Discussion on "Production management technique," by G. Still, at the Birmingham Section of the Institution

MR. F. ALLEN: I should like to thank Mr. Still for a most interesting lecture. For those of us who are engaged in production it has been very interesting indeed. I feel lectures of this sort on systems and organisations are very difficult to criticise because I find that the difficulties and problems one comes up against are not caused so much by wrong systems or organisations, but mostly by some person or persons not carrying out the systems laid down, or alternatively that some abnormal situation arises that no system on earth could cope with. We had some interesting facts at the beginning of the lecture, and I noticed that only one per cent, of the firms in this country employ more than 500 people. We were also given a lot of details in the lecture about the function? of the production control department. I would suggest that the production control department as outlined by the lecturer to-night would never be economical except in one per cent, of our factories, that is, in our largest factories. I am quite sure that in our smaller factories, that is the 99 per cent., such a department as Mr. Still has outlined would not be economic, I am sure there would be a great deal of overlapping. The functions could be very easily taken over by the works superintendent. I should be interested to know if Mr. Still agrees with me.