INDUSTRIAL HEALTH RESEARCHTHE WORK OF THE INDUSTRIAL HEALTH RESEARCH BOARD, 1918-44

BY

R. S. F. SCHILLING *

London

I. INTRODUCTIONIn the very early part of the nineteenth century

when excessively long hours of work were regardedas one of the indispensable conditions of makingprofits, Robert Owen, a cotton manufacturer,showed that he could make his factory pay byreducing hours. And he could still afford to paybetter wages and spend considerable sums onimprovements and amenities for his work-people.But it was not until 1892 that the first controlledexperiment on the relation between hours and out-put was conducted by Messrs. Mather and Platt.Mather (1894) showed that the reduction in weeklyhours from 53 to 48 caused an increase in pro-duction and a decrease in lost time. As in the caseof Owen's experience, Mather's experiment did notlead to any general adoption by industry of similarmethods, or to any organized scientific study of thesubject either by the Government or private firms.At the beginning of the last war, demands for

strenuous and long-sustained industrial effort byworkers emphasized the country's ignorance of theeffects of hours and conditions of work on health,energy and output. In 1915 the combination ofthis ignotance and the urgent need to make good ashortage of munitions forced the Government toappoint the Health of Munition Workers Com-mittee, under the chairmanship of Sir GeorgeNewman, with terms of reference as follows:

' To consider and advise on questions of industrialfatigue, hours of labour, and other matters affectingthe personal health and physical efficiency of workersin munitions factories and workshops.'

These investigations, which were necessarilylimited to the making of munitions, producedresults which have not lost their value but havecertainly been lost sight of with the passage of time.To take one instance, it was shown that in certainprocesses long hours may be both harmful anduneconomical.

It is, perhaps, worth recording that the finalreport of this Committee was addressed to the

Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill, who at that time(1918) was Minister of Munitions. The Committeeconcluded that it was necessary to make arrange-ments without delay for a national scheme of indus-trial medical research, and to accord fuller recogni-tion to the importance of industrial hygiene.

Shortly after the dissolution of the Health ofMunition Workers' Committee in 1917, the MedicalResearch Committee (now Medical ResearchCouncil) and the Department of Scientific andIndustrial Research, with the encouragement of theHome Office, appointed in July, 1918, the IndustrialFatigue Research Board with Sir Charles Sher-rington as Chairman and Mr. D. R. Wilson asSecretary. The Board, which embraced all classesof industrial work within its scope, had the followingterms of reference:

' To consider and investigate the relations of thehours of labour and of other conditions of employ-ment, including methods of work, to the productionof fatigue, having regard both to industrial efficiencyand to the preservation of health among workers.'

As a first step the Board took over researchesthen in progress from the health and welfare sectionof the Ministry of Munitions. These included a studyof the effect of different systems of employmenton output in shell-making, and an inquiry into theincidence of multiple accidents. In addition itwas decided to start investigations in the iron andsteel, cotton, silk, laundry, and boot and shoeindustries. The Board appointed for each industry acommittee which included panel members represent-ing employers and workers.

Just over two years later, because unemploymentand short-time employment had become prevalent,the Treasury gave provisional notice to the MedicalResearch Council that the continuation of theBoard could not be contemplated, and that stepsshould be taken to transfer any important work toindustrial or voluntary associations. The MedicalResearch Council made strong representations tothe Treasury against the abrupt termination of workwithout inquiry into its value to industry. TheTreasury eventually agreed to the continuance ofthe Board on condition that the Council accepted

* Appointed Secretary of the Industrial Health Research Boardin July 1942, in succession to Sir David Munro.

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full administrative and scientific responsibility.This action not only avoided the sacrifice of valuablework in hand, but allowed new researches to bestarted. Nevertheless the preoccupations of theGovernment and of employers' and workmen'sorganizations, with the urgent economic problemsof the post-war period, prevented the Board fromdeveloping in the manner anticipated at the timewhen it was first formed.

Researches which were not invalidated by thevariable conditions of work, such as short andirregular hours, were continued. Eventually thedirect problem of fatigue became less important as

hours of work were reduced and as the enormous

expansion of repetitive work made demands more

on temperament than on muscular strength. Thisled to the investigation of boredom in relation toincentives and uniformity and variety of work. Thefield for research was also widened to include studiesof effects on the worker of environmental factorsclosely related to health, for example atmosphericconditions, lighting and noise.

