https://haylibrary.cvlcollections.org/files/original/137a79413e479179d665e0fed19282d6.pdf de63b5615f42d521b1970bb959e7d155 PDF Text Text r , I s ................log "'c I F aeRors """"'~""I· g ec a ize fic·e cy A paper read before the annual meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers at Chicago, Ill., February 20, 1q46 ~y 1ames GJeyslop Vice Pres. in Charge of Operations Hanna Coal Company �M ECHAN IZATIO N of A merican coal mining has made, and is still making, rapid pro, gress. No one needs to waste time stating its mer, its. Economic pressure will compel the abandon, ment of manual methods in coal production wher, ever mechanization is physically possible. . Econo, mic pressure will also provide the incentive needed to insure progress in the improvement of machines and mining sy tems. I submit, however, that it is entirely possible to make very rapid progress along strictly technological lines and at the same time to make much slower progress in approaching maxi, mum productivity and efficiency. As a background for what I have to say, I wish to raise the question - how efficient are our mechanized mines, and to what extent is productivity affected by the mental attitude of management and workers? T he output of any piece of mining equipment is controlled by psychological factors. The work at, titude of the machine operator and the other work, men; the state of mind of the foreman and the in, telligence and disposition of top management all af, feet production. The question is - how much? Each instance, of course, requires its own answer. In every case, however, the answer is obtainable. If the answers are not obtained and if the psycho, logical problem is ignored, it is very likely that technical studies and mechanical alterations will fail to produce results. The machinery salesman may suggest that by discarding your present equip, ment and installing his machine, you can solve your production worries. Sometimes his solution works -often it doesn't. In the successful instances not infrequently the improvement is the result of an accidental correction of some psychological factor 1 �E'. simultaneously with the change in eq ui pment. I am all for more and better machinery, bu t I have been disappointed often enouah to make me careful to avoid over-simplification of my problems by attempting to reduce them all to mechanical terms. port of this statement, the following examples are cited : In the manufacturing indu tries the effect of work attitude on production is widely recocrnized. Some manufacturers have made outstanding progress a a result of giving very special attention to psychological factors in production. T hese factor have a more marked effect on the productivity of a mechanized coal mine than they do in mo t manufacturing industries. This is largely the re ult of the fact that mechanized mining does not consist of a mere routine of pushing buttons and pulling levers. A printing press or an automatic crew machine practically does its own thinking. V ery few mining machines have this capacity built into them. Constant alertness and initiative on the part of the operator are required at all times. H e must be able and willing to adapt himself to a •et of un predictable conditions. His productivity depend , fo r the most part, upon his skill and work attitude. I f he feels that he is producing too much coal, and that he is, therefore, working himself out of a job; if he thinks the Company is making too much money; if he dislikes his foreman ; if his wife happened to spend three days' wages for a new hat the day befor~he may have a "what's the use" attitude, resultmg in a voluntary or involuntary slow-down. On some jobs, such as loading machine operator, the attitude of the workman influences not only his output, but also has a substantial effect on the men in various other related jobs. This situation is what makes it so easy for the slow-down to become chronic. On many jobs in the mine the worker's thinking may influence his prnductivity 50% or more. In sup- Time studies prove that the modern mounted coal cutter has more than twice the cutting capacity of the conventional shortwall machine. It is quite common to find, when shortwalls are discarded in favor of mounted machines, that two men, with a fan cy cutter costing three times as much as their old shortwall actually cut Jess coal- why?-usua.lly because at th time the change in equipment was made the two machine men changed from piece work to hourly rates. On the other hand I have experienced instances where two men, with an old time shortwaJI consistently got the maximum output from the machine whi le working under hourly rates. In this case they produced effici ently simply because someone was smart enough to make them want to do so. In many mines one of the produc, tion bottlenecks is drilling. I have seen one man, with a post-mount d electric drill , consistently aver, age seventy-five holes per shift without over-exerting himself. I have een mines in similar conditions, with two men operating the same type of machine, average less than sixty holes per shift-why didn't they drill more?