| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Mellen, Lowell O. |
| Title: | Lowell O. Mellen Papers |
| Dates: | 1929-1971 |
| Extent: | 6.40 linear feet (10 containers) |
| Abstract: | Lowell O. Mellen (1897-1993) was a business consultant in Cleveland, Ohio, who pioneered the training techniques of Training Within Industry (TWI) as a representative of the War Manpower Commission in the Northern District of Ohio during World War II. After the war, he was recruited by General Douglas MacArthur to train supervisors and workers in Japan in the techniques of Training Within Industry in order to quickly stabilize the Japanese economy by making its industrial base more efficient. Mellen's company, Training Within Industry, Inc., trained over one million supervisors and workers in Japan. Mellen's training programs in job instruction, job methods, job relations, problem solving, and job safety are credited as the foundation for industrial programs that stress continuous improvement and lean management. The collection consists of agreements, budgets, bulletins, certificates, contracts, correspondence, forms, histories, index card files, lists, manuals, notes, program descriptions, proposals, publications, reports, studies, training materials, and vouchers. |
| MS Number | MS 5204 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English and Japanese |
Lowell O. Mellen (1897-1993) was born in Streetsboro, Ohio, to Otis and Gertrude (Cannon) Mellon. After attending Ravenna High School for two years, Mellon's family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he graduated from West Technical High School in 1912. He specialized in shop classes at West Tech, and began working as an industrial trainer and instructor at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron. From 1921-1924, Mellon returned to Cleveland where he taught drawing and math at area industrial plants and opened his own automobile sales agency. He then moved to Buffalo, New York, where he served as the direct sales director for B. F. Goodrich until 1941.
When the United States entered World War II, Mellen was recruited by the War Manpower Commission to become the Northern Ohio District representative for the Training Within Industry (TWI) program. This new industrial training program had been developed by the United States government to improve efficiency and production at industrial plants critical to the war effort. Mellen recruited local industries to use the Training Within Industry program which included courses in job instruction, work methods, and worker-supervision relations, and then implemented TWI programs at those plants. Mellen served in this capacity from 1941-1945.
At the end of the war, Mellen founded Training Within Industry, Inc., in Cleveland to continue his career in job training and instruction methodology as the defense industry converted back to peacetime production. TWI taught techniques of worker participation in management decisions, improved methods of supervisor training, the concept of continuous improvement, and enlightened employee relations.
TWI consists of four basic training programs. Job Instruction courses taught trainers to train inexperienced workers faster by breaking down the jobs into closely defined steps and placing responsibility for worker learning on the instructor. Job Methods courses taught workers to evaluate the efficiency of their jobs, analyze each step of their duties, and suggest improvements. Job Relations courses taught supervisors to have effective and fair relationships with their workers, emphasizing the lesson that "People Must Be Treated As Individuals." Program Development courses helped supervisors solve problems through training.
These four TWI courses evolved and expanded to include courses in Job Safety, Problem Solving, and Discussion Leading.
His company attracted the attention of General Douglas McArthur who, fearful of mass starvation and unrest in occupied Japan, was anxious to revive industry there. In 1951 Mellen took the TWI program to Japan where his efforts transformed the postwar Japanese management style from an inefficient paternalistic tradition. Although other Americans introduced TWI in other countries, Mellen's efforts in Japan had the most lasting effect. Within two years of his arrival in Japan, Mellen's company had trained over a million plant supervisors and foremen. Back in the United States, he continued to teach TWI techniques until he retired in 1985.
In 1929, Lowell Mellen married Mildred Manthey (d. 1965); they had no children. A resident of Bay Village, he was buried at Lakewood Park Cemetery.
Mellen's industrial training legacy in Japan is illustrated by the fact that Japanese companies now offer TWI training to American companies and bring TWI methods to the United States when Japanese businesses and industry open plants in America. TWI pioneered the concepts of continuous improvement and the employee suggestion box. Mellen's TWI training program is largely credited for contemporary Japanese management style known as Kaizen and to the ascent of Japan into world markets. Mellen's TWI techniques were successfully adapted by the Toyota Motor Corporation in conjunction with the Lean or Just In Time principles of Taiichi Ohno.
