Forward

M O D E R N industry is characterized by the extent to which scientific research and technique based on precise study have contributed to its progress. So complete has been the adaptation of arid reliance on scientific research in many industries that it is difficult at this time to visualize the state of affairs of two or three decades ago, when substantially all industry on its technical .side was dependent for advancement on cut-and-try, rule-of-thumb, methods of development. Today in many industries the management would not think of embarking on a new project without consulting their research engineers. M a n y industries have proved the benefits to be derived from the utilization of that organized knowledge provided both in the fields of the physical sciences and in those newer fields which have to do with psychology and economics. There are still greater numbers of industrial organizations where the adoption of scientific methods has been slow. However, the time will undoubtedly come when every industry will recognize the aid it can derive from scientific research in some form as it now recognizes its dependence for motive power on steam or electricity rather than on muscular activity.