.—The example given in the
previous section shows the value to managers of watching closely
the wages earned by individual workers. Normally, if all is going
well, the output (of which the wages paid to individuals are a direct
indication), while varying somewhat from week to week, should
show a steady increase, rising rapidly with new workers, and more
and more slowly as they became more and more efficient; any devi
ation from this rule should call fot* immediate investigation.
The following data provided by Dr. Yernon give concrete in
stances of this rule:
N E W L Y ENGAGED W O RK ERS.
Relative hourly output during—
Process.
Turning fuse bodies___
Making cartridge cases:
Second d ra w ...........
Second cut-off.........
Mouth reamering...
Num ber of
operatives.
Sec Third Fourth Fifth
First
ond week. week. week.
week. week.
Sixth
week.
Sev
enth Eighth N inth
week. week. week.
16 w om en. . .
67
91
96
96
96
100
.99
101
100
12 w om en . . .
14 w om en . . .
16 girls.........
70
71
48
81
79
64
91
87
67
96
89
79
97
94
78
99
99
89
99
100
89
100
98
99
102
102
101
In this table the average output during the last four weeks (or
two weeks in the reamering process) is taken as 100. The opera
tives engaged at turning fuse bodies nearly attained their full out
put in three weeks, but those at the simpler cartridge operations
took longer, while the girls engaged at mouth reamering, an opera
tion involving more quickness and dexterity than the others, did not
reach their full output till the eighth week. In certain shell opera
tions, such as “ boring the powder chamber ” and “ finishing, turning,
and forming,” Dr. Yernon found that men took three or four months
to attain their full output.
W O R K E R S OF SOME E X P E R IE N C E .
Relative hourly output during—
Process.
N um ber of operatives.
Various cartridge case opera /112 experienced w om en .........
tions. . ......................................... \146 less experienced w om en.
Six
weeks.
98.5
95.4
N ext five N ext six N ext five
weeks.
weeks.
weeks.
99.4
97.2
99.8
103.1
102.4
104.6
In this table the output of both sets of operatives shows a steady
increase, but that for the “ less experienced ” increased about twice
as much as that for the others.
13.
I f the output of individuals maintains a dead level, as in the
instance previously quoted, something must be wrong, and probably
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO W AGES.
103
with the incentive. I f the output is declining something must also
be wrong, and probably with the conditions of employment; the
hours of work may be too long; the conditions under which the
work is done may be unfavorable, e. g., bad ventilation, inadequate
lighting, lack of canteen facilities.; or fatigue may be arising from
long journeys to and from the factdry or from imperfect housing
jaccommodation. The committee -desire to lay special stress on the
importance and, indeed^ the necessity of constant study of this valu
able source of information which is in the possession of every
firm, but which their investigations have found to be commonly
neglected.
BO ME INSTANCIES OF T H E TAILXTRE OF W A G E SY STEM S TO A CT AS IN C E N T IV E S .
14.
Lack of -desire to earn more.—Piece rates have been introduced
primarily to increase output by acting as a direct incentive to the
wage earner to earn more wages; incidentally, they tend to relieve
friction between workers and foremen. But in order to act as an
incentive, the presumption is made that wage earners always desire
to earn more wages. While this is undoubtedly true in the main,
instances have come to light where this presumption does not hold
good. Thus a report upon an investigation into lost time made
by Prof. Loveday for the committee at a factory where a substantial
bonus is paid for good timekeeping, and where timekeeping in most
departments is good, states:
Tlie record for another set of workers is very different. They have con
sistently lost far more time by bad timekeeping than by sickness, and even
though the proportion is not so bad this year (1916) as last, in recent weeks
they have lost under this heading about 9 per cent of practically possible time.
This .record is far from good, especially as their overtime has not been heavy
and has included very little Sunday la-bor.
This criticism does not, however, apply to the whole body of men concerned-;
over half of them were keeping good time, and another quarter were keeping
fairly good time; the remainder, less than one-fourth of the whole, were
responsible for aT>out seven-tenths of the total time lost by bad timekeeping.
'The causes of this inferior record are probably social and eco
nomic. These special workers have been earning high wages which
have risen relatively more than those paid to other workers in the
industry, and they include a large proportion of men unable to
make a satisfactory use of high wages.
The employers, faced by a shortage of labor, have had to take on
and keep on men whom in normal times they would not tolerate
(nearly 60 per cent of the men have been engaged since the outbreak
of the war). Apparently the unusually high wages have led some
of the men to neglect the possibility of earning the bonus for good
timekeeping. It does not follow that lower wages and less demand
for their services would improve their attendance. A rapid cure is
probably impossible; but in the long run better education, bringing
104
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
a higher standard of comfort, might be a more desirable remedy
than a long and hungry waiting list.
15. Similarly, Capt. Agnew, in reference to boy workers, reports
that the rapid rise in wages from prewar time to those of the
present day is such that the average youth does not much concern
himself with the amount of his output or with punctual timekeeping,
for he feels confident that, whatever he does, on pay day he will re
ceive more than he requires for his immediate needs.
16. Evidence on this matter has also been laid before the com
mittee by employers of labor, who declare that in certain classes of
men the more they earn the less work they do. The instinct for
saving being undeveloped, they naturally require leisure time in
which to spend earnings above the subsistence margin. In other
words, they are receiving a wage higher than is necessary for the
maintenance of their normal “ standard of comfort.” This raises
fundamental economic issues of far-reaching importance, and time,
education, and experience can alone secure a happy and effective ad
justment. One expressed the view that as a result of the high wages
(£5 [$24.33] to £10 [$48.67] or even more per week) earned to-day
by pieceworkers in his district, many of whom were previously un
skilled men, a number of them are inclined to irregularity of at
tendance because they can easily make up their wages to an amount
sufficient to cover their needs. A second witness further pointed
out that the skilled workers, upon whom the efficiency of the whole
work depends, paid a day rate from £3 to £3 10s. [$14.60 to $17.03]
per week, suffer in contrast under an anomaly which is having a
serious mental effect, prejudicial to good attendance.
In contrast may be instanced a factory where the environment
of labor as regards supervision of the welfare of the workers, the
hygienic conditions of the workshops, the means of transit, and the
housing accommodation of the district were all far above the usual
standard of industrial centers and where the rate of wages paid was
distinctly low as compared wTith that ruling to-day in more char
acteristically industrial areas. A medical examination, carried out
by Capt. Agnew, of a random but sufficient sample of the operatives
established that their health, physique, and alertness were well above
the usual standard; and it was ascertained that the firm were entirely
satisfied with the regularity of attendance and with the rapidity and
quality of output obtained.
These examples are sufficient to show how intimately the wages
question is bound up with social, economic, and hygienic consid
erations.
17. Lack of opportunity to spend.—A further point in relation
to the incentive value of wages is that wages are only of value for
what they buy, and that the mere possession of money is useless
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO W AGES.
105
unless there is something to spend it on and an opportunity of so
spending it. The inducement to save, even when suitable oppor
tunities of investing (a form of spending) are provided, is never
so powerful as the inducement to spend.
Anyone familiar with the industrial classes knows the rise of
output which occurs before a public holiday with the prospect of
ample opportunity of spending.1 This point to-day is not negligible
when, in the hope of obtaining increased output, work has been fre
quently carried on during Saturday afternoon, the time most used for
spending by the industrial classes. I f employers take up the whole
of their operatives’ time in the factory they should not be surprised
to find that even the best-devised wage scheme fails to act as an
incentive, especially among juvenile wage earners, who form a large
proportion of the operatives employed on piece wages. From this
point of view even picture palaces have their value.
18. Lack of adjustment of wage systems.—Another instance, which
the work of Mr. S. Florence brought to the attention of the com
mittee, may be given of the failure of a piece-rate scheme to act
as an incentive, owing to a failure of adjustment of wage systems.
Previous to the war two systems of payment were in use (1) a
minimum sum, a time wage instituted to pay beginners, which was
given for all work, however small, up to a certain amount, and (2)
after that limit a plain piece rate for further work. When, however*
the minimum sum to be paid was raised under war prices the limit
of work to be done for this sum was raised, and it became difficult
to reach an output on the piece-rate scale.
When a full-time wage is guaranteed, however low the output, it is obviously
shortsighted thus to set a piece wage which 011 the average will not amount to
much more than this guaranteed wage. If girls know that they ..can . not
exceed by very much an output of, say, 9,000 pounds, for which they get 17
shillings [$4.14] piece wTage, they will be content to produce, say 8,000 pounds
and still receive 17 shillings [$4.14] in this case as a time wage.' Tlie result
ampljr confirmed this expectation. It was well-nigh impossible for the girls
to earn piece wages in excess of the guaranteed time wage. *Consequently
they did not try, and the majority even of the more efficient girls were found
to be working, in fact, not on a piece wage but on a time wage. The loss
in incentive, and incidentally in discipline, must have been measurable in tens
of thousands of cartridges per month.
19. The scheme of paying a minimum sum as a time wage for all
output below a certain standard (always presuming this standard is
fixed well within the powers of the workers) and piece rates for
work done in excess of that standard, commends itself to the com
mittee as a useful method for removing mental strain from a worker
who on account of feeling fagged may be overanxious as to her
capacity for earning a bare livelihood. Such a worker, with this
1 See M em ora n d u m N o. 12, O u tp u t in re la tio n to h ou rs o f w ork , T a b le 1, p u b lish ed
in B u i. 221 o f th e U. S. B u rea u o f L a b o r S ta tistics, p. 33.
106
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
strain removed, may end by producing a full week’s work; with, it
present, an injudicious effort may result in an unnecessary break
down. And the committee have noted with satisfaction that in the
first schedule of the Munitions Order No. 1, dated September 13,
1916, it is laid down that u the appropriate time rate shall in the
ease of any woman or girl on piecework or premium bonus system
be guaranteed and paid.” Another method also used for obtaining
the same end is the fellowship sj^stem, where the operatives work
in groups and are individually paid a share of the total earnings
o f the group; where friendship exists among the members of each
group this method is productive of excellent results, but complaints
are liable to arise that one or another member of the group is not
contributing a fair share to the common stock, when inquiries and
adjustments may have to be made. Further, this fellowship system
seems to defeat its end when applied to large groups of workers,
amounting in some cases to several thousands; here the wages of
each worker depend to so slight extent on individual effort that there
is practically no incentive whatever in the system.
20.
Piece rates may cause overspeeding.—The next point for con
sideration is the possible influence of piece rates in stimulating the
operatives to overwork; an influence more likely to affect the better
and keener class of workers who are to-day of special importance.
Such workers require in their own interests to be protected against
their eagerness. Again and again investigators have reported to the
committee that the data at their disposal for examining output over
sufficiently long periods are curtailed by the disappearance of a cer
tain proportion of the operatives.
Thus Dr. Vernon, reporting on the output of lathe operators at a
munition factory, states:
The strongest women available were picked out for the work, but many of
them could not stand it for more than a few weeks. Of the 95 operatives of
whose history I possess an adequate record, 22 gave up after four weeks or
less, and 11 more after 10 weeks or less, but I have no information as to the
cause of their retirement.
The committee have also ascertained in reference to a munition fac
tory employing between seven and eight thousand males under the
age of 21 years, that every three months 25 per cent of this total
disappear.
Capt. Greenwood further reports that at another factory, out of
one group o f 287 girls at work in the week ending January 24, 1916,
30 had disappeared by April 3, a period of 11 weeks; oufc of another
group of 77, 14 had disappeared in the same period; out of another
group of 37, 12 had disappeared; and out of another 100, 16.
Since “ the whole of the operatives providing the data were, so
far as could be ascertained, strict pieceworkers, who had, prior to
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO W AGES.
107
the periods studied, sufficient experience to have attained their
normal level of productive power,” even after due allowance has
been made for the nomadic habits of workers, the committee con
siders that such figures indicate a serious and undue wastage of
skilled labor. Steps are being taken to investigate more fully the
extent and causation of this wastage.
SUM M AR Y.
21. The preceding sections suggest that certain definite influences
are important when arranging incentives intended to stimulate the
natural inclination to work.
1. A healthy environment in the factory and in the home is the
first necessity in order to obtain a healthy population of wage earners
to whom a wage scheme may appeal as an incentive to work.
2. Under conditions of repetition work, especially if it be monoto
nous, piece rates may be expected to give a greater output thin time
wages.
3. The rise and fall of wages (paid on a well-planned piece rate)
earned by individual workers is a valuable indication of health and
efficiency.
4. A wage scheme, the operation of which can not be easily under
stood by the wage earners, or, if understood, appears to them in
equitable, fails as an incentive.
5. A wage scheme which is badly adjusted may lead directly to
limitation of output.
6. A scale of wages which renders it possible for the wage earners
to obtain too easily all the money which their social aspirations
demand fails to provide an adequate incentive.
7. Hours of labor which give but little chance of spending the
wages earned diminish the incentive to earn more money.
8. Workers, especially those newly introduced to industrial life,
require protection against their own eagerness.
FITSTHEB, C O N SIDERATIO N S.
22. Necessity for rest pauses.—No wage system known to the com
mittee takes any special account of the physiological fact that the
natural inclination to work is followed by a desire for rest. In
centives, used to stimulate the inclination to work, must lose their
effect as this inclination gives way to the desire to rest; and what
is required is not to increase or diminish the incentive but to main
tain the inclination to work. In previous memoranda1 attention has
been drawn to the advantage of rest pauses during long spells
of work; and a further example has come under observation which
indicates the natural tendency of workers under favorable con
1 See B u i. 221 o f TJ. S. B u rea u o f L a b o r S ta tis tic s — M em ora n d u m N o. 12, O u tp u t in
re la tio n to h ou rs o f w ork , par. 31, p. 46 ; and M em ora n d u m N o. 7, In d u s tria l fa tig u e
and its causes, p a r. 6, p. 50.
108
E F F IC IE N C Y AND FATIGUE IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES,
ditions to alternate work with rest: A group of workers, men
and women, paid on a time wage were found employed from 6
a. m. to 6 p. ni. with two half-hour meal intervals at the process
of emptying and filling a series of presses. Each press, after being
filled, has to be left under hydraulic pressure for 35 minutes, during
which time other presses in the series are emptied and filled. The
management calculated the number of presses to each series, which
would allow the work to be done in 35 minutes at a reasonable pace;
but the wrorkers on their own initiative have adopted a different
method. They work with a rapidity so organized that the series of
presses is emptied and filled in less than 25 minutes, after which
they rest for 10 or 12 minutes until the time comes to begin again.
The work entails the expenditure of a fair amount of physical
energy; and it wTas interesting to watch these operatives swing into
their labor in order to obtain their rest pause.
As an extreme instance, what has now become a classic case may
be referred to : Mr. F. Taylor1 found good, average pig iron handlers,
loading pigs of iron, weighing about 92 pounds each, into railway
wagons at an average pace of 12| long tons per man per day. He
decided that for such work a first-class workman should only be
under load for 43 per cent of his time, and be entirely free from load
for 57 per cent; and worked out the working and resting periods. A
man was persuaded to work under the scheme:
Schmidt started to work, and all day long and at regular intervals, was told
by the man who stood over him with a watch, “ Now pick up a pig and walk.
Now sit down and rest. Now walk. Now rest,” etc. He worked when he was
told to work, and rested when he was told to rest, and at 5.30 in the afternoon
had his 47$ tons loaded in the car. And he practically never failed to work at
this pace and do the task that was set him during the three years that the
writer was at Bethlehem.
That Schmidt was no exceptional man is shown by the fact that
gradually the whole gang of workers were taught to load iron in this
way at about the same pace, that is, four times more quickly.
The value to be got industrially from well-planned rest pauses is
only slowly coming to be appreciated; though for long sustained
athletic efforts it has long been recognized. The point for present
consideration is whether advantage can not be taken of a wage sys
tem to insure that adequate rest pauses are taken. The committee are
satisfied that short rest pauses do not interrupt the rapidity of the
work; for observations have disclosed that as the initial morning
stiffness passes off output rapidly increases, but that in the after
noon, after the pause for the midday meal hour, the rapidity of output
recommences at the level of the last hour of the morning shift.
1
T a y lo r , F r e d
N ew Y ork .
W.
“ P rin c ip le s
of
S cien tific
M a n a g e m e n t,”
1911.
H a rp e r
& B ro s.,
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO WAGES
109
They would, therefore, be inclined to regard favorably any plan
whereby rest pauses could be used as an incentive to work.
An imaginary example may be used to explain the method asso
ciated with a flat piece rate. Take a light repetition ealling for a,
rapid use of the small muscles of the hands and fingers. The work
ing hours are taken at eight, i. e., 480 minutes, and the average pace
at which a number of articles* say 200, are submitted to the process
is presumed to be 43 minutes. Then if a rest pause of 5 minutes wTere
introduced after each spell of 43 minutes, 200 articles being then
made, there would be 10 rest periods during an 8-hour day. If, how
ever, a rapid worker dealt with his 200 articles in 35 minutes, he
would then get a 5-minutes rest pause, 4-0 minutes in all; and if he
continued to work at this pace would earn 12 rest pauses in the
8-hour period. A very slow worker on the other hand might only
deal with 200 articles in 55 minutes, when he would get 5 minutes
pause, 60 minutes in all; and working .at this pace would only earn
8 rest pauses in the day. I f a worker’s daily earnings computed in
this way are plotted on a diagram it will be found that the curve of
wages has a similar shape to that furnished by the premium-bonus
system, but the result is reached by a very different route. The
premium-bonus system curtails output by reducing the wages’ in
centive; the worker is allowed to work as hard as he pleases, but if
he does more than a certain amount he will receive a very small
extra reward. The present system curtails output by progressively
decreasing the amount of time the worker is allowed to work. In
effect, if the unit (200 articles of the illustration) is produced in
“ m ” minutes, the worker can only produce
J
1
units in an
m + 5
8-hour shift, that is to say if he could turn out his 200 articles in a
moment of time, he would still be unable to produce more than 95
units, that is 19,200 articles, in the shift. Consequently, it may be
said that the system is in no way superior to the premium-bonus
system, that with a scale devised in this way a limiting point will be
learned, and that output will be kept down to such a point. The
answer is that if a limit is established, as may very well be the case,
the quick workers will reap an advantage by having the time saved
as definite rest periods instead of furtive “ slacking.” Further, the
system might be improved by dividing the wages into two parts—
(a) a piece rate computed as above, and (b) a time rate for the
compulsory rest pauses, the rate being progressively increased with
the number of pauses earned. The pauses need not necessarily be
employed in doing nothing; sedentary workers employed at light
work would benefit most from some form of exercise which calls
the legs into action, and they might be set to tidy up their work
place, or carry the articles treated to the next department, or fetch
110
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FA TIG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTO RIES.
the next lot of .articles to be treated, or indeed at any other occupation
timed to occupy the rest pause, which gives exercise but does not
entail use of the small hand muscles. Workers, on the other hand,
employed standing at heavy physical labor would benefit most
during the rest pauses by sitting down. Experience teaches that in
practice workers always take rest pauses,1 and what is here ad
vocated is only the organization of such pauses so that they can be
brought into harmony with the wage scheme and recognized as
Stepping stones in the daily progress of output. This method of
distributing the day’s work into a number of tasks is in itself an
incentive to quick work; constant repetition of a process many times
every day tends to produce monotony; but this is avoided by break
ing the work up into a number of stages with a direct incentive to
complete each stage, while the pleasure which comes from something
done is steadily repeated.2
Objections, however, of substance may be made to this arrange
ment. In the first place rest is made proportional to output, whereas
it should foe proportional to effort according to the theoretical basis
of the scheme. Output is not a complete measure of effort when com
parison is made between different persons under the same conditions
or in the same person under different conditions; nor, indeed* is any
method known whereby effort could be adequately measured in prac
tice. While, therefore, the plan might operate favorably for the
average worker under average conditions, it would clearly be preju
dicial to those who for one reason or another had little output to
^how after considerable effort^ and in this way inefficient, weak, or
sickly workers would actually get less rest than the skillful and
robust, though needing it much more. Still, both would obtain some
rest. In the second place managers of factories, wherein there are
many and varied processes carried on, might, not unreasonably,
object that the suggested plan is of such a complicated character that
it would not be easy to carry out without an undue amount of super
vision ; only direct experiment can test the validity of this objection.
And they may consider that discipline would be interfered with if
each group of workers came and left at different tin^ps of day. The
difficulty, however, would be overcome if well-considered rest pauses
were introduced; these rest pauses would be longer for the more
arduous processes, and shorter for the less arduous processes; and
by careful adjustment the optimum number of hours, with rest
pauses interposed, could be arranged for each process to coincide
with the times fixed for the factory as a whole to start and stop.
1 See Memorandum N o. 12, Output in relation to hours of work, par. 2 7, published
in B u i. 221 o f the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, p. 45.
2 A concrete instance of introducing rest pauses totaling 15 minutes in every hour at .a
light repetition work, the output o f which became three times that previously obtained,
is given on pp. 1 2 7 -1 2 9 of “ Fatigue Study,” by F . Gilbreeth, 1916, G. Routledge &
Sons, Ltd.
IK G EN T'IVE & TO WQRIC, W IT H SPECIAL REFEREN CE TO W AGES.
I ll
The scheme outlined should not conflict with the practical neces
sity which has been demonstrated1 of employing workers at processes
which call for different degrees o f physical and mental effort for
different lengths of time if maximum output is to be attained; the
greater the effort, the shorter should be the hours.
But in a standardized industry, such as the manufacture of muni
tions of war has now become, much work consists of tending ma
chines, the speed of which largely controls the rapidity of output;
and this speed is a direct stimulus to the worker 4;o strive to keep the
pace, with, as a result, danger to health and to safety, which may
cause physical and mental exhaustion. The interpolation of rest
pauses, definitely paid for, would go far to remove the injurious in
fluence of this speeding up.
23.
Necessity for instruction.—When the task has been determined
and the wages fixed, there still remains, closely associated with in
centive to work, the necessity for teaching workers how to perform
the task and so earn the wages.
The committee think it strange that while soldiers are sedulously
instructed both in drill movements, which are indirectly, and in rifle
and bayonet exercises, which are directly of value to them in carry
ing out their duties in the field, munition workers, net less important
contributors to our national defense, have to depend upon casual and
haphazard information, or may be referred to technical schools
which, however excellent, can no more replace factory instruction
than can drilling in the park training in the field; and have noted
that, though in the athletic world instructors exist to teach boxers
how to balance themselves and use their arms, and cricket profes
sionals are constantly at work improving the efficiency of batsmen
and bowlers, and coaches are a necessity to teach a boat’s crew collec
tively and individually how and when to move their bodies and
hands, yet in the industrial world the value of teaching operatives how
to earn their livelihood is hardly yet recognized. In America much
has recently been done, in association with what is known as “ scien
tific management,” to eliminate useless movements and lessen physi
cal effort, but, somewhat unfortunately, the subject has got wrapped
mp with “ time studies ” used for fixing piece rates, and there is, in
consequence, a tendency for it to be looked on with disfavor by wage
earners, while the real value of teaching is being lost sight of. The
committee feel no doubt that just as the athlete obtains further in
centive to skill b}^ seeking information as to his faults from a trained
teacher, so should operatives be able to turn for instruction as to
wasteful and nonproductive practices unconsciously developed, and
as to methods of improving their work with less effort, and that such
teachers would be able to give useful advice to the management as to
1 See Memorandum No. 12, Output in relation to hours of work, pars, 25 and 2 6 ,
published in Bui. 221 of the U . S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, p, 43.
112
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
the most suitable speed for running machinery and as to the best
moment to choose for rest pauses. The ideal foreman should be such
a teacher, but foremen who consider such duties part of their daily
work are seldom found.
APPENDIX*1
1. This appendix describes some of the different systems of wage
payments which are adapted in connection with piecework. No
attempt is made to judge the systems on economic^ ethical, or physio
logical grounds, but merely to reduce the working of each to com
parable terms. At some points algebraical equations have been intro
duced, as such expressions will make the argument clearer to some
readers; but those who dislike this form of mental shorthand can
pass over the equations without loss of continuity for arithmetical
examples are given in each case.
2. In munition works the large majority of the employees are en
gaged in repetitive work, and the different systems will only be
considered in relation to such work; that is to say, the systems will
be expressed in terms of total earnings for a day of arbitrary and
constant length, viz, 10 hours when varying numbers of articles are
produced by different individuals.
3. Many forms of piece rates are in use; to understand them the
basis on which they rest must be considered. Every industrial estab
lishment in which they are employed has two forms of expenditure:
(1) The expenditure which represents—
(a)
Interest upon capital sunk in land, buildings, and manufac
turing plant;
( b ) Taxes, depreciation, and insurance;
(c) The wTages paid to managers, clerks, skilled experts such as
chemists and mechanics, foremen and general laborers, who are all
paid by time; and
(d) Such items as the cost of driving shafting and of lighting the
premises.
All this group of expenditure (provided the whole of the plant is
utilized, and that the number of employees is kept constant) is fixed
whatever the output of the factory, and is known as overhead
charges; and
(2) Expenditure upon wages paid by the piece, upon the cost of
raw material manipulated, and upon the cost of power consumed by
the machinery when in action (a relatively small item ); all the items
in this group vary directly with the output.
4. I f such an establishment has a 10-hour working-day and a
calculated output of 100 articles, the price charged for these articles
1 The committee desire to thank Capt. M. Greenwood, R. A . M. C., statistician to the
Lister Institute, for assistance in preparing this appendix.
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO W AGES.
113
must be the sum of the expenditure per diem on overhead charges
and the piece wages paid for making 100 articles, together with an
item added for profits. I f now by speeding up production 120 articles
are produced in the 10 hours instead of 100, and the selling price is
not altered, the cost of production will only be higher, as compared
with that of the original hundred in respect of the cost of the extra
raw material, the extra piece wages, and the extra power used and
wear and tear of machinery. In other words, the additional 20
articles add nothing to any of the items under (1 ); and the firm can
therefore afford to pay a higher rate of wages for their production
and still make greater profits. Or again, since the price of 10 articles
carries the overhead charges for one hour, if 12 articles are made in
that time a higher rate can be paid for the two extra articles. Based
on these considerations, the simplest form of piece rate would be a
plain piece rate of so much per piece until the incubus of overhead
charges has been lifted, and then a rise which may take the form of
a definite sum, or bonus, for completion of the task, or of a higher
piece rate for further articles made.
5.
This form is simple and easily understood, but in practice only
the more rapid workers would attain the high piece rate, and it fails
to be an incentive to many of the workers. In order to provide for
this, the progressive piece rates for the manufacture of the first
installment of articles which are to carry the overhead charges, say
90 articles, might be introduced. Thus, say the expenditure which
can be set aside for piece wages has been fixed at one penny [2 cents]
for each article, the scale may be on the following plan:
For
For
For
For
For
For
For
For
the
the
the
the
the
the
the
the
For the
first
second
third
fourth
fifth
sixth
seventh
eighth
ninth
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
articles
articles
articles
articles
articles
articles
articles
articles
articles
6 pence
7 pence
8 pence
9 pence
10 pence
11 pence
12 pence
13 pence
14 pence
[12.2
[14.2
[16.2
[18.3
[20.3
[22.3
[24.3
[26.4
[28.4
cents].
cents].
cents].
cents].
cents].
cents].
cents].
cents].
cents].
For 90 articles 90 pence t$1.83].
Such a scale would provide an incentive for even slow workers to
climb by a higher rate of production to a higher rate of pay; and a
sudden rise from, say, 10 pence [20.3 cents] for every 10 articles until
90 are made, to 16 or 17 pence [82.5 or 34.5 cents] for every 10
articles over 90 is avoided.
6.
The only economic difficulty in such a progressive scale seems
to be that if the progression is too rapid and the capacity of workers
has been underestimated, the workers may climb to a piece rate
105796°— Bull. 230—17-------8
114
E F F IC IE N C Y AN D FATIG U E I X B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES
which absorbs the sum profitable to pay, even when overhead charges
have no, longer to be considered; and it would be* to the employer’s
interest to slow down production or cut ” the piece rate. In order
to guard against such a state of things arising, systems have been
devised in which the “ bonus ” varies with the selling price of the
product; and progressive piece rates have been introduced in which
the increment is not regular, but is slightly less at each advance, and
is so arranged that it can never exceed the amount of overhead
charges; thus presume that overhead charges are distributed over 90
articles at one penny [2 cents] per article; and piece wages are also
at one penny [2 cents] per article; after the first 90 are made at this
price the firm can afford to pay piece rates up to twopence [4 cents]
per article, but not above. The advancing piece- rates in this case
would be so arranged by decreasing increments that twopence [4
cents] per article can not be exceeded.
7. These remarks are introduced to enable the reader to grasp the
general conditions of the problem, which ought to be solved by an
ideal wages system. The plans may next be considered which have
actually been tried, exclusive of those which to a greater or: less extent
aim at the realization of a cooperative ideal by taking selling price
or profits into consideration.
SYSTEM S OF PIE C E K ATES.
8. (1) Straight piece rates without a minimum wage.—This is: the
simplest conceivable ease. Let us suppose that the piece rate is one
penny [2 cents] per article; Then,. if in 10 hours the man produces
0 article he receives nothing; if he produces 10 articles, he receives 10
pence [20.3 cents] ; if he produces 100 articles, 100 pence [$2.03], and
so on. The wages curve is a straight line ^ or expressed otherwise,
Y = m X j where Y is the wages, m the priee per piece, and X the
number of pieces produced in standard time.
9. (2) Piece rates with a minimum wage.—In practice system 1 is
not usually adopted, but a minimum wage is generally paid to all
wrorkers, however little they produce, and the piece-rate system only
comes into operation after a certain minimum number of articles has
been exceeded.
The following deductions can be made at once:
(1) I f the piece rate be fixed at the rate per article found by divid
ing, the minimum wage by the number of articles beyond which piecerate payment comes into force, then the more the worker produces
the lower will be the price paid per article of his production, until he
has produced the standard number.
(2) Equal increments of production bring equal increments of
earnings beyond the point corresponding to the standard, but not
from zero.
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO W AGES.
115
These deductions will appear to most readers self-evident, but as
they are of fundamental importance it is well to give some illustra
tions. Let us suppose that the minimum wage for 10 hours is 50
pence [$1.01], and that piece payments begin when 100 articles have
been made and are calculated at the corresponding rate, viz, 100
articles for 50 pence [$1.01], or ^ penny [1 cent] an article. Then
the man who only produces one article is paid 50 pence [$1.01] for
it; if he produces two articles he still receives 50 pence [$1;01], or 25
pence [50.T cents] for each article, and so on, his rate per article
steadily decreasing to a minimum of penny [1 cent] per article, and
thereafter remaining constant, which is deduction (1).
The same illustration shows the truth of deduction (2), since for
every additional article produced from 1 up to 100 the man receives
no addition to his wages, while for every addition beyond 100 he
receives an identical increment, viz, \ penny [1 cent] per article.
10.
(3) Piece rates with a minimum wage, the piece rate being less
than the standardj piece rate.—These systems cover the great majority
of the “ premium,” or “ bonus,” or u premium bonus ” systems; in
deed, with certain modifications to be noted, which are only modifi
cations of detail, not of principle, the systems of Halsey, Emerson,
Weir, and Gantt all belong to this class.
The order followed in the previous paragraph will be reversed,
and a particular illustration given before the general principle is
stated.
