Job analysis on the LMS: mechanisation and modernisation c.1930–c.1939

This paper explores the development of job analysis by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in the 1930s. It argues that historians have criticised the management decisions made by railway companies during the inter-war period without having examined the process by which these decisions were reached. Only by examining the process of managerial decision-making using internal company documentation can such claims be justified. The paper examines the market environment of inter-war freight haulage at LMS, followed by a review of the terminal handling process. This provides the context for an analysis of the contribution of Lewis C. Ord and job analysis to the modernisation and mechanisation of LMS terminal. The paper concludes that, while lacking financial sophistication, the LMS, by reflecting upon internal processes, delivered more efficient although not necessarily more economical working.