It may not be widely known but Israel grew up on work study. In 1950, two years after its foundation, specialists from the United Nations and ILO together with a South African firm of management consultants were retained by the government of the day. A country‐wide programme of education was carried out and work study assignments applied to leading industries.

A reward system for VAT inspectors was described in the March/April 1995 issue of Work Study. It worked well in practice and the internal auditors of the same organization, who were involved in assessing the quality of inspection, clamoured to have an incentive for their own work. Management agreed and the consultants started this new assignment.

Without hesitation many managers will answer that they have done everything possible to achieve that goal. They will point to their industrial engineering department with its new and improved methods, the incentive scheme, the emphasis on sports and welfare and the joint production committee.

Dusting, sweeping and cleaning is an every day household chore. Husbands and wives, single people as well, all know the time and effort it takes to complete the job properly. But how much time and effort? That is what had to be discovered when it was decided to put some 250 janitors on incentive in an engineering group employing around 20,000 workers.

The client was a large laundry or, to give it its proper name, linen service. It catered mainly for hospitals and hotels and the average monthly load handled was 180,755kg. There were three separate lines of washing‐machines, hydro‐extractors and tumble‐driers and, at the commencement of the study, the average machine utilizations of all lines were:Washing machines: 64 per cent; Hydro extractors: 63 per cent; Tumble‐driers: 42 per cent.

Applies work study techniques to the agro‐industry, the industry which processes agricultural products for everyday consumption. Examines the peculiarities of agro‐industry production lines and labour utilisation. Describes incentives, the planning process, and manpower planning. Concludes that the agro‐industry presents a whole host of problems not normally associated with process industry.

Describes the design and implementation of an incentive scheme for two different groups of computer operators in a large Middle Eastern electricity and distribution company. Compares computer outputs from each group and suggests that performance is dependent not only on the kind of work processed, but also on the effort of workers. Concludes that through proper application of work measurement and by enlisting the capabilities of the computer itself, successful incentives can be achieved.

Reports on a job evaluation service provided for a national firm of wholesalers. Discusses how consultants were retained to establish an objective grading structure; devise an appropriate salary scale; introduce a means of rewarding merit; calculate the costs of the change‐over; and finally recommend a programme of implementation.

Discusses the reasons why a South African clothing manufacturing firm found itself in the situation where, after an intense marketing effort, its output had risen and its profits had fallen. Details a consultancy′s preliminary findings and their time study analysis, analysis of profit and loss accounts, profit curve analysis, examination of material control and overheads, and finally standard minute cost control.

Examines the need for better report writing and presentation skills to gain positive results. Establishes guidelines about how the report is constructed: preliminary steps, report make‐up, content referencing, and ease of reading. Concludes that it is essential that report writing skills achieve a certain standard, because presentation affects the subsequent value of the report.

Examines the factors to be considered when developing a functional layout for new factories or offices. Considers the importance of gaining information from work studies, and developing an ideal layout before construction starts if the building is new. Concludes that factors such as travel times, facilities, communications, and location of equipment, and the opinions of employees are all worthy of consideration.

Some individuals are strongly motivated by personal pride in their achievements. A school teacher, for example, may feel a special glow of satisfaction when, through his or her coaching, a star pupil wins an important scholarship. This pleasure may, in fact, be great enough to erase any resentment which may have been aroused through inadequate pay or employment conditions. It may, indeed, give rise to new energy in the day‐to‐day chore of teaching less gifted students, in the hope that other successes may be achieved.

Summary 1.The general health, growth, and development of fifty-nine Aleut infants up to 2 years of age and eighty-nine Aleut school children from 6 to 16 years of age have been studied over a four-year period and their progress plotted on the Wetzel grid. 2.A well-baby clinic was established for the study of the infants and clinic was held monthly. Instructions in regard to hygiene and infant feeding and care were given the Aleut mothers. As a supplement to their regular diet the infants received daily 20 drops of Infa-Concemin, a vitamin B and iron preparation. They also were given daily the juice of one orange. 3.Of the fifty-nine infants, fifty-five had a physique of medium, normal, or better, and fifty-four showed a normal or advanced physical development. The general health of these infants appeared to be better than average. Illness among this group was at a minimum. 4.A routine of care for school children was set up which included weekly instructions in health and hygiene, weekly physical checkups, and semiannual physical examinations, and a daily toothbrush drill in the interest of oral hygiene. Each child was given daily as a supplement to his diet one Pan-Concemin tablet. All children were immunized against smallpox, typhoid fever, diphtheria, and whooping cough. Those who showed a negative reaction to PPD were vaccinated with BCG. In 1949 a mass chest x-ray survey was made of these children. 5.In terms of physique, sixty-three of the eighty-nine children had a medium type of body build, seventeen were stocky, and six were overly plump or obese; the remaining three were under par in body build. The age schedule of development of these children showed advancement or improvement in thirty-two, no change in forty-four, and a decline in thirteen. Illness in this group also was at a minimum, as evidenced by the fact that the rate of attendance in school exceeded 99 per cent. There have been no cases of communicable disease, except influenza, among these children, and a comparison of the incidence of this affliction during two epidemics in a two-year period showed a decrease from 16 to 4 per cent. On the basis of the mass chest x-ray survey, only one case of active tuberculosis was reported, although sixteen showed increased markings or calcification. Only four of the eighty-nine children had a serious illness or operation during the four-year period. 1.The general health, growth, and development of fifty-nine Aleut infants up to 2 years of age and eighty-nine Aleut school children from 6 to 16 years of age have been studied over a four-year period and their progress plotted on the Wetzel grid. 2.A well-baby clinic was established for the study of the infants and clinic was held monthly. Instructions in regard to hygiene and infant feeding and care were given the Aleut mothers. As a supplement to their regular diet the infants received daily 20 drops of Infa-Concemin, a vitamin B and iron preparation. They also were given daily the juice of one orange. 3.Of the fifty-nine infants, fifty-five had a physique of medium, normal, or better, and fifty-four showed a normal or advanced physical development. The general health of these infants appeared to be better than average. Illness among this group was at a minimum. 4.A routine of care for school children was set up which included weekly instructions in health and hygiene, weekly physical checkups, and semiannual physical examinations, and a daily toothbrush drill in the interest of oral hygiene. Each child was given daily as a supplement to his diet one Pan-Concemin tablet. All children were immunized against smallpox, typhoid fever, diphtheria, and whooping cough. Those who showed a negative reaction to PPD were vaccinated with BCG. In 1949 a mass chest x-ray survey was made of these children. 5.In terms of physique, sixty-three of the eighty-nine children had a medium type of body build, seventeen were stocky, and six were overly plump or obese; the remaining three were under par in body build. The age schedule of development of these children showed advancement or improvement in thirty-two, no change in forty-four, and a decline in thirteen. Illness in this group also was at a minimum, as evidenced by the fact that the rate of attendance in school exceeded 99 per cent. There have been no cases of communicable disease, except influenza, among these children, and a comparison of the incidence of this affliction during two epidemics in a two-year period showed a decrease from 16 to 4 per cent. On the basis of the mass chest x-ray survey, only one case of active tuberculosis was reported, although sixteen showed increased markings or calcification. Only four of the eighty-nine children had a serious illness or operation during the four-year period.