Suppose that, as before, 50 pence [$1.01] are the minimum wage
for 10 hours and 100 articles the standard production. Then the
position of a man under the present system is exactly as under 2
until he has reached a production of 100 articles. Now, suppose that
further production is not paid for at the rate of ^ penny [1 cent] an
article, which is the rate paid the man who produced the standard
number in the standard time, viz., 100 articles in 10 hours, the 10
hours’ pay being 50 pence [$1.01], but at half this rate, viz^ at I
penny [ f cent] an article. Then, for every extra article beyond 100
he will receive an extra \ penny [| cent], so that deduction (2) of
last paragraph still holds. But deduction (1) is no longer true;
the price paid for each article in his output continues to diminish
after the standard production has been reached down to a rate of
| penny [| cent] an article. The concluding words of deduction (1)
“ until he has produced the standard number ” must be omitted. If,
for instance, he produces 200 articles he will be paid 50 pence [$1.01],
plus 100 times | penny [J cent], or 75 pence [$1.52] in all, which is at
the rate o f 0.375 penny [0.& cent] per article for his whole output.
Had he produced 3-00 articles he would have received 50 pence
[$1.01], plus 200 times i penny [^ cent], or 100 pence [$2.03-^ in all a
116
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
rate per article of 0.3333 penny [0.7 cent]. The rate paid per article
steadily diminishes, but, and this is of the essence of the matter,
it does not diminish indefinitely; it can never be less than J penny
cent] per article. Suppose he produces some incredibly largo
number, say a million articles more than the standard number of
100. His receipts will be 50 pence [$1.01] plus a million farthings
[$5,075], that is 250,050 pence [$5,076.02], which gives, dividing by
1,000,100 (the number of articles produced), a piece rate of 0.25002
penny [0.5 cent] per article. This can be seen at once if we ex
press the facts in algebraical symbols. Let Y represent the price
paid per article pf the man’s total production, W the minimum
wage, K the number of articles beyond which a piece rate is paid,
and p that rate; also let X be the man’s output in excess of K, so
that K + X is his total output. Then we have—
v
_
1 “
W
+ ffX
K+X ’
Now, when X is very large indeed, W and K become insignificant
in comparison with p X and X , so that the expression reduces to p
multiplied by X and divided by X , i. e., it becomes equal to p, which
in our illustration was a farthing. The reader will note that the
curve is a rectangular hyperbola, Y — p being an asymptote.
System 3 therefore differs from system 2 in that the piece rate
diminishes down to a finite minimum. On the other hand, the total
earnings increase indefinitely, for the total earnings are W + ^ X ,
and the only difference -between the curves representing the total
earnings o f case 2 and case 3 is that in case 2 p is equal to W /K ,
while in case 3 it is less than W /K . In geometrical language this
means that both curves of total earnings are straight lines rising
from W as an origin, but the rise is less steep (in our illustration just
half as steep) in case 3 as in case 2.
These very simple propositions must be thoroughly understood;
failure to grasp them has caused a vast amount of confusion in the
statements made respecting premium systems.
Thes§ results may be summarized by saying that systems of type
3 enable the employee to increase his total earnings from the point
of reaching the standard by equal increments of money for equal
increments of production, and that there is no theoretical limit to the
amount he may earn. I f he produced an infinite number of articles
he would receive an infinite sum in wages. On the other hand, the
employer pays the employees who have passed the standard progres
sively less per unit of production, but he never pays less per unit than
a certain finite amount. From his point of view the law is one of
increasing average returns.
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE
rffi
WAGES
117
Again, looking at the same facts from a slightly different point
of view, there is no amount of production increases beyond which
will return the employee no finite increase of reward. The sig
nificance of this fact will appear later.
11.
It has been said that this system comprises the majority of
bonus systems. It will be sufficient to demonstrate this by an ex
amination in detail of one such system, viz., that of Mr. F. A. Halsey.
Mr. Halsey described his plan in detail in a paper entitled a The
premium plan of paying for labor,” published in the first volume
of the Economic Studies of the American Economic Association,
which appeared in 1896 (supplement pp. 75, etc.). Mr. Halsey and
others have, of course, issued many subsequent papers dealing with
the subject, but none of these, so far as is known, affect the principle
which alone is now under consideration. An analysis of the table
annexed, which is extracted from Mr. Halsey’s paper, will afford
all the information required.
This table (see below) is expressed in terms of one particular task,
and to bring it into line with the general plan it must be recon
structed. It will be assumed, then, that the task standardized for
10 hours consists, as before, of making 100 articles. It follows, then,
that the man who could produce the 100 articles in 9 hours would
have produced 1,000 divided by 9, or 111.11 articles in 10 hours, and
similarly for the other values. But these amounts do not increase by
equal increments, so that the table expressed in terms of earnings for
different amounts produced is not easily understood. It is seen at
once, however, that if the man can produce the 100 articles in 5
hours; that is, if he produced 200 articles in 10 hours, his wages
would be not $6, but $4, or increased by a third instead of by 100
per cent. This suggests that the system is probably system 3, with
p equal to one-third of W /K , and we shall show that such is the case.
T
Tim e con
sumed.
Hours.
10..................
9 ....................
8....................
7....................
6....................
5....................
W ages, per
p iece.1
$3.00
2.70
2.40
2.10
1.80
1.50
able
1.
Premium.
$0.10
.20
.30
.40
.50
Total cost
of work.
$3.00
2.80
2.60
2.40
2.20
2.00
Earnings,
per hour."
$0.30
.311
.325
.343
.366
.400
1 T h is h ea d in g d oes n o t m ean p e r p ie c e in th e sense o f o u r t e x t ; it is re a lly tim e w a g e
ea rn ed a t stan d a rd r a te o f $3 p e r h ou r.
PRODUCTION.
Let II be the number of hours required by the man to produce the
standard task of K articles.
118 EMTOYE^Y ANI> FATIGUE IN BEITiSH MUNITION FACTORIES
Then he receives for K articles:
HW
“-jq—f-(10—H)P, where W
w the minimum day wage and P is the premium. His
HW
piece rate is
10
H)P^
fester his production, the smaller the
K
number of hours required to produce
W
from.
when H = 1 0 to
10P
K articles, so that his. piece rate diminishes
,
„
n
when H = 0 .
10P . 100
. = 1 cent,
D
’
W . 360 .
^ is Jqq—3 cents.
i. e., oae*-third of
’
W
K
The total earnings are as before, given by a straight line.
W
Y = W + .33 ^ X .
CHART
TO
ILLUSTRATE
SYSTEMS.
Productxos.
The reader can satisfy himself that this is correct by comparing*
the results with the last column of Mr. Halsey’s table* e. g., if 111.11
articles are produced in 10 hours—
X = l l . l l and Y = 8 0 0 + l l —311 cents for 10 hours, or .311 dollars for one hour.
In other words, the table quoted from Halsey’s paper is a typical
example of system 3, the piece rate for output beyond the standard
being one-third the rate paid to the standard producer instead of
one-half as in the former illustration.
12.
There are many modifications of this system; for instance,
that of Emerson. These modifications consist in changing the earn-
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O K K , W IT H SPECIAL REFEREN CE T 0 iWA&ES.
119
ings below the standard. In the case we have described the diagram
expressing total earnings as a function of output is a horizontal
straight line for all outputs up to the standard and then a straight
line inclined at an angle to the horizontal. Now, by introducing the
premium method below the standard, for instance, by crediting the
producer of something less than the standard output with a certain
premium which is larger the nearer he approaches the standard, the
horizontal line of total wages for producers of less than standard
quantities can be altered. But if there is a minimum day wage and
if the piece rate for production in excess of the standard is less than
the piece rate for the standard calculated as before and is constant
the two main features of system 3 will be reproduced. An applica
tion of this test is all that is necessary ta determine whether any
given wage system falls into the class. We shall apply it to the
Emerson system as described by Prof. Hoxie (Scientific Manage
ment and Labor, p. 72). Here for each 1 per cent increase in pro
duction above the standard the worker receives 1 per cent increase of
wages in terms of a minimum wage. The standard producer receives
120 per cent of the minimum. Suppose 100 articles in 10 hours to be
the standard and 3s. [73 cents] the day wage, then the producer of
50 articles receives 3s. [73 cents] ; the producer of 100, 3.6 [87.5
cents] ; and 200, 3.6+3.0=6.6 [$0.88+$0.73=$1.61] ; piece rates of
.06, .036, and .033 [1.5 cents, 0.9 cent, and 0.8 cent], respectively.
The piece rate for producers beyond the standard is
(n—production beyond 100, and D —day wage), which becomes
.01D when in is infinite, i. e., it diminishes down to .030.
The Gantt system (Hoxie op. cit., p. 68), on the other hand, is an
example of class 2, with discontinuity. All workers who fall below
the standard receive a day wage. The standard producer receives a
sudden increase of 30 per cent and the producers beyond the standard
receive the same piece rate as the standard producer.
The curve is a horizontal line for all outputs below the standard,
then the line rises at right angles to a point 30 per cent of the pre
vious distance between the horizontal line and base line above the
former, and from this point the piece rate line of system 2 com
mences. (See chart.)
Before leaving these systems it should be noted that the objection
urged against them, viz, that equal increments of work do not earn
equal rewards must be true of any conceivable wage system provided
that a minimum time wage is enforced, and is quite as true of system
2 as of system 3 (geometrically,of course, system 2 is only a particular
case of system 3). Conversely the arguments in their favor (a) that
it is reasonable to share the profits between the employer and the
employee, and (b) that they obviate the necessity, from the em
120
E F F IC IE N C Y AN D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
ployer’s point of view, of cutting rates, are hardly sound. Argument
{a) is only true if the employer make no profit at all from the
worker, who produced the standard quantity or less. Argument (&)
is only true if the piece rate paid for production above the standard
is so small that the inclination of the straight line rising from the
horizontal is inappreciable, in which case there is no sensible pe
cuniary inducement to the worker to produce more than the standard,
and he can hardly be expected to do so. All that the system secures
is that the workers’ increase in earnings with increase of output
shall be slower than if system 2 were adopted. On the other hand,
system 4, to which we now come, does, indeed, completely secure the
employer against ever having to pay more than a certain sum in
wages, however great the output.
13.
(4) Piece-rate system icith minimum wage, the piece rate di
minishing without any limit.—This system which, very unfortu
nately, has been called the premium-bonus system, is a method of
keeping the- total wage cost down to a certain amount, however
great the production, and at the same time of securing the worker a
minimum wage for his day’s work. The reader, with a slight knowl
edge of algebra, will recognize that these objects can be very easily
attained. Thus, if we decide that no man shall earn less than W
pence for his day’s work and that no man shall earn more than twice
W pence, however much he does, we can pay him wages calculated
from the following formula: Y = W (2—1/a?), where x is the number
of times the standard amount he actually produces and only values
of x greater than 1 are employed. I f he produces exactly the
standard amount he will earn W. I f he produces twice the standard
amount he will earn one and a half times W, and if he produces an
indefinitely large amount he will earn twice W, and can never earn
more than twice W. This, which, be it remembered, is not the
curve of piece rates but the curve of total earnings, is a rectangular
hyperbola with Y = 2 W for horizontal asymptote.
The system was devised by Mr. Rowan and we quote his table
(American Machinist, 1902, Vol. X X V , p. 49) :
Wage rate, $0.30 per hour.
T
Hours
allowed.
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Hours
taken.
100
SO
80
70
60
60
40
30
20
10
1
able
2.
Premium
Time
wages on earned on
job.
job.
$30.00
27.00
24.00
21.00
18.00
15.00
12.00
9.00
6.00
3.00
.30
” §2*70***
4.80
6.30
7.20
7.50
7.50
6.30
4.80
2.70
.297
Total
cost.
$30.00
29.70
28.80
27.30
25.20
22.50
19.20
15.30
10.80
5.70
.597
Work
man’s rate
per hour.
$0.30
.33
.36
.39
.42
.45
.48
.51
.54
.57
.597
121
IN C E N T IV E S TO W O R K , W IT H SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
It will now be shown that this table can be expressed by the for
mula given above. From the table we see that if a job standardized
for 100 hours is completed in, say, 80 hours the workman receives
80Xhourly wage of -30, plus
X 80Xhourly wage=24+4*8=$28*8.
In symbols:
t' h o u r s = ^ + “ — ~
t ~^/==t/h^2—
(1),
t' actual time and h hourly rate. But if the standard
Amount earned in
Where
t is
standard time,
task is taken as unity, the man who can complete it in
tandard in
This i3
1
t' hours will do -p times the
t hours.
x of the formula on p. 120, par. 13. Multiply (1) by
and substitute
if .
for — in the bracket, and we have
Amount earned in
t hours—fit ^2—- ^
(2);
but
fa= wage for t hours=W,
so (2) becomes
» - w ( 2- 4 >
which was to be proved, y being the amount earned.
This is x of the formula on p 120, par. 13. Multiply (1) by
and substitute
Tf the standard output is 100 articles, the piece rate paid to a man who produces
100 x articles in time t is
which diminishes from ^
to zero as x increases.
14.
Certain consequences follow from the above investigation.
From the nature of the curve of earnings, there is a considerable
pecuniary inducement to exceed the standard to a moderate extent,
greater indeed than by system 3, but the inducement rapidly di
minishes and becomes practically insignificant. These points are
brought out by Table 3. System 4 offers a greater temptation than
system 3 to do 50 per cent better than the standard. On the other
hand, while an increase from three times to three and a half times
the standard output is rewarded by an increase of one shilling and
three pence [30.4 cents] under system 3 it only earns a trifle more
than 2^d. [5 cents] under system 4. Consequently in the case of
purely repetitive work, the system is admirably calculated to give
rise to artificial limitation of output, unless the standard production
is fixed so high that very few wTorkers are able to do more than, say,
50 per cent better than “ bogie.”
This appendix is not, of course, concerned with anything beyond a
description of the systems, but it is fair to remark that the method
under notice was not apparently devised in a factory engaged upon
work of a mainly 'repetitive character. Thrns^ it has-been remarked
(American Machinist, X X V I, October 17, 1903) :—“ The work done
122
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
in the Rowan Works is the building of marine engines, in which, of
course, there is little repetition work—a fact which accounts for the
emphasis which Mr. Rowan always places on the importance of the
rate-fixing department.”
T
able
8.
Working of systems 2 to 4.—In the case where the standard pro
duction is 100 articles in 10 hours, and the day standard wage 5s.
[$1.22], piece rates 0.05 [1.2 cents] for system 2, and 0.025 [0.6 cent]
for system 3.
Total earnings (shillings).
Produc
tion.
System 3.
System 2.
100
150
200
250
390
350
5.0
7.5
10.0
12.5
15.0
17.5
ill. 22]
'$1.82
$2.43
13.04
S3. 65
$4.26
5.00
6.25
7.50
8.75
10.00
11. 25
[SI. 22]
[SI.52
[SI. 82
[12.13
[82.43
[$2.74
System 4.
5.00
6.67
7.50
8.00
8.33
8.57
[SI. 22]
[SI. 62
[SI. 82
[SI. 95
[$2.03
[S2.09
SU M M AR Y.
15.
The various methods which have been described (all of which,
excepting the first, are known to be employed in different munition
factories), can be conveniently contrasted as follows:
A. From the point of view of the operative:
(1) Following a law of constant rate of remuneration. (Sys
tem 1.)
(2) Following a law of diminishing rate of remuneration.
(a) Rate of remuneration diminishing to the rate corresponding
to the earnings of “ bogie,” and return constant from that point.
(System 2.)
(b) Rate of remuneration diminishing down to a rate which is
some finite fraction of the rate earned by “ bogie.” (System 3.)
(c) Rate of remuneration diminishing without any limit. (Sys
tem 4.)
*
B. From the point of view of pecuniary incentive to production:
None, except the Gantt modification of system (2),1 offers any in
centive to the worker who is only just able to equal “ bogie.” Sys
tems (2) and (3) provide a constant incentive to the workers who
can pass “ bogie” to continue their efforts. System (4) provides a
greater incentive than system (3), as illustrated, to workers to sur
pass “ bogie ” by a moderate amount, but as the production increases
further the incentive falls behind that provided by system (3) and
rapidly becomes infinitesimal.
1 The special feature of the Gantt system is carried further in the systems of Taylor,
a new and higher rate being introduced discontinuously as the worker reaches various
stages of increased production.
These methods are not known to be used in any factories
studied by the committee, and the reader is referred to the work of Hoxie, cited in the
text, for further information.
REPORT ON THE H EALTH AND PH Y SIC A L CONDITION OF
MALE MUNITION W O RK ERS.
B Y CAPT. T. H .
A G N EW , ®. A .
M . C.
SCOPE OF INQUIRY.
1. In arranging for these inquiries the committee were actuated
by a desire to obtain medical evidence as to the nature and extent
ol the ailments and defects from which the workers were suffering,
the amount of fatigue existing among them, and the means of
alleviation which might be adopted.
The inquiry extended over a period of six months, from the middle
of February to the middle of August, 1916. During the first half
of this period I had the assistance of Mr. Heath, of the factory
department of the home office, to whom I am indebted for some
of the details elicited in the conduct of this inquiry. I desire also
to place on record my obligations to the management and the men
of the factories visited. Everywhere the inquiry was facilitated
by the readiness of the examinees to answer questions, both general
and particular, and by the anxiety of the management to remove,
so far as possible, any cause of difficulty or hindrance.
2. Eight factories were selected for the examination, the works
being situated in four of the principal industrial areas of England.
The class of munition work upon which the operatives were engaged
varied within wide limits. The principal processes followed were
antiaircraft gun making, limber mounting, big-gun manufacturing,
shell stamping, fuse and gaine making, bullet and cartridge case
making, exploder bag filling, gunpowder pellet making, cartridge
filling. Next came the inspection of the processes of rifle and auto
machine gun manufacture, such as stamping parts, gunstock turning
and polishing, barrel rifling and sight testing, steel smelting, gas
producing, forging naval guns, naval shell making, steel rolling by
both hot and cold processes, field-gun shell pressing, aeroplane build
ing, and ambulance construction.
3. In all, 3,052 workers were examined—1,543 men and 1,509
boys—distributed as follows:
In
In
In
In
factory
factory
factory
factory
1,
1
2,
3,
532 men and 88 boys.
(return visit), no men and 900 boys.
376 men and 124 boys.
137 men and 73 boys.
123
124
E F F IC IE N C Y AN D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
In
In
In
In
In
factory
factory
factory
factory
factory
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
61 men and 29 boys.
152 men and 97 boys.
240 men and 91 boys.
45 men and 15 boys.
no men and 92 boys.
4. The men chosen were 41 years of age and upward and the
boys 18 years of age and under. The reasons for this selection were:
(a) That any baneful influence which unhygienic surroundings and
long hours might exert would probably be mostly manifested during
youth or middle age—during youth because growth is proceeding
and the reaction to environment may be expected to be more acute—
during middle age because these workers have already been sub
mitted to many years of industrial life; (b) at the present time so
many of the physically fit have been withdrawn from industrial to
military service that the residue between the ages of 18 and 41
years might reasonably be expected to be below the normal standard.
5. Before commencing the examination of the workers a general
survey of the workshops was made in order to ascertain the nature
of the process or processes conducted, the amount of strain to be
endured, and the number of men engaged. After this information
had been obtained concerning every workroom in the factory a repre
sentative group of men and boys was chosen for examination. The
reasons for making the inquiry were explained clearly to the shop
managers, to the men, and to the boys alike. Appreciation of the
purpose of the committee’s inquiry was shown by the readiness to
submit to examination and to answer questions, and often to add
information quite irrelevant but occasionally useful to the nature
of the inquiry. The scope of the examination of each worker was
limited by the necessity for interfering, as little as possible, with out
put, and generally occupied about 12 minutes. The scheme adopted
in every case was a careful examination of the radial pulse recorded
by a 64watch count;” the heart and lungs were next examined, apex
beat and chest expansion being noted. The measurement of blood
pressure and of chest expansion had unfortunately to be eliminated
owing to lack of time. Next in order of examination were the nose,
mouth, teeth, and pharynx, particular attention being paid to the
latter in the case of juveniles. Questions upon the digestive system
were answered clearly and freely. Sometimes information relevant
to the general nervous system was given with hesitation, but in the
main the questions were understood and replied to readily. The
condition of the eyesight only called for close observation in a
minority of those examined, because (i) the majority of the pro
cesses were unlikely to cause eyestrain, (ii) a very large number of
the men examined had had their vision carefully tested before being
taken on for work, and (iii) in those cases where strain was made
H E A L T H OF M ALE M U N IT IO N W O RK ERS.
125
upon the eyes defects had already been adjusted by spectacles, or7
where suspected, the eyes had been examined by an ophthalmic
specialist; in all cases the desire to be equal to the work and to earn
as much money as possible were the reasons for this precaution. All
operatives were examined for flat foot or any other pedal deformity
likely to cause inconvenience. In all those processes necessitating
long standing the legs were examined for the presence of varicose
veins.
In order that the data elicited during these inquiries should be as
reliable as possible, the examinees were classified solely upon the re
sult of their medical examination, and the considerations of their
hours of labor and the1conditions of work upon which they were en
gaged were not referred to until compiling the reports upon each
factory.
6. As a method of eliciting the effects of labor and environment on
health, this procedure is open to obvious criticism. Men who are sick
or dead are not found at work, and any complete survey would in
clude the condition of those who are temporarily absent as well as of
those who have permanently retired from the particular sphere under
investigation. There are, however, good grounds for thinking that
conditions of work which cumulatively result in severe illness and
death may be presumed to leave in the factory indications of their
operation in the form of milder examples of illness of the same kind
or of similar origin, and that to some extent at any rate this index
would be quantitative. This relation, however, is doubtless influenced
by the process of selection which goes on more or less continuously,
whereby those who are unfit become eliminated altogether or segre
gated to particular kinds of work. The extent and intensity of this
selection will necessarily vary with the fluctuations between indus
trial demand and the supply of labor, and it is with a shortage of
labor, such as now exists, that we should expect selection to be at its
minimum and the health standard therefore at its worst. These diffi
culties can not be solved with the present data; we can only bear
them constantly in mind in interpreting the results of an inquiry
such as the present.
CL A SSIF IC A TIO N OF OCCUPATIONS.
7. For purposes of analysis the work done by each man and boy
has been assigned to one of four categories, and the figures set out
in tables 1 and 2 under the various headings show clearly the numbers
of individuals engaged upon various classes of work. The groups are
arranged partly according to weight of work, partly according to
the conditions of heat, noise, etc. In factories 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 the
very heavy and heavy processes were most frequently followed.
126
E F F IC IE N C Y AN D FATIG U E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
While at some of these the men were more fully engaged upon very
heavy work, others were occupied in processes which involved both
very heavy and heavy labor, but for the purposes of classification in
the tables they have been grouped according to the work upon which
they were found engaged.
(a) The very heavy group includes such processes as steel making,
naval gun forging, smithy work where hammers of 18 pounds weight
and upward were used, the forging of 12-inch and 15-inch naval and
field shells. Smiths wielding hammers of 25 or 80 pounds weight
and dealing with very 'heavy materials in the smithies have been also
included in this category because their work is continuous and in
volves the expenditure of great energy and exposure in most cases
to excessive heat.
(b) Heavy group.—Among the men occupied in the heavy trades
have been included smiths wielding hammers of a less weight than
those referred to above; laborers in steel yards, because some of
these men in the course of their work lift very heavy weights, but
have the advantage of following their occupation chiefly in the open
air; men wheeling large quantities of metal,, bricklayers, ordinary
laborers, forgemen engaged upon the lighter class of work, men mak
ing the small shells such as the 4-inch and below, gas producers,
navvies, men engaged in stamping shops, have been included in this
category because the temperature to which they are ordinarily ex
posed, though high, is not nearly so high as in the processes referred
to as “ very heavy.” There is occasionally some overlapping, as I
have already mentioned.
( c) Medium group,—Between the former processes and the me
dium and light processes there is a distinct difference. Occasionally
some difficulty arose with reference to the class into which an ex
aminee should be put. Often this w^as settled by the fact that a
workshop was very noisy, though the work upon which the indi
vidual was engaged was light and decided his inclusion in the me
dium group. Those processes classed medium included automatic
machine minding, the majority of shell turning processes, gun stock
turning and polishing, barrel rifling, fuse and gaine turning, the
various processes of limber mounting, and gun sighting for anti
aircraft work. In the majority of these cases the conditions under
which these processes were carried out were such as not to add ma
terially to the weight of work. Among the boys a large number has
been classified in the medium group owing partly to the weight of
their work and partly to the excessive noise in the factory. Many
of these boys had been engaged for a comparatively short time, and
though the work was apparently easy, yet at the same time the noise,
in my opinion, would influence very considerably their conditions
HEALTH OF MALE MUNITION WORKERS.
127
at the end of a working-dar. This particularly refers to the boys
in the bullet and cartridge making factories from among whom large
numbers were chosen for examination.
(d)
Light group.—In the light processes, for boys particularly,
little or no effort was called for. The majority were seated at their
work and the common processes were gunpowder pellet making,
exploder bag filling, breaking down gaines and fuses, and cartridge
filling. These occupations were all very easy and called for no physi
cal effort. The men included in this category are those who are
occupied in such work as sweeping up shops, acting as shop fore
men, viewers of shell work, leading hands whose time is spent in
walking about, and supervisors.
8. Similarly the standard of health and physical conditions of
each examinee has been summarized as being:
A,
B,
C,
D,
good;
slightly below normal;
much below normal; or
bad;
and this grouping is used throughout this report.
GENERAL RESULTS OBTAINED.
9. The whole series of 3,052 men and boys examined give the fol
lowing summary result:
Class A— Men, 1,198, or 78 per cent; boys, 1,874, or 91 per cent.
Class B— Men, 264, or 17 per cent; boys, 119, or 8 per cent.
Class C— Men, 75, or 5 per cent; boys, 13, or 1 per cent.
Class D— Men, 6, or 0,4 per cent; boys, 3, or 0.2 per cent.
Total— Men, 1,543; boys, 1,509.
It is evident that there is no very gross degree of ill health
prevalent among those at work; the figures suggest a fairly satis
factory position, though the absence of any standard of comparison
renders accurate evaluation impossible. It should be noted that the
main facts can not be substantially changed by any reasonable as
sumption about absentees from illness at the time of the inquiry (see
par. 12).
RELATION OF GENERAL HEALTH TO LENGTH OF EMPLOYMENT,
HOURS, AND NATURE OF WORK.
10. The data regarding health, length of employment, hours of
labor, and nature of work have been summarized in tables 1 and 2.
These tables are complex, and it is necessary to analyze their con
tents.
In the first place I suspected that the men and boys employed
before the war—that is to say, those who were already in munition
128 E ^ r c l ^ C Y AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
factories upward of two years ago—could not properly be regarded as
in the same class as those engaged since. These prewar employees
are a product of a long period of industrial selection and entered the
trade at a time when the supply of labor was not so restricted as it
became after the outbreak of war. Hence a larger proportion of
physically fit men might be expected among them, the weaklings or
poorer ones, I should say^ falling out through dismissal or through
some other form of elimination. This presumption is verified by
the fact that the percentage of men placed by me in class A is
greater in the case of the prewar men (80 per cent) than for those
men engaged since (74 per cent).
The three remaining groups, all composed of men and boys who
were engaged after the outbreak of war, and therefore during a
period when selective elimination became difficult or almost impos
sible, are comparable one with another as regards the remaining
factors. Three variables are involved, namely, (1) length of hours,
(2) general health, (3) length of time employed; and what the
committee particularly wished to know is whether (1) and (2) are
associated.
In Tables 3 to 6 1 the material is arranged with the object of
bringing into comparison general health and length of hours. The
fourfold arrangement has been adopted for convenience of compari
son and is justified by the facts that the characters classified are
continuous and the numbers in the extreme classes (very long hours
and fitness below B, for instance) are small. The comparison shows
that the percentage in class A is less among those working longer
hours; that is, 70 hours or over for men and 60 hours or over for
boys. In three of the tables the difference is more than twice the
probable error^ and the combined improbability that all four tables
should merely, as a result of random sampling, give the observed
deviations is considerable; indeed, the odds against it are about 99
to 1. The long hours, therefore, appear definitely prejudicial to
physical well being, but it is necessary to be sure that this deduction
is not deceptive, and that it is not due to the intervention of the third
variable, namely^ length of employment. Thus, it might happen
that a larger proportion of the employees who had been engaged for
longer periods^ say over 12 months, worked shorter hours, and that
they were by a process of selective elimination physically fitter,
quite independently of the fact of working shorter hours. In this
way a spurious association between short hours and physical fitness
might arise.
11
am deeply indebted to Capt. Greenwood for the elaboration and arrangement of
Tables 3 to 22.
HEALTH OF MALE MUNITION WORKERS.
129
Tables 7 to 14 were prepared to test this objection. Taking them
seriatim we note:
(i) There is very little difference between the percentages of A in
the case of men on very heavy and heavy work when the classification
by length of employment is adopted, and a similar remark applies
to men on medium and light labor. In both cases, however, the
hours are shorter for the men longer employed.
(ii) In the ease of boys on light and medium labor, the boys more
recently engaged are significantly fitter (the measure being as usual
the percentage of A ), but in this case the hours are significantly
shorter. This case can be instructively compared with that of the
men. The corresponding table for boys on very heavy and heavy
labor records no differences which are significant.
These tables, therefore, in no way weaken the impression derived
from Tables 3 to 6, namely, that there is a real relation between
unfitness and long hours. Additional evidence pointing the same
way is furnished by Tables 15 to 18. Each of these is derived from
samples of men or of boys of the same grade of experience^ and in
each case the percentage of A is greater among the employees on
shorter hours. Any one of these tables taken alone would not war
rant the conclusion suggested, but their concurrent testimony is of
great importance.
Passing now to the prewar employees, Tables 19 to 22 should be
examined. The number of prewar boys is small to support aver
ages which would merit discussion, but the men provide a very in
structive comparison with those dealt with above. In the case of
light and medium work there is no appreciable difference between
the general physical condition of those working longer or shorter
hours. But in the case of heavy and very heavy labor there is a
substantial difference in the opposite direction to that found in all
the post-war tables, and those working the longer hours are seen to
be actually the healthier body of men. The result is what might be
expected if the hypothesis of industrial selection is true. In prewar
days the less fit were forced through selective elimination to join the
ranks of the unemployed or became unemployable when labor was
plentiful and cheap; the demands of the employer for labor were
easily met and no particular thought was given to those who suffered
through physical disability, the result of long hours or heavy work,
or both combined. But to-day, when labor of almost any class is
valuable, the seriousness of this question has become apparent.
105796°—Bull. 230—17------9
130 EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
T able 1.—N U M B E R O F M EN E X A M IN E D IN C E R T A IN
[General health:
Duration of
em ploym ent.
Net aver
age hours
fo r k e d
weekly.
70-80...
B —slightly below normal.
C.
B.
D.
Total.
2
4
18.2
1 8,2
5
45.4
1
8 6 .4
6
54.5
9.1
1
9.1
11
3
27.3
70-80........
100.0
1
8.3
Under 60.
60-70........
C—m uch below normal.
Heavy.
A.
80-90...
6months and un
der 12.
F A C T O R IE S — D U R A
W O R K , STAN DARD
V ety heavy process.
Under 6 m onths.. Under 6
60-70...
A —good.
M U N IT IO N
50.0
50.0
5
4L7
4
S3. 3
A.
27
37.5
13
18.1
9
12.5
B.
4
5.6
6
8.3
5
6.9
1
1.4
55
76.4
16
21
18.9
18
Id. 2
32
28.8
11
2
1.8
5
4.5
13
11.7
1
D.
Total.
10
13.9
33
45.8
19
26.4
10
13.9
I
1 .4
72
100.0
1
1 .4
1
0 .9
6
5,4
1
0.9
7
6.3
0 .9
0 .9
12 months, or
s in c e c o m
m encem ent of
war.
