Sanford Eleazer Thompson (1867–1949) was an American

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and consultant to the U.S. government and private sector. He is considered one of the key figures of the American

scientific management Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...

movement, which emerged in the

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (1890s–1920s) was a period in the United States characterized by multiple social and political reform efforts. Reformers during this era, known as progressivism in the United States, Progressives, sought to address iss ...

Education and early career

Thompson was trained as a civil engineer at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, graduating in 1889. He was initially employed in construction and hydraulic engineering before becoming an independent consultant from 1896 to 1917. Lyndall Urwick, ''The Golden Book of Management: A Historical Record of the Life and Work of Seventy Pioneers'' (1956) He entered the

United States Army Ordnance Corps The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a Combat service support (United States), sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia ...

as a lieutenant colonel in 1917.

Work with F.W. Taylor and the time study

Thompson was a key ally of

Frederick Winslow Taylor Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer. He was widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency. He was one of the first management consulting, management consultants. In 190 ...

and was important in the development of Taylor's time studies, particularly in the building industry. To accompany Taylor's

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

lectures, Thompson delivered an advanced course on time studies.Daniel Nelson, 'The Transformation of University Business Education' in ''A Mental Revolution: Scientific Management Since Taylor'' (1992) With Taylor, he co-wrote ''Concrete Costs'' (1912),F.W. Taylor and Sanford E. Thompson, ''Concrete Costs'' (John Wiley & Sons, 1912). Online a
Archive.org
/ref> a goal of which was to distil different kinds of manual labor into comparable ''Unit Times'' data.Michael R. Weatherburn, 'Scientific Management at Work: the Bedaux System, Management Consulting, and Worker Efficiency in British Industry, 1914–48' (Imperial College PhD thesis, 2014). Years later, Lyndall Urwick wrote of Thompson that 'To him belongs the credit for perfecting the "tool" of management, and to him is attributed the invention of the decimal-dial stop-watch.'

Consultancy career

When peace returned, Thompson established another

consultancy A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Con ...

, Thompson and Lichtner, of which he was president from 1925 through 1949. He was president of the Taylor Society in 1932. During World War Two, Thompson acted as a consultant to the U.S.

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

, Henry Lewis Stimson.

Education and early career

Work with F.W. Taylor and the time study

Consultancy career

Notes and references

Further reading