NOVEMBER, 1956
StSWi
PAGE 3
Company Suggestion Award System Explained
☆
☆
If at once you don’t succeed,
try again. It may be a thread
bare adage, but it’s sound philos
ophy for many employees here
who have become “repeater”
winners in the Company Sug
gestion Award System.
In interviewing men and
Women who turn in ideas regu
larly, most of them report that
their first suggestion failed to
ttiake the grade, and that only
after repeated trials did an idea
meet approval of the Suggestion
Board.
Courting an idea with the
Suggestion System is like a lot
of other things in life. It just
doesn’t pay to quit too early in
the game, so say employees who
have won more than one award.
“I remember,” said one em
ployee in Quality Control, "that
first submitted idea seemed,
to me, to be a sure-fire winner.
But it didn’t click.” Had the em
ployee given up at that stage, he
Wouldn’t have attained the
record he holds today—10 ap
proved suggestions to his credit.
OF COURSE, sometimes the
first try makes the hurdle.
There’s the example of James
l^eel, head creeler in Rayon
Weaving. Remember his sug
gestion which paid $850, largest
single amount ever paid at a
Firestone textile plant? At the
tirne he turned in the suggestion
Was the first he’d ever submit
ted.
But most of us are not so for
tunate. Perserverance is some
times a valuable asset to explain
☆
and sell a difficult and complex
idea. There are many other rea
sons, too, why a seemingly good
idea is rejected the first time.
If creating an idea is often dif
ficult, the job of determining
whether your suggestion is ac
ceptable and how much cash
should be awarded is quite often
more difficult.
At Firestone Textiles there is
a 14-member Suggestion Board
which covers the entire plant
and offices.
HOW THOROUGHLY are
your ideas studied and consider
ed?
If you follow an idea from the
time it is dropped into a sug
gestion box, through the whole
process, the findings might sur
prise you.
Let’s look into how the system
works.
Once a week a member of the
Industrial Relations Department
makes the rounds of the various
suggestion boxes and harvests
another new crop of ideas. As
soon as suggestions are received,
they are stamped as of that day
in the space provided in the low
er left-hand corner of the blank.
The suggestions are carefully
read and edited in order to cor
rect grammatical errors and to
make the proposal as clear as
possible for the investigator.
A descriptive title is then
given to the suggestion and
noted in the space at the bottom
of the sheet to provide a subject
identification. for the suggestion
for future reference.
THE SUGGESTION BOARD was photographed
at its October meeting in the plant conference
room. Seated around table, from left, are: John
Mitchell, Carpenter Shop Supervisor; Everett J.
Mecham, Plant Comptroller; James M. Cooper.
Chief Time Study Engineer; Ray Thomas, Second
Hand in Spinning; L. B. McAbee, Assistant to the
Industrial Relations Director and T. B. Ipock, Jr.,
Industrial Relations Director. Standing, from
left: W. R. Turner, Sr., Second Hand in SYC
Weaving; F. B. Harrison, Plant Chief Accountant;
Granville A. Perry, Second Hand in Rayon Weav
ing and Trenton Ginn, Second Hand in Cable
Twisting. Not present were Board members S. F.
Honeycutt. Second Hand in Quality Control; F. B.
Galligan, Superintendent of the Cotton Division;
O'Neil Gamble. Second Hand in Spooling and
Carl Rape. Second Hand in Carding.
Soon thereafter, a letter of
acknowledgement is sent to the
suggester while the idea is in
the mill of scrutiny.
THE SUGGESTION Board
meets once a month, or more
often if necessary. At the meet
ings of the Board, each sugges
tion is identified by its number
and read aloud. It is studied and
discussed. There may be reports
yOUR TRAVEL NOTEBOOK
Activities Aplenty For November Sightseeing
A. late-fall picnic ... a hunting or fishing
^^ip ... a football game ... a cruise to Bermuda
the Caribbean. Take your pick of these and
Countless more activities which add up to a
November traveler’s calendar chock full of in
terest.
Those ocean cruises? You can take a boat in
Wllniington for a five-day trip to Bermuda. Dates
^^e November 11-16. Also from Wilmington you
sail for the Caribbean on the 17th and re-
^^rn. the last day of the month. But if these
•bruises aren’t in your catalog, there is variety
aplenty within easy traveling distance of Fire-
®tone families.
the SLATE ranges from the final touches
^ autumn’s color show to a surge of big channel
along the coast—not to mention the upswing
activity at the winter resorts of both Carolinas.
With the North State travel season now great
ly
extended from the mountains to the coast,
^isitors have a good choice of accommodations in
he Blue Ridge and Great Smokies as well as
the beaches.
