IMPROVED METHODS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 128, 6 July 1914, Page 8

IMPROVED METHODS.

ECONOMIES IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE.

USEFUL SUGGESTIONS MADE BY OFFICERS.

Tl'rom our own Parliamentary Reporter.] . WELLINGTON, July 4.

The annual report of the Public Service Commissioner deals rather fully with suggestions made by officers.

Regulation No. 17, which invites officers to submit suggestions having for their object improvements in the method of working which will tend to increased efficiency or economy, has met with gratifying response, many valuable idAs having been submitted during the past year. This is evidence of the interest which some officers are taking in the work of their Departments. Several of these suggestions have been approved, and are now in operation, with satisfactory result j and others are under consideration. In some cases, although the suggestions have not' themselves been adopted, they have led to distinct improvements and economies in departmental practices. Other suggestions, which would have proved of value had the existing methods been continued, have been superseded by a complete change in the procedure of the Departments concerned. In addition to the above, suggestions to the number of 109 have been forwarded to the Commissioner, but, for various reasons, have not been adopted.

It has been frequently stated by officers that there has been such great objection in some departments to receive suggestions for improvements that the officers have felt it to be useless to attempt to make further suggestions. Having in mind a proved case in which a suggestion by an officer was deliberately withheld from the Commissioners by a Department, I am reluctantly compelled to conclude that there must be good ground for the general feeling in the Service of the inutility of officers approaching their Departments with suggestions. While it must happen that suggestions are sometimes impracticably or have been forestalled, officers should be encouraged to bring forward anything which they consider to be new and worthy of adoption. , '

In accordance with the intimation conveyed in my first report I append the names of the officers whose suggestions have been adopted, together ■ with brief particulars of their schemes: — Mr W. H. Frethey, Tourist Depart-, ment, Wellington, suggested the establishbent of a general-messenger service to serve all the Departments, in lieu of the former System by which individual Departments provided their own messengers, as it was found that messengers attached to some offices had really in» sufficient work to keep them occupied at alj times. The suggestion was that messengers should be despatched from the general-messenger staff at regular intervals to the different Departments for the delivery and posting of correspondence and despatch of telegrams. The whole question was referred to and dealt with by the Permanent Head of the Internal Affairs Department; and, as a result, the control of the service was centred in his department, and has resulted in a substantial saving. A further reference to this scheme will be ! found on page 87 of the report. This and. the following are regarded as the two best suggestions of the year. Mr A. G. Clarke, Post and Telegraph Department, Auckland, suggested, in connection with quarterly and annual balances in the Post Office savings banks, a simpler system than that in force to deal with the volume of work now necessary, vet at the same time retaining an adequate record and check. Briefly put, Mr Clarke suggested that a quarterly and annual balance should be arrived at by using the balances at credit as shown by the ledger-cards. If, for example, the total balance at credit of the Auckland district on December 31 was £3,000,000, .a quarterly balance would be arrived at by adding to this sum the total deposits and interest on closed accounts for the quarter, and deducting frain it the total amount of withdrawals, If this total agreed with the total of balances shown on the ledger-cards (arrived at by the use of an adding and listing machine) it would prove that the deposits and withdrawals were in accord with the period summaries, which is rteally the o"bject aimed at in balancing quarterly. Mr Clarke pointed out that the advantages to be gained by the adoption of this system are simplification, by which the natural and certain increase of this class of savings bank work will be dealt with by machines, and not by increase of staff; the same objects that the present system aims at are provided for, while the extended balance shown at credit on the cards will be proved at the end of each quarter—each section of accounts and ledger cards will balance automatic-. ally; errors will be easily determined; and the long and wearisome process of calling, and, almost invariably, recalling of the slips against the summaries entirely eliminated. This system of quarterly and yearly balancing has been in use for the last two years by the Auckland Savings Bank, with unqualified success.

It was felt by the department' that the change proposed was of too important and radical a nature to make without a practical demonstration extending over a period of at least one complete quarter and an annual balance, and for this purpose one of the smaller offices was suggested. As it was desirable that the scheme should be brought into effective general use at the earliest possible date should the trial demonstrate its success, arrangements were made forthwith for Mr Clarke to take charge of the Thames Money Order and Savings Bank office, and have control of the experiment. Mr Clarke accordingly proceeded to the Thames office for this purpose, taking with him an expert machinist who had been trained in the first class held in the Public Service Commissioner's office. The experiment proved an entire success. The machine throughout did good work, arid demonstrated beyond doubt that in the hands of a careful efficient operator this class of business could be dealt with by mechanical process just as accurately as and far more expeditiously than by the ordinary clerk. One machine will do fthe work of two officers, where supplied with material suitable to its requirements. As the result of the trial at the Thames was satisfactory, arrangements have been made to put the scheme into bperation at Auckland to see whether it lean be applied with equal success at a central office, with a view to its ultimate adoption throughout the Dominion. Mr F. D. Andrews, of the Post and Telegraph Department, Wellington, suggested a printed form of envelope for intercommunication between Govern-

ment Departments in Wellington, which saves considerable time in the despatch of correspondence. Mr P. W. Clayton, Valuation Department, Wellington, suggested the use by the A r aluation Department of a rubber stamp for lettering and figuring required to be done on the maps of the Department—which work has hitherto been done by hand —and an extension of the use of sun-print apparatus for copying in connection with map work. Mr A. C. Philpott, [Department of Agriculture, Industries', and Commerce, Napier, brought under the notice of the department a new system of registration of live stock brands and ear marks. After very careful examination and enquiry it was decided that the system of brands and ear marks submitted by Mr Philpott possessed distinctive features which renders it superior to the system at present in operation, and at the suggestion of the Commissioner arrangements have been made by the department for the gradual introduction of the new registration system throughout the Dominion. The Permanent Head reports that the work of registration under the new system will be carried out much more satisfactorily by clerical officers than by the Inspectors of Stock, who will thus be relieved of unnecessary clerical work. Mr C. H. E. Stitchbury, Government Insurance Department, Wellington, suggested a scheme which had had the effect of largely reducing and simplify-j ing the work in connection with fire insurance policies on mortgaged properties. The new system has been found so effective in the Government Insurance Department that its adoption by the other lending departments the State is now being considered. Mr G. W. Clinkard, Land and Income Tax Department, Wellington, suggested an alteration in the form of account -and master sheets at present in use in connection with land and income tax work, which will result in improvements in the preparation of accounts. Mr J. Monahan, Land and Income Tax Department, Wellington, submitted a scheme to avoid the rewriting of assessment tickets from the rough registers of the department, and a proposal to prepare land tax return forms for issue'for two years at the one operation by carbon process.

Mr -J. W. Salmon, Post and Telegraph Department, Wellington, submitted new forms for the simplification of account keeping by Registrars of Electors. . This scheme will be more economical than, as well as a great improvement on, the old method. Mr R. F. G. Hannan, Land and Deeds Registry Office, Wellington, suggested that steps should be taken to prevent the present loss "arising through the evasion of the payment of search fees payable under the Land Transfer and Deeds Registration Acts; and, as a result, action has been taken to further safeguard the collection of this revenue. Mr M. J. A. M'Keefry, Land and Deeds Registry Office, Dunedin, suggested that numbering machines should be introduced for the numbering of documents and deeds, which work is at present done by hai*d. This system has been tried in the Dunedin office, and has given entire satisfaction. Mr P. C. Jordan, Government Printing Office, Wellington, made suggestions having for their object the improvement of the present system of accounting in the department. These have been approved.