BUILDING NEW SHIPS

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLII, Issue 11610, 9 August 1918, Page 6

BUILDING NEW SHIPS

AMERICA’S ARMY OP LABOUR. Less than a year ago there were not 45,000 men employed in American shipyards, says the New York Herald, of Juno 9. To-day there are more than 300,000 skilled mechanics and labourers engaged in building ships and an additional 250,000 employed in making the engines, boilers, winches, and other machinery necessary to equip them. This tremendous expansion by which the United State hopes to put into service a new merchant marine that will rival the trading fleet of any nation in the world has been accomplished in methodical fashion, without any “fuss and feathers,” but achieving a result that industry long will regard as one of the most brilliant victories of the war. It has been brought about by the Shipping Board through recognition of the principle that untrained men can become skilled workmen only through competent instruction. One of the first tasks of the Shipping Board, therefore, was the creation of a division of excuatiou and trauiug, which has supervised the establishment of training centres and the development of instruction among the foremen and superintendents. Training of the various kinds of shipbuilders in the yards is accomplished by putting the men to work on production jobs under the supervision of a yard instructor. This yard . instructor has full charge of gangs while they are clearinig. The efficiency of a green gang under tiaining will average SO per cent of finished workmen.

The first training centre was established at Newport News. To it were sent skilled mechanics, selected from the yards. They received a sis weeks’ course of training eight hours a day. During the last part of this course they were obliged to spend 40 hours in the actual handling of gangs of green men. Yard instructors are drawn from a variety of trades, such as riveters, ship fitters, ship carpenters, caulkers, etc. Twenty-two plants have sent men for training as yard instructors. Two hundred and sixteen of these men have completed their training, and 74 are now in training.