It was felt that the possession of a title expressingwhat the Board aimed at eliminating instead ofwhat they wished to promote was a disadvantage.So in 1928, the word ' health ' was substituted for' fatigue,' and the Board became the IndustrialHealth Research Board. In 1930 Mr. D. R. Wilson(later Sir Duncan Wilson and Chief Inspector ofFactories) returned to the Home Office as DeputyChief Inspector of Factories, and Sir David Munrosucceeded him as Secretary of the Board.

II. BETWEEN Two WARSFrom the time when it was first formed until the

outbreak of the present war, the Board publishedmore than 80 reports. These give a detailed storyof pioneer work which could have done much toimprove working conditions in factories and mineshad the results been more widely applied, particu-larly in the smaller industrial organizations. Theresult of one piece of research which has beenuniversally applied is worth recording. The present' Music while you work' programmes of theBritish Broadcasting Corporation are the direct out-come of studies by three of the Board's investigators(Wyatt, Langdon and Stock, 1937).

Hours of WorkEarly investigations showed that the longer hours

worked in the last war, originally introduced toincrease production, actually reduced the rate ofworking so much that in spite of the longer workinghours the gross output declined. As this has beenstated in general terms so often but is still notacted on, it is perhaps as well to quote just one ofthe results (Health of Munition Workers Com-mittee Interim Report, 1917).

' In the operation of turning aluminium fuze bodiesthe output of a hundred women was recorded. Theresults were as follows:-

100 WOMEN TURNING FUZE BODIES

Actual Relative Total out-hours of ouptprput (hours

Period work per working relativeweek hour relXve

(average) hor output)

Nov. 14 to Dec. 29 68-2 100 6820

Feb. 27 to Apl. 16 59 7 123 7213

Reductions in hours were first made on January 30th,and once the effect of shorter hours of labour hadbecome established total output was increased by8 per cent. although the weekly hours of labour werereduced by 84.'After the evacuation of Dunkirk by the British

Expeditionary Force in June, 1940, the demandsmade on the workers for a bigger output were cheer-fully accepted. The long hours which followedwere probably necessary, but the period for whichthey were allowed to continue might have beenshortened had reference been made to the experienceof the last war.The importance of breaking up spells of work by

means of suitable rest pauses was shown by Vernonin the last war (Health of Munition Workers' Com-mittee, Interim Report, 1917). Later work byWyatt and Fraser (1925) and Vernon, Bedford andWarner (1927) has illustrated the value of systematicrests, especially in light repetitive work. The resultsstrongly suggest that in many industrial processes theintroduction of rests of 5-10 minutes in the middleof the working spell is not only appreciated by theworkers but may also be followed by an increase inoutput of the order of 5-10 per cent. in spite of theshortening of the working time.The Factories Act, 1937, gives statutory recogni-

tion of the value of rest pauses. Under the Act,the working spell is normally limited to 41 hoursfor women and young persons, but it may be in-creased to 5 hours where a rest pause of at least10 minutes is allowed in the course of the spell. Itis true to state, however, that the optimum relationbetween rest and activity during working hours inmany different kinds of work has not yet beenprecisely determined.

Environmental ConditionsIt is not always easy, to persuade industry to

reduce hours of work or to introduce rest pauses.Apparently some industrialists still believe that therelation between output and working hours is a linearone, i.e. that if one man fills 60 shells in one hour, hewill therefore fill 60 x 12 in 12 hours. Workers will,in some cases, oppose reductions in working hoursbecause of the resultant decrease in wages-particu-larly where hourly rates of pay are low. But thereshould be few insuperable obstacles in the way ofimproving environmental conditions, except, ofcourse, for shortage of skilled labour and materialsin war-time.

There are many examples to be taken from the

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INDUSTRIAL HEALTH RESEARCH

Board's eighty reports which show the ill-effects on

health and efficiency of bad lighting, poor ventila-tion and inadequate heating of workrooms.