2
16.7
12
100.0
4
11.8
1
23.5
19
55.9
7
29
85.3
5
14.7
34
100.0
Under (
62
60-70...
30.7
57
16
7.9
13
38.6
70
Under 60..
60-70...
70-80...
23.5
15
u .i
17.7
80-90...
Before the w ar. . .
H
78
8 4 .6
54
24
24.7
18
18.6
15
15.5
11
11.3
21
18.9
1
1
1.0
13
13.4
1
1.0
70.1
121
81.1
70
18.0
87
22.4
35
9.0
1
.3
2
22
6.7
18
4.6
11
2.8
7
1.8
14
1
1,0
111
100.0
26
26.8
20
80.9
30
80.9
11
11.3
1
1.0
97
100.0
1
151
88.9
102
0 .3
1.0
1
0.5
83.7
31
15.3
0.5
0 .5
202
100.0
316
81.3
51
13.1
21
5.4
0 .3
389
100.0
216
83.4
15.8
1
0.4
1
0.4
259
100.0
521
77.9
108
16.1
37
5.6
3
0.4
669
100.0
70-80...
80-90...
26.7
90.........
100.......
82
73.9
23
20.7
24
21.6
52
46.8
12
10.8
169
41
1
1
35
9.0
1
.8
2
.5
1
HEALTH OF MALE MUNITION WORKERS.
131
TTON O F E M P L O Y M E N T , N E T A V E R A G E H O U R S W O R K E D W E E K L Y , H E A V IN E S S 03*
OF PH Y S IQ U E .
D —bad.
The italic figures below the actual totals indicate percentages.]
Light.
Medium.
A.
B.
15.6
7
21.9
D.
1
3.1
16
50.0
14
43.8
1
3.1
4
12.5
1
3.1
15
46.9
3
9.1
11
33.3
Total.
40.6
4
12.5
32
100.0
3
9.1
1
3.0
2
6.1
1
3.0
1
3.0
18.2
13
39.4
11
33.3
3
9.1
13
18.2
3
6.5
2
4.3
2
4.3
C.
A.
18
51.4
5
1-M
1
2.9
1
2.9
2
5.1
20
30.8
19
29.2
13
20.0
1
1.5
25
38.5
20
50.5
19
29.2
1
1.5
1
1.5
37
50.0
15
20.3
7
9.5
3
4A
5
6.8
46
100.0
11
8.2
26
19.4
59
44-0
12
9.0
2
1.5
2
1.5
8
6.0
9
6.7
2
1.5
1
0.7
16
11.9
34
25.4
70
52.2
12
9.0
2
l .£
2
1.5
60-70.......
7.7
1
1.5
5
7.7
1
1.5
1
2.2
2
4-3
1
2.2
Under 60.
9
25.7
7
£0.0
35
m o
12
18.5
3
6.5
19
4
11.4
52
80.0
7
15.2
Total.
14.2
19
4
§.0
185
75.5
45
18.4
13
5.3
2
0.8
Under 6 months*
7 0 -8 0 ,.,,.
1
1.3
53
71.6
74
100.0
#4- 5
48
24.5
44
-M
11
6.6
20
10.#
1
1.3
7
$.6
3
1.5
6
1
0.5
and
70-80.......
80-90.......
Under 60.
64.9
19
25.7
6
8.1
1
1.3
1
I months
under 12.
65
100.0
4
M
Under 60.
60-70.......
63
32.2
62
31.6
70
35.7
1
0.5
60-70.......
70-80.......
Under 60,
60 -7 0 .....
70-80.......
8 0-9 0 ..,..
90.............
134
100.0
1*0
71.4
19.9
17
8.7
196
100.0
245
m o
276
74.6
70
IS. 5
24
6.5
370
100.0
12 months, or
s in c e c o m
mencement of
war.
80-60.......
100...........
110
82.1
Duration of
employment.
80-90.......
2
6.1
35
76.1
D.
Net aver
age hours
worked
weekly.
Before the war.
132
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIG U E IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
T able 2.—N U M B E R O F B O Y S (U N D E R 18 Y E A R S ) E X A M IN E D IN C E R T A IN M U N IT IO N
H E A V IN E S S O F W O R K ,
[General health: A —good.
Duration of
em ploym ent.
Under 6 months.
Net aver
age hours
worked
weekly.
B —slightly below normal.
Very heavy process.
A.
B.
Heavy.
Total.
Under 60.
70-80........
months
under 12.
and
5
83.3
D.
Total.
42
67.8
14
22.6
2
3.2
1
1.6
2
3.2
1
1.6
43
69.4
16
25.8
3
4.8
4
6.5
62
100.0
1
16.7
l
16.7
6
100.0
100.0
5
100.0
5
100.0
45
63.4
18
25.4
2
2.8
1
1.4
3
4.2
48
67.6
18
25.4
4
5.6
1
M
5
100.0
5
100.0
66
93.0
5
7.0
71
100.0
1
33.3
1
33.3
1
33.3
1
33.3
58
72.5
15
18.7
1
1.3
1
33.3
3
100.0
60-70........
70-80........
80-90........
Under 60 .
1
33.3
60-70.
70-80.
1
33.3
Before the w a r. . .
C.
Under 50.
Under 60.
12 months, or
s in c e c o m
mencement of
war.
B.
A.
Under 50.
60-70........
6
C—m uch below normal.
4
5.0
1
1.3
5
6.3
1
1.3
63
78.7
16
20.0
1
1.3
1
1.3
80
100.0
Under 50.
Under 60.
60-70........
70-80........
3
8.6
1
85.7
31
88.6
4
11.4
35
m o
229
18
7.3
2
2
50.0
50.0
27
77.2
1
1
4
25.0
25.0
1
1
11.4
25.0
25.0
4
100.0
100.0
18
100.0
92.3
4
30
5
14.3
1
0.4
248
100.0
H E A L T H OF M ALE M U N IT IO N W ORKERS.
133
F A C T O R IE S —D U R A T IO N OF E M P L O Y M E N T , N E T A V E R A G E H O U R S W O R K E D W E E K L Y ,
S T A N D A R D O F P H Y S IQ U E .
D—bad.
The italic figures below the actual totals indicate percentages.]
Medium.
A.
B.
11
4.8
190
83.7
5.0
2.2
C.
Light.
D.
i
0.4
13
5.8
3
1.3
3
1.3
206
90.8
17
7.5
3
1.3
1
0.5
11
5.0
175
80.3
6
2.8
1
0.5
21
9.6
1
0.5
1
0.4
1
0.4
2
0.9
Total.
12
5.3
207
91.2
8
3.5
A.
B.
C.
D.
3
1.0
68
21.7
228
72.8
2
0.6
10
3.2
1
0.5
1
0.3
Total.
3
1.0
72
23.0
238
76.0
Net aver
age hours
worked
weekly.
Under 50.
Duration of
em ploym ent.
Under 6 m onths.
Under 60.
60-70........
70-80........
227
100.0
299
95.6
12
5.5
1
0.5
12
5.5
198
90.8
7
3.2
1
0.7
39
27.3
92
64.3
2
M
7
4.5
1
0.3
1
0.5
313
100.0
1
0.7
41
28.7
101
70.6
2
M
U nder 50.
6
months
under 12.
and
U nder 60.
60-70.......
70-80.......
80-90____
. 193
88. 5
23
10.6
2
0.9
218
100.0
132
92.3
9
6.3
2
M
4
2.0
171
83.4
1
0.5
27
13.2
5
2.4
200
97.6
11
16.7
46
69.7
2
3.0
4
6.1
1
1.5
l
1.5
2
1.0
175
85.4
28
13.7
2
1.0
205
100.0
57
86.4
7
10.6
1
1.5
|
J ...........
1
i
3 I
7.5
1
2.5
5
12.5
33
82.5
1
2.5
6
19.4
23
74.2
1
3.2
40
100.0
29
93.6
690
100.0
517
93.5
1
2.5
5
12.5
30
75.0
1
2
.
37
92.5
3
7.5
611
88.6
71
10.3
7
1.0
l
0.1
143
1
1
1.5
15
22.7
50
75. S
1
1.5
Under 60.
60-70____
70-80____
66
100.0
1
1
Under 50.
1
8.2
6
19.4
25
SO. 6
1
3.2
1
3.2
31
100.0
29
5.2
5
1.0
2
12 m onths, or
s in c e c o m
mencement of
war.
553
100.0
Under 60.
60-70........
70-80........
Before the war.
134
E F F IC IE N C Y A N D FATIGU E IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
&EN ENGAGED
SINCE 'f f i E
OF W A R .
O TJTB ftE A K
T a b l e 3.— Very heavy and heavy labor.
B O Y S E N G A G E D SINCE T H E
OF W A R .
_
OUTBREAK
T a b l e b.-~Very heavy and heavy labor.
General health.
General health.
Hours of labor.
Hours of labor.
A
B + C+B
All
groups.
A
B+C +D
All
groups.
Under 70.........................
Over 70............................
150
102
40
45
190
147
Under 60........................
156
55
9
7
165
62
A ll hours. ...........
252
85
337
AllhoTSiS............
211
16
227
Percentage of A ’s in “ under 70” group, 78.95.
Percentage of A ’ s in “ over 70” group-, 69.39.
Difference—9 .5 6 ± 3.22.
Percentage of A ’ s in “ under 60” group, 94.55,
Percentage o f A ’ s in “ over 60” group, 88.71.
Difference—5.86±2.57.
T a bl e 4.— Medium and light labor.
T able 6.— Medium and light labor.
General health.
General health*
Hours o fla b o r.
Hours of labor.
B + C+D
A
A ll
groups.
Under 70............» ..........
Over 70...........................
156
55
47
27
203
82
A ll hours.............
211
74
285
Percentage of A ’s in “ under 70” group, 76.8.
Percentage of A ’s in “ over 70” group, 67.1.
Differenee—9.7±3.87.
T a b l e 7. —
Very heavy and heavy labor.
U nder 60........................
A
B + C+D
All
groaps.
149
913
13
97
162
1,-010,
A ll hours............. 1,062
110
1,172
Percentage of A ’ s in “ under 60” group, 91.98.
Percentage of A ’s in “ over 60” group, 90.40.
Difference—1.58 ±1.67.
T a b l e 11. —
Very heavy and heavy labor.
General health.
Period of em ploym ent.
B+C+D
A
General health.
A ll
groups.
Period of em ploym ent.
A
B + C+D
A ll
groups.
Under 12 m on th s..........
Over 12 m onths............
155
97
51
34
206
131
Under 12 m onths.........
Over 12 m onths............
135
76
9
7
144
83
A ll p eriod s..........
252
85
337
A ll periods..........
211
16
22?
Percentageof A ’s in “ under 12m onths” group, 75.2. Percentage of A ’s in “ under 12 m onths” group, 93.8.
Percentage of A ’s in “ over 12 m onths” group, 74.0. Percentageof A ’s in “ over 12 m onths” group, 91.6.
Difference—1.2± 3.30.
Difference—2.2± 2.38.
T able 8.— Very heavy and heavy labor.
T a b l e 12.— Very heavy and heavy labor.
Hours of labor.
Hours of labor.
Period of employm ent. Under
Over 70
70
hours. hours.
Period of em ploym ent.
A ll
hours.
Under
Over 60
60
hours.
hours.
A ll
hours.
U nder 12 m on th s.........
Over 12 m onths............
107
83
99
48
206
131
Under 12 m onths.........
Over 12 m onths............
101
64
43
19
144
•83
A ll periods..........
190
147
337
A ll periods..........
165
62
227
Percentage of men working “ under 70 hours and
under 12 months,” 51.9.
Percentage of men working “ under 70 hours and
over 12 months, ” 63.4.
Difference+12.5±3.74.
Percentage of boys working “ under 60 hours and
under 12 months, ” 70.1.
Percentage of boys working “ under 60 hours and
over 12 months,” 77.1.
Difference+7.0±4.14.
H E A L T H OF M A L E M U N IT IO N W O RK ERS.
M EN E N G A G E D - SINCE T H E O U T B R E A K
OF W A R —Concluded.
T a b l e 9. — Medium
and light labor.
135
B O Y S E N G A G E D SIN CE T H E O U T B R E A K
O F W A R —Concluded.
T a b l e 13. — Medium
and light labor.
General health.
Genera] health.
Period of em ploym ent.
Period of employm ent.
All
B + C + D groups.
A
U nder 12 m onths.........
Over 12 m on th s............
123
88
42
32
165
120
A ll p eriod s..........
211
74
285
A
B + C+D
All
groups.
830
232
71
39
901
271
A ll period s.......... 1,062
110
1,172
U nder 12 m on th s.........
Over 12 m onths............
Percentage of A ’s in “ under 12 m onths” group, 74.5.
Percentage o f A ’s in. “ over 12 m onths” group, 73.3.
Difference—1. 2 ± 3.55.
Percentage' o f A ’s in “ under 12 months” group, 92.1.
Percentage of A*s in “ over 12 m onths” group, 85.6.
Difference—6.5 ± 1.36.
T ab le 10.— Medium and light labor:
T a b le 14.— Medium and light labor.
Hours of labor.
Hours of labor.
: Period of em ploym ent. Under
Over 70
70
hours. hours.
A ll
hours.
Period of em ploym ent. Under
Over 60
60
hours. hours.
A ll
hours.
tTnderl2*months........
Over 12 m onths..........
109
94
56
26
165
120
Tinder* 12 m onths........
Over 12 m onths — 1..
142
20
759251
901
271
A ll periods........
203
82
285
A ll periods........
162
1,010
1,172
Percentage o f men working “ under 70 hours- and
under 12 months,” 66.1.
Percentage of men working “ under 70 hours and
over 12 months,” 78.3.
Ditference-b I2.2± 3.66.
Percentage of boys working “ under 60 hours and
under 12 months,” 15.8.
Percentage of boys working “ under 60 hours and
over 12 m onths,” 7.4;
D ifferenee—8.4 ± 1.61.
T ab le 15.—Heavy labor.
Length of employment, T ab le 17.- ■Medium and light labor. Length of em
6 to 12 months.
ployment, under 6 months.
General health.
General health.
Hours of labor.
A
B +C+D
A ll
groups.
Hours of labor.
A
B+C+D
A ll
groups.
Over 70 hours7..............
Under 70 hours...........
39
43
8
21
47
64
Under 60 hours...........
Over 60 h o u rs .............
82
428
5
30
87
458
A ll hours...........
82
29
111
A ll hours...........
510
35
545
Percentage of A ’ s in “ under 70hours’ * group, 83.0. Percentage of A ’s in “ under 60 hours” group, 94.3.
Percentage of A ’ s in “ over 70 hours^ group, 67.2. Percentage of A ’s in “ over 60 hours” group, 93.4.
Difference—15.8±5.69.
Difference—Q:0± 1.93.
T ab le 16.— Heavy labor.
Length of employment, 12 T a b le 18.— Medium and light labor. Length of emmonths to 2' years.
ployment, over 6 months.
General health.
General health.
Hours of labor.
Hours of labor.
A
B +C+D
AH
groups.
A
B +C +D -
A ll
groups.
tFnder 70 h ours...........
Over 70 hours..............
42
26
14
15
5641
U nder 60*................
Over 60..........................
52
273
3
33
55
306
A ll hours.............
68
29
97
A ll hours.............
325
36
361
Percentage of A ’s in “ under 70 hours” group, 75.0.
Percentage of A ’s in “ over 70 hours” group, 63.4.
Difference—11.6 ± 6.35.
Percentage o f A ’s in “ under 60 hours” group, 94.5.
Percentage of A ’s in “ over 60 hours” group, 89.2.
Difference—5.3 ± 2.96.
136
E F F IC IE N C Y AN D FATIG UE IN B R IT IS H M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
M EN E N G A G E D B E F O R E T H E W A R .
BOYS ENGAGED B E FO R E TH E W A R .
T able 19.— Very heavy and heavy labor.
T able 21.— Very heavy and heavy labor.
General health.
General health.
Hours of labor.
Hours of labor.
A
B+C+D
A ll
groups.
A
B +C+D
A ll
groups.
Under 70.......................
Over 70.........................
310
175
91
15
401
190
Under 60.......................
Over 60..........................
29
6
3
1
32
7
A ll hours.............
485
106
591
A ll hours.............
35
4
39
Percentage of A ’s in “ under 70” group, 77.31.
Percentage o f A ’s in “ over 70” group, 89.74.
Difference+12.43 ±2.28.
Percentage of A ’s in “ under 60” group, 90.63.
Percentage of A ’s in “ over 60” group, 85.71.
Difference—4.92± 8.54.
T able 20.— Medium and light labor.
T able 22.— Medium and light labor.
General health.
General health.
Hours of labor.
Hours o f labor.
A
B+C+D
A ll
groups.
A.
B+C+D.
A ll
groups.
Under 70........................
Over 70..........................
133
117
42
38
175
155
U nder 60.......................
Over 60..........................
12
54
5
12
59
A ll hours.............
250
80
330
All hours.............
66
5
71
Percentage of A ’s in “ under 70” group, 76.00.
Percentage of A ’s in “ over 70” group, 75.48.
Difference—0.52±3.19.
Percentage of A ’s in “ under 60” group, 100.00.
Percentage of A ’s in “ over 60” group, 91.52.
Difference—8.48± 5.46.
It is then probably permissible to draw from the data the con
clusion that long hours seem to exercise a prejudicial effect upon
average general health. The exact intensity of this effect can not,
of course, be measured by data of this kind, but if we combine all
the results for postwar men it appears that 22.1 per cent of the
men working less than 70 hours are in a physical class below A and
31.4 per cent of those working 70 or more hours. Of the boys 6.7 per
cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively, are the percentages among
those working less than 60 hours and for those working 60 hours or
more. This difference is a serious one. I f one examines the relations
between health and nature of work, it appears that the heavier
grades of work are associated on the whole with a higher health
standard. Taking all the men together, the proportion of A men
is 83 per cent, 78 per cent, 76 per cent, and 75 per cent in the very
heavy, heavy, medium, and light occupations, respectively, and this
relation holds for both prewar and postwar workers. The heavier
work may actually be healthier, though the suggestion of selection
is strong.
The influence of change of occupation is interesting. Out of the
total number examined, adult and juvenile, who had been employed
not less than six months, it was found that 887 persons had vacated
other occupations to go into munition factories. Twenty-nine of this
H E A L T H OF M ALE M U N IT IO N W ORKERS.
number reported themselves as feeling better, the result of increased
wages, regular hours, and improved factory environment in contrast
to the conditions of their former avocations, such as underground
offices or workshops and exposure to dust in tea packing, flour mills,
and other industries. The majority, 741, reported that they felt
just the same, while 117 complained of feeling worse. The previous
occupations included barmen, silversmiths, auctioneers, commercial
travelers, farmers, bakers, butchers, grocers, stablemen, dental me'
chanics, coach makers, goldbeaters, valets, tailors, bricklayers, shoe
makers, horsehair cleaners, shop assistants, and clerks, among many
others. Further interest is lent to this part of the inquiry on account
of the determination of many of these workers to turn their backs
on their former occupations, and especially in reference to barmen,
who in every case reported a very marked improvement in health,
which was ascribed to greater regularity of meal hours and absti
nence from “ nipping,” with consequent improved appetite.
M E D IC AL DEFECTS FOUND.
11.
Table 23 show’s the predominant physical disabilities of the
workers, adult and juvenile; some of them contribute, perhaps in a
slight measure, to fatigue, or are the result of overwork. In the
earlier part of this inquiry, I did not recognize sufficiently the value
of every particle of evidence bearing upon the question of general
health and overwork, so that some of the items do not appear
throughout the list. In other cases where percentages are small,
they have been marked down because at the time of examination
the evidences were so clearly marked in the examinees.
In Factory 1 (work of all grades of severity) men were examined
at a season of the year when the weather was very bad. Most of them
were working long hours and many of them had to travel long dis
tances to and from their work. The nervous symptoms were
marked, especially in the case of the boys. Among the latter the
percentage record showed less than the truth, as a note was made
only in those cases who were suffering severely. Sleepiness on the
night shift showed large percentages which were due, particularly
among the boys, to the evils of night shifts. Without discussing the
reasons for and against night shifts, the fact remained that the
figures, as they stand, admit of very little argument. The workers
wrere genuinely tired, and I frequently found that the boys never
became accustomed to the conditions of a night shift owing to the
frequency of the change over; in other words, when a boy at the end
of a week of day work is just recovering from the effects of night
shift he is back again on to night work. Restlessness, as recorded
here, was very severe, and was due, in all cases, so it was reported,
138
E F F IC IE N C Y AN D FATIGUE IN B R IT ISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
to the struggles for trams and- trains and the long journeys home
ward after tfee day’s toil. Headache, in the case of the men, was
very largely due to digestive disturbances, but in the ease of the
boys was the result of shop conditions, loss of sleep, long hours of
work, and long journeys to and from the factory. Muscular pains
were noted at this time only in the case of those who were suffer
ing severely. The figures for the teeth do not need discussion. In
the case of eyesight, the percentage of spectacles recorded for thm
and other factories includes, for the most part, those men who, either’
in the gaslight or for the purposes of reading, were forced to wear
spectacles owing to the changes which: take place in the eyes about
middle life. The majority of processes upon wrhich the men exam
ined were engaged did not call for the use of spectacles. Under
the head of “ corrected,” the figures represent men or boys who had
defective- sight, had had their defects corrected, and were ordered to
wear spectacles continuously. Skin rashes resulting from exposure
to oils used as lubricants at this factory equal 9 per cent, and were
due, in a very large measure, so I was informed, to want of proper
cleanliness—in my opinion the direct result of imperfect facilities
for washing,
In Factory 2 (work mostly very heavy, heavy, and medium)
digestive and respiratory troubles were high, the respiratory
troubles because at the season of the year at which this factory wTas
visited the wTeather was extremely bad.^ The percentages for nervous
symptoms are low7. There w^as no recard of particular men being
unduly tired either at the end of the day or on rising in the morning.
This had been largely brought about by the reduction of hours
which had taken place on three or four occasions. Sleepiness on
the night shift was not very common, particularly among the boys.
The majority of boys in this factory came from good homes, and
showed a striking contrast after the conditions reported in Factory 1.
Headache was common among the boys, and was due to the noise
of the machinery and the smell of oil rather than to loss of sleep.
Digestive disturbances were similarly caused. It was ascertained, in
the course of this inquiry, that most of the boys at this factory slept
alone (see par. 24). Muscular pains are more numerous than in
Factory 1, but that was due, very largely, to closer inquiry and
greater appreciation of their value for this report. In any case
they are caused by standing for long periods at machines or benches.
Nasal catarrh was severe. The. condition of the teeth calls for note—■
the majority of the boys had ver}^ good teeth, but oral sepsis was
considerable and, in many cases, severe.
In Factory 3 (work mostly very heavy and heavy) the digestive
disturbances among the men were high, probably owing to the prev
alence of very bad teeth. Respiratory troubles were also high, be
H EALTH OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
139
cause the weather was very cold and the majority of the men were
engaged in hot and heavy trades. The percentage of nervous affec
tions was small. Overwork as measured by a tiredness either at the
end of the day or on rising in the moaning was not noted. A large
number of boys in this factory complained of sleepiness on the nighk
shift. The percentage of men suffering from restlessness on going
to bed was small, and was due almost entirely to the discomfort of
varicose veins aggravated by their heavy work and their exposure
to furnace fires, etc. The percentage of men suffering from headache
was high. Footache and muscular pains together form a high per
centage in both men and boys. The importance of these symptoms is
obvious, and their contribution to strain from fatigue is very con
siderable and must be regarded as an index of the workers’ health
conditions. Enlarged tonsils were very prevalent among the boys*
and I have no doubt caused the boys to resist more feebly the strain
of their work. For the most part the teeth of the boys were good, but
there was a sad neglect of oral cleanliness.
In Factory 4 (work heavy and medium) digestive troubles were
numerous amongst the men as well as amongst the boys. Many of the
boys in this and succeeding factories 5 and 6, where steel is made,
suffered severely from digestive troubles owing to the irregularity
with which they take their meals, many of them having to 44work
through ” on account of the “ heats.” Respiratory troubles were not
so high, because the weather had improved considerably. A definite
record of the nervous conditions of the men and of the boys was
difficult to obtain here owing to the fact that the employees were
afraid of the information being conveyed to the management, though
it was distinctly pointed out to them that any information they chose
to give was confidential. On the night shift 20 per cent of the boys
suffered from marked sleepiness and weariness, due in large measure
to the monotony of the work, the peculiar character of the work, and
the juvenility of the workers; 11 per cent of the men suffered from
restlessness on retiring to bed, due to the weariness produced by long
hours of work. Foot ache, muscular pains, and swelling feet were
very prevalent. In this factory the men and the boys were very poor
specimens compared with those examined in the preceding works.
This was due entirely to the peculiarities of the industry. As usual,
oral sepsis existed, but to a greater extent than in any other factory
visited; 9.8 per cent of the men engaged here suffered from deafness,
the cause for which could not be ascertained,
In factory 5 (work mostly very heavy and heavy) the percentages
for digestive troubles are high, due to a variety of causes, chief
amongst which are the condition of the teeth and the irregularity of
meal hours, owing to the nature of the work. The number of em
ployees, both adult and juvenile, complaining of weariness at vari
140
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
ous periods of the week is about average. On the night shift a very
large percentage of the boys complain of sleepiness. At the time of
the examination, those amongst whom this complaint was made were
quite young and doing very heavy work on a 12-hour night shift,
■exposed to excessively high temperatures in stamping and shell
shops, and with very little opportunity for sufficient rest owing to
many causes, chief of which, perhaps, was the domestic conditions'
of their homes. Headache was prevalent. The percentage of foot
ache amongst these boys was not so high as in the preceding factory,
but was severe. Muscular pains were frequent and occurred gen
erally amongst the boys just over 14 years of age. Enlarged tonsils
again were very prevalent. The teeth here were, among the majority,
very good, but again sadly neglected. Defective eyesight, both
amongst boys and men, was not numerous. Among the men, head
ache of a frontal character was common. Foot ache and mus
cular pains were very prevalent and in many cases very severe,
brought about by reason of their heavy work and exposure to high
temperatures.
In Factory 6 (work mostly very heavy and heavy) the percentages
of workers suffering from digestive troubles are again high. Many
men complain of weariness at the week end, ascribed by them to their
work and also to shop conditions, which would, in my opinion, con
tribute very largely to such an end. The sand about the foundry
floors is hot, and in the establishments under review all the men
working in the foundries complain. The factory is old and the shop
arrangements, generally speaking, are not good. The fettlers par
ticularly were affected by weariness both night and morning, but
men engaged in other branches of industry fall within this category.
There is no record for boys with reference to sleepiness on the night
shift because the majority of boys examined did not work on night
shift. Headache among the men was frequent and severe; among
the boys the percentage was very low. Flat foot, foot ache, swelling
feet, and muscular pains were severe and frequent. Among the boys
these defects did not show such a high percentage as among similar
boys in other factories of the same town. Enlarged tonsils were
again very frequent. Deafness among boys and men is referred to,
the deafness occurring chiefly among those engaged in foundries.
Factory 7 (work heavy and medium) had been running for about
six months prior to the examination conducted on behalf of your
committee. It is in a town quite unaccustomed to the conditions
common to munition workers. The weather at the time of the ex
amination was very good. Respiratory troubles are referred to as
being found among 13 per cent of the workers. One-third of the men
complained of being thoroughly tired at the end of the day; 13 per
cent of the boys reported similarly. The work was heavy, chiefly
H EALTH OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
141
pressing C-inch shells, and the unaccustomed conditions of the work
account very materially for these figures. On the night shift 11 per
cent of the men and 20 per cent of the boys complained of being very
sleepy. During the afternoon 7 per cent of the men complained of
sleepiness and weariness due to exposure to high temperatures and
the heavy work; 9 per cent of the men complained of restlessness at
night, reporting that they felt too tired after their day’s work to
sleep when they get into bed. Foot ache was very prevalent among
the men; muscular pains were complained of by 31 per cent. Among
the boys swelling feet were not uncommon, and inquiry elicited the
information that the swelling had only made its appearance since
they had worked close to the shell furnaces. Enlarged tonsils were
frequent, the eyesight was good, and the teeth very moderately good.
Factory 8 (work medium and light) was a modern factory em
ploying a large number of men. For the purposes of the inquiry
I examined all the boys available, with the results set out in the table.
The number complaining of tiredness was rather small, and due, in
the majority of cases, to the fact that the boys had very recently left
school and joined the factory. The general condition of the boys
was excellent, and the home conditions, broadly speaking, were very
good. There was not much incentive to be out later than 10 o’clock
in this particular town, owing to the lighting regulations. There
were complaints of sleepiness in the afternoons in hot weather. This
was ascribed to the warmth of the workshop and the peculiarly
soporific atmosphere of the district. Headache was frequent. Flat
foot, foot ache, and muscular pains were not severe and were not fre
quent. Nasal catarrh and enlarged tonsils were common. The
cleanliness of the mouth was marked.
142
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
TARfcE 23.—A T A B L E OF P H Y S IC A L D E F E C T S TO S H O W THIS C O M P A R IS O N B E T W E E N
SE A SO N OF T H E Y E A R W H E N
Factory 1.
February-March.
Factory 2.
March-April.
Factory 3.
Aprii-M ay.
Men, 532.
Boys, 88.
Men, 376.
Boys, 124.
Men, 137.
Boys, 73.
B ...........................................
C............................................
D ...........................................
Per cent.
74.5
17.7
7.1
.7
Per cent.
69.3
26.2
4.5
Per cent.
76.9
17.8
5.1
.2
P et cent.
90.3
6.5
1.6
1.6
Per cent.
85.4
12.4
2.2
P er cent.
93.1
6.9
42.3
6.5
2.8
51.0
3.6
6.8
8.2
1.1
N e r v o u s .....................................
3.4
1.5
2.0
5.5
10.5
General health grouping:
Easily fatigued...................
Sleepiness:
Night, Shift....
,
Bfestless. . ...................................
Headache:
Frontal.................................
Tem poral............................
Occipital ............................
Mi graine...............................
A nem ia.......................................
..................
Fainting . .
Giddiness....................................
Varicose veins............................
Heftiorrhoids......................
Flat foot-. ..................................
Foot ache....................................
Swelling feet
.
....
MuSdular pains..........................
H ernia.........................•...............
D ou ble. .. * ......................
Ventral ..............................
U m bilical............................
Nasal catarrh.............................
Enlarged tonsils........................
Cleft palate . . .
Teeth:
G ood .....................................
Moderately good ................
V ery b ad ..............................
N one.....................................
False.....................................
Sepsis....................................
Eyostir8iiii •
* *G ood.....................................
D e fe c tiv e ............................
Corrected..............................
Spectacles............................
Cataract...............................
Glass e y e ..............................
D eaf.............................................
Oil rash. . .
....................
Enlarged thyroid ......................
Otitis media...............................