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Lowell Mellen
The Lowell O. Mellen Papers, 1929-1971 and undated, consist of agreements, budgets, bulletins, certificates, contracts, correspondence, forms, histories, index card files, lists, manuals, notes, program descriptions, proposals, publications, reports, studies, training materials, and vouchers.
This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of Training Within Industry job training techniques and the use of TWI by the War Manpower Commission during World War II in Ohio to quickly and efficiently convert large and small industrial companies from peacetime to war production. Those interested in Lowell Mellen's activities with the War Manpower Commission in northern Ohio and Cleveland will find this collection particularly useful. Those studying the development of Training Within Industry methods of job training, particularly in postwar Japan, will find this collection useful. Those seeking documentation of TWI theory and practice will find the manuals and program materials authored by the War Manpower Commission, the Training Within Industry Foundation, and Lowell Mellen's Training Within Industry, Inc. useful. The collection thoroughly documents the TWI techniques of job instruction, job methods, job relations, employee-management relations, problem solving, management, cost controls, material handling, plant evaluation, quality control, production control, productivity improvement, and job safety that were used by Lowell Mellen and TWI, Inc. Those seeking documentation of the activities and practices of the War Manpower Commission in a defense production economy and Training Within Industry, Inc. in a peacetime economy will find this collection particularly useful.
None.
Related MaterialThe researcher should also consult PG 596 Lowell O. Mellen Photographs.
Separated MaterialAll photographs and audio-visual material has been removed to PG 596 Lowell O. Mellen Photographs.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5204 Lowell O. Mellen Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of Lowell and Mildred Mellen in 1991.
Processed by Margaret Burzynski-Bays in 2014.
Series I: War Manpower Commission, Training Within Industry Division 1941-ca. 1946 |
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Sub-series A: Administrative Files 1941-ca. 1946 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Correspondence 1943-1945 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Employee personnel information cards, District #12 1944 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | "The First Million" Award 1944 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | History of Training Within Industry, District 3-4, New York State ca. 1946 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | History of Training Within Industry, District 12, Cleveland, Ohio, 1940-1945 ca. 1946 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | List of companies and unions served in former District #10, Southern half of Ohio and Indiana counties of Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, and Washington ca. 1946 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | List of companies and unions served by District #12, Northern half of Ohio ca. 1946 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Personnel file, Lowell O. Mellen 1941-1945 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9-11 | Reimbursement vouchers, Lowell O. Mellen (unarranged) 1941-1945 | |||||||||
Sub-series B: Manuals and Other Publications 1942-1945 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Job Instruction, Sessions Outline and Reference Material 1944 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Job Instruction Training 1942 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Job Relations, 10-Hour Sessions Outline and Reference Material 1944 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Program Development Institute 1945 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Training Within Industry Materials 1945 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | United States Employment Service Manual 1943 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | TWI Newsletter 1943 | |||||||||
Sub-series C: Index Card Files 1941-1945 |
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| Box | |||||||||||
| 5 | Northern District of Ohio, Cleveland industry recruitment call reports, including company name, company address, executive name, training director name, peacetime production, war goods production, TWI training schedule, training statistics, consultant's follow-up report, and consultant's remarks 1941-1945 | ||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 6 | Northern District of Ohio, Cleveland register cards, including company name, company address, number of employees, TWI program used, and company trainer contact information 1941-1945 | ||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 7 | Northern District of Ohio, non-Cleveland deferred action cards, including company name, company address, TWI consultant name, number of employees and supervisors, presentation data, and TWI program information 1941-1945 | ||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 8 | Northern District of Ohio, non-Cleveland preferred action cards and union cards, including company name, company address, number of employees, number of supervisors, prewar product, war product, post-war product, presentation data, and TWI program information 1941-1945 | ||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 8-9 | Northern District of Ohio, non-Cleveland register cards, including including company name, company address, number of employees, TWI program used, and company trainer contact information 1941-1945 | ||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 10 | Southern District of Ohio, trainer cards, including company name, company address, number of employees, product name, executive name, trainer's name, and date of trainer certification 1941-1945 | ||||||||||