Lighting and Vision. The system of localizedgeneral lighting used in weaving sheds and otherindustries where the lamps are mounted just abovethe loom or working bench can provide uniformillumination over the working area-and darknessoverhead-that unhappy partnership of glare andgloom. Weston (1922) showed that in the case oflinen weavers, output achieved in normal daylightwas substantially higher than that in artificial light.He also showed that it was uneconomical to delaythe use of artificial light until natural illuminationreached the ' grumble point.'

Other work by the same investigator demon-strated the value of spectacles for relieving eyestrainand improving industrial efficiency in very fine pro-cesses. They are no substitutes for good lighting,but they help the young worker who has normalvision as well as the middle-aged worker (Westonand Adams, 1927, 1928, 1929).

Heating and Ventilation. Atmospheric condi-tions have considerable effect on efficiency and inmany industries the adverse effects of high tempera-tures have been shown. In the tinplate industry,Vernon (1919) found that without artificial ventila-tion the output of the metal-rolling teams was

12 per cent. less in the summer months than inwinter; but when they had good ventilation fromfans revolving overhead their summer output was

only 3 per cent. less than in winter.The effects of atmospheric conditions on health

and well-being were studied in a variety of indus-tries. Vernon, Bedford and Warner (1928 and1931) in separate investigations analysed the sick-ness records of over 33,000 miners. They foundthat a rise of 100 F. to 130 F. in the dry bulbtemperature was associated with an increase of63-74 per cent. in the sickness rate of miners. Theyattributed the increased sickness to the men gettingchilled before they were able to change their dampclothes at home, for miners who were providedwith changing-rooms and baths at the pithead lostless time from sickness than those for whom pitheadbaths were not available.

Accident liability is increased by exposure tounduly high or low temperatures. Osborne andVernon (1922) found that munition workers had thelowest number of accidents at an air temperature of670 F. The accident rate rose at the lower andhigher temperatures. At 520 F. it was 35 per

cent., and at 770 F. 23 per cent. higher than at670 F. Vernon, Bedford and Warner (1928) alsoshowed that a much greater number of accidentsoccurred in deep and hot mines than in shallowerand cooler ones.The industrial medical officer should be con-

stantly concerned with methods of ventilating andheating workrooms. He should know how tomeasure warmth and air movement, and also therequirements for comfort in different types of work.The work done by the Board on these and allied

subjects was fully described by Bedford (1944) inthe first issue of this journal.

Accident PronenessThe medical officer in industry deals with acci-

dents largely from the point of view of providingfirst-aid treatment for major injuries and continuoustreatment in the case of minor injuries. Lately, afew industries have made a forward step in assistinginjured workmen to regain full function afterinjury by providing rehabilitation shops and specialcentres. All these are important aspects of theindustrial medical officer's work, particularly in theheavy trades where the severity and frequency ratesof accidents are high. But doctors in industryhave not paid sufficient attention to the preventionof accidents. Admittedly the law requires thatdangerous machines shall be guarded, but as theChief Inspector of Factories said in his AnnualReport for 1918: ' However well machinery maybe guarded, we cannot look for more than a 10 percent. reduction in the accident rate by the provisionof safeguards alone.' It was recognized then as itis now that if every machine is made as far aspossible foolproof, there will still be many acci-dents. The studies of Greenwood and Woods(1919), Newbold (1926), and Farmer, Chambers andKirk (1926, 1929, 1933) have established the fact that,with equal exposure to risk, roughly three-quartersof recorded accidents happen to one-quarter of thepeople exposed. This is true for accidents, in thefactory, on the road and in the home.

In practically all factory ambulance roomsdetailed records are kept of all minor injuries.How often are they used to detect the accidentliability of those employed on various jobs and indifferent departments, or the accident proneness ofindividual workers ?

