TWI History and Development

TWI has experienced a rediscovery in the 21st century. Despite being mostly forgotten between the post-war era and today, the sound principles of TWI are present in modern day training programs, such as OJT. If one pulls on the thread, the history of TWI unravels and leads us beyond WWII into the early 1900’s, nearly 100 years ago, where Charles Allen applied training principles that were thirty years old at that time. Like any solid principle that stands the test of time, we can come back to the present and realize TWI is as sound today in a company like Toyota as it was 100 years ago. You see, TWI has a common theme and it is rooted in the concept that “people are people” no matter the time or place along the timeline of history. The history of TWI plays an important part in the history of the United States; the program helped us and our allies win a world war. If we, “each and every person” as a country, take the time to study, understand and apply the principles underpinning the skills of the program, it is certain we can overcome many economic challenges facing us today.

TWI has its roots in pre-WWI times. The most prominent influence of the TWI program was Charles Allen, an industrial instructor of WWI shipyards, who authored the book: The Instructor, the Man and His Job, published in 1919. It is Allen’s insightful, practical experience in understanding the human mind through the context of industrial efforts that lay the foundations for Job Instruction. Allen expanded his work in another book entitled, Managing Minds. This book worked outside the boundaries of “theoretical psychology” and focused on the details of “practical psychology” that should be used in organizational leadership.

Allen’s message of utilizing proven, “practical” methods vs. narrowly defined theories is a lesson that can be learned today. It is very difficult not to succumb to the complex theories of organizational leadership that are quickly and creatively packaged for industrial managements’ consumption, only to cherry pick bits and pieces we think we are comfortable with. This is especially true today under the professional pressures to perform at very high levels: it is tempting, if not inevitable, to embrace the newest, sophisticated methods of management, versus the proven “simple” and “outdated” methods of the past. After all, who wants to be on the trailing edge of organizational development?

Another influence found in the Assistant Director’s files, at the National Archives, is Chester Barnard, President of Bell Telephone company. In 1940, Harvard University Press published a booklet titled, The Nature of Leadership. This publication was a collection of talks and discussions Barnard engaged in with various organizations. In the opening paragraph, Barnard wryly states:

"'Leadership' has been the subject of an extraordinary amount of dogmatically stated nonsense. Some, it is true, has been enunciated by observers who have had no experience themselves in coordinating and direct the activities of others; but much of it has come from men of ample experience, often of established reputations as leaders. As to the latter we may assume that they know how to do well what they do not know how to describe or explain. At any rate, I have found it difficult not to magnify superficial aspects and catch-phrases of the subject to the status of fundamental propositions, generalized beyond all possibility of useful application, and fostering misunderstanding."

In other words, there are a lot of people out there that think they know the topic of leadership, but do not. Those that are talking about the topic, are in fact unable to teach leadership in such a way that people understand the nature of leadership. Sixty-seven years later, have things really changed?

Another strong influence in the TWI program is the concept of work simplification. This principle of industrial engineering is epitomized in Job Methods Training, where people are trained in “how to improve methods”. There are a number of people who mastered the concept of work simplification, namely Alan Mogensen. Mogensen is known for advocating worker involvement in all improvement activities:

Lillian and Frank Gilbreth were also known for their very early work in improving work methods; in fact, Lillian Gilbreth was on Mogensen’s conference staff for many years after its initial founding in 1937. However, lesser known members of industry were working on similar programs in the field. Clifton Cox is considered to be the main architect of TWI’s Job Methods Training (JMT) program. In August of 1941, Clifton Cox presented the basic outline for Job Methods Training to Alan Mogensen, Glenn Gardiner (JIT co-creator) and a Professor Dave Porter at the Lake Placid conference. Anyone familiar with the works of the Gilbreths and Mogensen, can easily see the principles of work simplification in Job Methods principles.

Once Cox, Gardner and other TWI representatives had polished the program through September 1942, it was time to officially launch the program. In December 1942, the first JMT Institute was held at the Picatinny Arsenal in northwestern New Jersey. Traditionally a research and development facility, the arsenal was charged with turning out munitions on three shifts while employing 18,000 people in WWII. In just three years after learning the skill of improving methods through JMT, Picatinny had logged over $8 million in savings through employee suggestions.

In case you are wondering, in 2007 that is nearly $100 million of savings due to common sense ideas when adjusted for inflation. Would you like $30 million per year in cost savings?


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