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I Vol. XI PITTSBURGH, PA., JULY, 1925 No. 7 =
T h e S k i l l e d M e c h a n i c
W H A T has become of the skilled mechanic that was so much in evidence
a decade or so ago? It is hard to believe that he has disappeared,
for all branches of industry are in a healthy condition and
their standards are higher than at any time in their history. This condition
would be impossible without skilled workers.
The mechanic of ten or twenty years ago was required to work on every
machine in his department and had to be a "jack of all trades" to conform
to the requirements of his profession. The shops of today are large compared
with those cf yesterday, and the aim of every executive is quantity
production without sacrificing quality. This, with the advent of high speed
and automatic equipment, has made it necessary for mechanics to specialize
on certain machines or operations just as men of other trades or professions
have had to specialize to become proficient.
The physician of a few years ago had to do everything from prescribing
sugar pills to patients with imaginary ills to performing a major operation,
but today there are almost as many specialists as ailments. And so we find
this condition in industry, for experience has taught that "practice makes
perfect," and this maxim has been applied to mechanics. All workers cannot
become skillful on any machine or operation, for it is usually found that
each individual is better suited for one than another. This fact is taken into
consideration by successful executives and with a little patience an organization
can be built up that is highly efficient.
The fact that work has been subdivided leads one to believe that there
are more unskilled mechanics than skilled, but the mechanic of today is just
as valuable as those of a few years ago, the present mechanic, however, being
highly efficient in the operation of one particular machine instead of in all
around work.
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