Industrial SicknessFor several years the Board's investigators

accumulated and analysed sickness records from afew firms. The absence rates showed a very widerange of variation due partly to dissimilar methodsof book-keeping and partly to different conditionsof work (May Smith, Leiper and Greenwood, 1936).In other fields, research showed, that telegraphists'cramp, formerly thought to be a disease of thecentral nervous system, was a psychoneuroticmanifestation (May Smith, Culpin and Farmer,1927).Of the several statistical inquiries made, the most

recent was an investigation into the sickness experi-ence of London Transport workers (Bradford Hill,1937). This work, which was done at the requestof the Transport and General Workers' Union,whose Secretary was Mr. Ernest Bevin, at that timea member of the Board, showed that bus conductorsand drivers had an excess of gastric illness overtramway conductors and drivers. As a result,conferences were held by the Ministry of Labour inorder to inquire further into this health problemand its relation to conditions of employment. In

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a published report of the proceedings (Min. ofLabour, H.M.S.O., 1939) it was stated that nervousstrain and irregularity of meals were considered tobe prominent factors in causing gastric disease.Methods of reducing the strain were suggested.

Vocational PsychologyVocational psychology is a subject with which

many industrial medical officers are not wellacquainted, although it has been effectively appliedto industry by the National Institute of IndustrialPsychology. It includes vocational selection-which aims at finding the right person for the job,and vocational guidance-which attempts to dis-cover the right job for the person.The main task in vocational psychology is to

devise tests which measure intelligence and specialabilities, such as mechanical aptitude, and to deter-mine the significance of these in the performance ofvarious tasks. The Board's investigators and othershave demonstrated that such methods supply onlypart of the information required for fitting the squarepegs into the square holes. Intelligence tests andsensori-motor tests have been shown to have a predic-tive value for skilled occupations. Where the pre-dictive value of these tests was compared with theresults of entrance examinations in 1130 aircraftapprentices, performance in the psychological testswas more closely related to subsequent proficiencythan performance in the entrance examination(Farmer and Chambers, 1929).

Contrary to the belief of many, the use of psycho-logical tests limits the role of personal prejudiceand tends to decrease the importance of the partplayed by academic education in allocating menand women to skilled jobs. Nevertheless theirvalue depends on how they are applied to industry.If used for allocation rather than for rejection ofthe less fit and less intelligent workers, their scopewill be enormous. But it is to be hoped that futurework in vocational psychology will be aimed atdetecting the capacity of children at an early age sothat they can be guided towards careers offeringthem the best opportunity of success rather thanselecting them for jobs-often blind alley jobs-inthe interest of the employers' output.

Time and Motion StudyIn this branch of their work the Board's investi-

gators had the advantage of being independent ofthe industries concerned, and were therefore able todirect their attention primarily to the task oflessening the physiological cost of work and not ofincreasing output and lowering costs of productionby forcing the pace for the worker. The value tothe worker of a well-directed training scheme inmethods of work is well illustrated by Farmer'swork (1921) on movement study in metal polishing.He showed that, as a result of instruction, twelvegirls roughing spoons were able to reduce thenumber of strokes per spoon from an average of 119to an average of 83, and the average time wasreduced from 126 minutes to 89 per three dozen

spoons. And if the average earnings of these girlsfor the three weeks preceding training were takenas 100, then for each of the three weeks followingtraining they were 127, 126 and 136- respectively.Another example of the good effects from the

worker's point of view resulting from a study madeby the laundry trade may be quoted. Efficientmethods of feeding calenders for ironing sheetswere demonstrated by films to a group of workerswhose own methods of work produced results poorin quality at the cost of sore and bleeding fingers.This instruction led to a very welcome sense ofrelief among the workers; they were less tired andtheir fingers ceased to be sore. Incidentally bothquality of work and output-estimated at a 10 percent. increase-were improved (Maule, 1937).

Industrial SolventsThe Committee on the Toxicity of Industrial

Organic Solvents was formed in 1935 as the resultof the increasing use by industry of volatile organicsolvents. As a first step, a full bibliography ofrelevant literature was prepared by Ethel Browning(1937). The investigations into the toxic effects ofthe chlorinated group of solvents which were startedat the Chemical Defence Research Station at Portonhad to be abandoned at the outbreak of war.

Other WorkThis brief survey by no means tells the whole

story of the work done between the two wars.Other pioneer researches were made into problemssuch as noise and its effect on efficiency, comfort-able height of working benches, suitable design ofmachinery and optimum loads for different classesof worker, and the incidence of psychoneuroticsymptoms in various industrial groups and theirrelation to sickness efficiency and social adaptability.

III. SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF WARIn the early days of the war health problems

associated with excessive hours of work, draftingof new labour into war industries, and toxico-logical problems which follow in the wake ofthe manufacture of new weapons and munitions,had not become acute. At this time the Boardthought it desirable to remind industry of the lessonsto be learnt from previous researches, in order thatas the demands on our productive power grew evermore urgent the results of those researches could beapplied and a repetition of the errors of 1914-18avoided. So there was published (I.H.R.B., 1940)the first of a series of emergency reports, which gavea resume of past work in terms as simple and non-technical as the subject-matter permitted. In theintroduction to this report, industry was invited toconsult the Board about new problems. Theresponse was not overwhelming and for the timebeing the Board's investigators gave up much oftheir time to carrying out research and giving adviceon non-industrial problems of national importance,such as the ventilation of air-raid shelters andmilitary control posts and the clothing of military

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INDUSTRIAL HEALTH RESEARCHpersonnel. Much was and is still being done toimpart knowledge previously gained by lecturingto industrial medical officers, nurses, welfare super-visors, students in social science, as well as RoyalAir Force and Army personnel who are beingtrained for selection work. Partly as a result ofwork done by the Board's investigators, the ArmyCouncil have adopted selection tests for recruits,and these are now being used on a wide scale.

Quite suddenly the ' bore war' ended, andBritain's small expeditionary force had lost practi-cally all its equipment in France. The long-expected demands fell on industry, and as a conse-quence hours of work in some cases reached highlevels. The effects of these longer hours wererevealed by investigations (I.H.R.B., 1942a) intothe relation between hours of work and lost timeand labour wastage, which had been started in warfactories at the outbreak of war. It was shownthat lost time due to sickness, injury and absencewithout permission, was usually low when theweekly hours of work were less than 60 per weekbut increased as the hours increased up to 75.High praise was rightly paid by the investigators tothe time-keeping of the factory workers, when itwas remembered that many of them lived far fromthe factories and had to put up with air-raids andinadequate transport arrangements. In conclusion,the findings of this investigation showed that theweekly periods of work were much too long andsubstantial reductions were recommended.

Accidents in industry were increasing, and it wasthought advisable to publish a short report on thepersonal factors which needed to be considered inthe prevention of accidents (I.H.R.B., 1942b).

Reconstitution of the BoardIn July, 1942, the Medical Research Council

reconstituted the Industrial Health Research Boardunder the chairmanship of Earl De La Warr. Itnow has 13 members, comprising an employer, atrade unionist, professors of medicine, psychologyand physiology, the Senior Medical Inspector ofFactories, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Depart-ment of Health for Scotland, an industrial medicalofficer, a statistician, and other members of themedical profession. This Board has been given thefollowing terms of reference:

'To advise and assist the Medical Research Councilin promoting scientific investigations into problems ofhealth among workers, including occupational andenvironmental factors in the causation of ill-healthand disease, and the relation of methods and con-ditions of work to the functions and efficiency of bodyand mind; and in making known such results of theseresearches as are capable of useful application topractical needs.'

The changed terms of reference officially broughtproblems of industrial disease within the ambit ofthe Board. This is not to say that industrialdiseases had been entirely neglected in the past.The Board had previously been associated with twocommittees appointed by the Council to advise themon the promotion and direction of research into

industrial pulmonary diseases and the injuriouseffects of industrial solvents. The Committee onIndustrial Pulmonary Disease has sponsored valu-able researches, the most important of which havebeen those concerned with respiratory dust disease(byssinosis) suffered by cotton operatives (Prausnitz,1936), and with chronic pulmonary disease in SouthWales coalminers (Hart, Aslett, et al., 1942; Bedfordand Warner, et al., 1943). The work by Prausnitzshowed that the only way of preventing byssinosiswas to remove the finest dust, which the ventilatingand exhaust appliances in use at that time wereincapable of doing.

PneumokoniosisResearch in the South Wales coalmines established

the occurrence among coalminers of a lung condi-tion due to dust which did not fall within the defini-tion of ' silicosis 'as used for compensation purposes.This lung condition has been termed pneumokoniosisof coalminers. In its early stages it shows on theradiograph as reticulation, and later there developthe familiar nodular and conglomerate shadows ofwell established dust disease in miners. Further,there is found in necropsy material a change in thelungs which Belt and Ferris (1942) called dust-reticulation (a chance similarity in name to the radio-graphic appearance). It was also proved that coaltrimmers (i.e. coal-boat loaders) working at the docksin South Wales could suffer from pneumokoniosis.The physical studies associated with this work wereundertaken by two of the Board's investigators(Bedford and Warner, 1943).

