irm No. 8. Rubber Goods.

"We have, however, determined that any chair which has to be adjusted by a echanic to fit the individual will never be adjusted except that once, and should irnover make it necessary to place another employee in this chair it will never be -adjusted. We have, therefore, agreed that in order to have a chair which is at Il satisfactory it is necessary to make it automatically adjusted. For example: e believe that a swivel chair will take care of the

em of the proper height to the work. The matter f a support to the back must also be automatic. We have, therefore, designed a type of seat similar > that approved by the American Posture League hich will throw the operator back into the seat, aking it necessary for him to receive the support f the chair.”

"We have installed lots of machinery, not only in
he canning industry, but in other factories and we
ave at all times been very careful to take into con-
ideration the height at which it is most comfort-
ble for the operator to efficiently perform his
r her duties and we find that a distance of approxi- FIG.48
ately 30 to 32 inches from the floor to the top of
he table is usually the one most desired."

SEATS FOR DEPARTMENT STORES

FIG.49

In mercantile establishments the seats used for sales clerks are small folding types which can be fitted behind the counters without taking ip much space. (Figs. 48 and 49.) At some counters in such departnents as millinery or suits, stools or chairs are used.

As a rule, the floor men and women, stock clerks and errand boys and girls have no chance to be off their feet, except when they leave the floor. Many large department stores have rest periods for these groups of employees. Office employees and girls in the tube rooms are -eated and the evolution of seating arrangements in tube rooms is a most interesting development. Originally tube room work meant standing and moving quickly from tube to tube. Later high stools were supplied, and the most modern type of seating arrangement shows adjustble chairs of good shape with foot rests and proper back supports. (Fig. 50.) Sliding chairs on tracks have been installed in some instances in tube rooms.

The problem in most departments in the mercantile establishment is not so much the kind of seat, but the chance to use it. Investigations of department stores show that often there is a tacit understanding that no sales girl should be caught sitting down, even when her stock is in order, and no customer is waiting. Investigations have also shown a startling lack of seating facilities behind counters, in spite of the fact that laws exist in forty-seven States requiring them.

"The seating problem in industry to-day," says Reynold A. Spaeth "is not settled when the best chairs have been provided. Continual sitting seems to cause discomfort because of the accumulation of cer tain chemical substances in the muscles that are being used in the operation. Continual sitting is likewise monotonous and monotony unquestionably interferes with production. Both the accumulation of so-called fatigue products and the monotony of the job can be prevented to a considerable degree by teaching operators to sit and stand alternately at their work. A great many industrial processes can be carried out in this way if the management and foremen will use a little imagination. Trips to the routing board and recess periods in which operators sit or walk about, or, more rarely, open all the windows and exercise for a minute or two are all sound physiological practices. Operators who are to sit during a recess period should have comfortable chairs if the rest is to give the best results."

"It is an extraordinary fact that throughout the early history of the factory era operators were expected to adapt themselves to all sorts

Fig. 51. This is not a rest room! It is an experiment in the seating of employees in the hand-finishing department of a children's clothing factory.

of unnatural positions during their work. Even to-day manufacturers are only beginning to appreciate the advantages of adapting the more plastic working environment to the needs of the workers. Such a forced adaptation of the workers is especially noticeable in the many operations that continue to be carried out in a standing position when proper seating facilities might easily be provided. By proper seating facilities we do not mean soap boxes, barrels with boards laid over them, window sills, or even those peculiarly vicious long-legged stools which are so common in American factories. A high chair with a broad saddle or cane seat and a properly placed foot rest not only provides a more comfortable seat but actually saves energy units.'

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