Henry Gantt – Biography and History

Henry Gantt History/Background

Henry Gantt

Henry Laurence Gantt worked as a management consultant as well as a background in mechanical engineer by trade.  Henry Gantt is known for creating his self-named easily-viewed scheduling and monitoring diagram. One creates Gantt Charts to reveal planned and actual project progress.  A commonly accepted project management instrument these days, it was an innovation of world-wide significance in 1920, founded on Mr. Gantt’s work while ship building during WWI. Changing history forever, Gantt charts have subsequently been used to schedule and monitor large construction projects like the Hoover Dam started in 1931 and the Eisenhower highway network launched in 1956.

Henry L. Gantt Biography

Henry Laurence Gantt was born in Calvert County, Maryland, USA. He graduated from McDonogh School in 1878 and Johns Hopkins College. After working as a teacher and draftsman, he pursued mechanical engineering. In 1887, he joined Frederick W. Taylor in the leveraging the theory of scientific management of Midvale Steel and Bethlehem Steel, where they worked together until 1893.

Later in his career as a management consultant, in addition to the Gantt charts, he futher made scientific management history by devising the ‘task and bonus’  system.  The theory behind the ‘task and bonus’ method of wage payment (1901) was that it would create greater worker efficiency and productivity by rewarding the tasks monitored via Gantt charts.  Directly countering the piece work pay system of Taylor, which also penalized poor performance, Henry Gantt’s method allowed workers to earn their regular rate with an additional bonus for accomplishing their target productivity.  This allowed workers to maintain a stable salary while they were learning the job, and rewarded them for leveraging this additional proficiency.

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