The Modern Office - 25 mins
This program begins with animation about office organisation. 150 years ago the only real office work consisted of letter and ledger writers. It seems that rail accidents forced the development of more formal reporting systems. Other companies followed the example and had paperwork systems. They were like office factories. (See picture from archive). Mr Taylor analysed ways of doing work and broke everything into tiny tasks. Light bulbs were attached to people to record what they did at work. Human relations and staff involvement became important. Rest breaks and new ideas were encouraged. Office buildings contain suspended ceilings with air conditioning, sprinklers and cabling. Furniture design changed. Use of plants inside. Old documentary records 1970's approach to automation. Behind the scenes are air conditioning engines, water chillers, lifts. The idea was always that machines should do the boring work, leaving interesting jobs for people. But sometimes the reality is different!
Program 1: Fax Machine
Program 2: Photocopier
Program 3: Lift / Elevator
Program 4: Electric Light
Program 5: Computer / Word Processor
Program 6: Modern Office
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