26.0
1.6
13.6
1.3
45.5
4.5
1.1
.5
16.1
2.5
34.2
18.5
13.6
.2
.2
25.0
41.0
2.7
1.6
.7
10.7
10.2
2.1
.8
3.0
1.4
16.7
2.0
1.3
33.0
22.5
1.6
.8
18.2
.7
1.4
22.0
1.4
.2
.6
3.4
15.9
2.9
1.3
.2
.2
.5
.2
9.2
6.9
.2
.8
.7
2.8
3.2
1.6
.7
3.6
4.4
1.4
1.4
6.5
4.4
29.0
4.4
31.5
2.8
8.2
8.0
4.0
1.3
1.1
3.5
18.0
8.3
1.1
3.4
8.5
32.0
7.9
1.1
.2
50.0
.2
30.0
9.0
71.0
1.1
.2
55.4
82.0
32.0
2.0
9.0
14.0
90.4
5.6
4.0
6.8
93.2
38.0
1.3
9.0
47.5
35.4
7.6
9.5
61.7
89.8
10.2
3.2
25.5
.1
.2
.2
15.5
2.4
12.0
.7
55.6 |
5.6
92.0
.8
6.4
.8
29.8
97.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
97.0
90.4
37.0
91.8
25.6
52.6
10.9
10.9
71.5
51.0
95.0
5.0
98. G
‘ 1.4
8.2
46.0
2.0
.6
1.4
143
H EALTH OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
T H E F A C T O R IE S A N D A LSO S H O W IN G V A R IO U S E F F E C T S OF “ F A T IG U E ,” A N D T H E
T fiE IN Q tJIftY W A S C O N D U C TE D .
Men, 61.
B oys, 29. Men, 152. Boys, 97. Men, 240. Boys, 91. Men, 45.
P er cent. P er cent.
75.4
75.8
17.2
21.3
7.0
3.3
Per cent.
87.5
12.0
Per cent. P er
88.4
10.3
1.3
.5
34.5
5.0
6.6
39.3
1.6
13.7
40.7
3.4
3.4
1.9
36.8
3.4
11.2
18.5
2.1
7.2
5.2
6.2
1.3
2.0
20.7
26.2
3.2
3.2
20.7
3.4
3.2
ft 8
38.0
98.3
92.4
34.5
92.5
7.5
24.7
19.7
3.2
2.0
2.0
28.8
2.6
3.1
4.5
6. 5
21.3
8.2
36.0
5.0
3,2
24.6
14.7
47,2
6.5
7.0
82.0
.6
3.3
11.0
24.1
82,8
17.2
65.5
89.7
10.3
3.4
........42.6
.8
9.8
46.0
8.5
39-. 5
7.2
.6
92.1
i.6.5
2.6
15.4
Factory 8. Factory 1.
JulyJuly.
August.
Factory 7.
June-July.
Factory 6.
May-June.
Factory 5.
May.
Factory 4.
May.
Boys, 15. B oys, 92. Boys, 900.
cent. P er
76.6
17.5
5.5
.4
cent. P er
93.5
5.4
1.1
cent. P er cent. P er cent.
86.7
73.3
98.9
24.5
13.3
1.1
2.2
41,2
15.3
20.0
.8
33.7
.4
3.0
30.5
33.7
3.7
1.1
2.2
13.3
6.5
12.0
2.2
2.1
6.2
2.2
25.0
1.3
,4
.4
.4
.8
.8
8.0
2.1
A
45.0
3.8
32.5
6.2
6.2
4.4
3.3
2.2
4.4
1.1
1.1
1.1
33.3
33.3
4.5
13.3
13.3
11.1
6.6
8.8
20.0
7.6
11.0
5.5
P er cent.
92.0
6.7
.4
4.0
2.6
.7
.6
.2
14.5
15.2
20.0
1.5
51.0
i 7.7
3.0
8.8
17.5
4.3
1.1
15.0
1.6
1.1
.9
2.2
.1
8.8 J
2.2
7.7
2.2
9.8
24.4
4.4
31.1
8.8
6.6
13.3
6. &
1.1
6.5
1.1
7,6
.i
14.5
17.0
99.0
33.0
96.2
98.5
33.3
97.5
53.3
13.3
24.0
24.0
82.5
19.2
.l
20.3
18.5
39.5
16.3
5.3
77.5
92.8
4.1
3.1
86.8
11.0
2.2
66.3
25.0
3.3
73.6
24.1
2.3
48,3
13.5
2&. 2
46.6
11.1
6.6
77.7
86.6
6.6
6.8
63.1
10.5
26.6
43. 7
10.0
9.2
55.5
53.3
5.4
17.4
92.2
7.8
97.9
2.1
88.0
12.0
94.5
5.5
97. 7
2.3
100.0
65. 5
1.3
53.0
|
42.2
8.3
2.2 |
4.5
1
|
1If hot weather.
1
1
1
98.9
1.1
1.1
97.8
2.2
1.1
.3
.8
.2
.1
144
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
At the time cf the return visit to factory 1 the weather was ex
ceedingly good. The percentages of boys complaining of tiredness
at varying periods of the week are interesting. In some cases it
was undoubtedly due to the prevalence of late hours, but not in all
cases. In my opinion the majority of boys so complaining did so
because they were tired as the result of really hard work, frequently
combined with the difficulties of a long railway or tram journey.
Sleepiness on the night shift claims 51 per cent of the workers. It
may be said that this was largely due to the neglect of opportunities
for sleep during the day. It might be suggested that though the boy
is tired and goes to bed immediately he leaves the night shift he not
infrequently gets up early in the afternoon so as to obtain some social
amusement before going to work. In my opinion this may account
for a small percentage of the sleepiness that I found among these
boys, but I do not feel satisfied on the point. The boys in this
factory work alternate day and night shifts of 12 hours, in many
cases stand for hours when traveling to and from their homes, and
very frequently when they reach home have to wait some little time
for a meal before they get to bed. Generally, I found that where
the domestic conditions were good, and there was little doubt about
the authenticity of the statements with reference to hours of sleep,
the boys still complained of sleepiness. It is contrary to the laws
of nature for young children— for such many of these are—to be
able to turn night into day without feeling an effect. Among the
boys examined in the various departments of this factory on this
occasion many complained of foot ache and muscular pains though
they were not exposed to temperatures other than the ordinary
temperature of a workshop. Nasal catarrh was very prevalent, en
larged tonsils also. The teeth were, for the most part, good, but
there was a great lack of oral cleanliness.
CON SID ERATIO N S A R ISIN G FROM TH E N A T U R E OF T H E
WORK.
12.
(a) In the very heavy trades nearly all the men complained of
feeling thoroughly tired and weary at the end of their day’s work
where the shift was more than eight hours. The rarity of the 8-hour
shift in these trades struck me as remarkable (see below). In
the few instances wThere I examined men working for such periods,
they nearly always reported that they felt at the end of the shift
almost as well as when starting work. Amongst the steel smelters
and the other very heavy trades, an effort is made by the workmen
to overcome the defects of the 12-hour shift. They arrange be
tween themselves to shorten the day shift and lengthen the night
shift. As these are alternate, the men so engaged have the oppor
tunity of enjoying more recreation and rest every other week. In
all very heavy trades which I have investigated, the exposure to
heat is considerable, and renders physical effort more exhausting.
H EALTH OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKEBS.
145
In two factories where steel was made by the open-hearth method^
the men so engaged gave one the impression of being a good sample,
due very largely, in my opinion, to the excellence of the general
arrangements, which permitted them to get modern plants at such
works and the opportunity for getting away from the immediate
vicinity of the furnaces, while still near enough to regulate them.
At one factory where the shop conditions are undoubtedly very bad,
owing to lack of ventilation, old-fashioned methods of charging the
furnaces, and the general proximity of the furnaces to each other,
the men gave the impression of showing signs of being weary and
tired. They were sallow complexioned, looked more tired, and
certainly had not the physique of men similarly engaged in the better
workshops. The temperature of this steel shop at the time of my
visit was 138° F., the temperature of the teemings varying from
1,800 to 2,300° C. I had the opportunity of reviewing the men
on the day shift as well as those who worked on the night shift,
and they all complained of the imperfect ventilation and the want of
proper machinery with which to charge the furnaces. The forgemen
engaged on the heavy ingots used for making big guns appeared
strong, well-nourished, powerful men. At the time of this examina
tion their hours were long, and it was only owing to the intermittentcharacter of their work that they were able to stand up against the
strain they were enduring. The shop manager said that in his
opinion the men had worked magnificently, but would not be able to
continue at the same pressure in spite of the intermittent conditions.
This class of work causes the men to become very thirsty. For an
onlooker, unaccustomed to industrial conditions such as these, the
greatest sympathy for the workers is excited because the effort called
for is tremendous, and the way these men perspire as a result of
their heavy work and exposure to the furnaces is astonishing. Beer
is the usual refreshment. A few of the workers are abstainers from
alcohol in any form. These latter are usually the most reliable men.
When the supply of drink was restricted by the closing of the public
houses in the district, a great improvement in the health and the
timekeeping of the workmen was noticed and was admitted by the
men. No satisfactory substitute for beer, so far as is at present
known, has been introduced. The use of such substitutes as oatmeal
water and barley water is stated to cause skin eruptions and boils.
The work, though very hard, is usually intermittent with long
periods of comparative rest. The weather greatly influences the
capacity of the men for work; wind blowing the air over the hot
furnaces into their faces adds considerably to their difficulties; really
cold weather soon affects the older men by producing chest troubles
and rheumatic conditions, though the younger and newer hands
work with much greater comfort.
105796°— Bull. 230—17------ 10
146
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
(b)
Iti the heavy trades, almost with one consent the men tell you
that at the end of the day they have had as much as they can possibly
stand. In many instances these men, in order to do their work satis
factory, absent themselves for a couple of days for rest purposes.
I am assured by the firms that so long as the departmental managers
know that these men are absent justifiably, no notice is taken. The
effect upon the boys was commencing to show itself. Many, though
little more than 14, were working 12-hour shifts, and doing heavy
work. In the stamping shop, with an outside temperature of 78° F.,
the inside temperature close to the gateway was 90° F. In a smith
shop the temperature was much higher, but varied according to one’s
proximity to the furnaces. The boys in these shops manipulate
heavy pieces of steel at a temperature of about 900° F. They struck
me as being considerably overworked; they looked dull and spiritless*
and conversation with them gave the impression that they were
languid. In fact, all the boys in this group were working, in my
opinion, far too hard.
T a b l e 24 a .— LOSS OF T IM E , T H R O U G H IL L N E S S O R A C C ID E N T , B Y M EN (41 Y E A R S O R
O V E R ) E X A M IN E D IN C E R T A IN M U N ITIO N F A C T O R IE S ; CAtJSE, S T A N D A R D
H E A L T H , N U M B E R A F F E C T E D . T O T A L T IM E LO ST.
OF
[Standards of general health: A = g o o d ; B = sligh tly below normal; C = m u ch below normal; D = b a d .]
.8
fc
Time lost.
13
5
1a
Percentage of num
ber examined.
508
516
140
Time lost.
6.5
11.0
1.5
Percentage of num
ber examined.
'
41
Dctys.
53.9 1,929
Number.
Percentage of num
ber examined.
Days.
3,396
Time lost.
Number.
Percentage of num
ber examined.
Number.
Men
affected.
Men
affected.
Men
affected.
A ll groups (1,543
exam ined).
[
z
8
d
Men
affected.
Time lost.
Cause.
Percentage of number examined.
Meti
affected.
Group D (6
Examined).
Group C (76
exam ined).
Group B (263
exam ined).
Time lost.
Group A (1,198
examined).
301
38
148
1
40
3.2
685
12. 4 1,514
.1
35
17
29
4
6
7.9
17.1
9
2
1
2
3.4
.4
2
.8
35
159
105
254
55
4.6 1,729
29
11.0
1,229
15
19.7
S2
2. 7
459
140
11
1
4.2
.4
443
7
-7. 4 2,310
9
3. 4
131
5
17
2
1
2
A ccid en t.
88
Injury to—
6
H ead.
1
E y e ................
A rm .........
3
H a n d ...
29
B o d y ...............
9
L eg.............
11
F oot................ 19
Miscellaneous. 10
389
.4
1.4
.2
.1
.2
.5
.1
.3
2. 4
.8
.9
1.6
.8
110
175
42
82
558
119
699
512
123
3,
3
1
2
32.7 7,220 114
63
2
33.3
56
63
190
10
1
16.7
934
49
9
27
3
3
99
6.4
43
3
2.8
.2
6.6
5.2
183
101
1
1.3
42
1.1
1.1
1
1.3
42
.4
56
56
4
1
1
3
33
.8
15
2
2.6
99
19
14
12
12
3
50.0
4.1
12.3
.6
.6
1.8
.2
.2
4
43.4 3,527 | 45 j 59.1 |2,112
Days.
29.2 10)340
105 |551
.5
.1
.2
2.1
.8
.8
1.2
.9
1,293
2,626
467
208
376
168
261
00
168
63
7
6.6
2.6
44
596
292
3
Days.
50.0
105 450
S3
00
Illness.....................
A .—Special:
Digestive........
R esp ira tory ..
C irculiatoty...
Nervous—
Definite. . . .
Indefinite. .
U rinary..........
Ocular..
B .—General:
R heum a
tism .............
Micrbbic and
other infec
tions.............
Miscellaneous.
Days.
25.3 4,910 105
902
147
2,624
217
42
82
656
175
703
512
237
35.8 12,964
H E A LTH OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
147
T a b l e 24 b .— LO SS
O F TIM E T H R O U G H IL L N E S S O R A C C ID E N T , B Y B O Y S (U N D E R 18
Y E A R S ) E X A M IN E D IN C E R T A IN M U N ITIO N F A C T O R IE S ; C A U S E , S T A N D A R D O F
H E A L T H , N U M B E R A F F E C T E D , T O T A L TIM E L O S T .
[Standards of general health: A = good; B = r!ig h tly below normal; C—much below normal; D=*bad.]
Group A (1,374
exam ined).
B oys
affected.
Cause.
Group B (119
exam ined).
Boys
affected.
Group C (13
exam ined).
Group D (3
examined).
B oys
affected.
affected.
A ll groups (1,509
exam ined).
B oys
affected.
a
S'S
P-i
Illness.
A .—Special:
Digestive........
R esp ira tory ..
C ircu la tory...
N erv ou sD e fin it e ....
Indefinite.
U rinary___
Ocular.........
B .—General:
R heu m a
tis m .. . . . .
Microbic and
other infec
tions___
Miscellaneous.
Days.
19.3 2,952
5.5
3.6
1.5
2.7
.1
31.9
Days.
525
5.0
41
121
10
107
149
Days.
219
7.7
7.7
7.7
4.2
5.0
15.4
749
452
A ccid en t................
9.7 2,855
Injury to—
H ead...............
E y e .................
A rm .................
H and...............
B o d y ...............
Leg..................
F oot................
Miscellaneous.
1.0
221
37
.3
1.2
225
4.4 1,256
.4
179
1.0
660
.9
178
.5
Days.
2 314
33.3
15.4
.5
2.9
2.5
33.3
3.4
2.5
2
Days.
3,698
5.5
4.0
.1
702
758
21
1.7
3.0
.1
178
204
112
380
2.9
2.7
15.4
150
1 .7
6 .7
120
32
181
45.3
3,236
.3
1.2
4.5
.4
1.1
1.0
.5
1.7
1.7
.8
219
33.3
464
813
558
221
157
257
1,437
179
677
202
106
30.8
(c) The physical fatigue of the medium and light occupations is
not such that it produces a feeling of weariness and overwork of itself.
Monotony and long hours added to weight of wTork are the chief
causes. Among the men the complaints concerning weight of work
were not so frequent as concerning length of hours. Several of the
men I examined complained about the continuous work without a
break. Among the boys engaged in the occupations under discussion
complaints were made that they felt the long hours—in many in
stances with added difficulties of getting to and from home—but they
said that owing to much better wages they thought they would be able
to continue for at least some time. On the other hand many of the
boys expressed themselves as desirous of returning to their old occu
pation^ even though for lower wages. In these trades, both for men
148
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
and boys, the effect of work and long hours is shown by the weari
ness and generally “ fed-up ” condition of the workers.
With reference to the table (23) dealing with the defects of the
men engaged in the various factories there is no one defect that points
conclusively to overwork or strain, but many of the symptoms taken
collectively indicate severe strain, and I would suggest that sleepiness
on the night shift, headache, footache, and muscular pains are prob
ably the most common signs of overwork. The nervous symptoms
added to these go far to complete the picture. The effect of noise
upon the individual and its contribution to feelings of overtiredness
and exhaustion must be considerable. In many of the workshops
visited, though the work was not heavy, the noise was such that the
result of lengthened periods in these factories was almost as severe
as exposure to high temperature coupled with hard work.
HOURS OF LABOR.
13.
The hours of labor were found to vary considerably. In some
cases for boys under 14 years of age they were limited to 48, but in
others boys of 18 were found to be working an average of over 80
hours per week, and it was ascertained that they had worked 90 and
even 100 hours per week. In the case of men, the net average hours
ranged from 53 to 108 hours per week. The latter hours, I am glad
to say, were not prevalent, but they are recorded in Tables 1 and 2.
Hours of labor must be considered in relation to the distance many
of the workers have to travel to and from their work. While en
gaged for 12 hours per day in the factory, they spend in a large
number of cases from 2| to 4 hours traveling to and from their
homes. One boy, for example, travels 38 miles to and from his work,
and spends 4 hours in the transit. Another boy, aged 15, travels 26
miles to and from his work and spends 4 hours in the transit. An
other boy, aged 17, travels 25 miles to his work and spends 4 hours in
the transit. These hours, added to the working hours, leave very
little time for meals at home, recreation, or sleep. Similar instances
for men could be given.
My general impression is that hours tend to be too long for the
proper preservation of health and efficiency. Large numbers of boys
are working a net average of 68J hours per week. Under certain
conditions the effect upon their health is not so deleterious as in
others, but, whatever the conditions, where more than one hour has
to be spent in going to and from the factories, in my opinion, 68J
hours are too many. Many of these boys are just over 14 years old,
and they spend considerably more than two hours per day in travel
ing, thus having very little time for recreation or for rest. The
natural bent of most of us is to revolt against a yoke of any kind in
modern times. This is just what happens. The boys have found
H EALTH OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
149
from experience that they can not comfortably work over 60 hours
per week, and as evidence of this—in one shop, where 600 boys
worked, 500 of them on a Saturday afternoon did not return to work.
The same state of affairs, with a few exceptions, is found up and
down the country. On the night shifts, boys do not tolerate well
long hours, and in one factory a very large percentage of the boys
complained of sleepiness and disinclination for work. It has to be
borne in mind that the average age of the boys examined would cer
tainly not exceed 15 years, and it makes one consider very seriously
the future of the rising generation. One factory was chosen for the
specific purpose of examining the differences that existed where
night work was not done, and where a modern installation added to
the comfort of the workers. At this particular factory 5 o’clock was
* the nominal knocking-off time; from 5 to 8 a small number of the
workers, both adult and juvenile, worked overtime, but in the main
most of the workers left the factory at 5 o’clock. Some of the boys
work occasionally until 4 o’clock on Saturday afternoons, but most
of them had Saturday afternoon and all Sunday free. They were a
clean, well-dressed, well-nourished, intelligent lot of boys. The
hours for all the boys examined would average about 62 per week.
Their wages were low, but in spite of this fact they all managed
before leaving home to have tea, bread, and butter, and frequently
an egg, though many of them had to leave at 5 a. m. to reach their
work at 6 o’clock. To show the advantages of restricted hours and
good factory conditions, these boys in their spare time indulged in
boating, swimming, cricket, football, and golf, caddying and cycling.
Anyone going around this particular factory would have been struck
by their healthy and intelligent appearance. On the other hand,
many of the boys I examined at other factories are showing definite
signs of the wear and tear to which they are subjected. Pale,
anemic, dull, and expressionless, their conditions would excite great
commiseration. Conditions outside the factoiry contribute their
share, and if this war is to continue for a long time and these boys
remain subject to conditions such as described, the effect upon their
general health will be difficult to remedy. Many of these boys, by
reason of badly managed homes, are very indifferently fed, and I
found in the course of my inquiry, boys coming to work who arose
at 4.45 in the morning to travel many miles in order to reach their
work at 7 o’clock, and that without food. These conditions can not
possibly be allowed to exist, and call for the severest condemnation.
In another munition town, steelyard laborers were found work
ing as much as 108 hours per week. The work was very heavy,
but the saving clause was the fact that they were pursuing their
occupations in the open air.
The conclusions I have arrived at are that where the work is heavy
and the factory conditions are bad it is imperative that the hours
150
EFFICIENCY ANI> FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
of labor should be restricted for both men and boys. At the present
time there is, or there may be, a shortage of labor, but in order to
safeguard against a further shortage in the immediate future it will
be wise to limit hours.
LOSS OF TIM E TH ROU G H SICKNESS OR A C C ID E N T.
14. Appended is a table (24) of the amount of time lost, as
stated by the workers themselves, through nonpreventable causes
by the men and the boys. Among the 1,543 men the time lost during
12 months from all causes is 12,964 days, of which 20 per cent was
due to accidents and 80 per cent to illuess. The comparison of the
various groups is interesting.
Of the men in health group A, 25 per cent lost some time through
sickness, the average days lost per man are 4, and the average days
lost by the men who lost any time are 16; for the B, C, and D groups
together the corresponding figures are 43 per cent, 16, and 30. The
accidents on the other hand are not more frequent among the less
healthy, 7 per cent of the A men being involved with an average loss
of 26 days, and 4 per cent of the others with an average of 24 days.
It was shown above (par. 10) the proportion of physically unfit
increased with the length of hours of work in the case of the post
war employees, and it should follow that the amount of time lost
through sickness should also vary with the same factor. As far as
the data are available for the necessary analysis, however, it does not
appear that there is a direct relation between length of shift and lost
time. The conditions grouped as 44rheumatism ” account for 38 per
cent of the time lost for sickness, and for 22 per cent of the 950 men
who lost any time, the figures for respiratory diseases, including
a colds,” being 25 per cent and 42 per cent. The remaining third of
the time lost is distributed among a variety of afflictions of which
digestive disturbances are the most frequent.
Among the boys, 53 per cent of the lost time is due to illness, 47
per cent to accidents. The less healthy boys (B, C, and D groups)
lost twice as much time as the healthy, 36 per cent of the_ former
losing some time against 19 per cent of the latter, the average days
lost per boy being 5 and 2, respectively. On the whole the boys
lost through illness only about a third of the time lost by the men.
The accidents are equally distributed among the health groups. Di
gestive and respiratory disturbances, with various infectious condi
tion, account for about two-thirds of the total illness.
CON SID ER ATIO N S A RISIN G FROM V A R IO U S FEA TU RE S IN THE
ENVIRONM ENT.
15. Wages.— For the most part I found that wages were adequate
to provide good food for the workers, and in this direction the gen
eral rise in wages has been beneficial. Many of the small boys dwelt
H E A LTH OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
151
on this subject at great length, informing me that since they had
gone into the munition factories and taken home good wages they
had been much better fed. In some cases, however, the wages earned
were certainly not sufficient to furnish satisfactory home conditions
for the workers and their families, and in others, though high wages
were earned, often by several members of the family, the overcrowd
ing at home was considerable. It is hardly my province to discuss
further this most controversial and complex question of wages,
though in all its ramifications it has clear bearings of an indirect
kind on the health of workers.
16.
Nutrition.—Output in regard to quality, amount, and speed is
largely dependent upon the food of the workers. The conditions of
factory work often make it impossible for the worker to have his
principal meal at home, and frequently the facilities for obtaining
refreshments in the neighborhood are insufficient. Only four of the
factories I visited had made this valuable addition to their estab
lishment. All the arrangements at the first factory were perfect.
The space allocated was ample for those employed, and a large
number of the workers, both male and female, took their meals at
the canteen, while others patronized the various refreshment rooms
close to the works, or returned to their own homes. The kitchen
equipment was model in every detail, and the cleanliness of the
whole place was delightful. The service was most expeditious, 300
dinners being served in seven minutes. The method of keeping the
meals hot was very good, a special dish cover having been devised by
one of the employees and proving most efficient. Any food brought
by the workers was heated or cooked free of cost, and boiling water
was also supplied free. Trolleys containing food, such as Bovril,
soup, sandwiches, pork pies, mineral waters, and coffee, were taken
around all the shops at 11 a. m., 4 p. m., and 3 a. m. The canteen was
open for both day and night shifts. In the second works canteens
were numerous, but could in no way compare with the above. The
lighting and ventilation were not good, and on many occasions the
temperature of the dining room was so high as to be oppressive.
There was a great lack of tidiness, and the service was poor. In
various areas of these very large works were numerous coffee stalls,
managed by voluntary workers; and my experience was that the qual
ity, cleanliness, and general arrangements were much better than those
at the canteens. At the third factory, a dining room is provided, but
there is no provision for serving dinners; food brought in can be
either warmed or cooked. Confectionery, chocolate, tea, coffee, and
boiling water are provided. In the fourth factory, the canteen ar
rangements were fairly good, about 50 men per day availing them
selves of the advantages offered. The quality of the food was good,
it was provided at first cost, and prepared under good conditions. A
152
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
specimen meal included liver and bacon, peas, potatoes, and fried
bread pudding for 7d. [14.2 cents]. Tea, coffee, cocoa, and other light
refreshments are provided at very small cost. At one large steel
works employing more than 10,000 men no canteen was then pro
vided, though an attempt had been made to overcome this defect by
two coffee stalls, where light refreshments are on sale at stated hours
of the day. In this factory there was, throughout the workshops, an
excellent provision of warm cabinets, which were well maintained
and whitewashed every fortnight. In another factory, in the same
town, employing almost as many operatives, there was no provision
of any kind.
Provision of forms with backs would add very materially to the
comfort of the workers frequenting these canteens. I personally
have not come across such provision anywhere.
As an example of the way the worker to-day lives I may give here
the results of my analysis for two groups of workers taken at
random. Of 592 men, 14 of the men did not eat meat or fish per
day at any meal, some because of their dislike for these articles of
diet, the remainder because their wages and their responsibilities did
not permit; 271 men consumed one meat or fish meal per day, 239
partook of two such meals, while 64 had three. Consuming four
meat meals a day there were 4 men. Out of this number 151 went
home to dinner at midday. Of 1,280 boys, 14 did not get meat
or fish, partly because of bad domestic arrangements and partly be
cause they disliked the diet; 312 of them have one meat or fish meal
a day, 526 of them eat meat or fish twice daily, and 425 of them had
three meat meals, while 3 of them enjoyed the luxury of four such
meals. Out of this number only 136 go home to dinner at midday.
17.
Ventilation.— Broadly speaking, the factories visited were well
ventilated. In some cases frequent complaints were made about
drafts coming through the broken windows and partly open gate
ways. In the machine shop of one factory, though the rooms were
very large, the air appeared to be stagnant and smelt stale, but this
was due to the fact that the workmen would insist on keeping the
windows closed. The assurances of those who appreciated a fresh
atmosphere were to the effect that some arrangement was necessary
whereby the workmen could not tamper with the method adopted.
In the older portions of these rooms good ventilation was main
tained by a system of fans, more especially in those shops where dust
was prevalent. The exception to the general rule was found where
steel was smelted in a practically closed-in shop. The atmosphere
of this place was stifling, and in the summer time the temperature,
when taken 6 feet above the level of the floor, was 136° F. My
experience of the machine shops visited is that some improvement
H EALTH OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
153
which will not create drafts is necessary, for in all these shops the
air is stagnant or appeared to me to be so. In every trade with
exposure to heat the better the ventilation the greater is the comfort
of the workers engaged upon the various processes.
18. Lighting.— Owing to air raids, the lighting of the factories
at night has been somewhat interfered with, but speaking generally
the arrangements are good. Whether by gas or electric light I
found it adequate in every case. The placing or shading of lamps
so that the light from them did not fall directly on the eyes of the
operative when engaged on his work was almost universal. These
particulars were obtained by visiting various factories at different
hours of the night shift. The natural lighting in almost every case
would be good if the windows were cleaned regularly, but owing to
the antiair-raids darkening regulations the windows were not cleaned
regularly, or if cleaned regularly the transmission of daylight is
interfered with by blinds which have become dislodged or have got
cut of order and hang loosely about the windows. The advantage
of whitewashing the walls and keeping the ceilings clean was shown
by contrast with some of the workshops where these processes are
sadly neglected.
19. Washing accommodation.— Except in danger buildings and
throughout factory 2, washing accommodation is extremely defective.
Even in those departments where factory legislation insists upon
washing accommodation for workers handling lead and other simi
larly ^dangerous materials, the accommodation appeared to me not
only insufficient but badly maintained. Complaints were made
about the want of such facilities. In most of these factories where
men are engaged in very dirty work, and even where basins with
water laid on were installed, towels were not provided. Soft soap
is given to the men engaged upon dirty, oily work, since it is difficult
to clean thoroughly the hands without hot water and soap after
being employed upon such work. The pleasure of changing into
clean and dry clothing after a heavy day’s work is considerable.
Its influence would react upon the worker, who feels that he may
go into crowded thoroughfares of large towns without being
tabooed by a better-dressed and cleaner crowd. The argument may
be advanced that the workers do not avail themselves of such oppor
tunities as are provided. From personal experience I had the oppor
tunity of appreciating the desire for washing by both men and boys.
This occurred in a cartridge shop in factory 1. The weather was
warm, the work dirty, and whenever a boy or a man had the oppor
tunity he availed himself of the washing basin. From them I
learned that they could have done with three times as much accom
modation as was provided. No doubt in some cases prejudice to
154
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N IT IO N FACTORIES.
cleanliness might have to be overcome, but the result of my inquiries
and observation has been that if the facilities were given, full use
would be made of them. The boy workers are much keener about
washing, and it is unfortunate that they should be brought up in
industrial surroundings which prevent them from following up
closely their present taste for cleanliness. The present day juvenile
operative is not without his appreciation of regular cleanliness, but
factory arrangements as I found them will assuredly create a con
dition of 44laissez f aire.”
20. L ocher and wardrobe accommodation.— Generally speaking,
this is lacking; the workers arriving on wet days hang up their
clothes in any corner which they can find, with the result that, on
leaving, the apparel is almost as wet and sodden as on entry. The
lack of drying rooms for such clothing is evident. In factory 2 an
excellent system of cloakrooms has been installed, and it was so
arranged that steam could be passed through the hanging pipes to
which the hooks had been fixed. In some branches of industry
it is necessary for the workers, owing to exposure to excessive heat
and the risk of their clothes catching fire, to saturate them with
water. Large numbers of men, for example, in factories 3, 5, and 6
are, for the most part, wearing clothes which are wet almost all day
long. Some of them change their things before leaving, but others
are forced, partly through lack of accommodation, and partly
owing to custom, to go home as they are. In one factory some
slight provision in the way of huts is made for these workers, but
the clothes taken off at the end of the shift are in a damp and
unwholesome condition on their arrival at work the following day.
Apart from the pleasure of changing into dry clothing, the risks to
health are considerable.
21. Sanitary accommodation.— In almost all cases this was fairly
good. In one or two instances, however, it was certainly insufficient
and was not maintained as well as it should have been.
22. Ambulance arrangements.— In factories 1, 2, and 5 arrange
ments are made for dealing with accidents on the premises. The
equipment at factory 1 is excellent in every way, and it does not call
for any description here.
In factory 2 a large dispensary, contained in a private house ad
jacent to the works, is staffed by three trained nurses. The general
arrangements are good. There is an ample supply of antiseptic
dressings and a fair equipment of the necessary instruments with
which to render first-class “ First aid.” There is a trained nurse
always on duty. In the event of any serious accident the works
doctor, who lives within easy distance, is summoned.
In factory 5 the provision of surgery accommodation and ambu
lance room is good. There are two ambulance rooms in two distinct
H E A L T H OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
155
areas of the works, replete with all conveniences. Each contains
two couches, a large number of splints, crutches, stretchers, etc.,
and each has its attendant in charge* The attendant has had a large
amount of experience in these works for the past four years and is
a certified ambulance man. Two medical men living within five
minutes’ journey are in touch by telephone with the works. At
nighttime, though no ambulance man is in attendance at the surgery,
every workshop is fitted with a complete first-aid installation, and
from each works’ office there is telephone communication to the
central building, whereby if a serious accident happens necessitating
medical attendance one of the two doctors above referred to can be
summoned immediately.