Series II: Training Within Industry, Inc. 1949-1970 undated |
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Sub-series A: Administrative Files 1949-1970 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Bowdill Company, Canton, Ohio, proposal of service and interim report 1949 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Bulletin to Management undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Business development for publishing business undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 22 | China Rubber and Tire Manufacturing Corporation, LTD, Taiwan 1954-1956 | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Contract between Lowell Mellen and Robert Murphy 1964 | |||||||||
| 1 | 24 | Course completion certificates undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 25 | Department of State, Agency for International Development, management training proposal and correspondence 1968 | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | Foreign Operations Administration, Mutual Security Agency, contract for services 1952-1953 | |||||||||
| 1 | 27 | Forms used in training sessions, blank undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 28 | Indonesia, contract between TWI, Inc. and the Agency for International Development for management fundamentals program 1962 | |||||||||
| 1 | 29 | Indonesia, implementation of Training Within Industry programs 1959-1962 | |||||||||
| 1 | 30 | Indonesia, job safety training program 1963 | |||||||||
| 1 | 31 | International Cooperation Administration, team projects proposal 1958 | |||||||||
| 1 | 32 | Japan, budgets for project 1955 | |||||||||
| 1 | 33 | Japan, contract with the United States Army 1950 | |||||||||
| 1 | 34 | Japan, International Cooperation Agency reports 1951-1960 | |||||||||
| 1 | 35 | Japan, Japan Industrial Training Productivity Study Team conference materials 1964 | |||||||||
| 1 | 36 | Japan, Sumitomo Electric Industries, fee agreements 1960-1970 | |||||||||
| 1 | 37 | Japan, survey of six representative companies 1952 | |||||||||
| 1 | 38 | Reading list ca. 1960s | |||||||||
| 1 | 39-40 | Training materials, unidentified undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 41 | Training Within Industry Foundation, correspondence 1961 | |||||||||
Sub-series B: Program Descriptions ca. 1950s-ca. 1960s undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 42 | A Basic Plan for Management of Supervisory Development undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 43 | List of industries and products for contracted training programs by Foreign Operation Administration, Industrial Technical Assistance Division undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 44 | Long Range Training Program undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 45 | Management Engineering and Production Training Program for Foreign Nationals undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 46 | Management Skill Development for Mansfield Tires undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 47 | Miscellaneous program descriptions 1950s-1960s | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Outline of Services to Acquaint Foreign Representatives with Training Within Industry Programs undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 2 | Problem Analysis and Management Development ca. 1950s | |||||||||
| 2 | 3 | Problem Analysis and Management Development undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 4 | Problem Solving Techniques undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 5 | Production Cost Improvement undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 6 | Production Management Study undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Productivity Programs undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 8 | Productivity Systems ca. 1950s | |||||||||
| 2 | 9 | Supervisory Development Survey for Executive Management undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 10 | Supplementing Successful Management for SOHIO 1958 | |||||||||
| 2 | 11 | System for Improving Productivity of Sales and Merchandizing Services by Compliance with Prescribed Operation Procedures ca. 1950s | |||||||||
| 2 | 12 | Training Director's Institute 1951 | |||||||||
