The Yanks at Fawley

American production methods are fine for America, but would not work in England and other foreign countries. So runs the argument of many a British businessman. But last week a report issued by the British Institute of Management told British businessmen that they are wrong. The report was on the building of Esso's giant refinery at Fawley in Hampshire, approximately 83 miles southwest of London, under the supervision of a 70-man American management team. The $105 million Fawley refinery, says the report, is the largest ever built anywhere at one time (annual processing capacity: 6,500,000 tons of crude oil). Started in 1949, it was completed in just over two years, four months ahead of schedule. The report's conclusion: American production methods will work anywhere, if given a chance.

When the Americans arrived, they were greeted with skepticism. The British thought there were too many managers, and were suspicious of their driving spirit. Any real achievements, some said, could be attributed to a plentiful supply of materials in the U.S. and dollars with which to pay for them. But when the job was done, the British realized that the essence of American efficiency was something else entirely. Said London's Daily Mail: "The Americans did things at Fawley which we must introduce into British industry." The British Institute of Management's report, said the Daily Mirror, is "a bedtime book for British bosses . . . It is worth a guinea a word."

Infectious Attitude. "Perhaps the essence of the American outlook," says the report, "lies in the insistence that a target that has been realistically established can and must be achieved. The difficulties that inevitably occur are regarded not as inevitable strokes of fate which make delay inevitable but simply as difficulties which will probably be overcome with energy and persistence. This attitude is an infectious one."

The Americans set their targets carefully. More than a year before construction started at Fawley, engineers were on the site laying out detailed plans. Labor and materials requirements were projected, completion dates set for each phase of the operation. The plans were so detailed that the need for 40 tons of welding rods, for example, was estimated accurately two years in advance.

They Muck In. By using mechanical equipment of all kinds, less than 2% of the man-hours worked were spent in handling materials. When rail deliveries were slow, the Americans sent trucks out all over the country to collect materials. When work was slowed on one job because of a materials shortage, employees were instantly transferred to another job. And to keep supervisors on their toes, the project manager issued a daily list of general instructions and production questions "in taut, straightforward language." Sample: "Mallory-- what happened to the radial saw?"

To supply concrete, the Americans built a concrete plant on the Fawley site. One British executive, according to the British report, "shook at the knees when he first considered the cost of the concrete plant, which was imported from the U.S. He [is] now quite convinced [the concrete] cost considerably less than if it had been bought outside, even after paying off the cost of the plant."

The British found the greatest difference in the American supervisors them selves, and their approach to the workers. Says the report: "They were a specially picked team, selected not only for their technical ability but also for character, leadership, youthfulness and a capacity to mix." The foremen were demanding (three times late to work without an excuse and a man was fired), but met their own high standards by getting on the job at 7:50 a.m. and staying until 5:30 p.m. Instead of resentment, they won admiration. Said one craftsman: "They muck in. They don't ask you to do anything they wouldn't do themselves. They will take tools out of your hands and do a job for themselves. An English foreman wouldn't do that."

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