In the remaining factories visited there was no adequate provision
for dealing with even minor accidents. Some of the workers are
ambulance men, but the condition of the equipment which I saw,
where there was any, was disgraceful. It generally consisted of a
bandage, a bit of lint or wood—usually very dirty— and some useless
sticking plaster. The provision of proper material, carefully stored
and easily reached, requires immediate attention,
23. Welfare work*—In making these inspections I had ample op
portunities of observing the working of the arrangements which
have been made for u welfare supervision.” The welfare worker
should be in close touch with all matters affecting the welfare of
the boys from a hygienic standpoint. In my opinion, too little atten
tion has been paid to this aspect of the matter, and the first consid
eration should be the health of the operatives, male and female,
adult and juvenile. Some elementary knowledge of hygiene should
therefore be regarded as an indispensable qualification for a welfare
worker.
24. Housing conditions, while not strictly a part of this inquiry,
come within its scope because of their influence upon the work.
There was considerable difficulty in obtaining clear evidence upon
this point. Many of the workers are well housed, living in property
which they have purchased, and taking a marked pride in its proper
upkeep. Others, not so fortunate or net so provident, live under
very bad conditions. In one town, for example, I saw three-roomed
houses of the back-to-back type built around small courts, entered
by narrow passages or by tunnels under houses facing the street,
with rents from 3c. 9d. to 4s. 6d. [$0.91 to $1.10] per week. [Large
numbers of such houses are close to several of the works visited.]
It was found that many of the workers were living in one room
only, but the variety of conditions under which they live is too
great for brief description. Tables 25 and 26 summarize some
interesting facts relating to sleeping accommodation.
156
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
T a b l e 25.
-A N A N A L Y S IS O F T H E H OM E C O N D ITIO N S O F 392 A D U L T M A LE S C O N C E R N
IN G S L E E P IN G ACC O M M O D ATIO N .
N um ber of persons, including workers, occupying each bedroom.
Beds in
room.
1
f
42
1 \10.7
per cent.
2
4
2
3
252
64.3 per cent.
19
4.8 per cent.
43
11 per cent.
f
12
\ 3.1 per cent.
5
6
1
0.32 per cent. / ........................
11
7
2.8 per cent.
1.8 per cent.
}
1
0.3 per cent.
11
< 0.3 per cent.
| (4 beds).
[
3
i This man earned £2 per week and had a large family.
T able
20.—A N A N A L Y S IS O F T H E HOM E C O N D ITIO N S O F 188 B O Y S C O N C E R N IN G S L E E P
IN G A C C O M M O D ATIO N .
N um ber of persons, including workers, occupying each bedroom.
toom .
1
2
4
3
72
29
1 /
\15.4 per cent. 38.3 per cent.
/
4
2
\ 2.1 per cent.
17
9 per cent.
27
14.4 per cent.
3
5
6
2 j ........................
1.1 per cent.
20
12
11
10.6 per cent.
6.4 per cent.
0.5 per cent.
2
/
2
\ 1.1 per eent.
1.1 per cent. } ........................
i This b oy earned 14s. a week en d three others were also working and earning m oney.
T able
27.—S H O W IN G T H E A C T U A L H O U R S OF S L E E P O B T A IN E D .
Under 6 hours.
6 to 7 hours.
590 m en................................ 52=9 per ce n t........
1,282 b o y s............................ 1=0.1 per c e n t .. . .
7 to 8 hours.
8 hours and more.
173=29 per c e n t ... 243=41 per ce n t. . . 122=21 per cent.
144=11 per c e n t ... 495=39 per c e n t ... 642=50 per cent.
T a b l e 28.— MEN.
Hours of
sleep.
N um ber of workers.
Shifts.
Sleeping.
W hen sleeping.
6, but
5, but
7, but
Under
under
under
5 hours. 6under
hours. 7 hours. 8 hours.
D ay workers (not
w o r k i n g on
night shift).
D ay and night
workers, chang
ing weekly.
Aver
age
Rough hours
8 hours
total. per
and
Total.
per
over.
son.
Sleep obtained
d u r i n g t h e •f{ 2 per3
( cent.
night.
Sleep
obtained
during—
6
4.1 per
cent.
36
24.3 per
cent.
71
48 per
cent.
32 |
21.6 per } 148
cent. 1
10
N igh t............. -U.l per
cent.
23
D a y ................ <9.4 per
cent.
9
3.7 per
cent.
30
12.3 per
cent.
59
24.2 per
cent.
76
31.2 per
cent.
116
47.5 per
cent.
83
34 per
cent.
50
20.5 per
cent.
32
13.1 per
• cent.
}
} 244
I
j
\ 244
1,085
7.3
1,723
7.6
1,657
6.7
157
H EALTH OF MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
T able 29.—B O Y S .
Hours of
sleep.
N um ber of workers.
Shifts.
Sleeping—
W hen sleeping.
Under
5 but
6 but
7 but
5 hours. under 6. under 7. under 8.
D ay workers (not Sleep obtained
working on the
during
the 1
night.
night shift).
J
B ay and night Sleep obtained
during—
workers changing
weekly.
N igh t...........
f
1
•[0.7 per
| cent.
2
r
i
D a y .............. <0.7 per 1.4 per
1 cent.
cent.
f
5
{10.4
per
1 cent.
22
15.7 per
cent.
9
6.4 per
cent.
45.8 per
cent.
8 and
over.
Aver
age
R ough hours
total. per
Total.
per
son.
21
43.8 per 1 48
cent. 1
63
54
45.0 per 38.67 per ■ 140
cent.
cent.
40
88
28.6 per 62 9 per • 140
cent.
cent.
376
7.8
1,080
7.7
1,122
8
25. Sleep.— The necessity for a sufficient amount of sleep has been
and is constantly referred to in questions concerning industry and
overwork. Table 27 summarizes the results of my inquiries in a long
series of men and boys, and shows that on the whole the amount of
sleep obtained is fairly adequate. In a second series (Tables 28 and
29) I have examined the relative times of sleep on day work and
night work for 392 men and 188 boys. The boy workers were found
generally to enjoy longer sleep when they slept during the day, one
of the chief reasons being that the boy is not on tenterhooks about
being up in proper time for reaching his work. When sleeping
during the day he generally remains in bed till the last moment and
then is “ called ” by his mother or some other~occupant of the house,
being allowed sufficient time to partake of a meal comfortably and
get to his work. When sleeping during the night it is obvious that
the risks of being late through not being called arc very much
greater.
Most of the men enjoy more sleep when it is obtained during the
night. During the day many domestic duties prevent them from
going to bed. When they are on the night shift, and even though
they have the chance of remaining in bed, they frequently get up and
have their meals at the usual meal times, partly for the pleasure of
being with their children and partly to save their wives trouble; in
the case of single men they may have to conform to the regime of the
household in which they find themselves.
RECOM M ENDATION S.
26. The chief points which in my opinion require attention are:
{a) Keduction of excessive hours, especially when bad transit
makes a substantial addition to the effective working-day and in the
case of boys.
158
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
(b) Provision and improvement of canteens.
(c) Provision of adequate washing accommodations in all works,
with baths for workers in the hot and heavy trades.
(d) Improvement in first-aid equipment.
(e) Hygienic qualifications of welfare workers.
T. H. A gnew.
A P P E N D IX .
1. Since completing thfc detailed inquiry which forms the basis of
the foregoing report, I have visited four other districts in which
steel manufacture is carried on in order to compare the conditions
of work and the health of the employees with those whom I had
previously examined. A similar examination was conducted of
about 700 workers, and the details, classified according to the plan
previously used: gave results so similar to those already set out that
further exposition is unnecessary. I think, therefore, that a satis
factory appreciation of the general health of the workpeople has
been obtained.
2. In the first district nine works were visited, and a large number
of men and boys examined. In all cases it was found that their
general health was very good, and I found no evidence of undue
fatigue. There were no complaints of sleepiness, restlessness, swell
ing feet or muscular pains; respiratory, circulatory, and digestive
disturbances were practically absent. In fact, all the men and boys
reported that they felt very well. The teeth, however, were bad^ and
the general state of the mouth showed great lack of regular attention.
I am of opinion that this satisfactory state of affairs is due to
the superiority of the conditions under which work is carried on,
and I attach chief importance to the general prevalence of eighthour shifts. The eight-hour day was introduced into this district
about 16 years since and has now been adopted in almost all the
steel works; the opinion of the men on the question of hours is very
definite, and they would under no circumstances return to 12-hour
shifts. Apart from the question of hours the environment is in
general of a superior kind; the workshops are well placed in open
areas, very well arranged, the ventilation free, and the whole clean
and orderly. Wages are good and food is excellent.
In some respects, however, there is great need of reform. The
appalling condition of the sanitary accommodation calls for imme
diate action. In some cases the provision is insufficient, and almost
everywhere the condition of such conveniences as are provided is
so revolting that it is impossible to describe. They are also commonly
situated in almost inaccessible places, the approach to which is par
ticularly dangerous at night. The provision of ambulances, first-aid
outfits, and surgery appliances is exceedingly scanty. There is no
H EALTH 0E MALE M U N ITIO N WORKERS.
159
washing accommodation. Canteens are not provided and appear
to be unnecessary, as nearly all the men live close to the works*
3* In a second neighboring district I visited five large works.
The general conditions are much the same as in the first district,
except that a 12-hour day is general. The boys and men generally
were in good health, though their physique compared unfavorably
with that of the employees in the first district. The sanitary accom
modation was again very bad, and there were no arrangements for
Washing. The ambulance arrangements require much improvement.
4. In a third district, in which I investigated six steel and
iron works during November and December, the conditions varied
a good deal from place to place. The work is mostly arranged in
12-hour shifts, the shops are large and well ventilated, and transit
is good. There are some first-rate ambulance arrangements, but on
the whole this wants much more attention; canteens are infrequent
and washing accommodation absent, the standard of personal clean
liness among the workers being a low one. With rare exceptions
the sanitary accommodation is revolting and urgently requires
reform. Wages are good and the standard of living high. Public
drunkenness was much in excess of anything I have seen elsewhere;
and of 165 workers who were examined in detail only 54 per cent
reached the A standard; there were no clear signs of fatigue from
overwork.
5. In a fourth district, an armament center, I visited three large
works engaged in steel manufacture and the rolling of boiler plates.
The work was both very heavy and heavy, the exposure to high and
varying temperatures was considerable, and at this particular season
of the year the variations of heat and cold were extreme. The
period of employment before breakfast was longer than in the works
visited previously, the breakfast hour commencing at 9 a. m., after
three hours’ work. At two of the works under consideration the
employees go home to every meal, but at the third only those living
close to the factory avail themselves of this opportunity. The aver
age length of shift is 12 hours for the tonnage men. The shifts
change over weekly, and usually at Sunday midnight.
The shops were remarkably free from dust or fumes and the
ventilation, lighting, and general cleanliness were good* In the
rolling mills noise was considerable* and frequently it was difficult
to hear a “ shouting ” voice.
The sanitary accommodation was at one works very good and
conveniently situated, having been reconstructed during the past
two or three years; it was kept in a clean and orderly condition, a
special man being detailed for this duty. At a second factory the
accommodation was scanty, inconveniently situated, dark, and was
160
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
not kept in a clean and orderly condition. At the third the struc
tural arrangements were falling to pieces and the interiors were
filthy and revolting, but I was informed that at last the directors
have had plans prepared in view of a complete reconstruction.
Washing accommodation was not provided in any of the works.
Cloakroom accommodation in the form of cabins or of shelters was
good in all the smelting departments, but I did not see similar pro
vision in the rolling mills.
In two of the works the workers gave the impression of living well,
and this was confirmed by their own statements on the subject. At
one factory particularly the men were a fine set, many of whom were
total abstainers, while the remainder were, without doubt, very tem
perate. In the third works the standard of health was not good;
the prevalence of alcoholic habits has an influence not only upon the
appetites of the men, but also upon the character of the food. From
this factoiy very few men go home to breakfast or dinner, which
latter meal usually consists of merely a sandwich and a cup of tea
or other “ refreshment,” but it was reported that a full meal was
partaken of when home was reached in the evening. At this works
there
cabins—clean, well lighted, and containing a stove, where,
workers can make tea or coifee and eat their meals. Canteens where
hot meals are provided have not been established at any of these
factories.
The “ first-aid ” arrangements were everywhere poor, although in
all three works excellent ambulance rooms were provided; but they
were poorly stocked with dressings, and such as were inspected were
untidily kept and soiled. The rooms for this purpose were Well
arranged, centrally situated, and well provided with the necessary
tables, couches, stretchers, and basins, but they gave me the impres
sion of being sadly neglected. In one works the ambulance room
was rarely used and the dressings were done in a “ store,” where the
lotion bottles were kept close to a sink full of tea leaves and dirty
crockery.
The general health of the workers was good, particularly in shops
fitted with modern plant. There were no evidences of undue fatigue,
and respiratory and digestive troubles were not prevalent. The
chief causes of complaint arose from conditions commonly classified
as “ rheumatic,” which claimed a large percentage of those examined.
INQUIRY INTO THE HEALTH OF WOMEN ENGAGED IN
MUNITION FACTORIES.
THE N A TU R E OF THE IN Q U IRY
1. In accordance with the instructions of the Health of Munition
Workers Committee, an inquiry was conducted by ourselves and
other selected women medical officers1 and women inspectors,2 whose
services were lent for the purpose, into conditions affecting the
health of women workers in certain munition factories. The inquiry
took place between December, 1915, and July, 1916, and included a
survey of factory environment, hours of work, transit, domestic cir
cumstances, etc., together with the effect on the health of the workers
as revealed by a medical examination. The medical inspection was
necessarily brief and usually occupied 10 to 15 minutes. Generally
speaking, the doctors’ inquiry was held in a surgery or rest room, but
on some occasions less suitable premises had to be used in order that
the medical examination might take place near the factory shops
to avoid delay and consequent interference with output. In a few
instances the noise of machinery or the absence of sufficient privacy
prevented a thorough examination of the chest, but it was at least*
possible to ascertain whether the women were suffering from symp
toms indicative of slight or marked fatigue as the result of their fac-~
tory wcrk.
SELECTION OF W ORKERS.
2. Groups of workers were chosen to include representatives of
the various processes carried on in the factories. An attempt was
made to select those who had been in employment for at least three
months, and to avoid unfairness workers were chosen at randomy
e. g., every third or fourth girl at a bench. The total njimber of
women workers examined was 1,326. The examination was confi
dential and entirely voluntary as far "as the workers were concerned.
In practically all cases they showed every willingness to answer
questions and to submit to the medical examination.
NUMBER OF FACTO R IES V ISIT E D .
3. Reports were received of visits to 11 factories in England and
Scotland, which were selected with a view to obtaining a general
survey of typical conditions. In every case the management of the
1 T h e m e d ica l officers w h o to o k p a r t in on e o r m ore in q u irie s w e re D r. A d a W h itlo c k
(H o m e O ffice), D r. B e a trice W ebb, D r. E th e l M . S ta cy , D r. L. M . C hesney, D r. M abel
C am p b ell, a n d D r. E th e l W illia m s .
2 T h e w om en in s p e cto rs w h o a ssisted in one o r m ore in q u irie s w e re M iss Hilda. M artin d a le, M iss H . C. E screet, a n d M iss Iren e W h it w o r t h (H o m e O ffice), M iss E. M. G a rd
n er and M iss E . G. W o o d g a te (N a tio n a l H e a lth I n s u r a n c e ), a n d M iss E . G. C olles (B o a r d
o f E d u c a t io n ).
105796°— Bull. 230—17------ 11
161
162
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES,,
firm were most courteous and did all in their power to facilitate the
investigation.
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Total,
No. 1, 105 workers examined.
No. 2, 82 workers examined.
No. 3, 149 workers examined.
No. 4, 210 workers examined.
No. 5, 130 workers examined.
No. 6, 70 workers examined.
No. 7, 100 workers examined.
No. 8, 170 workers examined.
No. 9, 156 workers examined.
No. 10, 40 workers examined.
No. 11, 114 workers examined.
1,326.
GENERAL CON D ITIO N S O F EM PLOYM EN T.
&.
The types of work in wKich the women were engaged included
the manufacture of shells, bullets, cartridges, and fuses, and covered
a wide range of processes, including employment in danger buildings.
No workers in TNT, etc., were examined. Much of the labor was
unskilled or semiskilled, so that workers were not infrequently
changed from one operation to another with little difference to out
put. The following extract from one of the reports indicates the
type of work carried out:
Feedin g of autom atic m achines.— If 100 per cent be taken as the maximum
whfch can be obtained from any machine, it is obvious that this can only be
done under ideal conditions. These conditions are never present even in a
highly organized concern; the material, the machine, and the minder vary in
changing proportions. It is customary to allow a percentage for the machine,
for time spent in setting and grinding tools, etc. A further percentage must be
allowed for the degree of skill o f the worker, and thus, with a reasonably
steady flow of material, some idea of the result to be obtained can be aimed at.
In fixing ihese percentages account must be taken of the human factors in
machine manipulation, the tool setter and the minder.
The tool setter’s art consists in making the machine run smoothly; if it i s
necessary for tools to be removed for grinding, he must remove and replace
them as expeditiously as possible. It is obvious that the percentage to be
allowed will depend to a great extent on the skill of the tool setter. In the
factory under consideration the machines are untried, the trained men are
limited, and each has a gang o f learners under him.
Very little skill is required from the machine minder and in this factory
almost all are being taught the work from the beginning. In order to attain
anything like proficiency, dexterity is necessary and experience tells. It
was stated on all sides that it is difficult to lay down any hard and fast ru le;
one individual may pick up the work at once and “ earn her money ” the first
day, while another may take longer and never attain any great speed. The
human element enters even into the feeding o f nickel “ cups ” into the revolv
ing disk o f a machine which is to 4‘ draw them through ” to a stage nearer
their finish as “ envelopes ” ; it is possible to miss holes as the disk revolves
through tiredness or inattention. It is even possible to introduce variableness
H EALTH OF W O M E N IN M U N ITIO N FAC TOBIES.
im
into the te&ding of a metal slide full of cartridge eases which descend into a
44tapering ” machine; the slide must be kept full, the cases must be fed in
with their heads in the same way, they must lie evenly side by side in the
slide, or the very delicately constituted machines which deal with them will
be thrown out of gear and require the spending o f much skilled time and
attention before again being able to work.
Lathe work requires slightly more concentration than the automatic machines
and fe, in thue workers’ language, slightly more “ tedious.”
Power and hand-press work require considerable concentration, as the nervous
strain is not slight. Risk o f accident is always present, and experience is
necessary in order to overcome the timidity attendant on this. Though the risk
is greater on a power press, the worker’s variability is equally great, if not
greater, on a hand press, where muscular action enters into account as well
as mental strain.
E x a m in in g —Examining is said to be the most “ tedious ” of the operations ;
it is the one which requires most thouglit as well as close attention. The
examiner's work lies in the application of her own intelligence to the object in
hand. She has no artificial aid of gaugse, machine, or scales to help her. She
must think, however slowly she does it, and her experience will tell not so
much in the direction of manual dexterity, though this is o f great assistance,
as of quickened intelligence.
L ig h i bench work, some involving contact with lead, some not.—This work
requires no skill at a ll; it merely consists in dropping lead pellets into nickel
“ envelopes,” as the outer shell of the bullet is called.
Bullet weighing and case and bullet gauging can also be performed without
experience and to some extent mechanically, though here, as in the above and
other operations, experience tells. The worker is only concerned to watch
the scales or the gauge and keep them in use, and her variability depends on
how constantly she does it.
HOURS OF W O R K .
5.
The long hours of work were frequently complained of by the
workers* and in some cases the hours worked were undoubtedly exces
sive, as, for example, in factory No. 4, where women were employed
*77 hours weekly and 15,5 per cent of the workers showed evidence
of marked fatigue. At factory No. 8 the hours were also long in
most departments. The following table shows the hours worked
in a large shop in this factory:
•■
Shifts.
Meal hours.
B a y shift:
Sunday-Friday, 7-7........................................................................ .
Saturday, 7-1........................................................................................
Night shift:
Sunday-Friday, 7-7............................................................................
Saturday, nil.
Longest
spell
without
break.
i [a 30-8.45]
12-1
4-4.30
8.30-9
3| kours...
10-11
2-2.30
1 [5-5.15]
3 hours___
68*
4 hours .
(SJiifts changed weekly.)
1 “ Unofficial ” mealtimes.
Hours
worked per
week
(excluding
meals).
The workers do not leave their machines.
63
164
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
The report states: “ The workers did not, as a rule, object to night
work, but there is a strong feeling among them, which is practically
unanimous, that the hours should be shortened. They have made up
their minds that work should stop not later than 6 o’clock, and that
they should have one day off in the week— Saturday being the day
usually suggested. The chief argument brought forward in favor
of this alteration is that from 6 to T p. m. very little work is done.
Most workers have 6earned their bonus ’ by that time and they will,
not start on a fresh lot of work. They sometimes 4help along the
lines,’ i. e., help any workers who have not earned their bonus, or
they spin out the cleaning of their machines which could be done in a
very few minutes, or they 4stand and rest at their machines,’ not
being allowed to sit down. The reason generally given is that they
are 4properly tired out5 by 6 o’clock and 4would not be fit for work
next day if they did more than that.’ ”
At factory No. 3 the following hours were worked:
Hours worked.
Meal hours.
Longest
spell with
out meals.
.Hours
worked
per week.
SCHEME A .
D ay:
Sunday, 8.30-5....................
M onday-Friday, 6-5.30.
Saturday, 6-5......................
Night:
Sunday, 5.45-5.45...............
M onday-Friday, 5.45-5.45
Saturday, nil.
1Sunday, 12.30-1.30...............................
jM onday-Saturday, 8.15-8.45, 12.30-1.30 4 hours___
67
jsu n d a y -F rid a y , 9.30-10.30, 2.45-3.15..
4 i hours.. .
63
Sunday, 11.30-12.30...,......................
M onday-Friday, 11.30-12.30, 4.30-5.
Saturday, 11.30-12.30...... ...................
J hours..
SCHEME B .
Day:
Sunday, 8.30-5....................
M onday-Friday, 7-7.........
Saturday, 7-5......................
Night:
Sunday, 7-7........................
M onday-Friday, 7-7----- - Saturday, nil.
jsu n d ay -F rid ay , 10.30-11.30, 3.30r4___
4 hours...
63
Here “ several workers stated that they found the hours very long,
and that the night work was more tiring than day worky but few
strong representations were made on these points, and often the
contrary was stated* On the other hand, there was strong and
widespread feeling against Sunday work, both day and night, more
especially Sunday night. In spite of the extra shilling given for
Sunday work a strong desire to have this day free was expressed by
a considerable number of workers.” Indeed, Sunday work was gen
erally found to be unpopular.
At factory No. 1 it was found that output was greater when 8-hour
shifts were worked. At this factory the periods of unbroken work
were sometimes as long as five hours; in these cases, owing to diffi
culty in transit, workers were sometimes six or seven hours without
food, and stated that44on reaching home they were too tired to eat.”
H EALTH OF W O M E N IN M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
165
This arrangement was particularly unsatisfactory in view of the
number of young workers under 18 who were employed.
LOST TIM E,
6. Inquiries were made of the workers as to lost time and their
reasons for remaining away from work. It was not easy to obtain
reliable data. At factory No. 8 66no records of lost time have been
obtained from the firm in respect of the workers interviewed, but
from their statements it appears that this must have been consider
able. There are a few very regular workers who take a pride in not
losing time, and there are others who 4can’t afford to stay away ’ ;
but there are many who have been away a good deal on account of
illness, and who, apart from actual illness, take a day or a night off
for a rest when they are feeling tired or run down. Some make a
practice of taking a day off once a week or once a fortnight, and
maintain they work better in consequence.” In regard to factory
No. 3, it was stated that 44with few exceptions the amount of time
lost through illness or other reasons is remarkably little considering
the long hours worked and the long period for which they have been
worked. There are about a dozen cases of illness lasting three
weeks and upward, but apart from these, periods of absence were
short and few according to thg workers’ statements. An odd day or
a 4breakfast time ’ was taken occasionally when the worker was feel
ing 4tired out.’ Records of time lost during the last four months
by 74 of the workers interviewed have been supplied by the firm,
giving the total number of whole days lost as 121 (i. e., 1.6 per
worker), and the number of 4quarters’ lost as 60 (i. e., 0.8 per
worker).” On the whole, the timekeeping was good, and the women
only absented themselves on reasonable grounds.
POSTURE.
7. At certain factories an unnecessary amount of standing seemed
to be enforced. In some cases this was due to insufficient seats, but
in many cases it was stated that foremen did not allow girls to sit
even while their machines were being repaired. At factory No. 2
44girls in one hut who work standing and have considerable inter
vals when they are kept waiting for work complained that they
had no seats which they could use during the intervals.”
At factory No. 1 ,44in the head-turning department where the work
is heavy, the workers complained of the refusal of the foreman to have
them supplied with stools. They all stated that they could work
better sitting than standing, and many complained of faintness and
exhaustion caused by the continuous standing. In consequence of their
protests eight stools had been provided to be shared among 14 people,
but no more could be obtained. Before we left the factory the fore
1& 6
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
man undertook that each of these workers should be supplied with a
stool as quickly as possible.”
At factory No. 8, “ many complaints were received that workers
who usually stand at their work were not allowed to sit down at all
during working hours—even when their machines were being re
paired or they were kept waiting for work. Apparently the foremen
are afraid that if they sit down at all they will be reluctant to get up
and start work again when the machine is repaired.” At another
factory “ complaints were made by some of the workers in the headturning department that they had no stools and were never allowed
to sit dawn even when waiting for work or for repairs to their ma
chines. As each worker is in charge of two machines they state that
they must stand while actually working, but would be glad of the op
portunity of sitting down in the intervals of waiting for work, etc.
In the heading department and the hand cut-off department (eases),
workers expressed a wish for stools and said that their work could
be done equally well sitting or standing. In the finish press (bullet)
department and the final view (case) department, complaints were
made that the number of stools provided was insufficient and that
some workers had to stand in consequence.
At one factory general muscular pains were found to* occur in 26
per cent of the workers examined, 'and a number of the elderly
women complained of the f atigue of standing all day; at a reexami
nation of these workers six months later seats had been provided
and complaints of fatigue and backache, etc., had markedly dimin
ished.
N U T R IT IO N .
8.
A satisfactory standard of nutrition is of the highest importance
in maintaining a proper level of physical efficiency. This is depend
ent indirectly on many factors, such as domestic conditions, fresh
air and exercise, wages, convenience of transit, etc., but the most
urgent requirement is the provision of proper meals at suitable hours.
The association between a satisfactory diet and good physical health
was usually clearly observed. For example, at factory No. 11 it was
noted that the women who as a whole were exceptionally robust ate
particularly solid and suitable meals; in addition they worked under
good hygienic conditions, and for the most part lived near their work,
factors which contributed to an excellent standard of general health.
At factory No. 9 the meals were also adequate and substantial in the
great majority of cases, a typical dietary being as follows:—On rising____„ _______Tea; toast or biscuit.
9 a. m_______________ Porridge; ham and e g g ; toast or bread ; tea.
11 a. iq______________ Fruit.
1 p. m_______________ Soup; meat and potatoes; sometimes, pudding; tea.
3.45 p» m_____________Fruit or cake.
6 or 7 p. m__________ _Plain tea, sometimes fish or egg.
H EALTH 0.F W O M E N IN M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
167
In contrast to these examples, in the case of factories 1 and 2 there
were difficulties of transit, the factory environment was not always
convenient, and unduly long intervals often elapsed without food;
neither factory had a welfare supervisor. The proportion of workers
showing marked fatigue was high. The report on one of these fac
tories runs:
“ The arrangements for meals at the factory appear to be far from
satisfactory. A dining room is provided with pipes for heating up
food previously cooked, but with no other cooking facilities and
practically no attendance. The girls describe the room as dark and
cheerless, and many prefer to eat their meals in the workroom or
cloakroom. The arrangements for night workers are particularly
bad. Hot water is* obtainable for making tea, but nothing can be
warmed up at all, and the workers unanimously expressed the opinion
that their work and health would benefit if they could have some
thing hot in the 2 to 2.30 a. m. interval when they are feeling cold
and tired.” In another ease 66for 7 shops employing nearly 3,500
women by day and 2,590 by night there are 2 canteens run by
caterers with accommodation for 750 at one and 300 at the other.
In addition, a third canteen is shortly to be opened which will pro
vide for another 500; i. e., there will be canteen accommodation for
1,550. As all the workers have their chief meals simultaneously and
as night shifts are continuous this is quite inadequate. Moreover,
the second canteen is hardly patronized at all; the reason given for
this is that the workers do not like it—it is too far to come to during
the night in the dark. The girls from shop A have to come out from
an exit some distance down the road. The firm have one mess room
for the use of girls in shop B ; here the food is well cooked and the
workers much appreciate it; there is room for all employed by day
or night. There are facilities for warming brought food in shops
A and C.” In this case also the amount of fatigue observed was
considerable.
In factory No. 3, the workers were in good health as a rule* while
“ the canteen arrangements appear to be fairly good and to be ap
preciated by the workers. The food provided is of good quality and
variety and is sold at a moderate price. Soup can be had for 1 d. [2
cents], meat and vegetables for 4d. [8.1 cents], and other dishes at
corresponding prices. Many workers bring their own food to be
cooked or warmed up. The workers appear on the whole to be well
fed. Most of them before starting in the morning have a cup of tea,
with nothing or very little to eat, and have their main breakfast at
the factory.”
9.
Speaking generally, it was satisfactory to note that the workers
realized their need for nourishing and substantial food, and were in
fact eating much better meals than many of them were accustomed
168
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M UNITION FACTORIES.
to before the war. This had certainly had considerable influence in
enabling them to stand the strain of long hours, etc., as well as they
have done.
TRA N SIT.
10. The arrangements for transit showed much variation. In cases
where the workers lived near the factories, e. g., factories Nos. 9, 10,
and 11, they were not only spared the fatigue entailed by a journey
in a crowded train or tram before and after work, but they were able
to take many meals at home and had increased time for exercise and
recreation; this certainly had a distinct effect for good on their health.
In other cases the difficulties of transit were acute, as is instanced by
the following examples: “ The length of time spent in traveling is a
noticeable feature in connection with this factory. This is partly due
to the fact that a number of workers come in daily from outlying
districts, but it is also largely attributable to the exceedingly bad car
service, about which there was universal complaint. In the morning
workers often have to allow twice the time that would ordinarily be
taken to travel the distance to the factory, and even then they are
frequently late. It is said to be not uncommon to wait 20 or 30
minutes before being able to get on a car, and then a worker considers
herself lucky if she finds standing room.” (Factory No. 9.)
In another case the medical officer remarked: “ It is noteworthy that
a comparatively large number of workers live at some distance from
their work—in 57 cases out of 149 the journey occupied at least 30
minutes each way. Frequently car journeys took 45 minutes, and
many complained that cars were both late and crowded. The fatigue
of standing in a crowded car after a struggle to gain admission adds
considerably to the severity of the day’s wTork, and many of these girls
complained of muscular pains in the feet or back. Expense of transit
sometimes proved a difficulty— one or two workers walked to save
fares, including a widow aged 53 years, whose journey took one hour
each way.” (Factory No. 3.)
