to be an unimportant one,
whether it may be passed with-
out change. A full knowledge
of the situation is required
before an intelligent decision
can be arrived at. If a de-
cision cannot be given by the
inspector himself, the matter
is at once referred to the head
of the department involved.
In the meantime, all work
which is likely to be affected in any way is stopped, pending
a decision as to the disposal of the defective part.

Complaints. Complaints received from the outside that are
either from the erecting department or district offices should, if
applying to the works, be referred to the inspection department
to be thoroughly investigated. A written report should then be











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140 SHOP MANAGEMENT

made in each case to the manager of the works and to the erect-
ing department, and also to the office for the purpose of having
it forwarded to the proper district office. These complaints
should be classified on a monthly basis and treated similarly to
expenses due to pieces spoiled in the works. When complaints
received from the outside affect the design only, they should be
referred to the engineering department where an analogous
course of procedure would be followed. A record of all com-
plaints should be maintained by the management.

There is no better field for cooperation, nor one in which
either the results of cooperation or the harmful effects resulting
from lack of it may be more easily seen, than the work of inspec-
tion. The efficiency of inspection depends largely upon the aid
received from the engineering, testing and other departments,
members of which are more or less in touch with manufacturing
processes and are thus enabled to make many helpful suggestions
regarding the work. Every letter of complaint from customers
should be accepted at its full face value and thoroughly investi-
gated, first with a view to ascertaining the cause of the trouble,
and second with a view to preventing a recurrence of it.

When complaints are received involving defective workman-
ship, it is advisable to send the inspector and foreman of the
department in which the apparatus was built to see for them-
selves the exact cause of the trouble. In this way, their view-
point will be broadened and they will appreciate more fully the
requirements of the machinery built in the works. No matter
what precautions may be taken to have nothing but perfect
machinery shipped from the works, there will be certain points
that can only be learned from actual experience.

Selection of Inspectors. In choosing inspectors, the endeavor
should be made to obtain men who have had the requisite experi-
ence in the works. In addition, such men should be selected as
are likely to appreciate the responsibility of their position, and
who are endowed with an abundance of good judgment, not only
for passing upon materials submitted for inspection, but also in
dealing with the men about them. As regards their dealings
with the men, inspectors should be absolutely fair and impartial.



INSPECTION SYSTEM 141

No discrimination should be made between one workman and
another. A feeling of cooperation must also be fostered between
the inspectors and the foremen, if the work of inspection is to be
carried out effectively, and the inspectors should not be con-
trolled by the foremen of any department, but by a chief inspec-
tor. If foremen are given charge of inspectors, the latter, in
some instances, may be ordered to pass material to maintain the
required rate of production. Better results will ordinarily be
obtained if an inspector is under the jurisdiction of none but a
chief inspector.

Limits on Drawings. Many drawings give absolute measure-
ments; that is, they give single measurements to work to, and
do not specify what variation in the absolute size will be per-
mitted. As it is not necessary in the vast majority of commercial
operations to finish parts to the greatest degree of accuracy
possible, the question is one of relative accuracy. In other
words, the error should be confined between the limits of varia-
tion either way from the exact dimensions. The amount of
tolerance or limit depends, of course, upon the nature of the work.

On the blueprints used by the American Machine & Foundry
Co., limits are specified in connection with the dimension of every
part, no matter what degree of accuracy is required nor how much
variation in size is permissible. This is obviously an important
point in reducing the cost of machining operations, as the ma-
chinist sees, at a glance, whether he is required to work with great
precision or whether the part is a rough one that need not be
finished carefully.

Relation of Inspection Department to Management. In any
manufacturing company, consideration of the inspection depart-
ment should begin with a study of the relation of that department
to the management of the company and' to the various depart-
ments of the organization. These relations must be positively
fixed and thoroughly understood. In many cases, the inspection
department is not rendering the service of which it is capable nor
operating at maximum efficiency, on account of lack of coopera-
tion between it and the other departments. It is the primary
function of the inspection department to inspect and pass upon



142 SHOP MANAGEMENT

the material submitted to it, approving that which meets the
requirements laid down and rejecting that which fails to come up
to the adopted standard. At the same time, this department is
in a position to render valuable assistance to the sales and pur-
chasing departments as well as to the engineering and production
departments, if the spirit of cooperation exists throughout the
whole organization.

The following is an abstract of a paper on this subject, read by
Fred B. Corey before the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science.

