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No . 4-- 1834 WORKS A D MI N I S T R A T I O N PROGRESS For Release to lTew f papers, Saturday F • M. and Surnlay , lfover::ber 23- 2'7 , 1938 . STUDY FEiDS INCP.EASE IN AUTOMA.TI C COHTROL I N lNDTJSTEY The widespr eal i nt r oduction of measm· ement devi ces and automatic cont rol. instrunent s :l.n ind-µs try has s-peed.ed up pro duction, improved the q_uality of produ ct s , r eciuced cos ts and increased the productivity of l abo r . This i s shown by a r e:)ort entitled II Indus trial Instruments and Changing Technology" which was :prepared by the Nati onal Research Project of the Wo~ks Progr ess Administration and released today by Admi nistrator Harry L. Hopkins . Altho1.:gh industrial instrwnents have in some i nstances served to displace l abor , Corrington Gill , Ass i s t .cmt .Administrat or in charge of W?A res ee,rch, point ea. out in h is l et t er of t ransmittal that they have also played. an important role in the a.evelopment of such new s ervic e:, or products a s a ir conditioning, ra,lio , plastics , automobiles , and airplanes . Ins truments m"lke fo~ pre cision 0ontrol of processes and for efficiency in the us e of raw materials , machin ery and equipment , the re port s tates . Many modern manufacturing plants employ several hundred i nstrument s in the ir production processes and some of the larger concerns us e thousands . Such industri es as petr oleum refining and automobile manuf acturing , for example , rely heavily on instrument s . In the heat- treating of s t ee l , it i s pointed out , skilled craftsme n used to judge the temper atur e of t he s te el -oy its color. The introduct ion. of the pyrometer , an instrument which measures and indica t es temperature , eliminated t he need for this skill but the oper~ti on s till req_uired mani pulation to regulate the temperatur e . temperature controlling apparatus e nt i rely automatic . rnad e '1.1he subsequent development of a the heat-treating :process almost The r eport states that instrun1ents inco r porating automatic control f eatures are gradually superseding simple indicating and recordi ng types . Instru.11ents pe rmit e conomie s by the r eduction of Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4--1834 - 2 - waste through maintenance of uniform operating conditions and by the use of cheaper raw materials . Inf e:dor m,3,terials can be made into products equal in quality to thos e bas ed on more expensive raw materials. " Instruments in s ome instances s erve as direct substitutes for labor , " the report continues . "Relays, switche s and other mechanisms which transfer the actions of an instrument into automatic operations of a machine have eliminated manual workers . Inspection and handling opera- tions are particularly susceptible to automatic control in mass product ion ihdustries~ A ~ide variety of automatic devices has been applied in these industries to mechanize handling and visual-inspection tasks . 11 The repor t also points out that the installation of industrial instruments sometimes results in changes in the spec i fications for ava.ila.ble jobs . "The judgment of a trained workman is frequently made unne ce s sary by an instru.ment which indicates a condition so precis e ly that an unskilled operative can give the proc es s the necessary att ention . Where a new skill is introduced it is likely to be of a different sort, for instance , one r equiring an ability to read meters and perform calculations . " The report is published a s a bookle t of 148 pages , illustrated , an d with numerous charts and tables . It was prepared by George Perazich and a ssociates as one of the reports of the National Res earch Project on Reemployment Opportunities and Re cent Changes in Industrial Techniques directed. by David We intraub . fl #JL!LJi_Jl.lLJJ...Jt. 'ff 1f'i/T,7rmrtr Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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