At another factory “ many workers stated that the trams were ir
regular and crowded, and that they often had to wait a considerable
time— sometimes half an hour or more— in consequence. There were
many complaints also as to the overcrowding on the brakes provided
by the firm to convey workers to and from the tram terminus (25-30
minutes’ walk from the factory), many saying that they preferred
walking to joining in the struggle for a seat.” (Factory No. 1.)
PER SO N A L HYGIENE.
11. At most of -the factories the facilities for washing were un
duly limited, cloakroom accommodations was scanty, and sanitary
conveniences were not always adequate in number. The absence of
HEALTH OF WOMEN IN MUNITION EACTOKIES.
169
reasonably good arrangements for cleanliness, etc., can not fail to
exercise some detrimental effect on the health.
The report on factory No. 2, for example, states: 44The washing ac
commodation is worse than the sanitary accommodation. There are
only three basins with cold water (no soap or towels) for the whole
of the fuse department—300 women and girls, of whom only about 18
actually handle mercury, but all get dirty and want provision made
for washing. The girls who lacquer complain most bitterly. In the
4A ’ department 52 women handle cordite and gunpowder, but there
are no washing facilities. The 66 girls in the emergency shop are
equally strong in their statements that they need washing accommo
dation, but have none.”
Another report states: 44The washing conveniences, which seemed
hardly sufficient, comprised basins with cold water laid on. Very few
towels were provided, and the workers purchased their own soap.”
Again: 44In the bullet department there are only nine basins
with cold water and nailbrushes provided for 130 girls, 30 of whom
handle lead. Soap can nominally be obtained from the forewoman,
and towels, conspicuous by their absence, are supposed to be pro
vided biweekly to each of two sets of basins. Complaints are made
by foremen that towels, etc., are stolen and the workers complain of
lack of accommodation. Yery little washing is done, I think,
although the girls’ hands get black.” In another case 44washing
facilities are quite inadequate, workers in some departments being
unable to wash their hands at all before meals, though at most proc
esses they become very dirty. Many state that they clean their hands
with oil, though they are not supposed to use oil for this purpose;,
others wash their hands in the water running from their machines.
Even those who handle lead do not always wash their hands before
meals; these latter state that five minutes is allowed for washing,,
and that hot water is provided but no soap or towels.”
Washing facilities in the factories have, no doubt, been improved
since the reports were made. Another difficulty experienced by the
workers is in obtaining hot baths. Many use the public baths, but
these are not always convenient, and may be crowded.
M EDICAL IN Q U IRY.
12. As the result of the medical examination, the workers have
been classified in three groups:
A denotes apparent good health.
B denotes those showing signs of fatigue or ill-health.
C denotes those showing marked fatigue or ill-health.
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M UNITION FACTORIES.
170
The results were as follows:
England.
Number
of workers,
examined.
A (healthy).
Number.
B (slight fatigue).
Percentage.
1
Number. Percentage.
C (marked fatigue).
Number.
Percentage.
1 ___
2 ___
3 ___
4 ___
5 ___
6 ___
7 ___
8 .....
9 ___
1 0 ...
1 1 ...
105
82
149
210
130
70
100
170
156
40
114
62
50
98
129
65
37
38
68
107
26
83
59.0
61.0
65.8
61.4
50.0
52.9
38.0
40.0
68.6
65.0
72.8
31
22
44
69
50
25
49
82
40
11
28
30.0
26.8
29.5
32.9
38.5
35.7
49.0
48.2
25.6
27.5
24. a
12
110
7
12
15
8
13
20
9
3
3
11.0
12.2
4: 7
5.7
11.5
11.4
13.0
11.8
5.8
7.5
2.6
T otal...........
1,326
763
57.5
451
34.0
112
8.5
F actory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
N o.
N o.
N o.
No.
N o.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No,
AILM EN TS.
13: As the medical examination was conducted by several medical
officers, allowance must be made for the personal factor in consider
ing1 their findings. A table1 is attached giving percentages of the
most common defects found at each* factory. The ailments most
frequently observed included indigestion, constipation, headache,
anemia, and muscular pains. These are all frequently met with
among women workers and can not be attributed specially to muni
tion work. The great difficulty in estimating their precise impor
tance was the lack of any control investigation or data. In some
eases the ailment had undoubtedly been caused or accentuated by
the conditions of factory work; in other cases it had existed before
beginning munition work; in others, again, the workers expressed
themselves in better health than formerly.
Indigestion in many forms was noted, but occurred less frequently
than had been anticipated. Pain after food was fairly common, but
was often explained by an unsuitable choice of food, particularly on
the night shift. The amount of tea consumed is large, but the tea
seemed practically always to be freshly made and was drunk at once
so that ill effects were probably not produced as a rule.
Constipation was more marked than appears from the table.1
Most workers seemed to take aperients fairly .regularly and in con
sequence of this habit may often have reported themselves as not
constipated. In one factory the practice of taking aperients was
most noticeable; nearly all the workers and especially the younger
ones, took salts, usually with their morning tea, two or three times &
week, before beginning work. Lack of appetite was most frequent
on the night shift, a considerable number stating that they could not
eat substantial meals in the night. Many had no desire for a proper
breakfast. The teeth were often carious and septic, but no constant
association between indigestion and defective teeth was observed.
1 See pp. 178 to 181.
HEALTH 0E WOMEN IN M UNITION FACTORIES.
171
Headache was often an accompaniment of anemia or constipation
and in other cases was doubtless due to eyestrain. In two eases
where % second medical examination was conducted six months after
the previous one it was found that 10 to 15 per cent of the workers
had obtained dental treatment in accordance with medical advice
and the amount of headache was appreciably lessened.
Anemia- was particularly common where arrangements for meals
were not satisfactory and difficulties of transit existed. It was usu
ally relatively slight in degree, and no case of really severe chlorosis
was discovered. Some workers were classed as 4£C ” in wThom anemia
accompanied by a marked hemic murmur was noted.
Muscular pains, foot ache, etc., often due to prolonged standing,
were common, especially in the case of workers who had not become
accustomed to the work or had not a good enough general physique
to withstand the fatigue. Few cases of market flat foot were noted,
and the foot ache usually disappeared to a great extent, though the
feet and ankles of girls obliged to stand during the whole shift were
apt to become swollen toward the end of the day or on the night
shift.
A small amount of orgame disease was detected, usually either
early phthisis or heart disease. A few of these women were obvi
ously unfit to continue their work in the existing conditions, but
others^ especially the heart cases, had not apparently suffered in
health.
Disorders of menstruation occurred in a certain proportion of
workers, and in some cases these had increased with factory life,
usually either in young workers unaccustomed to standing or in
older women with climacteric symptoms. Here, again, the effect
of the conditions of employment was less marked than had been
anticipated. The provision of a rest room, conveniently situated, and
in charge of women attendants or a nurse, is most desirable. At one
factory the girls did not care to avail themselves of the ambulance
room, as it was in charge of a male attendant and was also visited
by men workers for the treatment of minor injuries.
SPECIAL P O IN TS O F IN TEREST.
14.
Some special points of interest which emerged from the find
ings at certain factories are worth recording:
(a) Effect of factory life on married women.
(5) Length of service in relation to strain.
(c) Relation of age of workers to fatigue shown.
(d) Eye-straim in relation to factory employment.
(a) Effect of factory life on married women was observed in tw<
medical examinations carried out at Factory No. 4 within six months
172
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M UNITION FACTORIES.
of each other. In the first case 210 workers were examined, and in
the second 116 of the same women were seen again.
The married women reexamined at the factory included 31 per cent
who mentioned difficulties in home conditions or suffered from the
strain of night work, as they often obtained too little sleep during
the day. Chronic rheumatism occurred in 12 per cent. Ten women
had remained quite healthy; these included young women 'either
without children or who undertook no household duties, and a pro
portion of elderly women of over 40 years of age, of the charwoman
type, who were especially strong and wiry. Several mentioned the
improvement which had resulted from their being given work at
which they could sit instead of having to stand; and some had
ceased night work.
Married women interviewed in their homes had left the factory
for reasons of health in 26 per cent, or on account of low wages and
long hours in a similar proportion (26 per cent). Some had secured
work in other factories in the district where no Sunday labor was
required. An additional 15 per cent had left on account of preg
nancy, and 15 per cent had ceased going out to work either for health
reasons or for home affairs. One case could not be traced, and one
worker had left on account of chronic rheumatism.
The numbers under consideration are too small to afford definite
conclusions, but in reviewing these cases the general impression was
obtained that the long shifts and night work, in addition to home
duties and worries (often associated with insufficient sleep), formed
too heavy a burden for the average married woman.
(5) Length of service in relation to strain.
[Factory No. 3: 134 workers review ed.]
3-6 months. 6-9 months.
N um ber of workers considered (total 134)
Percentage of healthy workers....................
Digestive disturbances..................................
H ea ia ch e........................................................
Faintness.........................................................
A nem ia.............................................................
Muscular pains................................................
Slespiessness....................................................
15
Per cent.
33
33
20
7
27
27
13
43
P er cent.
9
29
42
29
16
9
9
9-12
months.
12 months
and over.
37
P er cent.
19
28
49
32
24
19
19
39
P er cent.
38
20
28
13
33
21
20
Muscular pains occurred in 26.6 per cent of workers between three to six
months and were at first probably largely due to general bodily fatigue, un
familiarity with machinery, etc. They appeared to pass off as the girls became
accustomed to the work and from six to nine months were present in only
9 per cent. The condition continued throughout factory life in an increasing
degree and was found among 20.5 per cent of workers who had been more than
one year in the factory. In such cases it seems due to fatigue resulting from
the nature of the work, possibly accentuated by difficulties of transit or general
causes.
HEALTH OP WOMEN IN M UNITION FACTORIES.
173
Headache and faintness were slight in the first few months of work, but
steadily increased between 6 and 9 months and 9 and 12 months, when the
maximum was reached, the figures being 48.9 per cent headache and 32.4 per cent
faintness. From this point came a decline, and the figures over 12 months’ work
strongest workers, and it is worthy of note that 38.4 per cent of workers over one
year’s standing were found to be free from any physical defects.
Anemia was fairly marked between 3 and 6 months, possibly owing to new
conditions of life. The healthiest period seemed to be from 6 to 9 months,
when the percentage was 16, but the figures steadily rose as factory life con
tinued, reaching 33 per cent in workers of 12 months and upward.
Sleeplessness was most marked between 9 and 12 months, especially in those
on night duty. After this the habit of sleep was again established except in the
case of a fe.w elderly workers o f many years’ standing, where possibly factory
work was not the main cause o f the condition.
The numbers are too small to form anything but a rough guide, but
tend to show that for the first six months of factory life the work is
usually fairly well borne and the effects of night duty show little ill
result. In the six-twelve months’ interval the strain begins to pro
duce effects on the weaker members of the factory, and an increased
amount of headache, dizziness, and sleeplessness is experienced, espe
cially on night work. The data concern, of course, only those found
at work, and are no criterion of what effect may be produced upon
those— and their number is not inconsiderable—who for various rea
sons give up industrial employment after a short trial.
(c)
Relation of age of workers to fatigue shown.— Examination
of 210 women and girls at factory No. 4. It should be noted that the
hours of work at this factory were then exceptionally long.1
A table follows showing the relation of the age of the workers to the
amount of fatigue experienced. It will be seen that 44 per cent of
the workers aged 14 were suffering from slight or marked fatigue
when medically examined, although the majority had been employed
under four months and some of them for a much shorter period.
Among the workers aged 16 to 20 about 55 per cent found the long
hours tiring. The heaviest proportion of those suffering marked fa
tigue occurred in the age group 30 to 40, but here it should be re
membered that these numbers include a proportion of married women
in whose case conditions of home work aggravated the strain of fac
tory life.
A decline in signs of fatigue is noticed in the age group 40 and
upward, among whom were several elderly women of a wiry type.
1 T h e r e p o r t s t a t e s : “ Y o u n g p erson s o f 1 4 -1 8 y ea rs h a ve been e m p lo y e d th e 77 h o u rs
a w eek c o n tin u o u s ly , i. e., M o n d a y -F r id a y , 7 a. m .-9 p. m . ; S a tu rd a y s, 7 a. m .-5 p. m. ;
a n d S u n d a y, 9 a. m .-4 p. m . M ea l tim es a m o u n tin g to 1| h o u rs w e re req u ired b y th e
o rd e r, b u t o n ly 1| h ou rs h a ve been giv en in m an y d ep a rtm e n ts, on e b reak b e in g o m itte d
a n d a co n tin u o u s sp ell o f 7 h o u rs b ein g w o r k e d .”
174
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M UNITION FACTOBIES.
Fatigue.
Number o f
Age.
W.OrJ£GTS
examined.
14.................................................................................................
15.................................................................................................
16-20............................................................................................
20-30............................................................................................
30-40,..........................................................................................
40 and over................................................................................
25
15
65
63
30
12
T otal................................................................................
210
No ob vi
ous signs.
Slight.
Per cent.
56
73
45
49
40
58
P er cent.
28
20
43
40
30
25
Marked.
Per■cent.
1G
7
12
11
30
16
A second medical inspection of 116 of these workers six months
later revealed that on the whole the young workers (aged 14 or 15)t
showed improvement in health since the previous examination. Of
39 girls, 20; were quite healthy, 7 showed slight signs of fatigue, and
12 were no longer at the factory. Those who had left had usually
been removed by their parents on account of long hours or dislike of
night work. The ventilation of the main shop had been improved
and defects due to faulty temperature were no longer marked ; on
the other hand, the July inquiry showed a rise of 10 per cent in the
immber of cases suffering from marked fatigue (possibly in part due
to unsuitable arrangements for feeding).
(d)
Eyestrain m relation to factory employment.— This point
was considered during the examination of 156 workers in factory
No-. 9. In contrasting the eye conditions found in different shops in
this factory it will be seen that most defects occurred in the fuse
department where fine processes were in operation involving close
attention and considerable likelihood of eyestrain. In the work of
machining^ shells only 18.7 per cent of eye defects were noted, but in
the fuse department the proportion of eye defects reached 64 per cent.
The following table gives the results of inquiry as revealed by the
workers’ statements or by the more obvious signs of eyestrain:
Machining
shells.
Inspecting
shells and
fuses.
Fuse de
partment.
N um ber of workers exam ined..............................................
32
23
101
156
Glasses previously worn:.........................................................
Glasses obtained since working in factory .....................
Glasses obtained; bu£ not w orn .............................................
P robably need glasses
Complaining of eye fatigue....................................................
Apparent eve strain:...............................................................
Conjunctivitis............................................................................
Blepharitis.................................................................................
3
1
1
X
3
2
5
2
1
11
8
4
10
19
10
11
2
15
8
5
15
21
18
13
4
9
15
75
99t
2
3
Total.
It will be noted that in the fuse department 8 per cent of the work
ers were obliged to obtain glasses since starting factory work, 19 per
HEALTH OF WOMEN IN MUNITION FAC TOBIES.
175
cent complained of eyestrain, of whom 12 per cent found sight diffi
cult on the night shift, and 2 per cent found the eyestrain increasing
in severity. Besides these, 10 per cent appeared to have latent eye
strain as shown by severe headache, blepharitis, etc., and probably
required to have their eyes tested. Conjunctivitis was present in
,11 per cent. Many workers complained of the artificial light falling
directly on their eyes, and others said that the reflection of the brass
work of the fuses was dazzling. The artificial lighting in the factory
was by electric lights placed over the benches. Owing to difficulty in
train service it was not possible to visit the factory during the night
shift in order to watch the effect on the girls, or to observe if shades
could be adjusted without undue interference with the work, but this
point appeared to need consideration.
On the other hand, it must be remembered that cases of eyestrain
or frequent headaches may not be due entirely to factory conditions.
Several girls had been warned at school by the school medical officer
that their sight was defective, and had neglected to obtain glasses.
Five workers had obtained glasses but did not wear them; in one
instance the previous occupation of dressmaking was probably re
sponsible for the initial eyestrain, and in another case a girl who
had previously been a domestic servant now visited the cinema three
times a week although suffering from marked eyestrain. It is also
probable that some of the employees were still feeling the effects of
overtime and seven days’ wTeekly work, which had recently been
discontinued, and some visual improvement might be expected on
subsequent examinations.
SUM M ARY.
15.
It is unfortunately impossible to compare the findings based
on the reports from the factories visited with the results of investi
gations carried out in nonmunition factories in time of peace, but
they have in themselves considerable interest, and though the num
bers are not large they at least show the general physical condition
of the women workers in the earlier period of women’s labor in
munition factories. Factory conditions which were then unsatis
factory have probably been remedied in most cases, means of transit
have been improved, canteens provided, welfare supervisors and
nurses appointed, unduly long hours reduced, etc., so that the descrip
tions quoted from the reports do not necessarily hold good now; they
serve, however, to indicate the circumstances in which the work was
carried out and the discomforts which had to be faced by the women.
The medical findings are on the whole satisfactory. Most of the
inspectors had expected to discover far more fatigue directly attrib
utable to the conditions of work, and were agreeably surprised at
the general physical condition of the workers, Several suggestions
17 6
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M UNITION FACTORIES.
may be put forward as explaining the relative absence of marked
fatigue.
In the first place, those who felt fatigue most may have left the
factories, and so failed to come under review; indeed, in the reex
amination referred to above, only 116 out of the original 210 were
present six months later.
In the second place, the dietary was in most cases more ample and
suitable than the workers had been used to previously. Wages were
higher and more money was spent on food. The women were begin
ning to realize that they could not do their work unless they had
substantial meals, although there was still too great a tendency at
the canteens to select pastry, chips, etc., instead of a proper dinner
of meat, vegetables, and pudding. Food brought from home was
often excellent in quantity and quality.
16. Again, although the hours of work were long, they were not
usually increased by domestic work at home. Girls in lodgings or
living at home were able to pay sufficiently well to be excused from
housework, though, indeed, there was usually no time in which this
could be performed. A reason sometimes given for not desiring an
8-hour instead of a 12-hour shift was the fact that in the former
case the girl would be required to do her share of housework which
she escaped with the longer hours. Married women, however, espe
cially when they had young children, frequently found the strain
of house and factory work too fatiguing. Further, the factory work,
though often monotonous and tedious, was not as a rule particularly
exacting and the workers were not putting forth their whole energy
all the time. If they had, there would certainly have been far more
fatigue observable. The excitement of doing “ war work ” and
making munitions added a zest and interest to the work which
tended to lessen the fatigue experienced, and the courage, perse
verance, and patriotic spirit exhibited was largely induced by the
knowledge that the special efforts made had a common object,
namely, to assist the men at the front.
17. Night work proved less exhausting than had been feared, (ex
cept in the case of married women with children). A fair propor
tion of girls preferred it to the day shift partly perhaps because of
the higher wages earned and partly because they then gained a little
time for recreation or shopping; most seemed able to sleep sufficiently
well by day. There were comparatively few indications of nervous
irritability, etc., pointing to lack of sleep.
18. But although the results of the inquiry are on the whole en
couraging, they certainly emphasize the importance of adequate pro
vision for the health and comfort of the workers. It is probable
that as the work continues over a long period and the novelty wears
off the strain will become more serious, the standard of physical
HEALTH OF WOMEN IN MUNITION FACTORIES.
177
efficiency will be lowered, and the output consequently decreased
unless care is taken to avoid unnecessary burdens and to secure such
amelioration as is practicable. The provision of well-managed can
teens, for example, is particularly important as the cost of food
increases; suitable lodgings or hostels are more needed as factories
enlarge and workers are encouraged to come from a distance; hours
of work should be restricted within reasonable limits, with sufficient
pause at the week end and with periodical holidays; satisfactory ar
rangements for transit are essential if unnecessary fatigue and illness
are to be avoided, especially during the winter months; properly
staffed and equipped ambulance stations and rest rooms are needed
where girls temporarily incapacitated by illness or accident may ob
tain treatment or advice. A welfare supervisor whose duty it is to care
for the physical well-being of all women employed should always
be a member of the staff employed by the firm. The provision of
day nurseries may sometimes be necessary.
19.
If proper care and forethought are exercised there seems no
reason why women and girls, suitably selected and supervised and
working under appropriate conditions, should not take their place
in munition factories and carry out many operations hitherto con
sidered fit only for men without permanent detriment to their future
health.
Janet M. Campbell, M. D.
L ilian E. W ilson, M. D.
London, October, 1916.
105796°— Bull. 230— 17------ 12
17 8
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M UNITION FACTORIES.
IN T E N S IV E
T A B L E CO M B IN IN G F A C T O R Y , S O C IA L, A N D M E D IC A L
No. 2.
No. I.
1. Factory.
No. 3.
No. 4.
No. 5.
& M anufacture.
Processes
on
which persons
examined were
em ployed.
Cartridges and Cartridge and
fuse filling;
fuses;
m a
handwork,
chines, lathes,
danger area,
a u to m a tic ;
filling, finishhandw ork —
in g f i l l e d
a ss e m b lin g ,
eases,
ma
and in danger
chine lathes,
area—filling.
automatic.
C artridges;
light
auto
matic
ma
chines.
Cartridges;
machines,
automatic,
lig h t p re s s,
handwork,
light bench
work, danger
area — light
machines.
H and grenades,
machines,
lathes, press
es, automatic,
handwork,
light bench
work, assem
bling, etc.
3. N um ber em
ployed.
4. N um ber
ex
amined.
955...
475...........
2,500........
850.
150.
105...
149...........
210.................
130...
5. Condition in
the factory,
Good.
82 (three-fourths
were girls un
der 18).
Good, except
i nsufficiency
of
lavatory
a ccom m od a
tion.
Mostly n e w
buildings,
clean and
well
venti
lated.
N o ca n teen ;
mess room ;
cooking.
N ot good.
Fairly g o o d ___
Fair..
Some o v e r
crowding
a n d d e f e ctiv e ventila
tion.
C a n te e n .
Fairly good.
New, well built,
except ma
chine shop;
venti lati on
poor.
Canteen satis
factory.
Old premises;
v e n tila tio n ,
etc.,
fairly
good.
Matron and as
sistant.
N o welfare
work.
Surgery
and
5 nurses.
Surgery
nurse.
Welfare work
er, occupier's
daughter.
Am bulancebox
in small office
at rest room.
(a) Sanitation,
etc.
New, well-built
premises;
clean,, 'w ell
ventilated.
(b} F e e d in g ...
N o c a n te e n .
Mess room ;
in s u ffic ie n t
c o o k i n g
stoves.
N o welfare
worker.
(c) Welfare___
(d) First a id . .
Surgery;
nurses.
2
6. Means of tran
sit.
Firm ’s own ve
hicles from
station,
1J
miles.
7. Housing.
Majority live at
home; fairly
good.
8. Hours of w ork. (1) D a y a n d
night shifts=
day, 66; night,
64 hours.
9. W ages..
10. Posture
work.
at
Matron and as
sistant, work
ing type.
No s u r g e r y ;
no n u r s e ;
a m b u la n c e
boxes.
B ad; sta tio n
1J miles dis
tant.
A ll but 5 lived
at h o m e ;
semirural
districts.
(1) D a y a n d
night shifts;
7 days = 61J;
6 nights =
59§.
(2) D ay shift
+ O. T .= 68
hours.
(2) Day shift +
O. T ., alter
nate 6 and 7
days = 69 —
76 hours.
(3) 3 eight-hour
s h i f t s = 52
hours.
Tim e rate+ war
bonus, for 54
hours= under
18 years, 9s.
6d. to 12s.
[$2.31 to $2.92];
over 18 years,
17s. 3d. [$4.20].
(3) 2 shifts, 8
hours, 7 days
= 5 2 1 — 43
hours.
Tim e rate, 2d.
to 3Jd. [4.1 to
7.1 cents] per
hour (wages
raised after
arbitration a
few w e e k s
later).
W ork seated,
72;
work
standing, 15;
work either,
18= 105.
W ork seated,
47; w o r k
standing, 11;
work either,
24=82.
and
No canteen,
mess room,
no cooking.
Inadequate
tra m s; m a
jority spend
under 1 hour
traveling.
Majority live
with parents.
Day and night
shifts ;days=
67 and 69;
night, 63.
Tim e and piece
rate; rate per
53 hours, un
der 18, from
6s. to 9 s.
[$1.46
to
$2.19]; o v e r
18, from 10s.
to 12s. [$2.43
to $2.92{
Complaints
made that sit
ting was not
permitted.
(1) D a y a n d
night shifts,
(108 wom en)
7 days = 72: 6
nights = 68
hours.
(2) Day shift
+ O. T . (92
women)
7
days=77;
6
n i g h t s = 68
hours.
(1) D a y and
n i g h t shift
— 7 days, 6
nights.
Timerate,start
ing for adults
at 15s. [$3.65j.
Piece w o r k ;
wages range
from 14s. to
45s. [$3.41 to
$10.95.]
(2) Day shift +
O. T.
HEALTH OF WOMEN IN M UNITION FAC TOBIES.
179
XKaUIRY—WOMEN.
CONDITIONS COMPILED FROM T H E REPORTS OF TH E INVESTIGATORS.
No. 8.
No. 9.
No. 6.
No. 7.
Small
arms
charges:
Machines,
presses, light
automatic
machineand
hand presses.
Fuses: Machine
lathes—hand
gauging and
m
danger
area,
light
bench w©rk
on
loaded
fuses.
and
Cartridges and Shells
fuses; ma
fuses:
Ma
chines, light
chine— auto
m a t le m a
automatic.
chine lathes,
presses'—hand
work, gaug
ing and ex
amining; dan
ger area—fill
ing oordite,
f u 1m i mate,
tetryl.
120.
1,000.
7,148...................
1,604.
70.,
100.
170.
156...
F air.
Bad..
Fairly good ___
F air..
L ow standard
of cleanliness,
v e n tila tio n ,
etc., through
out.
No
canteen. N o provision
Mess room,
mad e for
m e a l s , no
cooking.
r o o m , no
cooking.
welfare
F o r e w om an No
worker.
has some wel
fare duties.
No provision No provision
made.
made.
No
nurse.
New factory,
all good ex
cept no heat
ing yet.
Piecework +
bonus. Dang er a r e a ,
wages 20s. to
30s. [$4.87 to
$7.30]. (20 per
cent of those
examined).
Machine
shops 30s. to
80s. [$7.30 to
$19.47]. Work
s e a t e d , 20;
work stand
ing, 60; work
either, 20.
Shells.
Shells:
Machine
l a t h-es—h a n d
cleaning, varnish
ing, etc.
<#)
G ood..
(*>)
900.
28........
86.
Good..
Fair.
Conditions vary V e n t i lation
in different
u n s a tisfactory.
sections—not
a high level.
V e n t i lation
poor.
Canteens insuf
ficient . and
u n sa tis
factory.
No canteen.
Mess room,
cooking.
Canteen, also
mess room
and cooking.
Canteen
good.
M e s s
room,
cook
ing.
Welfare work No
welfare
ers—not sat
worker.
isfactory.
Surgery and 5 2
surgeries.
nurses
one
Am bulanc e
section, other
men.
no provision.
N ot good. Ma G ood................
jority spend
over 1 hour
up to 2J hours.
No
welfare
worker.
Majority
live
near.
Good . . .
Majority
l i v e
near.
Good.
Fairly good.
L i v e at
home.
Fairly g o o d . .
D ay and night
shifts— d a y
= 52 hours;
night= 55.
Day and night D ay shifts and O.T.
shifts, 6 turns
Sunday = 701.
= 63J hours.
Day and night D ay shifts +
(1) Day and
O .T .—7 days
shifts—6 days
night shifts—
7 days= day,
= 77 hours,
= 61^,5 nights
= 52i- (night
68; night, 63.
some
cases
shift aban
80 hours ille- (2) 3 shifts, 8
g a i l y . An
hours—6 days
doned as un
= 48 and 49 J.
profitable the
easy-going,
week the exundisciplined
factory, which
amination
m ay account
was made).
for the long
hours not
having pro
duced a worse
effect.
Piecework (no
further infor
m ation).
No. 11.
No. 10.
Ambulance
b o x in office.
V enti
l ation
poor.
W el f are
work
er.
Tim e and pre
m ium bonus.
Rate for 48
hours— 16 to
21 years=9s.
to 14s. [$2.19
to $3.41], 21
andover= 14s.
[$3.41].
Piecework,
Tim e
m inimum £1
from 15s. to
[$4.87] and
28s.[$3.65 to
bonus. Tim e
$6.81] week
wage, dav,
ly.
£1 [?4.87];
n i g h t , £2
[$9.73].
C om p la in ts —
sitting
not
allowed.
Standing
at
some
ma
chines.
Ambu
lance
box.
Arrange
m e n ts
poor.
Standing at lathes.
180
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M UNITION FACTORIES.
INTENSIVE I N Q U I R Y M E D IC A L
1. F a ctory............
N o. 1.
11. Medical clas
sification—
22 per cent
s h o w e d
sym ptom s of
overstrain.
N o. 2.
No. 3.
“ Large propor
tion showed
signs of fa
tigue.”
61 per cent......... 65.8 per cen t___
A ..................
B ..................... 30 per cen t.......... 26.8 per cen t___ 29.5 per cen t___
4. 7 per cen t___
C ..................... 11 per cen t.......... 12.2 per cent —
12. Ailments—
Indigestion... 5.7 per ce n t___ 12.2 per cen t___ 10.7 per cent___
Constipation. 11.4 per cent —
12.2 per cen t___ 25. 5 per cen t___
H e a d a c h e 2.3 per c e n t . . . 8.5 per cent........ 6.7.per cent........
(frequent).
Sleeplessness. 9.5 per cen t........ 6.1 per cen t........ 12.7 per cent___
M uscular
22.8 p ercen t___ 18.3 per cen t___ 17.4 per cen t—
pains.
A nem ia.......... 10.4 per cen t----- 7.3.per cen t........ 24.2 per cen t___
Disorders of 14.3 per cen t----- 12.2 per cen t___ 12.1 per c e n t ....
m en stru a
tion.
Disorders of 11.4 per cent___ 23 per cent......... 10.7 per cen t----vision.
22.8 per cen t----- 26.8 per cen t___ 16.8 per cen t___
Defective
teeth.
No. 4.
No. 5.
61.4 per cen t----32.9 per cen t___ 38.5 per cen t___
5.7 per cent....... 11.5 per cen t___
19 per cen t___
18.1 per cen t___
25.2 per cen t___
17.7 per cen t___
10.7 per cen t___
31.5 per cen t-----
8.1 per cent, ..
18.6 per cen t___
5.4 per cent .. ,
11.5 per cen t___
38.1 per cent___
22.9 p ercen t-----
16.9 per cent___
15.2 per cen t___
14.6 per c e n t ....
20 per cent.........
27.7 per cen t-----
HEALTH OF WOMEN IN M UNITION FACTORIES.
181
W OM EN —Concluded.
R E S U L T S.
No. 6.
No. 7.
N o. 8.
No. 9.
No. 10.
No. 11.
52.9 per c e n t... 38 per c e n t . . . .
35.7 per c e n t... 49 p ercen t........
11.4 per c e n t... 13 per cen t........
Large propor
tion showed
signs of fa
tigue.
40 per c e n t ____ 68.6 per c e n t...
48.2 per cen t___ 25.6 per cen t. . .
11.8 per cen t___ 5.8 per cen t___
20 per c e n t___ 10 per cen t........
17.1 per c e n t... 22 per cen t........
44.3 per cen t. . . 44 per cen t........
32.3 per cen t___
28.2 per cen t___
27.1 p ercen t___
11.5 p e r c e n t... 7.5 per cen t___ 19.3 percent.
51.9 per c e n t ... 20 per c e n t ___ 14.9 per cent.
28.2 per c e n t... 5 per cen t......... 9.6 per cent.