Control of Inspection Department. In the majority of manu-
facturing corporations, the inspection department is under the
authority of the factory manager or superintendent. In other
words, that branch of the organization which builds the apparatus
decides whether that apparatus is properly built. It is unneces-
sary to point out the inherent weakness of this arrangement.
The judgment of the inspector may continually be biased by the
fact that he is a part of the factory organization and is respon-
sible to the factory management. It is, therefore, evident that
the highest standards of quality and workmanship hardly can
be maintained continuously if the members of the inspection
department are in any degree subject to the control of a factory
superintendent or any other executive who is directly responsible
for the factory production and has no connection with the engi-
neering or sales organizations. This statement should not be
understood as expressing a doubt in regard to the loyalty or
honesty of purpose of any factory official. It is a fact, however,
that defects, due to drawings or specifications, are often disre-
garded by inspectors if they know that no criticism can be
attached to them by their superiors on account of the latter's
approval of the apparatus, especially when a rejection would
prevent meeting a promised date of delivery.

Inspection Department under Chief Engineer. In a smaller
number of shops, the inspection department is under the control
of the chief engineer. With this arrangement, the judgment of
the inspector is likely to be biased by the fact that any defects in
the finished product, due to improper specification of materials or



INSPECTION SYSTEM 143

any failure of the apparatus to function properly, might be con-
sidered as reflecting on the abilities of the engineering department.
The inspector will often hesitate to reject a device if he thinks
that the objectionable feature may be attributable to his superior
officer, as it would imply a difference of opinion that might reflect
discredit on the inspector's judgment. Moreover, there is often
a tendency among young and subordinate engineers to refuse to
recognize slight defects in a design for which they are personally
responsible, and to severely criticize an inspector who points out
what he considers a defect in such apparatus. Therefore, in
most cases the executive head of the inspection department should
be as free from control of the engineering department as from the
manufacturing department.

Inspection Department under General Manager. The only
logical plan of organization is that in which the head of the
inspection department, whatever may be his title, is responsible
directly to the general manager of the company or the chief
executive in control of the factory output. He should report to
the same officer as the works manager or the chief engineer. At
the same time, he must be in full sympathy with all other depart-
ments. He must command the respect of the other department
heads and be ready to cooperate with them to further the interests
of his company.

The executive head should exercise a most thorough control
over all the activities of the department. To that end, there
should be no recognized paths of communication between this
department and the heads of the other departments, except
through his office. The strict enforcement of this rule is essential
to the efficient working of the department and to the avoidance
of misunderstandings and duplication of effort. This require-
ment, if rightly understood, will not be interpreted as limiting
the useful activity of any member of the department, but will be
recognized as a necessary feature in the conduct of inter-depart-
ment business.

Duties of the Chief Inspector. The executive head of the
inspection department should be thoroughly familiar with general
engineering practice and standards. He should be well informed



144 SHOP MANAGEMENT

on all shop methods, including foundry and machine shop prac-
tice, and be thoroughly versed in the use of testing machines and
gages. He should, if possible, be conversant with chemical
laboratory methods and apparatus, so as to be able to direct
intelligently that part of his organization. Moreover, he should
be familiar with the uses of the factory product and the condi-
tions under which it is to operate after it has passed beyond the
control of the factory. He must have absolute control of every
inspector in the plant and be held responsible for the quality of
material and workmanship of all that the plant produces.

In the majority of manufacturing corporations, all dealings
with the customers are conducted by the sales department
exclusively, which is the logical arrangement. For this reason,
complaints on the part of the customer are made directly to the
sales department and usually reach the shop through a more or
less tortuous channel. There is sometimes a tendency on the
part of the sales department to assume that all of these com-
plaints are justified, to criticize the shop for turning out an un-
satisfactory product, and especially to blame the inspection
department for failure to prevent the issuance of the material in
question. All such complaints should be referred to the execu-
tive head of the inspection department for a personal investiga-
tion and report, and action on the part of the sales department,
except so far as it relates to the replacement of material urgently
needed, should be deferred until the report is in hand. This
report may entirely change the attitude of the customer with
relation to the alleged defective material, as it may clearly show
that its failure to meet his expectations was due to no fault of the
manufacturer or of the apparatus involved. The trouble may
have been due to injury in shipment, rough handling after receipt,
failure to install or to apply it properly, lack of proper mainte-
nance on the part of the customer or his employes, or to a mis-
conception of the capacity or function of the apparatus itself.

Cooperation with other Departments. The inspection de-
partment exists for the mutual protection of the manufacturer
and the customer. The salesmen should be informed in regard
to the methods and practice of the inspection department, as this



INSPECTION SYSTEM 145

knowledge may be of great service in promoting friendly relations
with a prospective or actual customer. The customer is often
much interested in the means employed to insure accuracy in the
manufacture of the apparatus he proposes to use.

