Thus, a superintendent seeing a board of the kind described would know that on the preceding day those orders had been completed which in Figure 159 are shown by numbered dots. His attention would be drawn at once to the orders represented by dots numbered 4, 5, 6 and 8. These dots show costs much above the average cost recorded for orders of those sizes. The cost clerk could furnish the order numbers of these particular orders and could also give the names of the foremen who had been in charge of the work. The superintendent could then ask for an explanation as to why these orders had cost much more than the work should have cost for lots of the size handled. Considering dot 6, notice that the average cost for 500 packages is about . 80 cent, but the order represented by dot 6 cost 1.50 cent per package, almost twice what it should, have cost. Though dot 4 shows considerably above the average dots for 100-package lots, the percentage excess is not so great as in the case of dot 6. Dot 4 shows a cost of about 2.20 cents, while the average cost

194 GRAPHIC METHODS

for 100 packages is about 1.25 cents. What the superintendent wants to know is the percentage excess in the cost above what the chart shows should be the normal cost for any number of packages under consideration. The chart brings out this information very clearly. Since the superintendent can take the matter up with the various foremen before noon of the day after the work was completed, the foremen soon get the feeling that the superintendent knows what the cost should be, and, if anything happens to prevent work being done cheaply and quickly, the foremen are likely to report the conditions at once to see if assistance can be given them so as to keep the cost low.