31.4 per c e n t... 6 per cen t..........
25.7 per c e n t ... 18 per ce n t........
10 per cen t........
25.9 per cen t___
10.3 per cen t. . . 17.5 per c e n t... 9.6 per cent.
19.8 per c e n t ... 27.5 per c e n t ... 9.6 per cent.
20 per ce n t___
10 per c e n t . . . .
37 per cen t........
27 per cen t........
31.2 per cen t___
22.9 per cen t___
13.4 per c e n t... 30 per ce n t___ 15.8 per cent.
41.7 per c e n t... 77.5 per c e n t... 28.9 per cent.
11.4 per c e n t ... 34 p ercen t........
25.9 per cen t___
40.4 per cen t. . .
25 p e rce n t___
25.4 per cent.
41.4 per c e n t... 31 p ercen t........
48.2 per cen t___
19.2 per c e n t...
15 per ce n t___
44.7 per cent.
65 per ce n t___ 72.8 per cent.
27.5 per c e n t ... 24.6 per cent.
7'5 p ercen t___ 2.6 per cent.
M E D IC A L C E R T I F I C A T E S F O R M U N I T I O N W O R K E R S .
[M em ora n d u m N o. 16,]
Various witnesses have called the attention of the committee
to difficulties which have arisen in regard to medical certificates put
forward by munition workers in support of absences from work on
account of illness. On some certificates no information is given as
to the cause of illness or as to its probable duration. It is seldom
stated whether immediate absence from work is essential or whether
it can be postponed for a brief period until a particular job has been
completed. Apart from this, cases have been brought to the notice
of the committee in which the certificates have been given on odd
slips of paper and do not show the address of the medical prac
titioner.
In order to meet these difficulties the committee have prepared a
form of certificate which should, in their opinion, afford the desired
information, and at the same time be easily and quickly filled in.
It is suggested that in the case of national factories copies of this
form of medical certificate should be supplied to panel practitioners
and other medical practitioners in the neighborhood with a request
that the form may be used for all medical certificates given to muni
tion workers. The adoption of a similar procedure might be sug
gested to controlled establishments.
The general adoption of this medical certificate will, the committee
hope, serve to meet many of the difficulties which are at present ex
perienced in dealing with absences of munition workers on account
of illness, and, in addition, may have the incidental advantage of
providing a basis for the collection of valuable data as to the in
cidence of different types of illness and as to periods of absence
involved.
Signed on behalf of the committee,
George Newman, M. D.
Chairman.
E. H. Pelham, Secretary.
February, 1917.
182
MEDICAL CERTIFICATES FOR MUNITION WORKERS.
183
A P P E N D IX .
F
orm
of
M
e d ic a l
C e r t if ic a t e .
A. I hereby certify that I have (1) this clay, o n ____________ , 191__, examined :
(N am e)___________________________________________
(S e x )____________
(A ddress)__________________________________________________________
who in my opinion is rendered unfit (2) to follow his (her) usual occupation
by reason of (3) :
(1) Respiratory (bronchitis, consumption)_______________________________
(2 ) Digestive (dyspepsia., gastric u lcer)_________________________________ _
(3) Circulatory (functional or structural, anem ia)_______________________
(4) Nervous (fatigue, local or general nervous disorders)_________________
(5) Senses (eyestrain, ear disease)________ ______________________________
(6) Other conditions (infectious diseases, rheumatism, and general dis
eases) _______________________________________________________________
B. Is immediate rest from work absolutely necessary ?_______________________
O. Absence from work (4) is (is not) likely to fee necessary for longer than a
week.
(Signed)_________________________________________________________
(Qualifications)_______________________________________________
Address______________________________________________________________
{Date of signing)_______________________________________________
To be filled up by the f i r m P e r i o d of absence____________ days.
NOTES.
(1) If the certificate is signed on a day other than that on which the patient
was examined, the words “ this day ” are to be struck out and the date of
examination inserted in the space provided. I f this m not done the doctor will
be understood to certify that he examined the patient on the date of signing.
(2) The words “ unfit to follow his usual occupation ” are to be understood
to include not only cases in which the patient’s illness <or injury) renders him
physically incapable of performing his work, but also eases in which the illness
(or injury) is of such a nature that the patient’s health would be seriously
endangered by continuing to perform it.
(3) The words in brackets are only given as examples. The diagnosis should
be entered under the appropriate heading. If an exact diagnosis can not be
recorded, the system of the body principally affected should be indicated.
(4) •The word “ is ” or “ is not ” (as the case may require) to be struck out in
line C where it is possible to make this prognosis.
H EA LTH AND W E LFARE OF MUNITION W ORKERS OUT
SIDE THE FACTORY.
[M em ora n d u m N o. 1 7.]
1. In previous memoranda the committee have dealt mainly with
the health and welfare of munition workers as affected by the condi
tions of employment inside the factory,1 and have only referred in
cidentally to other conditions of almost equal importance outside
the factory, such as housing, transit, and recreation. The necessity
in the present emergency of transferring workers from their homes
to distant places where their labor is required has created an un
paralleled situation, and problems of the first importance to the
nation are arising simultaneously in munition areas in various parts
of the kingdom, especially as regards women and girls. The com
mittee are of opinion that the situation calls for some more complete
and systematic action than can be taken locally by isolated bodies
of persons, however public spirited and sympathetic they may be.
The Ministry of Labor, through their organization of employment
exchanges throughout the country, meet the demand for labor by a
supply drawn from every available source, but it is no part of their
responsibility to safeguard the health and welfare of those whose
service they obtain.
2. By the provision of hostels and clubs and by other means volun
tary societies are performing a most useful work, which is far from
being confined to their own members. The committee also desire to
place on record their cordial recognition of what has been accom
plished through the energy and enthusiasm of the local advisory
committees, which have been set up on the recommendations of the
central advisory committee of the Ministry of Labor and Home
Office, to undertake, in addition to other duties, this welfare work
outside the factory for transported workers. It is, therefore, from
no lack of appreciation of the work of these committees that the
Health of Munition Workers Committee must express the opinion
that the time has now come to supplement and reinforce them by a
larger degree of State action than has hitherto been deemed neces
sary.
3. The committee are strongly of the opinion that it is the duty
of the State to determine the nature and extent of the provision to
1 “ W e lfa r e s u p e r v is io n ” N o. 2.
[R e p r in t e d in B u lle tin N o. 2 2 2 .]
‘ ‘ E m p lo y m e n t o f
w o m e n ,” N o. 4.
[R e p r in t e d in B u lle tin N o. 2 2 3 .]
“ H o u r s o f la b o r ,” N o. 5.
[R e p r in t e d
in B u lle tin N o. 2 2 1 .]
184
HEALTH OF M UNITION WORKERS OUTSIDE THE FACTORY.
185
be made in each area, and to take such steps as are requisite for its
attainment. For this purpose full use should be made of the services
of local advisory committees and of other voluntary bodies, to the
value of whose work reference has already been made. Every ad
vantage should also be taken of the powers and experience possessed ,
by local authorities in regard to such matters as housing, public
health and sanitation, lighting, and the maintenance of public order.
The aim, in fact, should be not to supplant the work of these various
bodies, but by the appointment of special officers and by other
means to supplement and coordinate. A local organization might
thus be provided which under the supervision of the State should
be qualified effectively to undertake the solution of the manifold and
difficult problems involved in providing for the health and welfare
outside the factory of the women and girls employed in munition
Centers.
4. The position may be briefly stated as follows:
By the agency of the State women and girls are being exported
from their homes and imported into munition areas.
By the agency of the State the liberty of the individual to throw
up her work and to take her labor elsewhere is restricted.
On the State, therefore, the responsibility lies not only for suitably
housing these transplanted workers, but also for securing the safe
guards needful for their health and morals, the maintenance of which
is essential to the nation.
5. The problems which present themselves for solution may be
roughly grouped under four heads: (a) Personal questions, (b)
Housing accommodation and transit, (<?) Sickness, (d) Leisure. In
regard to each of these the committee have suggestions to make as
to what is required and the means to be adopted to accomplish the
end in view. These suggestions are largely based on experience
gained in different areas.
PER SO N A L QUESTIONS.
6. Only normally healthy, clean., and wholesome-minded women
and girls should be exported.—In some cases women and girls re
ceived in lodgings and hostels have been found to be in such a condi-.
tion of person and clothing that the assistance of the sanitary author
ity had to be invoked for cleansing or disinfection. In other cases
women and girls have been imported who suffer from physical dis
abilities, or are in an unsuitable physical condition. In some in
stances women of bad character have been associated in lodgings
or hostels with respectable women and girls. Such instances, even
if not numerous, exert far-reaching effect and rumors spread quickly
through a neighborhood, losing nothing by repetition, and cause
1 8 6 EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
many housewives to close their doors against munition workers as
lodgers.
The committee accordingly suggest that all women and girls
before being exported should be examined by a doctor or by a nurse
working under his supervision. They are glad to learn that arrange
ments to this end are being made by the ministry.
7. Mothers of inftmts or of families of young children should not
be exported.— The arrival of mothers in a town accompanied by quite
young infants, or three or four young children, having traveled long
distances, is becoming more and more common—the mother is at
tracted, in the absence of the father on active service, by the prospect
of high wages in munition works, and brings her baby or children
with her, To find lodgings where these are not unwelcome, and
where some one will undertake the care of the children while the
mother is out at the factory, is no easy task. The committee consider
that this practice of taking children across country by train to some
distant munition area and Leaving them to strangers all day or all
night should be discouraged.
They accordingly suggest that inquiry into such matters should be
made at the source of supply by the nurse mentioned above or by
voluntary helpers of experience.
8. No woman or girl should be exported without a sufficiency of
Nothing or of money„— Women and girls frequently arrive at muni
tion centers without luggage, or any clothing except what they are
wearing, and without any money; they are often hungry and
thirsty, having had no food on a long journey. In some cases pov
erty is the cause, in many others the reason given has been that they
had heard that everything necessary, including the first week’s lodg
ing, was provided free. As the first wages are not due for a week,
and frequently are not paid until after 10 days or a fortnight (the
first week or a few days’ wages being kept back), the plight of these
women and girls in a strange town is not only uncomfortable, but a
serious danger.
9. The committee accordingly suggest that information should
always be given at the employment exchange, verbally and by printed
notices, that sufficient change of clothing, as well as money for emer
gency expenses on the journey, must be taken. When the need is
proved, financial help should be forthcoming from a fund adminis
tered locally, safeguards being taken for the refunding of the loan
out of wages. The practice already sometimes adopted of giving
advances pending the first payment of wages might be extended.
10. Traveler® across country should ~be seen off and met cub the sta
tion— The need for the protection of those unaccustomed to travel,
especially if the distance is great, is well recognized. Where such
services have not been organized, serious inconvenience and evil has
H EALTH
OF M UNITION WORKERS OUTSIBE THE FACTORY.
18V
arisen in many instances. To meet these difficulties local agents'
should always see the women and girls off by train, receive them at'
the station on arrival, and direct them to their employment exchange
or lodging. In some cases arrangements have Tbeen found necessary 1’
for meeting parties in the course of their journey when they have to
change stations or trains.
HOUSING. ACCOM M O DATIO N A N D T R A N SIT .
11. Suitable and sufficient board and lodging should be provided \
for all exported women and girls not otherwise provided for.— For
this purpose there should be provided: (a) Reception or clearing
house, (b) hostels, (c) lodgings, and (d) convenient means of transit.
12. A reception or clearing house should be provided for any women
and girls arriving without having secured lodgings, and for whom
such can not be found before nightfall, or whose circumstances or
condition make it difficult to allot lodgings without further inquiry.
Such a clearing house has already been provided in some districts,
generally with the help of the Ministry of Munitions, and is indeed
essential in localities where large numbers of women and girls arrive
by train from distant places, often late in the day, without any ar
rangements having been previously made for lodgings. The hous£
needs to be suitably equipped for receiving all classes. It should be
under the charge of a lady superintendent with considerable experi
ence in dealing with women under any emergency; she should prefer
ably have had some nursing training and be a person of kindly, tact
ful character. The inmates should have separate cubicles; adequate
washing and bathroom accommodation, and facilities for washing
clothing should also be provided. Good, plain, appetizing food and
a cheerful, warm sitting room are necessary. A homeless woman or
girl, full of vague fears at taking up unaccustomed work, especially
in an explosives factory, may spread uneasiness and even alarm
among her associates. Depression and fear are contagious and have
been known to cause many to return home the clay after arrival.
But cheerfulness and courage are also contagioiis, and the influence
of a lady superintendent or voluntary helpers among new arrivals at
a reception hostel is of great value. The stay is generally only for a
night or two— a week should, unless the case is exceptional, be the
maximum—the inmates being found suitable lodging at the earliest
moment. At some of these reception hostels, arrangements are made
with the factory to refund the cost of board and lodgings from wages
on the first pay day by consent of the employee.
IB. Hostels.—The congregation of great numbers of workers in
particular centers has necessitated large schemes of temporary hous
ing. In some areas hostels have been established in existing build-
1*88
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH MUNITION FACTORIES.
ings by voluntary agencies, and also by the State acting either
directly or through the agency of private firms. In addition, the
State has had to erect temporary hutments, providing in some in
stances for several thousand workers. It is beyond the scope of
this memorandum to discuss in detail the lines on which such accom
modation can best be provided, but experience suggests certain essen
tials for success which may be briefly referred to.
14. Hostels are not generally attractive to industrial workers, who
are unused to communal life; moreover, the housing together under
new conditions of large numbers of women and girls of various ages
and classes creates difficulties not easily overcome. Much depends
on the personality of the lady superintendent and the character of
her assistants and servants, who should be carefully chosen and con
trolled. As much freedom as is compatible with good order should
be allowed to the inmates, who are independent workers not living
under any community rule. The bedrooms should be separate, selfcontained cubicles. The public rooms, dining, and recreation rooms
should be bright, airy, and well warmed; in addition, the need for
rest and the companionship of a few friends should be met by a
sufficient number of small sitting rooms. Their absence has doomed
some otherwise satisfactory hostels to failure, since many women and
girls soon tire of organized recreation night after night, and having
worked hard in a factory for many hours crave the quiet rest of a
room more nearly resembling home.
15. A lodging, with or without board, in a family is the readiest
and generally most acceptable arrangement for women and girls.
In most localities efforts have been made by the local advisory com
mittees or other agencies to obtain information as to possible lodg
ings; these are visited by voluntary or paid workers and lists of
approved lodgings compiled. Much useful work has thus been done
in suitably housing women and girls; but if the fullest and best
advantage is to be taken of the lodging capacity of the locality, a
larger and more elaborate local organization will be required than
can generally be carried through by voluntary work unaided. What
appear to the committee to be required are arrangements similar to
those employed in the army for billeting soldiers in a town, if modi
fied to meet the special needs of women and girls. Just as the com
manding officer of a regiment receives from the local authority and
police of a town or village through the regimental billeting officer
complete information respecting the accommodation available in
every house, with particulars concerning the character of the street
and of the landlady, so those locally responsible for the welfare of
munition workers could obtain from the same source similar details
respecting lodgings for women and girls. By supplementing the
HEALTH OF M UNITION WORKERS OUTSIDE THE FACTORY.
189
information so received by inquiries at each house, such as a billet
ing officer makes, there could be formed in advance a register con
taining the record of all material points. With the assistance of
local public health officials and police, lodgings could be obtained
to suit varying classes of lodgers, disreputable localities or unap
proved persons would be avoided, and equal opportunity would be
given to all the townspeople to respond to the call of patriotism by
receiving munition workers. A standard of accommodation, food,
and service for certain rates could be laid down.
16. One advantage arising from such an organized system of billet
ing would be that agreements as to terms could be made, as in the
army, not between lodger and landlady, but between the responsible
local organization and the landlady, and the money payment would
be made by the organization. Such a system is already in force in
one town, and gives great satisfaction; the workers pay their rent
to the “ housing superintendent,” a lady who by means of assistants
and a voluntary staff of ladies calls weekly at each lodging and pays
the rent. These visits afford an opportunity for receiving complaints
from either lodger or landlady and for rectifying what is amiss or
removing difficulties. A high standard is thus obtainable, and abuses
are removed. Unfortunately, lodgers sometimes leave without pay
ing their landlady her just dues, and some guarantee of payment is
essential.
17. A difficulty which confronts all who attempt to place women
and girls in suitable lodgings is to prevent them from drifting into
unsuitable surroundings. They easily move from house to house,
leaving no address behind and giving no notice of change at the
factory. An organized system of billeting would assist to overcome
this trouble; landladies could be required to notify the change of
lodgers, and the requirements of the registration act might be en
forced so far as the lodgers themselves were concerned.
18. Transit.—The suitability of lodgings is closely affected by the
existence of reasonable facilities for traveling from the place of resi
dence to the factory by train, tramway, or omnibus. The committee
have already expressed their views on this subject.1 Health, time
keeping, temper, and output all suffer when to the day’s work is
added the discomfort and fatigue of a long walk to and fro in bad
weather or in darkness, or a scramble to squeeze into a crowded
railway carriage, tram or omnibus, with a long journey in a bad
atmosphere. In the darkness of early morning and at night, when
no lights are allowed to be shown on the railway, separate compart
ments for women are desirable, and no traveling without a light in
side the carriage should be allowed; in some places carriages without
1 “ Employment of W om en,” No. 4, p. 5, par, 8.
[Reprinted in Bulletin No. 223.]
1 8 0 EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN m iT T S H MUNITION FACTORIES.
blinds or other means of shading the windows are used for the con
veyance of workpeople of both sexes. Under these circumstances
artificial -light can not be used, and the journey is made crowded
together in total darkness.
SICKNESS.
19. A rrangements for sickness among lodgers.—Large hotels have,
as a rule, a small hospital with a nurse. Smaller hostels should be
provided with sick rooms to which the patients may be removed if
nursing and attention are needed beyond what the servants can
render. But illness, even of quite a temporary character, presents
more difficulty among women and girls in lodgings in a strange place.
For lodgers living with the family and sharing a room or a bed with
other lodgers, illness is a great misfortune and may, through neglect,
become very serious; it may, if infectious or contagious, be a source
of danger to others and cause absence from work of many who are
needed at the factory.
20. The committee suggest that an organized system of billeting
would give the opportunity for the establishment of regulations
governing illness among lodgers. For example, notification of illness
might be made to the local organization by the landlady or the lodger
after more than one day’s absence from work and the factory would
be informed; the lodgings would be visited and steps taken to see
that proper attention is being given and medical attendance obtained
if necessary. The name and address of the organization should be
posted up in every lodger’s room. In the case of infectious or con
tagious illness the medical officer of health would be notified and
his advice and cooperation immediately obtained. If the number of
munition workers billeted in a town is large the available hospital
accommodation may fee inadequate.; a special sick room, hostel, or
cottage hospital will then become necessary for cases which, although
not serious, can not be suitably or conveniently nursed by the land
lady in lodgings. Such provision for illness is specially needed where
there is a factory in which workers are likely to be affected by the
materials handled.
21. Arrangements for the care of maternity cases are frequently
needed to meet the requirements of different classes of cases, both
from the medical and the social point of view. It is important to
bear in mind that the occurrence of pregnancy among the imported
workers, whether wives or single women, calls for special arrange
ments for the care of the health of the prospective mother. Oonsideralbie anxiety has been caused to welfare supervisors and others
who have been obliged to discharge from the factory women and
girls not in a fit condition to remain longer at work there. Where
H EAL TH OF M U N ITIO N WOBKEKS OUTSIDE THE FACTOBY.
l& l
the work is heavy, or them is special risk from explosion or from
poisonous materials, it is necessary to dismiss pregnant women at an
early stage. They are dependent on wages which cease on leaving
work, and if, as not infrequently happens, they are unable or un
willing to return home an embarrassment may arise. Provision ap
pears necessary to meet such cases without drawing too much atten
tion to the subject, which might easily be brought into undue promi
nence.
22. The committee accordingly suggest that in any munitions area
where it is needed a committee working with the local advisory com
mittee should be formed consisting of women, preferably married
women and medical women. The committee would be responsible
for any case of pregnancy brought to their notice by factory welfare
supervisors, landladies, hostel superintendents, friends, or by the
woman herself. They would keep in touch with the case and deal
with it confidentially and sympathetically. Whenever possible ar
rangements should be made for the woman to return home. For
those who can not be sent home or who have no home a hostel might
be provided under the auspices of one of the philanthropic organi
zations for women, such as the Church Army, the Salvation Army,
or the Young Women’s Christian Association. The hostel would re
ceive women and girls for whom no light and suitable work could be
found in the factory; they would be boarded and lodged and pro
vided with occupations appropriate to, their conditions and, if possi
ble, sufficiently remunerative to render them self-supporting, at least
for a portion of their stay. The supervision of the hostel should be
in the hands of a matron and assistants with training and experience
who would be interested in helping those under their care to keep in
good health and spirits and to recover, where necessary, self-esteem
and a hopeful outlook on life for themselves and their children.
Arrangements for the confinement of the inmates and the aftercare
of the infants would also be a duty of the committee. It may be
suggested that when the lying-in wards of workhouse infirmaries
are used they might be made more attractive or the slur of pauperism
removed from them. Much valuable work would thus be accom
plished for the Nation in giving a good start in life to the children
of munition workers, while all harmful publicity would be avoided.
LEISURE.
23. Recreation is a necessity for munition workers, and special
provision should be made for the large numbers of women and girls
away from home and friends. Especially should the leisure of the
week ends be provided for so that the benefits which proper rest and
recreation afford may be secured. This important matter can not be
left to chance. I f opportunities of wholesome amusements, refresh
192
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
ment, and recreation are not provided the public houses and less
desirable places of entertainment may benefit, but everyone else
suffers.
24. The committee suggest that steps should be taken, if possible
in cooperation with the local authority, to organize (preferably with
the assistance of a committee of the munition workers themselves)
recreation on a scale sufficient to meet the needs of large numbers.
“ Winter gardens ” and cafes for refreshment, music, dancing, etc.,
are attractive, and full use should be made of all public halls in
winter and parks and open spaces in summer for entertainments,
bands, and sports. Philanthropic and other societies should be en
couraged to open small clubs in various parts of the town, so as to be
easily accessible to tired workers, who do not always want to journey
to the center of the town for amusement during their leisure. Wellto-do residents may often be found willing to contribute their share
by offering hospitality in their own houses on Saturdays and Sun
days to parties of women and girls and to allow the use of their
gardens in summer.
25. Facilities for divine worship, religious instruction, and spiri
tual ministration according to the convictions of the various denomi
nations are no less worthy of consideration for munition workers
than for the Army and Navy. The existing local D r o vision may not
always be adequate o r conveniently situated.
26. Public order.—To bring large numbers of young people into
any locality must increase the difficulty of maintaining public order
and good behavior at all times. Just as in university towns there
are proctors and in military centers there are military police, so
where large numbers of women and girls are assembled for munition
work women police and patrols are desirable. Special dangers beset
young women away from home and friends; the impossibility of
excluding altogether from those who flock into munition areas some
women of bad character, the necessity for subduing the lighting of
streets and courts and open spaces, and the change of shifts at the
factory early and late all contribute to conditions of difficulty for
which the trained women police service is well adapted. In many
towns women police are now working successfully; they work under
the chief constable, they are uniformed and trained as recognized
members of the force, and in some towns they are “ sworn in.” Vol
untary women patrols have been found very useful working in co
operation with the police. They are more especially helpful in deal
ing with young girls whose thoughtlessness may be placing them in
the way of temptation.
27. The encouragement of sobriety among the population is an
important branch of the welfare work; questions as to the number
and the status of the public houses in munition areas, the hours dur
H EALTH OF M U N ITIO N WORKERS OUTSIDE TH E FACTORY.
193
ing which drink may be sold, and other matters of a like nature,
should be referred to the central control board (liquor traffic)' for
consideration and action in accordance with the needs of each locality.
CONCLUSIONS.
28.
T o s u m u p , th e c o m m itt e e m a k in g th e f o l l o w i n g
recom m en d s
t io n s a s t o s te p s t o b e t a k e n to p r o m o te th e h e a lth a n d w e lf a r e o u t
s id e t h e f a c t o r y o f w o m e n a n d g i r l s i n
m u n itio n a re a s :
(1) All women and girls before being
exported should be examined by a doctor or a nurse working under
his supervision.
(2) Inquiry should be made before exportation as to the age and
number of children of married women, and the arrangements pro
posed to be made for their care. The inquiry might be made by a
nurse or voluntary helper of experience.
(3) Advice should be given before exportation to every woman
and girl to provide herself with a sufficient change of clothing, and
of money for emergency expenses on the journey. When the need
is proved, finanical help should be forthcoming from a fund admin
istered locally, safeguards being taken for the repayment of the
loan from wages. The practice of giving advances pending the first
payment of wages might be extended.
(4) Arrangements should be made at places of export and of
arrival for travelers to be seen off and met at the railway station.
( b ) H o u s i n g a c c o m m o d a t i o n a n d t r a n s i t . — (1) A clearing or re
ception house should be provided where women aiid girls can be
housed for a night or two, until suitable lodgings are found for
them. It should be in charge of an experienced superintendent.
Separate cubicles, good baths and washing accommodation, appetiz
ing food, and a cheerful sitting room should be provided.
(2) Much of the success of a hostel depends upon the character
of the superintendent and her staff. As much freedom as is com
patible with good order should be allowed. The need for rest and
the companionship of a few friends should be met by a sufficient
number of small sitting rooms. Many women and girls soon tire of
organized recreation.
(3) The provision of suitable lodgings should be organized on the
same lines as the billeting of soldiers. Lodgings should be obtained
to suit varying classes of lodgers. Standards of accommodation at
varying rates should be laid down. Payments for board and lodg
ings should be made through the local organization responsible for
the supply of lodgings; opportunities are thus obtained for visiting
lodgings and removing abuses. The tendency to move into unsuitable
surroundings might be controlled.
(a )
P e r s o n a l q u e s t io n s . —
105796°— Bull. 230— 17------- 13
194
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
(4)
Reasonable facilities for the transit of workers to and from
the factories should, as far as possible, be arranged.
(<?) Sickness — (1) Arrangements for the notification of illness in
lodgings should be made and enforced. A special sick-room hostel or
cottage hospital may be required.
(2) A special committee of women (preferably married women
and medical women) should be formed to keep in touch with ma
ternity cases. A hostel, under the auspices of a philanthropic so
ciety, may be needed to provide for those who can no longer be suit
ably employed at the factory, and who can not return home. Ar
rangements for the confinement of inmates would be necessary.
(~d) Leisure.— (1) Organized means of recreation and of whole
some employment of leisure should be provided.
(2) For the preservation of order and for preventive work,
women police should be appointed, assisted where desirable by women
voluntary patrols.
(3) Questions regarding the sale of drink should be referred to
the central control board (liquor traffic) for action.
29.
The committee desire to express their thanks to the central
advisory committee on women’s war employment (industrial), who
have afforded them much assistance in the preparation of this
memorandum.
Signed on behalf of the committee,
G e o r g e N e w m a n , M. D . ,
Chairman.
E. H. P e l h a m , Secretary.
January, 1917.
A P P E N D IX .
CONTENTS OF OTHER BULLETINS RELATING TO LABOR IN
GREAT BRITAIN AS AFFECTED BY THE WAR.
B u lle tin No. 221. H ou rs, fa tigu e, and h ealth in B ritis h m u n ition fa ctories.
In trod u ction .
Su m m ary o f the com m ittee’s con clu sion s.
S u nd ay la b o r (M em ora n d u m No. 1 ).
H o u rs o f w o rk (M em ora n d u m No. 5 ).
O utpu t in rela tion to h ou rs o f w ork (M em ora n d u m N o. 1 2 ), rep orted b y
H . M. V ernon, M. D.
In d u stria l fa tig u e and its ca u ses (M em ora n d u m N o. 7 ) .
Sickn ess and in ju ry (M em ora n d u m No. 1 0 ).
Sp ecial in d u stria l disea ses (M em ora n d u m No. 8 ).
T e tra ch lo re th a n e p oison in g (re p o rt o f the B ritish m ed ical in sp ector o f
fa c to r ie s ).
D ope p o ison in g (lea flet issued b y the B ritish fa c to r y in sp ector’s office).
V en tila tion and lig h tin g o f m u n ition fa c to rie s and w ork sh op s (M em ora n
du m No. 9 ) .
E ffe c t -o f in d u stria l con d ition s u pon eyesigh t (M em ora n d u m No. 1 5 ).
B ritish trea su ry agreem ent as to trad e-u n ion ru les a ffe ctin g restriction o f
output.
M u nitions o f w a r act, 1915, rela tin g to la b or d isp u tes and restora tion o f
trad e-u n ion con d ition s a ft e r the w ar.
M u n ition s o f w a r (a m en d m en t) a ct, 1916.
M u n ition s trib u n a ls (p r o v is io n a l), ru les fo r con stitu tin g and regu la tin g
m u n ition s trib u n als in E n gla n d and W ales.
C om pu lsory a rb itra tion in m u n ition s in d u stry in F ran ce.
B u lle tin No. 222. W e lfa r e w o rk in B ritis h m u n ition fa ctories.
In trod u ction .
S u m m ary o f com m ittee’s con clu sion s.
L e g a l regu la tion o f w e lfa r e w o rk in G rea t B rita in .
V a lu e o f w e lfa r e su p ervision to the em p loyer, b y B. Seebohm R ow n tree,
d ir e cto r o f w e lfa r e dep artm en t, B ritis h m in istry o f m unitions.
W e lfa r e su p ervision (M em ora n d u m No. 2 ).
In d u stria l can teen s (M em ora n d u m No. 3 ) .
C anteen con stru ction and equipm en t (M em ora n d u m No. 6 ).
In v e stiga tion s o f w o rk e rs ’ fo o d and suggestion s as to d ieta ry (M em ora n
dum No. 1 1 ).
W a sh in g fa c ilitie s and bath s (M em ora n d u m No. 1 4 ).
B u lle tin No. 223. E m ploym en t o f w om en a nd ju v en iles in G rea t B rita in d u rin g
th e w ar.
In trod u ction .
Su m m ary o f the com m ittee’s con clusion s.
R eplacem en t o f m en by w om en in in d u stry in G reat B rita in .
195
196
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BBITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES,
B u lle tin No. 223. E m p loym en t o f w om en and ju v en iles in G rea t B rita in d u rin g
th e w a r— C on cluded.
E x te n sio n o f em p loym en t o f w om en in G reat B rita in in 1916.
E m ploym en t o f w om en in G reat B rita in (M em ora n d u m No. 4 ) .
M igra tion o f w om en ’s la b or th rou gh th e em ploym ent exch a n ges in G reat
B rita in .
E m p loym en t a n d rem u n era tion o f w om en in G rea t B rita in — munitions*
orders.
O utput o f m u n ition s in F ran ce.
R egu la tio n s as to w a ges o f w o rk e rs in m u n ition s fa c to rie s in F ran ce.
Ju ven ile em p loym en t in G rea t B rita in (M em ora n d u m No. 1 3 ).
Ju v en ile em p loym ent com m ittees in G reat B rita in .
E m ploym en t o f w om en and b oys in m u n ition w ork in Ita ly .
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL RELATING TO LABOR IN FOREIGN
COUNTRIES AS AFFECTED BY THE WAR,
W O M E N IN IN D U ST R Y .
W o m a n ’s w a r w o rk in G rea t B rita in . S u m m ary o f B ritish W a r Office rep ort
on w o m a n ’ s w a r w ork . (L on d on , Sept., 1916. 92 pp. 72 illu s tra tio n s .)
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , D ecem ber, 1916, pp. 8 8 -9 2 .)
