Harrington Emerson

Harrington Emerson (August 2, 1853 – September 2, 1931) was one of the most important and relevant figures who revolutionized Industrial Engineering. He is known for his contributions to scientific management, where he developed an efficiency testing approach.

Biography

His parents were Edwin and Mary Louisa Emerson. Emerson was married twice: in the 1870s to Florence Brooks and in 1895 to Mary Crawford Supple. Their son Raffe was born in 1880. Emerson and Mary Supple had three daughters: Louise, Isabel, and Margaret. From his beginnings, Emerson had important political influences since a large part of his family dedicated his activities to it. His maternal grandfather, Samuel Delucenna Ingham, is a clear example of this since he held important positions with the United States Government, becoming Secretary of the Treasury of the United States Government. In this way, Samuel became founder and owner of the Hazleton Coal and Railroad Company, thus ensuring the fortune for the Emerson family.

From a very young age, Harrington was available to tutors and private schools in England, France and Greece. He was also an engineering student at the Royal Bavarian Polytechnique. Upon completion of his studies, he returned to the United States and became a professor of modern languages at the University of Nebraska. However, he was dismissed in 1882 due to confrontations of a religious nature. Emerson put his academic interests aside to begin a career as a banker, property speculator, tax agent, fiscal agent, and problem solver for the Union Pacific and Burlington and Missouri railroads.

Emerson established his own private lending company in 1883, and in collaboration with his brother Samuel formed a company that invested in the construction of future towns in western Nebraska. Emerson invested $70,000 in projects for the Lincoln Land Company, but because of drought and crop failure, he was unable to make his mortgage payments and lost his entire fortune. In 1896 Emerson was in charge of the political campaign for the presidential elections and was the representative of the English investment syndicate.

For the development of American industries, Emerson devoted himself to raising funds through research in manufacturing, and the mining business. Thanks to time spent researching, Emerson had the industry knowledge necessary to create an industrial efficiency consulting foundation, which led to him once again being the right-hand man for President William Jennings Bryan's campaign. After this Emerson began to work in mechanical engineering to apply it to electric power and diesel for maritime navigation. Later, in 1897, he worked for the General Electric Storage Battery Company in New York to be in charge of the research line. At the company's request, Emerson moved to Seattle, Washington and experimented with electric sailing power vessels. Lured by the "Gold Rush" in Alaska in 1897, Emerson and various associates pursued a variety of speculative projects. One of Emerson's most ambitious projects was the proposed construction of a trans-Pacific telegraph cable from Seattle to the Philippines via Alaska. The project failed due to financial and legal complications, so he decided to take the industrial efficiency consulting job to cover the debt.

After his success as CEO of a small glassworks in Pennsylvania in 1900, Emerson decided to take up efficiency engineering as a profession. Through meetings of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, he became a working partner with Frederick W. Taylor, the founder of scientific management. Between 1921-28 he was an adviser to government leaders and transport ministers of China, Japan, Peru, Poland and the Soviet Union.

From this period, Harrigton Emerson dedicated himself to working within the industrial field, developing projects, techniques and principles that would innovate the world of industry.

The twelve principles of efficiency of the Emerson Method

His book, The Twelve Principles of Efficiency (1911), presented the foundations for efficient operations, and his 12 principles, which somewhat paralleled the teachings of Frederick Winslow Taylor, were the following:

1. Ideals clearly defined.
2. Common sense.
3. Competent advice.
4. Discipline.
5. Fair deal.
6. Reliable, immediate and appropriate records.
7. Distribution of work orders.
8. Standards and programs.
9. Conditions.
10. Standard operations.
11. Instruction of standard practice in writing.
12. Reward efficiency.

There is no doubt that the 12 principles expounded by Harrington Emerson in 1911 are as valid today as they were then.