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Frederick Taylor has had a profound impact on the history of manufacturing systems. His discoveries in the diverse areas of machine tool design, cost accounting, ergonomics, quality control and human engineering were important precursors to the current practices in industry. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, Taylor significantly improved machine tool design and manufacturing technology through his experiments in metal-cutting equipment and processes. He also advanced the field of cost accounting by introducing a system that distributed overhead costs to end items by pro-rating them based on the time spent on production. Taylor also made seminal contributions to ergonomics and human engineering by designing workplaces appropriate for the human body and learning the motivations to use them in engineering design., In last month's segment of the Taylor story, we examined 100 years of production control and production planning. We also established work measurement as the foundation of both scientific management [...]

Frederick Taylor has had a considerable impact on production management. Unfortunately, many industrial engineers are not aware of his influence not only on their field of practice but also on human progress. He pioneered the development of work measurement in Midvale Steele Co in the early 1880s and discovered high-speed steel at nearby Bethlehem Steel. His work in these two companies proved to be a seminal time in his life. At the start of the 20th century, Taylor would consolidate, develop, communicate and defend what he learned in these companies, eventually inventing the concept of scientific management, leading to improvements in production and working conditions for workers. An account of his contributions to work measurement, production planning and production control is presented., When IIE convened at Banff for the annual conference last May, the date was almost 100 years to the day since Frederick Winslow Taylor joined the Bethlehem Steel Co. In [...]