Sub-series C: Manuals 1950-1966 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 13 | A Basic Plan for Management or Supervisory Development undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 14 | Follow Through Institute Conductor's Manual and Follow Through Trainer's Guide undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 15 | How to Instruct the Worker undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 16 | How to Train and Develop Employees 1966 | |||||||||
| 2 | 17 | Institute Conductor's Manual for Job Instruction Follow Through Trainer undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 18 | Job Instruction Follow-Through Trainer, Institute Conductor's Manual, 8 Hours undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 19 | Job Instruction Manual, Sessions Outline, and Reference Material undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 20 | Job Instruction Manuals ca. 1950s | |||||||||
| 2 | 21-22 | Job Instruction Training 1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 23-24 | Job Instruction Training Manual undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 25 | Job Instruction Training Manual, Sessions Outline, and Reference Material 1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 26 | Job Instructor Training undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 27 | Job Methods Improvement Training Manual, Sessions Outline, and Reference Material 1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 28 | Job Methods Training 1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 29 | Job Methods Training undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 30 | Job Relations Training ca. 1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 31-32 | Management Fundamentals Training Manual 1962 | |||||||||
| 2 | 33-34 | A Manual for Program Presentation and Installation 1950 | |||||||||
| 2 | 35 | Material Handling Seminar for Foreign Participants Sponsored by the International Cooperation Administration undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 36 | A Model Training Policy for Development of Managers, Supervisors, and Workers 1952 | |||||||||
| 2 | 37 | Organization-Management and Responsibilities of Supervisors, A Training Manual for Management and Supervisory Personnel 1955 | |||||||||
| 2 | 38 | Organization-Management and Responsibilities of Supervisors, A Training Manual for Management and Supervisory Personnel, Sessions I, II, and III 1955 | |||||||||
| 2 | 39 | Organization-Management and Responsibilities of Supervisors, A Training Manual for Management and Supervisory Personnel, Sessions IV, V, and VI 1955 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Organization-Management and Responsibilities of Supervisors, A Training Manual for Management and Supervisory Personnel, Sessions VII and VIII 1955 | |||||||||
| 3 | 2 | Organization-Management and Responsibilities of Supervisors, A Training Manual for Management and Supervisory Personnel, Supplement 1955 | |||||||||
| 3 | 3 | Plan for Improving Job Methods undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 4 | Problem Solving Training for Management and Supervisory Personnel 1955 | |||||||||
| 3 | 5 | A Refresher Program for Job Instruction Training undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 6 | System for Improving Productivity of Sales and Merchandising Services undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 7 | Trainer's Manual for Job Control Training, Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 8 | Wallet Card Checklists undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 9 | Work Simplification Checklist undated | |||||||||
Sub-series D: Program Materials and Reports 1951-1962 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 10 | Basic Training Within Industry Management Skills undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 11 | Coaching Guide undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 12 | Common Kinds of Company Meetings undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 13 | Conference to Solve Problems Caused by Poor Letters (for Tappan) 1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 14 | Discussion Leading Program undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 15 | Final Report on Management Training for Japan 1956 | |||||||||
| 3 | 16 | Final Report of TWI, Inc. Upon Completion of Their Contract to June 4, 1951, with the Department of the Army (Japan Project) 1951 | |||||||||
| 3 | 17 | Five Basic Needs of the Supervisor undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 18 | How to Instruct the Worker undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 19 | How to Train and Develop Employees 1966 | |||||||||
| 3 | 20 | An Individual Training Program for Mr. A. Siregar, Director, Leather Institute, Indonesia undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 21 | Installation of the Training Within Industry Programs in Indonesia, Job Methods Training Final Report 1960 | |||||||||
| 3 | 22 | Installation of the Training Within Industry Programs in Japan, A Condensation of the Official Final Report ca. 1951 | |||||||||
| 3 | 23 | Institute of Productivity Head Office, Djakarta, TWI, Inc. Report 1962 | |||||||||
