INDUSTRY GOES METRIC

[Music] actual white9 next person Ste rate white uh 10 actual weight 6 down three is 20 gtimes eight Mak it into points [Music] and 41 24 furong plus the other five furong you can convert wats to horsepower diving 7 when they're live and stiff and fresh you can't get as many in a crown as when they drill that 468 with um 716 of an inch drill chuck it turn a 16th off of each end Finish or a rough turning is 525 5 25 power over half inch 50 to 70 industry is going metric why well for 20 centuries our Imperial weights and measures have been proliferating ever since those Romans came we have been adding new values to traditional ones at present much of our industry and commerce is based on this jumble of imperial units our many special ways of measuring are a frequent source of confusion in Britain and abroad we cannot work in this mudle any longer when most of the rest of the world has already adopted the metric system we've been the odd man out and we risk losing out on trade so industry is going metric and the British businessmen can emerge from behind the crumbling barrier of Imperial weights and measures better equipped to break into new metric markets metric man is our biggest potential customer his life is measured by Metric standards he buys all his daily needs in metric quantities and sizes metric rules govern his coming and is going oh well if this crunch comes British industry can deliver the goods our Pharmaceuticals have already gone metric we live by trade in a world whose daily ways are metric let's tailor our products to the pattern our metric customers demand incidentally most Miss worlds have already got it taped they AR great in metric 90 6090 or 900 600 900 if you're an engineer thinking in millimeters thinking and working in metric gives our Engineers indeed everyone in Industry the opportunity to bring in new ideas to advise and guide them there are the metrication Bo chairman Lord Rich chalder the British standards institution Bob fieldin and the confederation of British Industries represented by Eric felgate in 1965 the cbi's predecessor the FBI went to the government and suggested that the country really could not afford to delay going metric any longer I don't say that every firm wanted the metric change but but a majority certainly did when uh the uh British industry decided or convince itself that it should go metric as part of this world historical process uh the government gave it all the backing it wanted uh and it's part of this process was to set up the metrication board and the CBI Works closely with the metrication board with members of ours serving on its steering committees and making sure that the practical needs of business especially if small business are understood we have no power to compel anybody to go metri we can persuade we can coordinate as say we can help them to see how they're working in conjunction with other people and indeed we can communicate and keep them informed provide them with early warning systems and provide them with publicity to create the climate of the change but this is a job of persuasion if British industry to keep Pace with the rest of the world let alone take the lead we shall have to go metric ourselves sooner or later and the CBI thinks it makes sense to go metric now I regard myself as a hot gospel uh I am not in charge of the metric system I'm in charge of the metrication board the process of going metric the whole if you like of standards and units and so forth or elsewhere standards for example uh with the British standard institution and with Mr fieldon here 1,400 British standards are already in metric units and we are adding to them at the rate of over 500 a year we're using the International System of metric units known for short as SI many of us are familiar from our school days with the cmet G second or CGS system of units for industry larger units were needed did so the MKS or meter kilg second system developed now we have a metric system which has been accepted throughout the world there are six base units the meter for length the kilogram for Mass the second for time the Ampere for electric current the Kelvin for temperature the Candela for luminous intensity SI is a coherent and logical system so from these six base units we can derive all the others for example 1 M by 1 M gives 1 square m the unit of area for velocity it is the m/s there are other more technical units including the Newton for Force named after the great is which are becoming rapidly accepted in Science and Industry to prevent numbers becoming unreasonably large or small we use prefixes for example kilo means 1,000 times bigger and mil means 1,000 times smaller that very simply is the essence of the International System of Units it's already been accepted by all the industrial countries except those in North America now in true it's true isn't that that here in Britain we are taking a lead amongst these industrial countries in making a jump from the not only from the Imperial but over a lot of the difficulties of the conventional metric system and that is quite true and we're leap frogging the continent you know what I find about so striking about the SI system is that it's so simple to use because it's coherent you can forget all those horrible conversion factors we all brought up on you know 746 wats equal 1 horsepower 33,000 ftlb per minute ditto all those go in si you can start with the fuel into a par station and come out with the ultimate kilowatt without needing a single conversion factor down the line similarly the ratings of domestic heating equipment will all be in kilowatts says you can compare one form with another so here we got our complete Universal numerical language in fact these engineers and the scientists and the people on the shop floor and the salesmen are now talking the same language all over the world like the Anglo French team building