This investigation led to important changes in theWorkmen's Compensation Act, which now pro-vides for the payment of compensation to all work-men in the coalmining industry who contractpneumokoniosis as the result of their employmentin or about the mines.Another consequence has been the renewed

interest in the use of water for the prevention ofpneumokoniosis by suppression of dust at the coalface. One of the Inspectors of Mines (Jenkins,1943) introduced the novel method of infusing thecoal face with water through bore holes beforeworking the coal. The results have been so pro-mising that an order (S. R. & O., 1943, No. 1696)has recently been made empowering the ChiefInspector of Mines to direct coalmining under-takings in South Wales to use this or other methodsfor suppressing dust below ground.

Clinical Research and Occupational DiseaseAs time went on it became obvious that there was

need for more and more clinical research into occupa-tional diseases and other disorders of a more generalkind, although they have always been kept in checkin factories by the constant supervision of theFactory Inspectorate. As a first step, the MedicalResearch Council appointed in February, 1942, asDirector of Research in Industrial Medicine, Pro-fessor A. W. M. Ellis, who later became RegiusProfessor of Medicine in Oxford.

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The next step was to establish in May, 1943, aDepartment for Research in Industrial Medicine atthe London Hospital in charge of Dr. DonaldHunter, physician to the Hospital. Thus industrialmedicine was rightly brought into close contactwith clinical medicine in a big teaching hospital.

Industrial psychologyA further development is the recent establishment

by the Medical Research Council of a unit forresearch in applied psychology at Cambridge, incharge of Dr. K. J. W. Craik, which will undertakeinvestigations, many of them within the field of theBoard.

Present Work of the BoardSickness Absence. Lack of data giving the in-

cidence of illness among industrial workers hasfor years past hampered investigations into the dis-ablement believed to be caused by harmful pro-cesses. Without such data the collective health ofvarious groups of workers, and indeed the health ofthe individual, cannot be assessed. In 1942, as aresult of the demand and the urgent need for apractical method of recording sickness absence, theBoard set up a committee to consider this subject.This task, which is now nearing completion, has beena difficult one. The subject is both complex andcontroversial. Some firms have used their ownmethods of recording for years, and because thesemethods were evolved separately in each organiza-tion, they are unlikely to have essential points incommon. Others have never measured sicknessabsence. When industry realizes that the value ofsuch records lies in their uniformity so that sicknessrates for parts of an organization, and for differentorganizations engaged on the same type of work,can be statistically comparable, many of the diffi-culties in sickness recording will disappear.The Board's investigators have made various

studies of absence from work in Government andprivate industries. Some of the reports have notbeen published for security reasons; but all haveshown the extreme variability of the amount ofabsence of which sickness was the most importantsingle cause. In one investigation which covered52 factories, the rates varied from 5 to 17 per cent.for men and 9 to 29 per cent. for women. Thereasons for this variability were many; but ingeneral absence was related to length and distribu-tion of the working week, transport arrangements,supplies of materials and the attitude of the manage-ment towards workers. Where these factors werefavourable to the worker, absence from all causeswas less.Methods of payment are also reflected in the

worker's attitude to his work. A short investigationin one factory (Davis, 1944) showed that gastricdisorders and discontentment with work were morefrequent among women paid by the individualbonus method than in those paid on a group bonussystem. The desire for some measure of securityand for communal effort and reward was made

manifest in this factory by a spontaneous andunauthorized sharing of wages.A short study of the absenteeism among women

in two factories (Wyatt, Marriott and Hughes, 1943)showed that contrary to general belief few womenhabitually lost one or more shifts each week, but alarge majority were absent for varying lengths oftime at irregular intervals. This suggests the needfor a study of the personal causes of absenteeism.Further investigations into the amount, distributionand causes of sickness absence among women, whichit is hoped to publish at a later date, have just beencompleted.Hours of Work and Output. As previously

