"Brownie Points"
The expression "Brownie points" in the American language and the
railroaders' term "brownies" for demerits come from an august and enlightened railroad
practice. Superintendent G. R. Brown (hence, the name) of the Fall Brook
Railroad in New York State, beginning in 1886, developed an enlightened,
instructive system of discipline, involving positive and negative points. (The
Fall Brook RR later was absorbed into the New York Central.)
Interestingly, Brown wrote that accidents and "close shaves"(i.e, close
calls) both impart safety information. He did not suspend men for accidents and
rules infractions, as was then the railroad disciplinary policy. According
to the severity of the event, he gave demerits. Merits were awarded for good
service. Hence, the "Brown System" had positive and negative Brownie
points. Brown used bulletins as a means of instruction regarding what was learned
from acts, sometimes called blunders, earning negative points. An annual
bonus to conductors with a perfect record was sometimes part of the Brown
System.
The best book on Brown is by a Browne (K. J. Norman). Browne's The Brown and Other Systems of Railway Discipline, London, Railway Gazette, 1923, is a classic. At a meeting in 1897 of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents, "Brown's Discipline" was discussed with appreciation (Railroad Gazette 29, 1897:690-691).
—Fred Gamst
[from the R&LHS Newsgroup.]
posted from CPRR Discussion Group at 6:38 PM
2 Comments:
From: "Wendell Huffman" wendellhuffman@hotmail.com
... It always amuses me that the term changed from a negative (demerits) to a positive (earning Brownie points) – though with sort of a implied negative slant on the means of earning the same.
—Wendell
[from the R&LHS Newsgroup.]
From: FCGAMST@aol.com
Subject: Brownie Points and Close Call
I just now found and "resurrected" my 1986 piece on Brownie Points and Close Call Systems, below.
/FRED/
---------------------------
On Brownie Points and Pioneering Close Call Reporting
(1986, 2006) fcgamst@aol.com
The expression "Brownie points" in the American language and the railroaders' term "brownies" for demerits come from an august and enlightened railroad practice. Beginning in 1886, General Superintendent G. R. Brown (hence, the name) of the Fall Brook Railroad in New York State, developed an enlightened, instructive system of discipline, having two components: positive and negative points for conduct on the job and related safety instruction. His system included a pioneering use of close-call reporting and instruction. The close calls were not all of the self-reported kind. (The Fall Brook RR later was absorbed into the New York Central. Brown entered the service as a telegrapher-operator and was promoted to train dispatcher, using Rule S-71, Timetable and Train Order procedures – by class, direction, and right. He retired in 1899.) Brown did not suspend or fine men for accidents and rules infractions, as was then the railroad disciplinary policy. According to the severity of the event, he gave demerits. Brown also awarded merits for good service. Hence, the "Brown System," as it came to be called, had positive and negative Brownie points. The Brown System was also called Discipline without Suspension. Interestingly, Brown wrote that both accidents and "close shaves" (i.e., close calls/near misses on the job) impart safety information. Brown used his superintendent's bulletins as a means of instruction regarding what was learned from acts, sometimes called blunders, earning negative points. The identity of men making blunders or the location was not revealed. Brown's "close shaves" were part of his data gathering and safety instruction. Bulletins explained an accident and how it could have been averted. The bulletins also included notices of exceptionally good work, including preventing a close call from becoming an accident. An annual bonus to conductors with a perfect record was sometimes part of the Brown System. In accord with modern human factors views of human error, Brown held that: "no continuous service by man can be perfect, . . . ." Furthermore, he said, "We want more ounces of prevention and less pounds of cure." The best book on Brown is by a Browne (K. J. Norman). Browne's The Brown and Other Systems of Railway Discipline, London, Railway Gazette, 1923, is a classic. At a meeting in 1897 of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents, the officers discussed with appreciation "Brown's Discipline" (Railroad Gazette 29, 1897:690-691). At the meeting, the assembled superintendents concluded regarding the safety bulletins, "The usefulness of the bulletins is as self-evident as that of records."
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