File:Bell telephone magazine (1922) (14569778569).jpg

Identifier: belltelephone6667mag00amerrich (find matches)
Title: Bell telephone magazine
Year: 1922 (1920s)
Authors: American Telephone and Telegraph Company American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Information Dept
Subjects: Telephone
Publisher: (New York, American Telephone and Telegraph Co., etc.)
Contributing Library: Prelinger Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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Cost and Price Comparisons-Januafy 1,1967 wilt! U: > Inmi L effectiveness, but we also know that there is directcompetition between Western manufacturingplants, Mr. Winn points out. Its a great competi-tive challenge, a working test of our professionalcompetence. Winn and other Western Electric product engi-neers work against a yearly cost reduction savingsgoal. Each engineering department and each manu-facturing location has a similar goal — as does theentire company. Fixing the target — setting the goal —starts with each enginering department which eachfall presents its firm plans for cost reduction for thenext year and its preliminary views of other possi-bilities. The departments goal, an amalgam of indi- Presenting a cost reduction proposal to the committee is thekind ol challenge an engineer lives tor, states Charles W. Hig-gins, left, ol WEs Merrimack Valley Works. His ideas must meetrigid standards, both technical and economic.
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vidual engineers targets, is then dovetailed into aplant goal which, in turn, is combined into a com-pany-wide goal. This years target: $35 million. Although the formalized engineering cost reduc-tion program is the most significant, it is not theonly means by which Western Electric seeks to keepthe price level of its products low. The engineersprimary responsibility is planning for production atthe lowest possible cost — cost avoidance — and thisis the most important effort. Like other manufacturers. Western Electric has anemployee suggestion plan which has produced morethan half a million suggestions since it was inaugu-rated in 1944. About one-quarter of these have beenadopted. Result: estimated savings of $13 million. In addition. Western has a group wage incentiveplan, which provides a bonus of 15 per cent of thebasic wage rate when the work groups efficiencymeets the carefully spelled-out standards. As thegroups efficiency goes above or falls behind thestandard, the incentiv

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