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Assignment No. 4

Factory Organization

The State of California unquestionably is the leading state of the Union in the production of canned fruits and vegetables. While the states of Maryland and West Virginia each operate more individual plants than does California, the capital invested in and the production of the canneries of those states are considerably less than the value and duction of the plants of California.

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By using the organization of the most modern and up-todate of the California fruit and vegetable canneries as the model for factory organization it will be possible to adapt the general idea to any plant of like character, regardless of location, with but very little difficulty.

Two very important factors will determine the style of construction to be adopted in the building of a new plant. These are the amount of capital available and the personal preferences of those who furnish the capital.

Buildings can be constructed of wood, corrugated iron over wood frames, brick or concrete. Wooden and corrugated iron buildings are advisable only when the capital is so limited that brick or concrete construction is out of the question. Between light steel frame with brick walls and concrete buildings there is little choice.

The location of the plant will determine which style is advisable from a standpoint of economy in construction, while the size and shape of the land acquired will influence the laying out of the plant.

It should be clearly borne in mind, however, that the highest degree of efficiency is attained in those plants having sufficient ground area of proper dimensions to allow for a continuous movement, in one direction, of the product through its various stages of preparation until it reaches the warehouse ready for shipment.

This also will permit of much greater spur track facility for receiving and shipping than can be secured where the building units are broken up or where the floor space is secured by the construction of additional floors.

The ideal factory of 350,000 cases capacity should control from three to five acres of land. The factory building should cover an area of at least 100 by 600 feet and should be two

stories in height throughout with the exception of the processing, or cook, room, which should be the same height asthe rest of the building in one story to permit of the escape of steam.

The remainder of the ground area will be required for the administration, welfare, cold storage and power plant buildings, for sheds for the storage of empty lug boxes during the winter and a yard for the handling and drying of pits, skins and refuse.

Plenty of light should come into the building from all sides.

All modern factories employing a large number of women and men plan for the construction of a welfare building to promote the general welfare of the employees.

This is as it should be. The employees work better and take more interest in their employment under pleasant, happy surroundings than they do, or can be expected to do, where they are treated, more or less, like a flock of sheep. A warm lunch, a hot cup of coffee, private lockers, a hospital for the treatment of wounds and sickness and a rest room, all amid a setting of lawns and flowers, will be attractions bringing to the plant providing them a much better and more intelligent class of employees. Only a few years ago young women were ashamed to speak of their employment in a cannery. Today, with more comfortable and pleasant surroundings, and with the hours, wages and general working conditions regulated by laws administered by State Welfare Commissions, the canned goods factories of California and other states are securing their help to a large extent from the high schools and even the colleges, where the students look for summer employment to earn the costs of their tuition.

The administrative and welfare buildings can be either separate buildings, or they can be grouped with the factory building, all being connected in such a way that it is unnecessary to go on the outside to reach any particular point in the establishment. This is the preferred method and is the one recommended.

The welfare building should contain a dressing room for men and one for women, with lavatories, toilets and lockers in which the employee can keep his, or her, clothes and

effects while at work. A hospital room furnished with a comfortable bed, chairs and all necessary first-aid equipment should be provided. The services of the company's physician should be enlisted in fitting up this room. A women's rest room should also be provided. This room need not be a large one, but should be comfortably furnished with chairs, tables, sofas, etc. A trained nurse should always be in attendance during the operating season.

The cafeteria can be located between the welfare building and the factory building or it can be on the second floor of the welfare building, provided such an arrangement does not break the harmony of the building plans.

There should be nothing cheap about the cafeteria building, equipment or service. The best is none too good. Do not buy second-hand dishes or silverware. A private dining room should be provided for the office employees and for the visiting friends of the company.

The cafeteria can either be run by the company or be put in charge of a competent person, allowing such person all the profits made as compensation. Cafeterias run by the company usually show a loss at the end of the season, but the indirect benefit derived by such operation will a great deal more than offset such loss of actual profit. The disadvantage of a company's operating its cafeteria for its own account arises only from the work thrown on the purchasing department in ordering the daily supplies necessary, the attentions required in handling the receipts, in checking for losses where such losses occur, the hiring of help, and the payrolls, all of which the company is relieved of when the cafeteria is leased to a manager. In this case the only supervision necessary will be to see that the prices charged to the employees are reasonable and the food supplied is the best.

Assignment No. 5

Machinery and Equipment

The machinery and equipment required for a plant will depend on the varieties of produce it is proposed to pack. The equipment following is for a six-line cannery packing fruits and tomatoes, which would have a capacity of 350,000 cases, with a working season of one hundred days:

One tomato washer and scalder; 1 pan conveyor; 3 tomato fillers; 2 cyclones; 2 finishing machines; 4 enameled steel tomato purée tanks fitted with 3-inch lightning_coils, two of which should be 1,000 gallons each, and two of 750 gallons each; 2 enameled steel storage tanks; 2 Viking tomato pumps. If it is desired to manufacture catsup the following machinery will be required: 1 bottle washer and rinser, with motor; 1 spray conveyor, with motor; 1 standard conveyor, with motor, about 40 feet long; 1 standard belt conveyor, with motor, 30 feet long; 1 catsup filler, with motor, adjusted to label pint bottles; 1 automatic rotary crowning machine; 2 bottle label machines. The motors mentioned should be 3-phase, 60-cycle, with proper voltage.

For the fruit lines will be required: 1 cherry grader; 1 peach grader; 1 peach-slicing machine; 1 lye machine, washer and blancher; 10 conveyor cutting tables, 24 women each; 20 dozen stools for cutters; 8 canning tables, 8 canners per table.

The cook room should be equipped with 4 siruping machines for No. 21⁄2 cans, 1 siruping machine for No. 10 cans and 1 sirup machine for No. 1 tall cans; 4 exhaust boxes for No. 211⁄2 cans, 1 exhaust box for No. 10 cans and 1 exhaust box for No. 1 tall cans; 4 cookers complete with coolers for No. 21⁄2 cans and 1 cooker complete with cooler for No. 10 cans and 1 cooker complete with cooler for No. 1 tall cans; 2 steam retorts; 4 cooking vats, to be made in factory; 4 air hoists; 9 retort trucks; 50 retort trays; 10 cook room trucks; 100 galvanized iron trays; 10,000 wooden trays, 12 cans each; 1 gallon-can tester; 1 small-can tester; 3 copper cooking kettles, about 40 gallons each; 4 closing machines for No. 21⁄2 cans and 1 closing machine for No. 10 cans (these closing machines can be secured on a rental basis and need not be purchased); and 14 electric motors, various power.

In the fruit and receiving room will be required 2 dial fruit scales; 8 fruit trucks; 6 flat trucks, and 40,000 lug boxes.

The warehouse equipment will be: 1 portable scale; 1 lacquering machine; 1 labeling machine; 1 stencil-cutting machine; 12 warehouse trucks; 2 box trucks; 2 box-nailing machines; 1 box-branding machine; 1 can-cleaning machine;

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