the Jaguar aircraft the load at the moment is 2,50 kg with this new tank it's going to bring us up another 200 kg another yes 200 kg but we're going to have a bit a problem with this switch this is a switch that we agreed the use of metric units speeds up communication between the various Technologies Mechanicals can now talk to electricals to chemical friends those who are doing fuel flows in the same units the same language so that all of them now will be able to abandon using their slide rules to talk to one another right L is one met for the probe and three met more to to go to the switch there is four met the Anglo French Jaguar is the first complete airplane built in Britain from metric drawings and as Mr Campbell tells us the British aircraft Corporation has been working in metric for some time well here at BAC we have found that in this change over to the metric system the problems which we anticipated would give us a great deal of trouble have turned out be very much simpler than we thought on the shop floor the use of metric system enables the two national teams to talk to one another in the same dimensional language and this makes for a great deal of simplification will not still 20.5 Newton M so you set that okay although there are distinct advantages in the use of SI units on the shop floor the area in which the greatest Advantage occurs is in the design and Technical area our problem on design was the question of stopping the draftsman from thinking in inches this we did by reading the riot act to some extent and introducing them to the fact that using metric Dimensions they should be working reasonably in whole numbers there isn't any question but the use of Si does speed up the calculation we have got rid of a lot of extraneous conversion factors and are working strictly in powers of 10 we have here a coherent system not un naturally when we started to change over to metrication we had certain wies one of these was the dislocation that might occur both in the design side and work side through a fall off in productivity of the operators in fact this is something which we never noticed we couldn't point to anything where metrication had caused any disruption one of the problems which does arise in manufacturer is the making of tools and jigs for our metric aircraft in our tool room we had a jig Bora calibrated in inch units we provided the operator with a little calculator so that he could convert the millimeter dimensions on his drawings into inch units we we have since replaced this by our metric jig Bora where we have to provide an inch part he uses his calculator to reverse the procedure we found that the amount of retraining which was necessary was much less than we anticipated we have in fact I think all through this been inclined to underrate the intelligence of our work people they have picked this up very much quicker than we expected so that the amount of retraining we had to do was quite small this is a wonderful opportunity golden opportunity for a whole spring cleaning operation clearing out the lumber room of old habits of the traditional ways of doing things and making enormous economies now the the the big boys have found this out in a very big way not only the big boys metrication isn't just for the large companies after all a great many small companies are very much bound up with them as suppliers other small companies are specialists in their own right uh in services or products and they too are going to benefit and quite outside these categories people are going to benefit from the general Improvement and technological standards which is the whole aim and object of the metric change Let me Give an example from the building industry in the old Imperial range of standard Windows there were no fewer than 1,600 different sizes in the metric range going from the same big to the same small we're doing it in under 200 at duro's building units Mr Clarkson describes his company's experience of going metric the three main reasons we decided to go metric firstly to reduce the range of standard components from 1700 down to 700 we also felt it was a good opportunity to obtain modular coordination within our products also it was an aid to exporting to other countries her concrete is manufactured from three basic raw materials lime sand and cement material is mixed into large molds and is then cut into various components by means of wires similarly to cheese in December 1968 we decided to seize this opportunity and manufacture metric sizes to do this we closed our Factory down for 3 weeks changed all our molds and cutting systems Etc although we realized that we have to phase out our Imperial size units over 180 months to two years the difficulties are due solely to labor not being conversent with metric sizes but we have overcome these problems our labor is now thinking in metric terms and not thinking in terms of Imperial measurements it's simple to demonstrate that compared with traditional size building materials metric blocks used in a modular system with metric components save a great deal of time and money going metric means to the construction industry that all components will be produced to common metric preferences a full metric modulus system offers the customer faster and more accurate building with less wastage in fact higher productivity for relatively lower costs there's no secret ingredient here only dimensional coordination and standardization of components yet stand metric units still leave room for personal preference rationalization isn't the whole story there's been another benefit out of the use of the International System of Units and this has come in the shape of a bonus known as the concept of preferred numbers and this is a general idea which can run through the whole scheme of things beginning with raw material sizes bolts and nuts electric motors hydraulic cylinders and so on