Walter Nicholas Polakov (July 18, 1879 – December 20, 1948 ) was a Russian

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

, consulting engineer, and pioneer of

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 engine ...

Biography

Early years

Walter Polakov was born in Luga, Russia, and attended High School in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

before studying for a

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

degree at the

Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technol ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

in 1902. Returning to Moscow, he studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and

industrial hygiene Occupational hygiene (United States: industrial hygiene (IH)) is the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, control, and confirmation (ARECC) of protection from hazards at work that may result in injury, illness, or affect the well being of work ...

before being employed at the Tula Locomotive Works, Moscow.

In the USA

In 1906 he emigrated with his family to the United States, where he was employed by the

American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

. There he met

Henry Gantt Henry Laurence Gantt (; May 20, 1861 – November 23, 1919) was an American mechanical engineer and management consultant who is best known for his work in the development of scientific management. He created the Gantt chart in the 1910s. Gantt ...

, who was a consultant for the company at that time. Polakov joined Gantt's consulting company in 1910 and got to know Frederick Taylor,

Frank Gilbreth Frank Bunker Gilbreth (July 7, 1868 – June 14, 1924) was an American engineer, consultant, and author known as an early advocate of scientific management and a pioneer of time and motion study, and is perhaps best known as the father and ce ...

and

Harrington Emerson Harrington Emerson (August 2, 1853 – September 2, 1931) was an American efficiency engineer and business theorist,Wallace Clark before launching his own consulting company in 1915. Polakov joined the Taylor Society at this time and supported a Marxist view of capitalism in their bulletin. He also joined the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

(ASME) and was part of a faction led by Gantt that broke from the ASME conference to hold their own meeting of the ''New Machine'', an organization which sought political as well as an economic power. About fifty people listened to Gantt's call for industrial reform and Polakov's analysis of inefficiency in the industrial context. Little came of their initiative despite lobbying

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...

to give more power to managers. However, responding to the war needs of the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, Gantt and Polakov were employed as consultants by the

Emergency Fleet Corporation The Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was established by the United States Shipping Board, sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board, on 16 April 1917 pursuant to the Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729) to acquire, maintain, and operate merchant sh ...

where Gantt finalized the development of his

Gantt chart A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule, named after its popularizer, Henry Gantt (1861–1919), who designed such a chart around the years 1910–1915. Modern Gantt charts also show the dependency relationsh ...

s. Having helped the US shipbuilders keep up with losses due to German submarine action, the Gantt charts were then applied to managing fleet movements at the U. S. Shipping Board.

In the USSR

Polakov returned to his native Russia—by then the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

—in 1929, staying until 1931. Whilst there he worked for the

Supreme Soviet of the National Economy Supreme Board of the National Economy, Superior Board of the People's Economy, (Высший совет народного хозяйства, ВСНХ, ''Vysshiy sovet narodnogo khozyaystva'', VSNKh) was the superior state institution for managem ...

to develop the

First Five Year Plan The first five-year plan (russian: I пятилетний план, ) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a list of economic goals, created by Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin, based on his policy of socialism in ...

. Here introduced the

, supplying Russian translations of explanations.Kelly, D. J. (2004)
Marxist Manager Amidst the Progressives: Walter N. Polakov and the Taylor Society
, ''Journal of Industrial History'', 6(2), November 2004, 61-75

Publications

* (1912) "Power Plant Betterment by Scientific Management", ''Engineering Magazine'', (NY) Vol 41, pp. 101–12, 278-92, 448-56, 577-82, 798-809, 970-75 * (1916) "Discussion of Robert Valentine, ''The Progressive Relations Between Efficiency and Consent''", ''Bulletin of Taylor Society'', November, pp. 7–17 * (1921) ''Man and His Affairs from an Engineering Point of View'' Baltimore: Williams * (1921)
Mastering Power Production: The Industrial, Economic and Social Problems Involved and Their Solution
' New York: The Engineering Magazine Company * (1921) "Making Work Fascinating" ''ASME Journal'', December * (1922) * (1931) "The Gantt Chart in Russia", ''

American Machinist The ''American Machinist'' is an American trade magazine of the international machinery industries and most especially their machining aspects. Published since 1877, it was a McGraw-Hill title for over a century before becoming a Penton title in ...

'', 75, pp. 261–4 * (1933)''The Power Age: Its Quest and Challenge'' New York: Covici Friede Publishers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polakov, Walter 1879 births 1948 deaths People from Luga, Leningrad Oblast Russian Marxists American Marxists Industrial engineers American expatriates in the Soviet Union