E m p loym en t o f w om en on m u n ition s o f w a r. Su m m ary o f M in istry o f M u n ition s
pam phlet, en titled “ N otes on the E m p loym en t o f W om en on M u n ition s o f
W a r, w ith an A p p en d ix on T r a in in g o f M u n ition W o rk e r s.”
(L on d on , 1916.
94 pp., ill.)
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , Septem ber, 1916, p. 105.)
E m p loym en t o f w om en in reta il stores. S u m m ary o f rep orts o f the shops com
m ittee a pp oin ted b y the S ecreta ry o f State fo r the H om e D ep a rtm en t to
con sid er the con d ition s o f reta il tra d e w h ich can best secu re that the fu rth e r
en listm en t o f m en or th eir em p loym en t in oth er n a tion a l serv ice m a y n ot
in te rfe re w ith th e op era tion s o f that trade.
( L on don , 1915. 10 p p .)
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , July, 1916, pp. 162, 163.)
\
LABO R COND ITIO NS AN D L E G ISL A TIO N .
E ffe ct o f th e w a r u pon ra ilw a y la b or in G rea t B rita in . A rticle b ased on rep ort
o f the gen era l secreta ry o f the N a tion a l U n ion o f R a ilw a y M en in G reat
B rita in , 1916.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A u gu st, 1916, pp. 81, 82.)
P ro p o se d M in istry o f L a b or in G reat B rita in . A rticle b a sed on p roceed in gs o f
B ritis h T rad es-U n ion C ongress, Septem ber 6 to 11, 1915.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A u gust, 1916, pp. 82, 83.)
R e p o rt o f the c h ie f in sp ector o f fa c to rie s a n d w ork sh op s. S u m m ary o f annual
re p o rt o f B ritis h fa c to r y in sp ector’s office f o r 1915. ( L on don , 1916. 15 p p .)
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , D ecem ber, 1916, pp. 121-123.)
E x te n sio n o f u n em ploym en t in su ra n ce in G reat B rita in .
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , N ovem ber, 1916, pp. 6 5 -6 8 .)
L a b o r in G rea t B rita in a fte r th e w a r. R esolu tion s o f co n fe re n ce o f rep resen ta
tives o f ca p ita l and la b or h eld in L on don , Jan u a ry, 1917.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , M arch , 1917, pp. 479, 480.)
In d u stria l u nrest in G reat B rita in . S u m m ary o f C hapter I I o f L a b or, F in ance,
and the W a r, ed ited b y A. W . K irk a ld y . P u b lish ed b y a u th ority o f the
C ou n cil o f th e B ritis h A ssocia tion fo r th e A d v a n cem en t o f Science.
(L o n
don, 1916.)
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A pril, 1917, pp. 520-525.)
APPENDIX.
197
N e w m in istries in the B ritish Cabinet.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , M ay, 1917, pp. 770, 771.)
M in im u m -w age la w in F ran ce.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , D ecem ber, 1915, pp. 3 6 -4 1 .)
Chinese la b or in F ran ce. S u m m ary o f a rticle b y “ S. G. C., a Chinese co rre
spondent,” in th e N ew Statesm an, J a n u a ry 13, 1917. p. 343.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , M arch, 1917, pp. 480, 481.)
C om pu lsory a rb itra tion in N orw a y.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , Septem ber, 1916, pp. 78, 79.)
G reat B r it a in : T h e P u b lic G eneral A cts, 1914—16, L on don .
P rin ted fo r F .
A tterb u ry, K in g ’s P rin ter o f A cts o f P a rliam en t, b y E y re & S p ottisw ood e
(L t d .), 1916. X I I , 459 pp. P rice, 3s.
G rea t B r it a in : M an ual o f E m ergen cy L eg islation , com p risin g all o f the a cts o f
Pa rliam en t, p rocla m a tion s, orders, etc., passed a r d m ade in con seq u en ce
o f the w ar to Septem ber 30, 1914. E d ited b y A lex a n d er P u llin g, L on don .
P rin ted fo r F. A tterb u ry b y D a rlin g & Son ( L t d .), Septem ber, 1914. X I ,
572 pp. P rice, 3s. 6d.
G reat B r it a in : S u pplem ent N o. 1, to N ovem ber 2, 1914, to the M an u al o f
E m ergen cy L egislation . N ovem ber, 1914. V II, 54 pp.
G rea t B r it a in : S u pplem ent N o. 2, to D ecem ber 15, 1914, in co rp o ra tin g and
sup ersedin g S u pplem ent N o. 1 to the M an ual o f E m ergen cy L eg islation .
D ecem ber, 1914. X I I I , 217 pp. P rice, Is. 6d.
G reat B r it a in : Supplem ent No. 3, to A p ril 30, 1915, in con tin u a tion o f S u pple
m ent No. 2 to the M an ual o f E m ergen cy L eg isla tion . M ay, 1915. X V I I I ,
219 to 697 pp. P rice, 2s. 6d.
G rea t B r it a in : S u pplem en t N o. 4, to A u gu st 31, 1915, in con tin u a tion o f Su pple
m ent No. 3 to th e M an u al o f E m ergen cy L eg islation .
Septem ber, 1915.
X X V I I , 462 pp. P rice, 2s. 6d.
G reat B r it a in : M an ual o f E m ergen cy L eg islation , D efen se o f the R ea lm R eg u
la tion s m ade to M ay 23, 1916. Secon d edition . L on don . P rin ted fo r F .
A tte rb u ry b y D a rlin g & Son ( L t d .), 1916. X , 102 pp., ill.
C a n a d a : C opies o f procla m a tion s, ord ers in cou n cil, and docum ents rela tin g to
the E u rop ea n w a r ; com p iled b y the dep a rtm en t o f the secretary o f state
o f C anada. O ttaw a, G overn m en t P rin tin g B u rea u , 1915. X X , 209 p p .;
app end ixes, 142 pp.
C a n a d a : F ir s t supplem ent to cop ies o f procla m a tion s, ord ers in cou n cil, and
docum ents re la tin g to th e E u ropea n w ar. O ttaw a, 1915. X X X I I , 526 p p .;
appendixes, 350 pp.
C a n a d a : Secon d supplem ent to cop ies o f p rocla m a tion s, ord ers in cou n cil, a nd
docum ents rela tin g to th e E u rop ea n w ar. O ttaw a, 1916. L X V I , 527 to
1050 p p .; app en d ixes, 351 to 537 pp.
C a n a d a : O rder in cou n cil o f M a rch 23, 1916, fo r the exten sion o f the p r o v ision s
o f the In d u stria l D isp u tes In vestig a tion A ct, 1907, oth er than section 63, to
in clu d e em p loyers and em ployees en gaged in the con stru ction , prod u ction ,
repairing, m a n u fa ctu re, tran sporta tion , and d eliv ery o f ships, vessels,
w ork s, b u ildin gs, m u n ition s, ordnance, guns, exp losives, and m a teria ls and
supplies fo r the use o f the m ilita ry or n aval forces.
C a n a d a : O rder in cou n cil o f N ovem ber 10, 1916, resp ectin g the h igh cost o f
livin g, as am ended b y ord er in cou n cil o f N ovem ber 29, 1916.
C a n a d a : S essional P a p er No. 35a. T h e p r ov ision o f em p loym ent fo r m em bers
o f the C an ad ian ex p ed ition a ry fo r c e on th e ir retu rn to Canada, and the
re ed u ca tion o f th ose w h o a re unable to fo llo w th eir p rev iou s occu p a tion s
because o f d isa b ility.
A pla n subm itted by the secreta ry o f M ilita ry
198
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
H o sp ita ls and C on va lescen t H om es C om m ission, tog eth er w ith appendices
d e a lin g w ith s im ila r w o rk in E n gla n d and on the C on tin ent o f E u rope.
O ttaw a, 1915. 53 pp.
C a n a d a : S ession a l P a p er No. 185. P en sion s gra n ted and m on ey a llow a n ces
m ade to m em bers o f the C a n a d ia n ex p ed itio n a ry fo r c e sin ce begin n in g o l
w ar, to F e b ru a ry 16, 1916. O ttaw a, 1916. 83 pp.
C a n a d a : M in istry o f A gricu ltu re. P a trio tism a n d p rod u ction m ore than usual.
A g ricu ltu ra l w a r book. O ttaw a, Janu ary, 1915. 357 pp.
G O VER NM ENT R E G U L A T IO N
QE IN D U ST R IE S A N D
COM M ODITIES.
R e s tr ictio n s on ou tp u t o f te x tile establish m en ts in G erm any. A rticle based
on m a teria l in R eich s-A rb eitsb la tt, N ovem ber, 1 9 1 5; S oziale P ra x is, N o
vem ber 11, 1915.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A p ril, 1916, pp. 81, 82.)
G overn m en t co n tro l o f fo o d su p plies in G reat B rita in .
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , M arch , 1917, pp. 390-4 0 7 .)
G overn m en t co n trol o f fo o d supplies in F ran ce.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A p ril, 1917, pj3. 525-533.)
G overn m en t co n tro l o f co a l m ines in G rea t B rita in .
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A p ril, 1917, pp. 533, 534.)
G overn m en t co n tro l o f fo o d supplies in G erm any.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , M ay, 1917, pp. 703-7 2 7 .)
G overn m en t co n trol o f fo o d sup plies in Ita ly .
( I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , M ay, 1917, pp. 72 7 -7 4 4 .)
W A G E S.
W a g e s o f m in ers in G erm an y d u rin g the first y e a r o f the w a r. A rticle based
o n m aterial,1 in S ozia le P r a x is, B erlin , 1915, V ol. X X Y „ No. 4, O cto b e r 28,
1915, p. 89.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A p ril, 1916, pp. 80, 81.)
M in im u m -w a ge la w in F ran ce.
( I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , D ecem ber, 1915, pp. 3 6 -4 1 .)
N ew re g u la tio n s as to w a ges o f w o rk e rs in m u n ition s fa c to rie s in F ran ce.
T e x t o f d ecree issu ed b y m in ister o f m u n ition s on J a n u a ry 17, 1917.
( I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , M arch , 1917, pp. 3 6 2 -3 6 5 .)
PRICES.
F o re ig n fo o d p rices as a ffected b y th e w ar.
(I n B u lle tin No. 170 o f th e U. S. B u rea u o f L a b o r S ta tistics. (M a y , 1915.)
A ls o su m m arized in M o n t h l y R e v ie w , July, 1915, pp. 4 2 -4 4 .)
I n cre a se in re ta il p rices o f coa l in G rea t B rita in . S u m m ary o f B ritis h B oa rd
o f T r a d e re p ort o f dep a rtm en ta l com m ittee to in qu ire in to the cau ses o f the
presen t rise in the reta il p rices o f co a l sold f o r d om estic use.
(L on d on ,
1915.)
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , July, 1915, pp. 4 5 -5 6 .)
R e ta il p rices in fo re ig n cou ntries.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , Septem ber, 1915, pp. 4 6 -5 7 ; O ctober, 1915, pp. 4 4 -4 9 ;
D ecem ber, 1915, pp. 4 4 -5 3 ; M arch, 1916, pp. 8 0 -8 5 ; J u ly, 1916, pp. 8 0 -9 1 ;
N ovem ber, 1916, pp. 4 9 -6 0 ; F eb ru a ry , 1917, pp. 2 4 4 -2 5 1 .)
In cre a se in p rices o f com m od ities in G rea t B rita in , 1916. Su m m a ry o f in terim
rep ort on m eat, m ilk, and b a con o f B ritis h B o a rd o f T r a d e d ep a rtm en ta l
co m m itte e on prices. (L on d on , 1916. 20 p p .)
( I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , J a n u a ry, 1917, pp. 5 1 -5 6 .)
APPENDIX.
199
W h o le sa le p rice s in G rea t B rita in .
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A p ril, 1917, pp. 586 -5 8 8 .)
EM PLOYM ENT.
E m p loym en t con d ition s in fo re ig n cou ntries.
( I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , July, 1915, pp. 6 0 -8 0 ; A u gu st, 1915, pp. 1 6 -2 0 ; O ctober,
1915, pp. 4 9 -5 2 ; D ecem ber, 1915, pp. 5 6 -7 1 ; M arch , 1916, pp. 8 6 -8 9 ; July, 1916,
pp. 9 2 -9 8 ; J a n u a ry, 1917, pp. 136-149.)
L a n d settlem en t and u nem ploym ent in E n gland . S u m m ary o f in trod u ction a nd
P a rt I o f th e final rep ort o f the B ritis h d ep a rtm en ta l -com m ittee a pp oin ted
by the p resid en t o f th e B o a rd o f A g ricu ltu re and F ish eries to con sid er th e
settlem en t or em p loym ent on the la n d in E n gla n d and W a les o f disch a rg ed
s a ilo rs and soldiers.
(L on d on , 1916. 30 pp., fo ld ., ch a rt.)
( I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A p ril, 1916, pp. 1 1 -1 3 .)
E m p loym en t o f disch a rged soldiers and sa ilors on th e la n d in G reat B rita in .
Sum m ary o f P a rt I I o f the final rep ort o f th e B ritis h dep a rtm en ta l com
m ittee app ointed b y the p resid en t o f th e B o a rd o f A g ricu ltu re and F ish eries
to con sider the settlem en t and em p loym en t on the lan d in E n gla n d and
W a le s o f d isch a rged sa ilors and soldiers.
(L on d on , 1916. 39 p p .)
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , Septem ber, 1916, pp. 8 7 -9 0 .)
IN D U S T R IA L D ISEASES.
A n on poison ou s dope fo r airplan es. P a rlia m en ta ry statem en t b y B ritis h W a r
Office and A d m ira lty .
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , Jan u ary, 1917, pp. 97, 98.)
INDUSTRIAL TATHHJE.
Som e n ew stu dies o f in d u stria l fa tigu e. S u m m ary o f the fo llo w in g r e p o r t s :
In terim re p o rt on .an in vestiga tion o f in d u stria l fa tig u e b y p h y s io lo g ic a l
m ethods, b y A. F . S tanley K ent, P ro fe s s o r o f p h y siolog y , U n iversity o f
B risto l.
G reat B rita in , H om e D epartm en t.
L on don , A u gust, 1915,
,34 pp. [Gd. 8056.]
S econ d in terim re p o rt on an in vestiga tion o f in d u stria l fa tig u e b y p h y si
o lo g ica l m ethods, b y A . F. S tanley K en t, p r o fe s s o r o f p h y siolog y ,
U n iversity o f B ris to l.
G reat Britain,, H om e D epartm en t.
L on d on ,
A u gust, 1916. 76 pp., 18 ch arts. [C d. 8335.]
T h e q u estion o f fa tig u e fro m the econ om ic stan dpoint. In terim rep ort o f
the com m ittee, con sistin g o f P r o f. J. H . M u irh ea d (c h a ir m a n ), M iss
B. L. H u tch in s (s e c r e ta r y ), M r. P. S a rga n t F loren ce (o rg a n iz in g
s e c r e t a r y ), M iss A . M. A n derson , P r o f. B a in b rid ge, M r. E. C adbu ry,
P r o f. Chapm an, P r o f. Stanley K ent, D r. M aitland, M iss M . C. M atlieson, M rs. M eredith , D r. C. S. M yers, M r. C. K . O gden, Mr. J. W . R a m sbottom , and D r. J. Jenkin s R obb. R e p o rt subm itted at the M an chester
m eetin g o f the B ritis h A s s o cia tio n f o r th e A d v a n cem en t o f S cien ce in
1915. M an chester, 1915. 67 pp.
T h e question o f fa tig u e fr o m the econ om ic stan dpoint.
Second in terim
rep ort o f the com m ittee. R e p o rt subm itted at the N ew ca stle m eetin g
o f the B ritish A s socia tion fo r the A d v a n cem en t o f Science. N ew ca stle,
1916. 24 pp.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , D ecem ber, 1916, pp. 9 7 -1 0 5 .)
200
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE IN BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
W ELFARE W ORK.
W e lfa r e w o rk in G rea t B rita in . Su m m ary o f b ook on w e lfa r e w o r k : E m p loy ers’
exp erim en ts f o r im p rov in g w e lfa r e w ork in fa c to rie s , b y E. D oroth eo P rou d.
(L on d on , G. B ell & Sons ( L t d .), 1916. x v ii, 363 pp. 7s. 6d. n et.)
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , D ecem ber, 1916, pp. 81-88.
C O AL-M IN IN G IN D U S T R Y .
O rg a n iza tio n in co a l m ines to in crea se ou tpu t in G reat B rita in . S u m m ary o f
re p o rt o f B ritis h H om e Office com m ittee to in qu ire in to the con d ition s p re
va ilin g in the coa l-m in in g in du stry. (L on d on , 1915.)
[C d. 7939.]
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , July, 1915, pp. 5 6 -5 8 .)
C om p u lsory ca rte l or m on op oly in the G erm an coa l-m in in g in du stry.
( I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , N ovem ber, 1915, pp. 83-85.
C o n d ition s p re v a ilin g in the coa l-m in in g in du stry in G reat B rita in . S u m m ary
o f secon d re p o rt o f B ritis h H om e Office com m ittee to in qu ire in to the con
d ition s p re v a ilin g in th e coa l-m in in g in du stry.
(I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , July, 1916, pp. 151-153.)
E ffe ct o f the wTar on th e coa l-m in in g in d u stry in G rea t B rita in . S u m m ary o f
th ird re p o rt o f B ritis h H om e Office com m ittee to in qu ire into the con d ition s
p re v a ilin g in the coa l-m in in g in d u stry. (L on d on , 1916. 17 p p .)
( I n M o n t h l y R e v ie w , A p ril, 1917, pp. 534, 535.)
In cre a se in re ta il p rices o f coa l in G rea t B rita in . ( See P r ice s .)
LIST OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS RELATING TO LABOR AND THE
WAR IN GREAT BRITAIN RECENTLY RECEIVED BY THE U. S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
ACTS OF P A R L IA M E N T .
M in istry o f M u n ition s A ct, 1915 (5 and 6 Geo. 5, ch. 5 1 ).
M u n ition s o f W a r A ct, 1915 (5 and 6 Geo. 5, ch. 5 4 ).
M u n ition s o f W a r (A m en d m en t) A ct, 1916 (5 and 6 Geo. 5, ch. 9 9 ).
P olice, F a cto rie s , etc. (M iscella n eou s P r o v is io n s ) A ct, 1916 (6 and 7, Geo. 5,
ch. 3 1 ).
D e fe n se o f th e rea lm m an ual (M a n u a ls o f em ergen cy le g is la tio n ), th ird en
la rg e d edition , rev ised to F e b ru a ry 28, 1917. C on tain s D e fen se o f R ea lm
A cts, R egu la tion s, and O rders (M a rch , 1 9 1 7 ).
(In clu d e s fo o d ord e rs.)
D e fe n se o f th e R ea lm R eg u la tion s (m on th ly e d it io n ), con solid a ted and revised
to M a rch 31, 1917.
A greem en t re g a rd in g a ccelera tion o f ou tpu t on G overn m en t w ork , betw een
trad e-u n ion s a n d G overnm ent, M a rch 17-19, 1915.
(K n o w n as T rea su ry
A greem en t o f M arch, 1915.)
M EM O R AN D A AND CIRCULARS ISSUED B Y T H E M IN IS T R Y OF M U N IT IO N S .
M em ora n d u m (L . 30) con ta in in g circu la rs, etc., b ea rin g on d ilu tion o f la b or.
M em ora n d u m (L . 3 0) con ta in in g circu la rs, etc., b ea rin g on d ilu tion o f labor.
L a te r and rev ised issue o f L. 30.
C ircu la r (M . W . M. T. 2 ) on m u n ition s tribun als, ou tlin es orga n iza tion and
gives lis t o f th ose establish ed.
C o n stitu tion and fu n ction s o f loca l la b o r a d v isory boards.
(N a tion a l a d v iso ry
com m ittee on w a r ou tp u t.)
APPENDIX.
201
M em orandum (M . M. 84) f o r th e gu ida n ce o f person s seeking em ploym ent on
m unitions.
M em orandum (bad ges, 8 ) w a r-serv ice badges. In stru ction s fo r the gu ida n ce o f
em ployees, A ugust, 1916.
A rm y reserve m u n ition s w ork ers (A . R . M. W . 4 0 ). N otes fo r the gu ida n ce o f
em ployers to w h ose em p loym ent men a re assigned. O ctober, 1916.
W a r-m u n ition s volu n teers (W . M. V. 4 0 ). N otes fo r th e gu ida n ce o f em p loyers
to w h om w ork m en are tra n sferred b y a u th ority o f the M in istry o f M u ni
tions. D ecem ber, 1915.
(W . M. Y. 19.) F orm f o r use b y em p loyers in a sk in g fo r w a r-m u n ition s v olu n
teers fro m the la b or exch anges.
M em orand um (M . M. 14) fo r the gu ida n ce o f em p loyers in rega rd to lea vin g
certificates, Janu ary, 1917. (S u p ersed ed sim ilar m em orandum o f S ep tem -'
ber, 1916.)
M em orand um (M . M. 1 6 ) on le a v in g certifica tes issued fo r the gu ida n ce o f
w ork peop le, Jan u a ry, 1917.
(L . 4 7a.) C o n d ition s u n der w h ich alien s m ay be em p loyed in m u n ition s f a c
tories.
M em oran d u m (M . M . 9 5 ) on record s f o r th e pu rposes o f the M u nitions o f W a r
A ct.
(M . M. 26.) F o r m fo r “ R e p o r t o f ch anges in w ork sh op rules m ade since the
T re a su ry A greem en t o f M arch , 1915.”
(P re p a re d b y national a dvisory
com m ittee on w a r ou tp u t.)
(M . M. 56.
F o rm fo r re co rd o f d ep a rtu re fr o m w o rk in g con dition s, etc.
R u le s m ade b y the M in ister o f M u n ition s u nder M u n ition s o f W a r A ct, re g a rd
in g lim ita tion o f profits, M arch 30, 1917.
(L . 42.)
R e w a rd s fo r in ventions, etc., in con trolled establishm ents.
(N . M. 13.)
D u ties o f la d y superintendents (som etim es ca lled la d y w e lfa r e
su p e rv is o rs ).
(W e lfa r e B. 14.)
S u ggested schem e fo r b oy supervision .
(W it h fo rm s .)
M em orandum to w e lfa r e su p ervisors o f boys.
M em orand um (tr a in in g 3, N ovem ber, 1 9 1 5 ). Schem e fo r tra in in g sem isk illed
m u n ition w o rk ers in tech n ica l schools.
(L . 85.)
L e tte r reg a rd in g a d va n ce in w a ge ra tes o f fem ales. D a ted A p ril 4,
1917. [D e ta ile d ord ers reg a rd in g th is m a tter n ot yet receiv ed by B u rea u .]
ST A T U T O R Y R ULES AN D ORDERS U N D ER T H E M U N IT IO N S OF W A R ACTS.
1915,
1915,
1915,
1915,
1915,
1915,
1916,
1916,
1916,
1916,
1916,
1916,
1916,
1916,
1916,
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
641. (In d u s tria l d isp u tes.)
671 (S . 4 3 ). (F a c to r y d iscip lin e.)
839. (E sta b lish m en ts co v e re d .)
1 0 0 0 (S . 6 1 ). W a r-s e rv ice badges.
1001. W a r-s e rv ice badges.
1002. (F a c to r y d iscip lin e.)
106. (F a c to r y d iscip lin e.)
107. (E sta b lish m en ts co v e re d .)
108 (S. 8 ). T ribu n als.
121. L ea vin g certificates.
123. T ribu n als.
127 (S. 9 ) . (F a c to r y d is cip lin e .)
137 (L . 3 ) . T ribu n als.
159. T ribu n als.
179 (S. 1 0 ). T ribu n als.
2Q2
EFFICIENCY AND FATIGUE I N BRITISH M U N ITIO N FACTORIES.
1916, No. 180. T ribu n als.
1916, N o. 181. E m p loym en t and rem u n eration .
(F e m a le s .)
1916, No. 182. E m ploym en t and rem un eration .
( W a g es o f sem isk illed and un
sk illed m en .)
1916, N o. 191. E m p loym en t o f .aliens.
1916, No. 279. E m p loym en t o f ex-m u n ition w orkers.
1916, N o. 314. ( E sta b lish m en ts co v e re d .)
1916, N o. 315 (S ..2 2 ). T ribu n als.
1916, N o. 355. (In d u s tria l disp u tes.)
1916, N o. 411. E m p loym en t and rem u n eration .
(F e m a le s .)
1916, N o. 412. E m ploym en t and rem u n eration .
(W a g e s o f sem isk illed and un
sk illed m en .)
1916, N o. 447. R e m u n era tion o f w om en and girls on m u n ition w o rk o f a class
n ot re cogn ized as m en ’s w ork.
1916, No. 450. E m p loym en t o f ex -m u n ition w ork ers.
1916, N o. 456. E m p loym en t and rem u n era tion o f girls u nder 18 y ea rs o f age on
m u n ition w o rk ©f a cla ss cu s to m a rily don e by m ale la b or o f 18 y ea rs and
over.
1916, No. 512. E m p loym en t o f ex -m u n ition w ork ers.
1916, No. 530. (E sta b lish m en ts cov e re d .)
1916, No. 549. (L im ita tio n o f p rofits.)
1916, N o. 586. E m ploym en t and rem u n eration .
(F e m a le s .)
1916, N o. 587. E m ploym en t and rem un eration .
(F e m a le s .)
1916, N o. 589. E m p loym en t a n d rem u n era tion .
(W a g e s o f sem isk illed and
u n sk illed m en .)
1916, N o. 615. E m ploym en t o f ex-m u n ition w ork ers.
1916, No. 618. R e m u n era tion o f w om en and girls on m u n ition s w o rk o f a cla ss
n ot re cogn ized as m en ’s w ork .
1916, No. 621. E m p loym en t and rem u n era tion .
(F e m a le s .)
1916, N o. 649. T rib u n a ls.
1916, N o. 662. (F a c to r y h o lid a y s .)
1916, N o. 663. (F a c to r y h o lid a y s .)
1916, N o. 664 (S . 3 7 ). (F a c to r y h o lid a y s .)
1916, No. 665 (S . 3 8 ). (F a c to r y h o lid a y s .)
1916, N o. 703. E m p loym en t and rem u n era tion .
(F e m a le s .)
1916, N o. 704. E m p loym en t and rem u n era tion . (F e m a le s .)
1916, N o. 718 ( S .4 6 ) . T rib u n a ls .
1916, No. 719. T ribu n als.
1916, N o. 732. (In d u s tria l d isp u tes.)
1916, N o. 759. E m p loym en t and rem u n era tion .
(F e m a le s .)
1916, No. 791. E m p loym en t o f ex -m u n ition w ork ers.
1916, N o. 813. E m p loym en t o f ex-m u n ition w orkers.
1916, N o. 855. (E sta b lish m en ts cov e re d .)
1916, N o. 856. E m ploym en t o f ex-m u n ition w orkers.
1916, N o. 888. E m p loym en t a n d rem u n eration .
(F e m a le s .)
1916, No. 890. E m ploym en t o f ex-m u n ition w ork ers.
1917, N o. 9. E m p loym en t and rem un eration .
(F e m a le s .)
1917, No. 10. E m ploym en t and rem u n eration .
(F e m a le s .)
1917, N o. 48. E m ploym en t a nd rem u n era tion .
(F e m a le s .)
1917, N o. 49. E m ploym en t and rem u n era tion .
(F e m a le s .)
1917, No. 71. E m ploym en t and rem u n era tion .
( W a ges o f sem isk illed and un
sk ille d m en .)
1917, No. 72 (S . 7 ). T rib u n a ls.
1917, N o, 142. (E sta b lish m en ts co v e re d .)
APPENDIX.
1917,
1917,
1917,
1917,
1917,
1917,
N o.
N o.
N o.
No.
N o.
No.
143.
180.
282.
313.
347.
348.
203
E m ploym en t o f ex-m u n ition w ork ers.
E m ploym en t o f ex-m u n ition w ork ers.
(E sta b lish m en ts cov ered .)
E m ploym en t and rem un eration .
(F e m a le s .)
(E sta b lish m en ts cov ered .)
E m ploym en t o f ex-m u n ition w ork ers.
MEMORANDA, HEALTH OF MUNITION WORKERS COMMITTEE OF THE MINISTRY
OF MUNITIONS.
[I s s u e d a t v a rio u s d a tes 1 915 t o 1 9 1 7 .]
N o.
No.
No.
N o.
N o.
N o.
N o.
N o.
N o.
N o.
N o.
1. Su nd ay labor.
2. W e lfa r e sup ervision .
3. In d u stria l canteens.
4. E m ploym en t o f w om en.
5. H o u rs o f w ork.
6. C anteen con stru ction and equipm en t (a p p e n d ix to N o. 3 ).
7. In d u stria l fa tig u e and its causes.
8. Sp ecial in d u stria l diseases.
9. V en tila tio n and lig h tin g o f m u n ition fa c to rie s and w orksh op s.
10. S ickn ess and in ju ry.
11. In v e stig a tion o f w o rk e rs ’ fo o d and suggestion s as to dieta ry.
(R e p o r t
b y L eon a rd E. H ill, F. R . S .)
N o. 12. S ta tistica l in fo rm a tio n con cern in g ou tpu t in rela tion to h ou rs o f work*
(R e p o r t by H . M. V ern on, M. D .)
N o. 13. J u ven ile em ploym ent.
N o. 14. W a sh in g fa c ilitie s and baths.
N o. 15. T h e effect o f in d u stria l con d ition s u pon eyesigh t.
N o. 16. M ed ica l certifica tes f o r m u n ition w orkers.
N o. 17. H ealth and w e lfa r e o f m u n ition w ork ers ou tside th e fa c to ry .
In te rim rep ort (F eb ., 1917) on in d u stria l efficiency and fa tigu e.
C on ta in s
M em oran d a 7 and 1 2 ; and th ree oth er studies, e n tit le d : “ T h e com p a ra tiv e
efficiencies o f da y and n ight w o rk ,” “ T h e causes and con d ition s o f lost
tim e,” and “ In cen tives to w o rk w ith specia l re fe re n ce to w a g es.”
MISCELLANEOUS REPORTS, ETC.
A n n u a l re p o rt o f th e ch ie f in sp ector o f fa c to rie s and w ork sh op s fo r the y e a r
1916.
(1917.)
J u v e n ile E du ca tion . F in a l rep ort o f dep artm en tal com m ittee on ju v e n ile edu
ca tion in re la tion to em p loym ent a fte r the w a r. V ol. I. R ep ort, M a rch 16,
1917. [Cd. 8512.]
F a rm o f B orgie. M em oran d u m resp ectin g fa rm presen ted b y D u k e o f S u th er
la n d fo r settlem en t o f sold iers and sailors, N ovem ber 10, 1916.
(B y u n d er
secre ta ry fo r S cotla n d .)
L icen sin g p a rtia lly d isa b led m en as d riv ers o f p u b lic m otor veh icles. R e p o rt
o f special com m ittee, J u ly 1, 1916.
R e p o r t o f com m ittee o f p r iv y cou n cil f o r scien tific and in d u stria l research f o r
th e yea r 1915-16.
(1916.)
F ile o f letter fo rm s to em p loyers and w ork ers, issued b y M in istry o f M u nitions,
re g a rd in g v a riou s m a tters a risin g u nder th e acts, orders, etc.
P o s te rs issued by M in istry o f M u nitions, fo r use in fa cto rie s , reg a rd in g ord ers
issued, etc.
F ile o f fo rm s used in p r io rity o f w ork regu lation s, issued b y M in istry o f
M u n ition s
o
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