-they didn't want to. I have seen a mine where the section tracklayers averaged lay, ing three 40-16. switches each, per seven-hour day, again without any undue exertion. I have seen other instances where it was very difficult to get a tracklayer, under similar conditions, to lay one 4016. switch in one eight-hour shift; as 'a matter of fact, it has been demonstrated that a good track, layer, by exertina himself, can lay such a switch in one hour. . Similar instances could be multiplied but these w ill serve to illustrate the point. It might be suggested that such differences in worker effi, ciency resulted from the varying amounts of pres- 2 3 �sure applied by management to force the workmen to speed u p. In none of the instances cited were the results obtained by slave-driving methods. Every, one responsible for mine outp ut today knows that the hard taskmaster method does not produce re, suits. T oday high worker efficiency is accompanied by a cheerful friendly attitude on the part of both the worker and management ; whereas low efficiency is usually accompanied by poor morale and bitter quarrelsome relations all around. It is evident that responsibility and ini tiative in the field of worker efficiency must lie with mine management. Only by recognition of this fact and by careful factual analysis in each individual case can success be achieved. I wi ll attempt here to outline some of the general problems that must be faced in any attempt to improve the ability of a management organization to influence the work at, titude of the mine worker : First, it is necessary fo r mana0 ement to know accurately the maximum potentialities of men and machines. This information is not always easy to obtain. I am not a golfer, but I presume that one of the first things I would want to know 1': ap, proaching a strange course wou\d be the established par score. Likewise, the estabhshme~t of_ par production performance in mine operation IS _ a goo? way to approach the problem o_f product10n eff1, ciency. If conceptions about this par fi~e ?ave been allowed to develop accidentally there 1s likely to be a very great error in the accepted .figure-fa~ example :- At one particular property 1~ was gen erally believed that 400 tons in one shift from a loading machine represented peak performance subsequently pr_o duction of over 11~0 _t~ns was ~n: tained on a senes of test runs. This 1s not an 6 4 usually great error in popular conceptions about mine perfo rmance. The proper initial approach to the establishment of par performance for most operations is the intelligent application of careful time studies. A ccurate time studies are not easy to get, nor is it easy to accurately interpret them, but both of these things must be done as a preliminary step to the achievement of efficient production. The principal value of such information, once obtained, is p ychological. Mine management has no hope of success until it knows of what success consists. If people believe implicitly that they can do something - they usually can. Once top management becomes aware of the potentialities of the job, the next step is to effe tively and convincingly establish this in, fo rmation in the minds of the supervisory personnel. Here agai n, this is usually no easy or simple task, but it can be done in every case and it must be done before results can come. As soon as possible, and by whatever means necessary, the accuracy of the theory being developed should be demonstrated. If time studies show that a machine can produce 150 tons per hour, the machine should be made to produce this amount at whatever cost and by what, ever means. Second, the will to produce ~ust ~e develoJ.?ed within management personnel. This attitude of mmd should be a permeating enthusiasm throughou~ th_e . whole management organization. I am afraid 1t can never be produced by suspending a threat over each supervisor that he will lose his i?b, or be other, wise penalized, in the event he fails to produce. This is a weapon, which may, of course, be used on proper occasion, but if it is relied upon as ~he primary incentive, it becomes a boomerang tendmg to Jestroy sound relationships throughout an org3:n, ization. The foreman should be made to realize �7 th at he is the guardian of productivity and shou ld be taught _to regard this responsibility as a sacred tru:;t. This calls for some study of sound economic principles and the discussion _of such princip les sho uld have a place 111 the bus111ess of every mine management organization. S_u rprisincrly few people have ever taken time to tlunk about such thi ncrs much_ less to study them c_a~efully. _ The averag~ Amencan foreman 1s suff1c1ently mtelligent and honest to appreciate these ideas and to absorb them if they are properly pre ented . It seems to me that the whole problem of industrial p ychology must rest upon a foundation of the u nder tandincr0 of a few basic economic facts. T here is now, in all quarters, a greater awareness of the importance of productivity in modern life than ever before. The part American production played in the war has awakened the entire world to the outstanding achievements made by American industry. It has also awakened our own public to some realization of the fact that the fo undation of what we call "prosperity" is industrial productivity. We are all excited by the economic confusion over wages, profits and social systems, but underneath all this we possess a fund amental realization of the unrivaled importance of productive efficiency. The American economic and industrial system has provided the incentive and the means for making the most of the expenditure of human energy app,lied to industrial production. Immigrant workers from any other