The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 12 (April 1, 1930)
Aptitude Classifications
Aptitude Classifications.
The engineer will appreciate at once the gain these tests will give. It is essential that, in an assembly shop, plans and sketches of component parts should be readily assimilated. Time wasted upon questions and long oral explanations cannot be made up; a pre-requisite for such a shop is that aspect of mentality which the tests are designed to measure. Unitl there is evolved some method of classifying boys under certain aptitudes there is a possibility of round pegs being fitted into square holes. Such a condition means mental strain on the individual, and production is hampered by slow and poor work without the foreman being certain of the cause. Generally, the signs of industrial misfits are abundant. Slipshod work combined with continuous sickness of a slight nature, e.g., headaches, “not feeling up to the mark,” etc., often point to something being wrong. Add to this a machine which needs continual attention, drawn features, and an admission that the workman is “done up” at the end of his labour unit, and you have discovered a potential social menace—the round peg in a square hole. It is not right that health should suffer, nor is it reasonable to expect an individual so affected to reach the maximum output. It is better that he be transferred to work at which his capabilities can be utilised without the inner strain—the outward signs of which we have just noted. How many boys are drafted into wrong jobs it is impossible to judge, but in a highly specialised organisation such as our Railway Department there is no place for “trial and error” methods. Selectivity would pay handsomely.