and the sizes go up instead of in the arbitary steps we've been used to in internationally agreed ratios and this will lead to a great variety reduction throughout the piece the effects of rationalization due to metrication must undoubtedly mean that in the long term we're going to use a smaller number of different components but in Greater volumes of each component this is the big advantage that is obvious this is the opinion of Mr Elms of guest keen and nettlefold I personally welcome the new standards that have been produced by the BSI and I'm quite certain that this goes for industry as a whole because we all realize that without the standards then we would have nothing but chaos I think the main benefits of metrication can be summed up quite concisely in the first case it is an opportunity to reappraise the engineering standards that we have taken from our forefathers and decide which we really need with the objective of reducing the number of different diameters and lengths that we use in our engineering constructions particularly we must encourage the user to select preferred diameters and preferred lengths and secondly it is a means of coming in line with the majority of the world from an engineering standards point of view those are the two big ones medication gives us the opportunity to sort everything out we simply must not waste this chance so how do we set about it how long will it take what will it cost and what do we hope to get out of it now I can tell you from our experience in the board that in point of fact the upheaval in industry is nothing like as serious as one we' have anticipated the difficulty isn't so much learning metric it's unlearning the imperial system but unlearning the old ways isn't so difficult even though Joe was always thought of pints or inches or pounds of one sort or another when Joel's Factory goes metric Joel's mind can change gear rapidly with a little help to start with he should beware the temptation to convert everything into the old units he'll learn the new measurements quickly enough but must guard against slipping back to more familiar values learning to think metric isn't the uphill struggle that people imagine the main thing is just forget the old terms Jo will find metric units provide a simpler more coherent path than the tangled web of Imperial calculations and conversion factors and given a sensible approach to training the new path is easy to learn metrication is like learning a new language translation is no substitute for thinking in the language conversion is only a shortterm solution and will inevitably lead to errors particularly if dual working is not kept to the absolute minimum everyone must be trained to think metric as quickly as possible but it's most important to evaluate the level of people's needs so you don't confuse them metric education must be Universal that is to say academic training should be coordinated with practical working indoctrination should if possible begin at least a year before the change over and Metric training itself should begin immediately before metric working commences people must learn to think and work instinctively in metric units what a meter looks like a kilogram a liter now how can this be achieved and before discussing how people should be told why we're going metric and having Sol the idea you can Embark upon a training program of lectures and practical demonstrations if you approach it in the right way training people to think metric is not a difficult problem well I've had a little practical experience on the shop floor in my old company when we built equipment for export to metric countries it had to be made in metric dimensions and we found that our men quite soon got to use got used to and got to like the metric measurements very much at the natur at the national level uh there is a big problem of planning however yes I think there's an awful lot to be said you know for having one single officer who is both responsible for the outline plan for the company and it also is the focal point for all the thousands of questions that are going to arise um he may not be able to answer the questions himself but he ought to be able to uh know where to go for the answer otherwise decisions will be uncoordinated and planning will not go smoothly firms must obviously plan their own timetable to suit local conditions one can expect a longest period of preparation for going metric followed by a steeply rising curve curve of activity but don't adopt an after you clawed attitude waiting until you can get metric stocks other firms are not waiting because stocks of metric raw material are already available according to Mr mccre we felt we had a duty to the engineering industry to place in a very large stock of metric steel to the qualities and sizes which we felt they would require and so we acquired additional warehouse space of some 27,000 Square ft or perhaps I should put that into 2,500 square MERS to be more exact we have already installed a computer to handle our stock records invoicing procedures and for giving us accurate information on the demand and the sales of metric specifications today when any company makes an inquiry what are we doing about uh the supply of metric steel we have a quite simple answer we send through to them with a covering letter details of the stocks already in existence and Mr LW assures us that supplies of metric Fasteners are available we were faced with a decision whether to sit on the fence and wait for a demand for metric Fasteners to build up and then fulfill it or to lay down a stock range thereby hoping to create a demand many people said that they could not even plan a metric change unless they were assured of the availability of metric fastness and therefore we had to make this decision and to put in a wide range of metric Fasteners and these have been found to fulfill the majority of requirements