land multiply their productivity and lessen the physical exertion they are accustomed to when they take a job in the United States. A Welsh or Sc?tch coal miner increases his usefulness about five trrnes when he accepts a job in one of our coal mines. We are justly proud of these achievements, we ~re aware as never before, of their importance. If m6 dustria l management fails to capitalize on th.is fav, arable trend in public thinking, it will be guilty of. a serious breach of duty-it will have failed to util, ize a tool which might have been used to great advantage in the carrying out of its responsibilities. Every member of a management organization should be characterized by a phi losophy based upon an awareness of tl1ese simple economic facts. T hird, every member of management should be made to realize his obligation to ownership. He should understand that ownership has entrusted to him the operation of its busi ness and its hope for profits; furthermore, th at his own personal prosper, ity depends upon the success of the business. These tlungs seem so si mple as to hardly require stating in a discussion of tlus kind . I am convinced, how, ever, that we take entirely too much for granted about the th.in king of the average foreman. It is unlikely that he will get these ideas straight in lus mind and adopt the proper mental attitude unless somebody takes time to present them to him in a ~ convincing and acceptable way. l __ 1 l Fourth, we Americans believe in the profit motive -we know it to be an effective means of establish, ing the will to produce. Every member of manage, ment has a right to expect that acluevement on his part will be rewarded by an increase in his compensation. It is my belief that a Company policy, assuring him that such recognition of his achievements will be forthcoming, should be stated emphatically to him and should, of course, be carried out promptly when results have been achieved. In connection with this point, it is highly desirable that the fore, man should have a clear understanding of the Com, pany's financial position. He should be informed regarding costs, profits, competition, and general business prospects. An understanding of these 7 �things will teach him how vital he is to the successful operation of the business. It will help to keep his thinking straight. Fifth, work attitude within a management organization requires more than the understanding of certain theories and principles. The delicate balance of human relationships does not maintain its equilib, rium without special effort on the part of someone, and general cooperation by everyone. N o manage, ment is on safe ground unless the superior officials have the respect and liking of their subordinates and unless the subordinates have the trust and confidence and moral support of their superiors. This is too large a field to attempt to discuss in detail here. All sorts of excellent printed in fo rmation on the subject are available. Any management organi, zation that fails to make use of this info rmation will fall short of' its true possibilities. Sixth, the eye must be kept on the ball. It is very easy to permit the diversion of attention from productivity to other problems. Good housekeeping is extremely important, but it is possible to make a fetish of it and to have everything in order to a nicety and at the same time experience low production performance. On the other hand, in almost every case high productivity is accompanied by good housekeeping. Safety is of extreme import, ance. It is possible, however, to allow safety programs, incentives, and awards to be over-emphasized and thereby divert attention from production. Here again good production performance is almost invar, iably accompanied by an excellent safety record. One of the tricks of those who oppose high produc, tion is to suggest that it is obtained by a speed-up system that maims and kills men. Bad management will produce accidents in any case. It takes good management to get production and a management 8 rganization capabl e of making a mine produce is ~!ways capable of making it safe and as suggested above in most instances the measures taken t? produce efficiency will si multaneously reduce acodents. When management has produced within it~elf the proper concepts and attitude, . the psycholog1cal problem is only half solved. It _1s the at titude of the workman that finall y deternunes the degree_ of success to be achieved. The second half of the Job, however is usually much easier to accomplish . Noth, incr is m~re infectious than enthusiastic sincerity. If th; rnanacrement organization has indeed become enthusiasti°c abo ut its job, this spirit will be caught by the workmen. This does not mean . th~t ~i~h productivity will not be opposed by certau~ md1v1d, uals, but if management makes a determined and intelligent effort, the influence of the opposition can be effectively neutralized. The ideas behind the attitude of managem ent are so fundamentally sound and so understandable that it is possible to transmit them to the workmen. If the thinking of the workmen is to be favor, ably influenced this must be done by the workmen's immediate superior. The section foreman and other final representatives of management must perform the task of morale building amongst the men. If these foremen are incapable of doing this, they are incompetent for their jobs. Here the leadership ability of the foreman is of primary importance. If he is truly a leader, his influence will guide the thinking of his men as well as their physical activi, ties. The foreman must sell himself, and his Company, to his men; he must win their loyalty; he must know how to obtain their active cooperation, at the same time maintaining their respect. 