The arrows indicate the movement of raw materials through the shops to the finished goods storeroom, and from thence to the shipping platform. If these lines are traced it will be seen that at no point is the material twice moved over the same ground. Each move takes it to the next operation and one step nearer completion. Where materials and parts enter a shop at two or more points, the lines are merged, showing that these materials leave that shop as one piece, part, or finished article. A feature underlying the whole plan is economy in the movement of work in process. All work moves _through_ a shop, not back and forth in the shop. The ideal conditions do not always exist, neither can they be brought about in every case. Many plants, built in the past, have been planned without due regard for these matters; their importance was not appreciated and the buildings are so located that it is impossible to secure entirely satisfactory results. However, if present conditions are studied carefully, many improvements can be brought about at slight expense. While, as we have intimated, this is a problem for engineers, a number of cases might be cited where the accountant, called in to systematize the accounting methods of a manufacturing business, has suggested physical changes in the shops that have resulted in marked reductions in costs. =26. Planning the Office.= The average office is arranged in a very haphazard way. Departments are located with little regard for their departmental relations; desks are placed where they fit best rather than according to any preconceived plan. [Illustration: Fig. 9. Layout of a Typical Manufacturing Plant] Logical arrangement of the office has as great an influence on the economical conduct of the work as does the physical arrangement of the shop. The most important requisite in the layout of an office is good light. While ideal conditions are impossible to attain in some buildings used for offices, much can be accomplished by placing the desks to take full advantage of the light that is available. The writer once visited an office in which sixty or more people were employed in one big room. Most of the light came from the rear and practically all of the desks faced the light, which is recognized as most injurious to eyesight. The manager of the office was asked why the desks were not placed in proper position, and he replied that they were placed so that the employes would sit with their backs to the entrance, and not have their attention detracted from the work by visitors. He considered this an important move, but overlooked the more vital fact that his employes were not only ruining their eyesight but were actually doing less work than would have been done under more favorable conditions.