during the transition period now we are of course constantly reviewing and adding to our stock ranges now the important point is for the manufacturer or the designer when he's making a metric design to consult Us in advance and present us with a detailed breakdown of his requirements if these breakdowns are sent to us they can be collectively examined and our stock ranges can be adjusted accordingly GKN first started to look at putting in a stock range of metric Fasteners when the British standards institution inquired of the supplying Industries their r to supply metric components and also when they were prepared to do so we have of course to supply what the customer wants and when he wants it and we therefore intend to stock and manufacture these Imperial sizes for as long as he does want them in volume quantities when these quantities become uneconomic they will carry a price premium and will slowly be phased out furthermore metric components will be very much easier to obtain because they will become a First Choice preferred thread and deliveries and availability of them will be very much easier and better than the obsolete Imperial components the conversion or replacement of Machine Tools should not delay the change to metric according to Mr Harrison of Alfred Herbert limited there may be people who are worried about the problems of their machine tools and going metric I can assure them that the British Machine Tool industry is anxious to help with this problem and has products capable of assisting this change readily I believe that the change to metrication will take as long as the average cycle of replacement of products will take so that by changing over on New Designs the phasing out of obsolescent tooling and gauging can be done more readily because the new designs will involve the phasing in of new gaug and tooling where the policy is that the introduction of metric will be phased over some time the workshops will be producing sometimes in metric and sometimes in Imperial there is no need for the purchase of a lot of new Machine Tools most manufacturers can supply equipment to provide the machine with dual measuring devices one of the most common is that micrometer dials are duplicated on the machine and the metric one is driven at a slightly different rate from the Imperial one by internal epicyclic gearing one of the more sophisticated measuring devices is the digital readout this measures dimensions in absolute terms and these can be expressed in either metric or imperial standards the choice being determined by the location of a switch numerically controlled Machine Tools can accommodate conversion to metric relatively easily usually the method of doing this is to put the conversion into the tape so that the machine whether it is built to Imperial or metric measurements produces to the metric requirements as far as gauges are concerned there is a different problem here because generally gauges are made so that they do not wear and consequently they seldom have an adjustable characteristic and gauges really have got to be replaced by gauges made to metric measurements training will be needed particular people with the problems of different tolerances most British Engineers are familiar with the th and the quarter th and so on and many of them do not even know the terms used with metric tolerances this is a matter for Education and Training when companies have changed over completely to metric they will have no problem with Machine Tools because the British Machine Tool industry has been exporting machines to metric using countries for many years and is quite familiar with the the requirements for those circumstances Brook mortars is one of the firms which already has a stockpile of metric experience according to Mr Hall and Mr Bentley BR motor started to go metric in 1961 because we were anticipating the coming of the Common Market and it was obvious that to get business in that market we should have to make to metric dimensions then with the Advent of the British standard change to metric we decided Ed to close down the inch lines and now produce something like 85% of our motors for Europe and the UK in the metric frame sizes the first steps towards metrication covered those aspects of the motor which affect the customer the shaft Center rise height the shaft diameter and of course the bolt holes for fixing the motor down to its base going metric has reduced the size of the motor and it's a few pounds lighter or perhaps I should say key when we went metric the only real problem we had was a flange mounted motor and in this case it did unfortunately mean a redesign throughout the range this change did cause interface problems with our customers which had to be solved by planning ahead and cooperating with our customers we were able to reduce these problems considerably of course when Britain goes fully metric designers will be incorporating Metric Motors in into machines designed to metric standards and the problem will Disappear Completely in Europe we have strong competition and if we hadn't gone metric it would have become practically impossible to sell any Motors to our friends and neighbors across the water when we've made this change we should be using the same units of measurement as nearly 90% of the world's population speaking the same language of measurement as they do and we shall get this tremendous bonus in simplifying rationalizing and economizing in all we do in industry in Commerce and in the home as well there's only one good reason for going metric and that's because it's good business good business for the company and good business for the country this is a revolution a painless Revolution which should have happened many many years ago but now we are setting the pace for the rest of the world as we did in the first Industrial Revolution and the benefits are going to be enormous [Music] the [Music]