Edward Gustave Brisch (8 January 1901[1] – 9 April 1960), was a Polish consulting engineer and industrial coding expert. He was the designer of the Brisch Classification, widely known and used in building and engineering. He became a British citizen in the 1940s.
Edward G Brisch photographed in the 1940s (studio unknown)
Born in Lodz, Poland, he gained an Intermediate B.Sc. (Engineering) at the Technical University of Warsaw, then a diploma in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toulouse. He returned to Warsaw, where from 1926 to 1929 he was Assistant Chief Designer at the Ursus tractor factory, and was then appointed Works Manager of Citroën's Warsaw branch. He remained there until 1932 before taking on the role of Engineer in charge of Development of National Production at the Polish State Engineering Works.[2] By now married, in 1934 he established an engineering consultancy in Warsaw, transferring soon afterwards to Paris,[1] where he did some work for the British Army’s armoured vehicle operations.
Returning to Poland in summer 1939 to visit his family, trapped there by the German invasion, he escaped to Riga in Latvia, but Latvia was to be occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Unable to return to Paris, Brisch was urged by the British War Office and Vickers Ltd to come to England, but that journey proved extremely difficult. Sir Stafford Cripps, then British Ambassador in Moscow, helped to arrange his land and air journey from Riga to Rangoon in British Burma.[3] He left Riga in June 1941, scarcely a month before the German occupation, reaching Rangoon (by way of Chungking, wartime capital of China) in August 1941. Burma, in turn, was soon to be conquered by Japan, but he was able to continue his journey via Bombay in British India to Liverpool, a total of some 25,000 miles (40,000 km).[1] Cripps’ intervention had probably saved his life.[3] He kept a record in Polish of this long and hazardous journey, of which the first seven pages have survived. They can now be read online in English translation.[4]
He arrived in England with a lung ailment, contracted in Burma, and underwent an immediate pneumonectomy, but this left him prone to infections for the rest of his life. In late 1942 he joined the Department of Tank Design of the Ministry of Supply,[2] and worked also during the war years for the War Office school of technology.[5] His first wife having died in the Warsaw Ghetto, he married his British nurse, Susan Rogers (1920–2018), in 1947.[3] In the same year he founded in London a firm of consultants, E. G. Brisch and Partners. R. S. Geoghegan, with whom he had worked at the Department of Tank Design, was to join him in 1953.[2] This was the most fruitful period of Brisch's life: his business activities extended to other countries in Europe and beyond. He established an American branch, first in Cleveland (1956) and later in Toledo, Ohio.[1] The American firm had among its early clients the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, the Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company, General Electric in Cleveland and the Underwood Company of New York.[6]
In 1957, Brisch moved his family from Oxshott in Surrey to settle in Toledo. Never robust following his lung surgery, he died of pneumonia in Toledo on 9 April 1960. His widow and three children moved back to Surrey in the same year.[3]
The Brisch Classification
Brisch was a member of numerous British and American technical and management societies and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He wrote several technical papers in his field.
His great innovation was the development of a flexible machine-card inventory classification system, which was adopted by major companies in the US and Europe. His work drew some inspiration from the Universal Decimal Classification, used for classifying documents.[7] The uniqueness of the idea lies in the nomination of a primary code (typically within nine main headings 00-80) attached to every ‘part’, based on its essential features (shape and dimension). A further, secondary, code (based on 81 two-digit numbers, representing concepts, which are divided, and can be used in any conjunction) is then bonded to the parent, determined by its process features (e.g. machining operation). Evolving with the advances of computing and digitisation, the system has spread roots in contemporary situations requiring complicated inventory management.[8][9]
The system had wide applicability. In 1955 Brisch published a paper on his classification in the newly established journal of the Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux, ASLIB Proceedings.[10] Sir Frank Francis, director and principal librarian at the British Museum, in the brief memoir that he contributed to The Times at Brisch's death, recalled frequent discussions on "expanding the methods [Brisch] had successfully developed for industry to the classification of documents and books. In the course of these discussions he elaborated a classification for music designed to make possible precise reference to documents illustrating many different aspects of a particular subject."[1]
Publications
1948 : "Adaptation of the U.D.C. Form of Notation to Punched Card Techniques" in Royal Society Scientific Information Conference Report, 690–692.
1951 : "Standardization without tears" in The Manager vol. 19 (9), September, 496-497.
1953 : "Standardization practice" in Engineering Inspection, September, 59-66.
1954 : "A new dragon for St. George" in Institution of Production Engineers Journal vol. 33 (3), March, 143-145.
1954 : "Maximum ex minimo" in Institution of Production Engineers Journal vol. 33 (6), June, 344-351.
1955 : "Subject analysis in eighty-one concepts" in ASLIB Proceedings vol. 1 (3), 157-162.
1956 : "Production classification methods" in H. B. Maynard (ed.), Industrial Engineering Handbook (New York, McGraw Hill) 6 and 195-207
1957 (with R. S. Geoghegan) : "Simplification and standardisation for automation. Discussion Group B 4 (Proceedings of Conference on Automatic Production – Change and Control, Harrogate, June 30-July 3, 1957)" in Institution of Production Engineers Journal vol. 36 (9), September, 571-582
Edward Brisch, "Subject analysis in eighty-one concepts" in ASLIB Proceedings vol. 1 no. 3 (1955) pp. 157–162
Edward Brisch, "From Riga to Rangoon (June-August 1941). A Travelogue" (2018). Online edition with illustrations
Edward Brisch, R. S. Geoghegan, "Simplification and standardisation for automation" in Institution of Production Engineers Journal vol. 36 (9), September, 571-582 (includes brief biographies and photographs, p. 571)
[Business Dictionary.] "Brisch classification 2019-06-21 at the Wayback Machine".