The relations of the inspection department to the engineering
department are most important, especially in the influence that
may be exerted on the designs for new apparatus and the improve-
ment of the old. In many places, new drawings, when completed
and before their final approval, are submitted to a committee
(variously known as "mechanical design committee," "limit
committee," "standard committee," etc.) to determine if the
limits set by the designers are such as can be met commercially
in the factory, and to decide if any changes are desirable on
account of methods to be used in the foundry, machine shop,
etc. The head of the inspection department should be one of
the most important members of this committee; in some in-
stances, he is chairman. His principal duty in connection with
this committee is to advise if the dimensions, tolerances and
limits called for on the drawings are satisfactory for the various
fits, and if the quality of finish called for will be satisfactory to
the inspection department. Thus the work of the inspection
department should begin even before the designs are approved
for manufacture.

The internal organization of the inspection department and
the means and methods best adapted to carry out the details of
its work are matters that will depend to a great extent upon the
management and operation of the larger manufacturing organiza-
tion of which it forms a part. A plan of organization that may
be highly efficient in one factory may be deficient in meeting the
needs of another shop producing a different product or producing
a similar product by widely different methods. The organization
of inspectors that is perfectly suited to a factory having a large
output of a few well-standardized articles would be wholly unable
to cope with the situations arising in a smaller factory producing
a great variety of articles, but making each in comparatively
small numbers.



CHAPTER VII
STORAGE AND MAINTENANCE OF SMALL TOOLS

ONE of the problems connected with the management of ma-
chine shops is the care of the numerous small tools used on ma-
chine tools and in assembling departments. As the " business
end " of a machine tool is the cutting end, it is important to use
tools that cut effectively and to keep the machine on the job;
and when the parts produced in these machines are being assem-
bled it pays to use reamers that ream, wrenches that are right as
to size and fit, and good tool equipment in every department.
These are the principal reasons why modern machine-building
plants have tool supply rooms and systematic methods of caring
for the many different kinds of tools used in machine shops. A
store-room for tools of certain classes is found in almost every
machine shop, but there is considerable variation in regard to
the types of tools that are stored, the cooperation between the
tool supply and manufacturing departments and the extent to
which systematic methods are applied to insure the prompt de-
livery of tools in good condition. For instance, the tool supply
room may be merely a place for storing small or auxiliary tool
equipment when not in use, or it may be so managed that such
tools are not only stored but maintained in good condition and
delivered to the different manufacturing departments in such a
prompt and systematic manner as to add to the efficiency of the
entire plant.

Location and Plan of Tool Supply Room. When a machine
shop has only one room or department where tools are stored,
this should ordinarily be located in a central position relative to
that part of the shop requiring the largest number of tools, pro-
vided the general construction of the shop will permit. If the
plant is large enough to be divided into separate departments,
the usual method is to have a tool crib in each one; frequently

146



STORAGE AND MAINTENANCE OF TOOLS 147

the department supply rooms are auxiliaries of the main supply
room, which may or may not be a tool-room as well as a place
for tool storage. Some shop managers prefer, even for large
plants, one main tool storage department from which all tools
are obtained. This method, however, has only been adopted to
a limited extent and chiefly where the nature of the work is such
that many tools are not used exclusively on any one line of work,
but are required in various departments. In connection with
this plan, as applied to a large shop, the tools should be delivered
to the workmen, in which case the accessibility of the tool supply
room is not so important as when each employe must obtain the
tools required.

The storage of tools is generally under the supervision of the
tool-room foremen in plants having toolmaking departments,
and, where there is a single tool supply room, this is often a de-
partment of the tool-room, but it should be separated com-
pletely from it by a grating or partition, and should be under lock
and key. One arrangement which has proved satisfactory for
comparatively small shops is to have the tool supply room in such
a location that one window or opening for the delivery or return
of tools is connected with the tool-room and the other window
with the machine shop. The tool-grinding department of a
medium- or small-sized shop is usually adjacent to the store-
room or is practically a part of it. This department usually con-
tains a drill grinder, a tool and cutter grinder for sharpening
reamers, milling cutters, etc., and a universal tool-grinding ma-
chine for sharpening forged turning and planing tools, provided
such tools are kept in the store-room. In the larger plants, where
the different departments have separate tool supply rooms, the
grinding of such tools as reamers, milling cutters, taps, etc., is
generally done in the tool-room.