North Carolina highways alone there are
Roadside parks and over 400 roadside picnic
23
"^able;
fr.
s for public use. State parks are located
the top of Mount Mitchell to the Atlantic
and some are open the year-round.
beach,
j STANDING HIGH on the November calendar
P ^ the Gastonia area is the 10th annual Caro-
j^^as Carrousel on Thanksgiving Day in Char
ge. The gay parade and festive holiday atmos-
ere have become traditional with the people
^ the Mid-South,
he eleventh month is a good time to visit the
attractions of museums and historical
ho^^ - ^^^Sestions: N. C. Museum of Art, Raleigh,
a collection of paintings valued at over
QlJ^^llion; the restored Moravian community of
. Salem, Winston-Salem; the Museum of N. C.
tj Spruce Pine; the Wright Brothers Na-
^al Memorial, Kitty Hawk.
In North Carolina, saltwater fishing and state
wide hunting are November attractions. A big
run of channel bass challenges surfcasters, while
king mackerel, amber jack, dolphin, sailfish and
marlin are boated offshore. Freshwater lakes and
sounds offer good catches of largemouth bass.
FIRESTONE HUNTERS may take their choice
between forays of big game such as black bear,
Russian wild boar and deer; and shooting water
fowl, quail, turkey and small game. Already in
progress are the seasons for ruffed grouse, bear,
deer and boar. Other season dates are: Water
fowl, coot, November 7-January 15; snipe, wood
cock, November 22-December 21; quail and
turkey, November 22-January 31 (local excep
tions).
From October to April, a round of sports and
social events rate high on the Mid-South calen
dar, culminating in the steeplechases and golf
tournaments of early spring. In November and
on into spring, golf and riding share honors with
the sun and long leaf pine to make favorite vaca
tion spots of the Sandhills resorts of Pinehurst
and Southern Pines, Tryon in the Thermal Belt
of the Appalachians and Sedgefield in the Pied
mont.
OF PLACES to go and things to do—not al
ready suggested—here is a brief rundown of the
November travel calendar:
Yadkin Valley Beagle Club Trial, Ronda,
November 5-9; Duke-Navy, Durham, 10; Annual
Gold Leaf Festival, Wendell, 16, 17; Wake Forest-
Duke, Winston-Salem, 17; “The Christmas Story”,
Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill, November
20-December 31; Harvest Square Dance, Pine
hurst, 23; “My Favorite Hunter’’ Hunter Trials,
Tryon, 24.
Need more notes on travel in the Mid-South
for late fall and winter? A descriptive folder and
a calendar of coming events is free, on your re
quest to the State Advertising Division, Raleigh.
of investigation concerning it.
Or, the decision may be obvi
ous and the idea is adopted or
turned down by a vote of the
Board members. But often it re
quires more detailed study. A
member is assigned to check
with supervision of the depart
ment involved. He reports on
his findings. Sometimes a sug
gestion is “held over” as long as
deemed necessary, because other
changes in the department con
cerned are being considered that
would have a bearing on the
idea in question.
But in every case, no one in
dividual makes the decision. The
identifying number given each
suggestion, provides a fair hear
ing.
SOMETIMES an idea, as sub
mitted, is of questionable value
to the Company, but with some
modifications it can be success
fully employed. An award is still
made if a revised suggestion is
approved and put into use so
long as the change is considered
to be a result of the employee’s
original idea.
Members of the Suggestion
Board often steer a perilous
course. Sometimes an idea that
is original with the suggester
may have been previously con
sidered or already submitted by
someone else at the plant.
The Board must regretfully
break the “bad news”. Luckily
this does not happen very often
and Board members strive to
find some new application or
angle that will merit an award.
ANOTHER PROBLEM is the
case of a good idea which is re
jected because the cost of em
ploying it is prohibitive in view
of the benefits to be realized.
Once a decision is made to
adopt the idea, the next question
is “How much to pay?” These
are determining factors;
1. At Firestone, it is recognized
that the minimum award for an
approved idea is $10.
2. Beyond the minimum
amount, the value of an idea is
carefully calculated in terms of
its worth to the company over
a period of time.
3. Many suggestions pertaining
to Company policy, routine
maintenance, or changes for per
sonal convenience are not gen
erally considered acceptable.
There are some exceptions here.
ALL FIRESTONE Textiles
employees are eligible under the
Suggestion System except ex
ecutives, department managers,
technical employees and others
whose duties include the initia
tion of improvements in routine,
design and manufacturing
methods.
So, this is the way the Sug
gestion System works at Fire
stone. And this is the way you
can demonstrate your interest
and initiative.
In the competitive market to
day, a company has to come up
with new and better ways of
doing things.
The way we do business in the
future will be much the result
of ideas in the minds of Fire
stone people today.
November, Religion In Life Month
The Religion in American Life program in November em
phasizes the value of religion in personal, community and nation
al life.
Planners of the annual observance which appropriately comes
in the month of Thanksgiving, remind us that one of the greatest
gifts you can give a child is your belief in God.
Along with all the good things you want for your children, be
sure you give them the most precious gift of all—Faith. Faith—
the gift you give a little at a time—is strengthened in worship,
asking God for help, thanking Him for blessings.
Worshipping regularly in your church or synagogue is an act
of Faith—and more. It is a link with the future, a point upon which
you and your family can build a better tomorrow.