9 �The coal miner is characteri zed by a very strong sense of pride in his work. This trait should be encouraged as it will prove a powerful influence toward increasing productivity. Friendly production rivalry among workmen can also be used to great advantage. I am not going to make any effort here to cover fully the relations between the supervisor and the workman. Much has been written on the subject, abundant printed help is available. My primary purpose is to emphasize the relation of the mental attitude of management to the psychology of the worker. The miner is highly susceptible to the influence of the foreman, he is going to be iniluenced one way or the other. If the thinking of management is straight, if its convictions are clear and strong, a response will manife t itself among the workmen. The character of this response will be much more desirable than anyth.i11g that can be pro, duced by paternalistic social bettennent schemes, or attempts to play '\vet nurse" to the miner by interferincr in his personal and fami ly affai rs. T he worker re;ents this type of approach as he does not fail to sense that it has a detrimental effect on his self respect. In the coal industry, p1;or to the advent of mech, anization, we relied upon piece-work rates to provide the incentive for a large part of the production personnel. That this incentive 9idn't work very well is evinced by the fact that worker productivity reached a static level, or tended to decline. Wage incentive rates always have a tendency to associate themselves with low production rather than high production. This is particularly true in the mining industry due to the nature of the work which is characterized by factors affecting production that 10 are altogether beyond the control of either manage, ment or labor. In hand mining, tonnage rates were elevated to protect the income of the miner work, incr under handicap of adverse natural conditions. In° this way the whole hand loading industry has become penalized by excessive tonnage rates. I am opposed to piece work or worker bonus incentives of any kind in mechanized mining because I am sure that it would have t he same effect there. Unquestionably piece work rates are a powerful incen, tive, and in some industries where they can be ef, fectivcl y designed and controlled, they greatly sim, plify the production problem. It is regrettable that they cannot be used more effectively in our indus, try. I am convinced that the only guarantee of worker efficiency and consistent progress in pro, ductivity in mechanized mining lies in the ability of the supervisor to develop work enthusiasm among his men. Another pitfall on the road to efficiency lies in the temptation to permit machines to be operated far below their potential capacity. It is sometimes argued that it is more economical to operate mach, ines at low capacities in order to integrate their per, formance with other operations in the production cycle. The economies imagined are usually ficti, tious, but even if they were real, the demoralizing effect of permitting low productivity from any unit usually offsets any other advantages. If worker psychology has such a marked effect on productivity, it follows that progress in mechanization will be greatly retarded by any failure to recognize this factor. The merits of any piece of machinery, any method of procedure, or any system of operation cannot be measured unless real effi., ciency is first established. It follows, therefore, 11 �►- that selection of equipment and methods will be on a haphazard basis where proper standards of productivity have not been developed. In conclusion, let me attempt to brief the answer to the question I r;,ised at the beginning, by saying that our mechanized mines are not as effi cient as they would be if we could gain the whole-hearted cooperation of the workmen and such cooperation can be obtained when management produces within itself the proper mental approach to its job. High productivity has its origin in ideas- it must begi n in the imagination of alert minds. 12 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Union Pacific Collection Description An account of the resource This collection is made possible in part by a generous grant from Wyoming Humanities. All materials are the property of Union Pacific Coal Company, on long-term loan at Western Wyoming Community College. For usage inquiries, contact the <a href="https://www.uprrmuseum.org">Union Pacific Museum</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Psychological Factors Affecting Mechanized Mining Efficiency Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CC BY-NC-ND Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1946 Subject The topic of the resource Causes and solution for psychological distress affecting workers efficiency. Description An account of the resource 6.5" x 4" booklet with blue cover and black text. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource James Hyslop Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1-0037 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Union Pacific Coal Co.