From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
From CJ regarding the incorrect procedure followed for an overheating issue, clarifying departmental responsibilities and process.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 24\5\ Scan011 | |
| Date | 24th April 1925 | |
| To BJ from CJ. Copy to PN.{Mr Northey} Copy to Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} Copy to Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} Copy to DY.{F R Danby} re Overheating. On re-consideration it appears to me that the procedure has been wrong. Firstly, the Sales Conference is advisory and has no executive powers. Its recommendations should be referred to the Administration for decision. Secondly R.{Sir Henry Royce} is responsible for designs and Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} is responsible for Works and its officials, and no action should be taken without consideration for their respective positions. Thirdly, the Sales Conference are not aware of the action which has been taken by the Administration in communications to R.{Sir Henry Royce} and others with reference to the importance of overcoming the overheating fault. Fourthly, no conference should be held until, firstly, the Sales Officials have carefully studied the experiments made at Derby, without a knowledge of which they cannot properly deal with the matter and, secondly, until they know what remedies the Designing Department, as the result of experiments, propose to apply to the old model and the new model. Fifthly, it would be useless for Sales Officials to spend the whole day in a visit to Derby in order to put propositions before the Derby technical officials unless they had first informed those officials what remedies they proposed to suggest and had ascertained whether those remedies would be entertained by the technical officials. I quite understand that the Sales officials concerned were moved by great enthusiasm with a view to getting rid of a fault which has existed and which has been recognised and emphasized for years but in such cases no attempt should be made to emphasize further the importance of the matter without first ascertaining from the Administration what information they have as to what is being done and what procedure the Administration consider the best likely to bring about the end in view without creating unnecessary friction and annoyance to officials who are already overwhelmed with other urgent problems. CJ. | ||