In locating the bins, drawers, or racks for tools or supplies,
it is important to place the sections which are to contain the
tools in greatest demand nearest the delivery and receiving
windows. The extent to which different classes of tools are used
varies in different shops and depends to some extent upon the
nature of the manufacturing operations. In general, such tools



148 SHOP MANAGEMENT

as drills, taps, reamers, gages, jigs, milling cutters, and files are
used frequently. If blueprints are kept in the store-room, these
should also be conveniently located with reference to the delivery
window. Attention to this matter of tool location prevents
needless delay in delivering tools to the workmen.

Classes of Tools and Supplies Kept in Store-rooms. Tool
supply rooms are generally intended for tools such as drills,
reamers, taps, milling cutters, form tools for screw machines, box-
tools for screw machines and turret lathes, standard and special
gages, jigs and fixtures (except those which are heavy and cum-
bersome), punches and dies, new files, wrenches, lathe dogs, soft
hammers, sledges, pneumatic hammers, and many other small
tools of the portable class. In addition, there may be a variety
of general supplies, such as standard bolts, nuts and washers,
taper dowel pins, cotter-pins, brass, copper, iron or steel wire,
and so on. In the larger plants, supplies of the general classes
mentioned may be kept in a separate department, and the tool
supply room be used exclusively for auxiliary tool equipment,
such as is required either in connection with machine tool opera-
tion or in the erecting department. Another method of handling
supplies which is quite prevalent is to keep the principal stock in
a supply room and a small stock in the tool cribs, the material
which is stored with the tools being of the. class that is needed
continually by the manufacturing departments.

The variety of tools in any supply room naturally depends
somewhat upon the class of work done in the shop or department
with which it is connected. For instance, in some machine shops
milling machines are used extensively, and consequently a large
stock of milling cutters is required; other shops use a relatively
small number of milling cutters, but a great many taps, reamers,
and drills, and there are many other similar variations.

Storage of Tools on Basis of Usefulness. When deciding
what tools shall be placed in a tool supply room, several factors
may be considered. In some shops the store-room is used only
for tools which are valuable and which for the most part are
products of the toolmaker. Such tools are cared for simply be-
cause they are valuable and perhaps easily deranged by careless



STORAGE AND MAINTENANCE OF TOOLS 149

handling. According to the modern idea of tool-room systems,
however, tools are kept in a special store-room not merely because
they are expensive to produce, but because of their usefulness
and to insure prompt delivery of adequate tool equipment when
needed, as well as to eliminate loss of productive time resulting
from misplaced tools or fixtures. The rough bolts and clamps
used on planers and other machines for holding castings and forg-
ings to the machine table have little value so far as first cost is
concerned; but if such equipment is not available when needed,
or is in poor condition, the time of setting up a machine may be
so delayed as to greatly increase the machining cost, and such
delay may affect the work of other departments. In order to
avoid difficulties of this kind, it is the practice in the more pro-
gressive plants to include in the stock of the tool store-room what-
ever small tools are essential to machining or assembling opera-
tions, even though they may not be expensive or of delicate
construction. When the tool store-room is based on this plan,
it is closely related to the various manufacturing processes and
tends to increase the rate of production and general efficiency
of the plant.

Storage of Large Jigs or Fixtures. While it is generally con-
sidered advisable to keep all small tool equipment in a special
department, many shops, especially those in which heavy ma-
chinery is built, have jigs, fixtures or other tools which are too
heavy and cumbersome to be moved to and from the tool supply
room each time they are used; moreover, such large tools are
often used exclusively in one department, and there is an ad-
vantage in having them near the machine to which they belong.
Heavy tools that cannot be handled easily are often kept in a
definite place on the shop floor, especially if they are used fre-
quently or exclusively in one department; in other plants,
auxiliary supply rooms are provided. It is a good plan to have
all equipment of this kind, regardless of where it is stored when
not in use, under the supervision of the tool supply department.
While heavy jigs, fixtures, etc., may not be deranged as easily
as smaller and more delicate tools, the fact remains that if no one
is responsible for their upkeep, and systematic inspection is not



150 SHOP MANAGEMENT

provided for, minor defects often accumulate until, in some cases,
the tool is in poor condition.

Storage of Clamps, Bolts, and Packing Blocks. The clamps
and bolts used for holding castings or forgings on the work-
tables of machine tools, when special jigs or fixtures are not used,
are kept at the different machines in many shops and often are
moved from one part of the shop to another as they may be
needed by different workmen. Ordinarily when such equipment
is not cared for systematically, it is the direct cause of unneces-
sary delay in setting up machines. Bolts of the right length are
often difficult to find and the threads become battered so that
nuts must be run on or off with a wrench. Sometimes it will be
necessary for a machine operator to recut a bolt with a hand die,
and meanwhile the machine is idle.

Equipment of this kind should be kept in the tool supply room
and be cared for the same as cutting tools, gages, etc. Where