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).
Report from H.S. Royce in Detroit detailing observations on American automotive factory control, organization, and production methods.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 174\2\ img063 | |
| Date | 26th May 1937 | |
| COPY OF REPORT RECEIVED FROM H.S. ROYCE, FROM DETROIT, DATED 26.5.37. To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} It is very difficult to write about methods of factory control and works organisation. There seems to be unanimity, however, in all works that the danger with punched cards is that one is too liable to try to eliminate the brains from the factory control. In view of this warning, and of course the things I have seen here, I really want about a fortnight to sit down and reconsider sources for R.R., so I am accumulating data, sorting it out when I can, and propose to reconsider it all when I return. The absence of a strong united Operation - planning, machine layout, ratefixing & estimating Department at R.R. is very noticeable when compared with all the factories over here. So far I have tried to visit few factories but to see them fairly well. I have had 5 days at Cadillac and 2 at each of Packard and Buick, 1 at each of Graham-Paige, Wilcox-Rich, Yellow Truck & Coach, and Wrights (and various other short visits), and in each factory there is a 'Standard' Dept. which combines all the above sections under one head. A further point is the independent Inspection Dept. Yesterday I went to the National Broach as I heard they were casting copper in aluminium cylinder heads, but they weren't. Nevertheless I enclose all the notes I made about gear shaving and broaching, which please keep as I have no others, as I think them sufficiently interesting to warrant sending them in full rather than the abstract I intended to send, when I made the notes. Mr. Drummond will be in England immediately after the Coronation and he promised to call at Derby. I have left Mr. Broome a message to get further details of the hardened tool steel, etc., and I expect he will be here early next week. At the Yellow Truck & Coach Co. they are gradually eliminating the chassis from their passenger coaches, and using all aluminium bodies. These bodies are pressed out with wooden dies of which I saw one and I also saw the roof of their truck (about 30-cwt. size), which is pressed in one piece from aluminium sheet, also using wooden dies. As I think perhaps this may be the solution to our bodywork troubles, I have also left a note asking Mr. Broome to look at that too, as I don't know anything about presswork. The pressings seemed to me to be of a fairly simple type, however. | ||