| 3 | 24 | Japanese Heat Treatment Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 25 | Japanese Heavy Construction Equipment Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 26 | Japanese Heavy Metal Press Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 27 | Japanese Hydraulic Equipment Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 28 | Japanese Industrial Skills Training Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 29 | Japanese Industrial Steel Fasteners Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 30 | Japanese Industrial Water Supply and Utilization Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 31 | Japanese Irrigation, Drainage, and Soil Conservation Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 32 | Japanese Materials Handling Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 33 | Japanese Metal Mining Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 34 | Japanese Water Pollution Control Study Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 35 | Japanese Welding Specialists Team, program, itinerary, and report 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 36 | Job Instructors Training Notes 1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 37 | Man-Machine Chart undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 38 | Management Functions and Controls Installed by the TWI Multiplier undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 39 | Management Fundamentals 1962 | |||||||||
| 3 | 40 | Management Fundamentals undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 41 | Material Handling Seminar 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 42 | Organization Management and the Duties and Responsibilities of Supervisors, index cards of Edward Scott undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 43 | Organization Program notes 1952 | |||||||||
| 3 | 44 | Over-Desk Presentation undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 45 | Pattern for TWI, Inc. Nationwide Installation ca. 1961 | |||||||||
| 3 | 46 | Problem Solving Program undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 47 | Procedures for Nationwide Installation of TWI Programs undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 48 | Production Problem Solving undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 49 | Proposal for Installation of TWI Service in Taiwan 1956 | |||||||||
| 3 | 50 | Proposal for Mexico 1956 | |||||||||
| 3 | 51 | Report on Implementation of Management Fundamentals Training in Indonesia 1962 | |||||||||
| 3 | 52 | The Stop Watch as a Measuring Tool undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 53 | Supervisors' Essential Needs for Applying Practical Management Principles undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 54 | Survey of Spring Wire, Sumitomo Electric Industries 1962 | |||||||||
| 3 | 55 | Training and Education of Distribution and Marketing Consultants 1957 | |||||||||
| 3 | 56 | Training for Training Directors 1956 | |||||||||
| 3 | 57 | The TWI, Inc. Productivity Programs, the Fundamental Concept undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 58 | Training Within Industry Program for Indonesia 1958-1962 | |||||||||
| 3 | 59 | Training Within Industry Program in Japan undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 60 | Using the Job Methods Program, Job Methods Follow Through ca. 1950s | |||||||||
| 3 | 61 | Yugoslav Men's Clothing Team, program and itinerary 1959 | |||||||||
| 3 | 62 | Yugoslav Open Pit Coal Mining Team, program and itinerary 1959 | |||||||||
Series III: Other Organizations 1929-1971 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 63 | B. F. Goodrich, budget material 1940 | |||||||||
| 3 | 64 | B. F. Goodrich, most valuable player program and sales figures 1929-1932 | |||||||||
| 3 | 65 | B. F. Goodrich, outline of and "A" budget presentation 1940 | |||||||||
| 3 | 66 | Brush Electronics Company, construction program 1956 | |||||||||
| 3 | 67 | Cleveland Public Schools, Department of Distributive Education, retail job relations training, "How to Supervise" instructor's outlines and supplementary sheets 1944 | |||||||||
| 3 | 68 | Gardiner, Glenn, "When Foreman and Steward Bargain" 1946 | |||||||||
| 3 | 69 | Goodyear Factory School, Mechanical Department, outline of courses ca. 1930s | |||||||||
| 3 | 70 | International Cooperative Administration, Office of Industrial Resources, technical bulletins 1953-1956 undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | National Malleable and Steel Casting Company, Cleveland Works, time and motion study and wage incentive plans 1956 | |||||||||
| 4 | 2 | State of Pennsylvania, Department of Public Instruction, Job Relations Trainnig for Retailers undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 3 | Trade Ways International, correspondence 1968-1971 | |||||||||
| 4 | 4 | Training Within Industry Foundation, Discussion Leading, 12-Hour Sessions Outline and Reference Material 1948 | |||||||||
| 4 | 5 | Training Within Industry Foundation, Job Economics Training 1950 | |||||||||
| 4 | 6 | Training Within Industry Foundation, Job Instruction, 10-Hour Sessions Outline and Reference Material 1956 | |||||||||
| 4 | 7 | Training Within Industry Foundation, Management Problem Solving, Outline for Trainers 1950 | |||||||||
| 4 | 8 | Training Within Industry Foundation, TWI Bulletin Series 1946 undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 9 | White Sewing Machine Corporation, How to Make a Proposal for Improvement undated | |||||||||