mentioned, the urgent need for maximum outputduring the last war first brought the Board intobeing. And since then the Board's investigatorshave used variations in output as a criterion ofefficiency and as a means by which to judge theoptimum length of the working week and condi-tions of work. In a recent investigation, stableoperations were selected for assessing the effect ofa reduction in hours of work on output in severalmunition factories. The most striking feature ofthe output records obtained was the variabilitywhich was caused by (a) change in the design ofproduct, (b) mechanical difficulties and machinebreakdowns, (c) variations in the quantity andquality of the material used, (d) progressive im-provements in the methods and conditions of work,(e) changes in the type and layout of machines,(f) dissatisfaction with the method and rate ofpayment, and (g) occasional friction betweenmanagement and workers (Wyatt, et al. 1944).

In three groups which were fairly free from dis-turbing influences, the period after the reduction inhours, varying between 3-3 and 11-5 per cent.,showed an increase in hourly output of 3-3 to 6-3 percent. And the shorter working week was appre-ciated by the workers. This study illustrated thedifficulty of trying to determine the relation betweenhours ofwork and output under war-time conditions.

Rotation of Night Shifts. The Board has hadinquiries as to whether day and night shifts shouldbe rotated weekly, fortnightly or monthly, or longer.Investigators in the last war gave evidence in favourof the weekly change, but present-day opinion isinclined to favour a longer interval between changes.There is obviously need for further research workin this field for which it is hoped that the Board willbe able to obtain the necessary facilities. Hereagain output is a valuable criterion, and if it is to beused, the many other factors which affect it mustas far as possible be eliminated.

Environmental Conditions. A great deal of un-published work has been done on the ventilationand atmospheric pollution in filling factories andits relation to industrial sickness. New methods ofsampling for airborne T.N.T. and other explosiveshave been used.Much of the field work on lighting problems has

been advisory, as the immediate need is to applythe results of previous researches. A report cover-

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ing the work already done on lighting and the con-clusions reached from experience gained during thewar is being prepared.

Accidents. Researches are being undertaken incoalmines and factories on the incidence of acci-dents in relation to occupation, environment, thelength and arrangement of hours of work and alsotraining. The object of this work, which will in-clude further studies on accident proneness, is togain knowledge which can lead to a reduction inthe rate of industrial accidents, already much toohigh.

Vocational Methods. Work now in progressconsists mainly of introducing intelligence tests andtests of specific aptitudes into engineering factoriesas an aid to the selection and allocation of newworkers. The aims are twofold: (1) to establishon a firmer basis the validity of vocational tests,both general and specific, and (2) to bring about animprovement in efficiency measurable in terms ofincreased production, as well as a decrease in trans-fers, dismissals, and personal friction. Most of thetests used have been designed by the Board'sinvestigators.

Neurosis among Industrial Workers. The objectsof this investigation are to find out the proportionof people among groups of industrial workerssuffering from neurotic illness and the severity ofsuch illness, and to see if there is any evidence as toits cause. It is too early to give results, but it canbe said that the findings in one organization showthat neurotic illnesses are responsible for a sub-stantial proportion of lost time in industry. Natur-ally where, as in the case of this investigation, apsychiatrist makes the assessment on the results ofa 30-minute interview and data obtained from asocial worker, the incidence will be higher than thatindicated by an analysis of causes of sicknessabsence using the panel doctor's certificate as acriterion.

Industrial Diseases. In the new Department forResearch in Industrial Medicine at the LondonHospital investigations have already been started ona number of problems, including the effects of expo-sure to duralumin dust and to dust arising fromsugar-cane crushing (bagassosis) ; on the healthhazards in foundries; on those associated with theuse of compressed air in vibrating tools; and on theeffect of exposure of workers to solvents used inthe manufacture of aircraft.Work undertaken by the Medical Research

Council, with the collaboration of the Board andthe Factory Department of the Ministry of Labour,includes investigations into the toxicity of the vapourof methyl alcohol, the hazards of welding, and dustin flax factories. There are others which cannot bementioned here for security reasons.

Publications. In the past, the Board's reportshave been published as scientific records of theresults of research. These will always be necessary;but there is a need for publications written in non-technical language which can be readily understoodby busy directors, works managers, workers' repre-

sentatives and the workers themselves. A widerknowledge by all concerned of the results of researchcan lead to a better understanding of the actionneeded to improve conditions of factory life. Withthis view in mind, the Board started a new series ofpamphlets. Two reports entitled ' Heating andVentilation: Lighting and Seeing' (I.H.R.B., 1943)and'Absence from Work: Prevention of Fatigue'(I.H.R.B., 1944) have already been published in thisseries. Their popularity, both at home and abroad,has proved their need. It is therefore proposedthat in future the results of important new researchshall be published both in a detailed scientific reportas well as in a short, non-technical form.

IV. THE FUTURE OF INDUSTRIAL HEALTHRESEARCH

In war time there is surely a need for research,particularly short-term investigations designed toproduce quick results, which, if applied, will assistproduction by increasing the health and efficiencyof workers.But what about after the war? Will there still

be the same need for research? The post-warreorganization of industry and demobilization willcertainly demand the placement of both fit anddisabled into jobs for which they are physically andpsychologically suited. When this is done therewill still be other problems only too obvious to theresearch worker. Industry includes a wide varietyof different processes in diverse fields such as thefactory, mine, warehouse, ship, railroad and office.In the factory, in particular, some of the minimumrequirements for keeping workers healthy are laiddown in the Factories Act, 1937. Although theprinciples outlined in this Act and elsewhere mayhave a general application to industries other thanfactories, more attention will have to be given tohealth problems which exist in almost unexploredfields-particularly shipping and other forms oftransport. New problems not yet anticipated willarise in many processes since changes in methods ofproduction are continually taking place.A few possible subjects for future research are

given below:

Heating and VentilationMethods of cooling buildings in hot weather.The optimum method of using overhead unit heaters

in factories, from the point of view of workers'comfort.

Comfort in relation to thermal environment.Investigations already done could be extended to

cover higher temperatures and higher humidities.Physiological effects of work at high temperatures.

Atmospheric PollutionA study of comparative efficiencies of dust-sampling

instruments.Continuation of investigations into atmospheric

pollution by dusts in coalmines and factories.

Lighting and VisionMethods of improving lighting in coalmines.Better methods of lighting offices and places of employ-ment other than factories.

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BRITISH JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINEExploration of means of gauging sufficient and suit-

able lighting.Lighting requirements for the partially sighted.Effects of conditions of lighting on the rate of acquiring

visual skills.

Job Analysis and Methods of WorkPhysical requirements for various occupations, with

particular reference to the type of jobs which canbe suitably undertaken by the disabled and adolescentworker.

Design of machinery in the interests of the comfort andefficiency of the worker.

A study of various methods of work to prevent un-necessary strains and risks.

Industrial PsychologyInvestigations into the validity of existing methods of

assessment of qualities required for positions ofauthority (e.g. foremanship) and the possibility ofdeveloping objective methods.

Individual and group influences on efficiency andsatisfaction with work.

A comparative study of different systems of paymentand their relation to strain, satisfaction and efficiency.

Industrial SicknessAn analysis of morbidity rates in various industriesand industrial regions. (Such an analysis should initself provide problems for research).

Practically all the above subjects are related tothe general health of workers. The promotion ofgeneral health in industry is a much bigger issuethan the prevention of specific industrial diseasewhich accounts for but a fraction of the sicknessand disability suffered by the working population.Nevertheless industrial diseases do exist, and inaiming at their prevention there are now manyopportunities for further research, and there will bemore in the future as new processes with toxico-logical hazards come into being.But the contribution which research into all

problems affecting the well-being of workers canmake towards the achievement of maximum healthdepends not only on the inspiration of the researchworker but also on whether or not the results ofhis researches are applied. And for a wider applica-tion of existing and future knowledge we must lookto the efforts of Government departments andindustry, which latter includes management, indus-trial medical officers, and the workers themselves.

AcknowledgmentsMy grateful thanks are due to Sir Duncan Wilson,

Sir David Munro, and my colleagues of the Indus-trial Health Research Board and the MedicalResearch Council for their invaluable help, particu-larly in the preparation of the sections dealing withthe past work of the Board and the future problemsof research.

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