[New York Times.] "Edward G. Brisch, Consultant, Dies: Expert on Industrial Coding and Classification Headed Firms in U.S. and Europe" in New York Times (10 April 1960) p. 86 (paywall)
Raymond Parmenter, "A Screw By Any Other Name" in The Observer (19 October 1952) p. 6
1971. ERIC ED066203: Classification and Coding, An Introduction and Review of Classification and Coding Systems. Management Guide No. 1 (with bibliography).
December 28, 2022
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Edward Gustave Brisch 8 January 1901 1 9 April 1960 was a Polish consulting engineer and industrial coding expert He was the designer of the Brisch Classification widely known and used in building and engineering He became a British citizen in the 1940s Edward G Brisch photographed in the 1940s studio unknown Contents 1 Biography 2 The Brisch Classification 3 Publications 4 Notes 5 ReferencesBiography EditBorn in Lodz Poland he gained an Intermediate B Sc Engineering at the Technical University of Warsaw then a diploma in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toulouse He returned to Warsaw where from 1926 to 1929 he was Assistant Chief Designer at the Ursus tractor factory and was then appointed Works Manager of Citroen s Warsaw branch He remained there until 1932 before taking on the role of Engineer in charge of Development of National Production at the Polish State Engineering Works 2 By now married in 1934 he established an engineering consultancy in Warsaw transferring soon afterwards to Paris 1 where he did some work for the British Army s armoured vehicle operations Returning to Poland in summer 1939 to visit his family trapped there by the German invasion he escaped to Riga in Latvia but Latvia was to be occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 Unable to return to Paris Brisch was urged by the British War Office and Vickers Ltd to come to England but that journey proved extremely difficult Sir Stafford Cripps then British Ambassador in Moscow helped to arrange his land and air journey from Riga to Rangoon in British Burma 3 He left Riga in June 1941 scarcely a month before the German occupation reaching Rangoon by way of Chungking wartime capital of China in August 1941 Burma in turn was soon to be conquered by Japan but he was able to continue his journey via Bombay in British India to Liverpool a total of some 25 000 miles 40 000 km 1 Cripps intervention had probably saved his life 3 He kept a record in Polish of this long and hazardous journey of which the first seven pages have survived They can now be read online in English translation 4 He arrived in England with a lung ailment contracted in Burma and underwent an immediate pneumonectomy but this left him prone to infections for the rest of his life In late 1942 he joined the Department of Tank Design of the Ministry of Supply 2 and worked also during the war years for the War Office school of technology 5 His first wife having died in the Warsaw Ghetto he married his British nurse Susan Rogers 1920 2018 in 1947 3 In the same year he founded in London a firm of consultants E G Brisch and Partners R S Geoghegan with whom he had worked at the Department of Tank Design was to join him in 1953 2 This was the most fruitful period of Brisch s life his business activities extended to other countries in Europe and beyond He established an American branch first in Cleveland 1956 and later in Toledo Ohio 1 The American firm had among its early clients the Owens Illinois Glass Company the Libbey Owens Ford Glass Company General Electric in Cleveland and the Underwood Company of New York 6 In 1957 Brisch moved his family from Oxshott in Surrey to settle in Toledo Never robust following his lung surgery he died of pneumonia in Toledo on 9 April 1960 His widow and three children moved back to Surrey in the same year 3 The Brisch Classification EditBrisch was a member of numerous British and American technical and management societies and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts He wrote several technical papers in his field His great innovation was the development of a flexible machine card inventory classification system which was adopted by major companies in the US and Europe His work drew some inspiration from the Universal Decimal Classification used for classifying documents 7 The uniqueness of the idea lies in the nomination of a primary code typically within nine main headings 00 80 attached to every part based on its essential features shape and dimension A further secondary code based on 81 two digit numbers representing concepts which are divided and can be used in any conjunction is then bonded to the parent determined by its process features e g machining operation Evolving with the advances of computing and digitisation the system has spread roots in contemporary situations requiring complicated inventory management 8 9 The system had wide applicability In 1955 Brisch published a paper on his classification in the newly established journal of the Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux ASLIB Proceedings 10 Sir Frank Francis director and principal librarian at the British Museum in the brief memoir that he contributed to The Times at Brisch s death recalled frequent discussions on expanding the methods Brisch had successfully developed for industry to the classification of documents and books In the course of these discussions he elaborated a classification for music designed to make possible precise reference to documents illustrating many different aspects of a particular subject 1 Publications Edit1948 Adaptation of the U D C Form of Notation to Punched Card Techniques in Royal Society Scientific Information Conference Report 690 692 1951 Standardization without tears in The Manager vol 19 9 September 496 497 1953 Standardization practice in Engineering Inspection September 59 66 1954 A new dragon for St George in Institution of Production Engineers Journal vol 33 3 March 143 145 1954 Maximum ex minimo in Institution of Production Engineers Journal vol 33 6 June 344 351 1955 Subject analysis in eighty one concepts in ASLIB Proceedings vol 1 3 157 162 1956 Production classification methods in H B Maynard ed Industrial Engineering Handbook New York McGraw Hill 6 and 195 207 1957 with R S Geoghegan Simplification and standardisation for automation Discussion Group B 4 Proceedings of Conference on Automatic Production Change and Control Harrogate June 30 July 3 1957 in Institution of Production Engineers Journal vol 36 9 September 571 582Notes Edit a b c d e Francis 1960 a b c Brisch and Geoghegan 1957 p 571 a b c d Brisch 2018 introduction Brisch 2018 diary text New York Times 10 April 1960 p 86 Brisch 2018 at end citing obituary Brisch 1948 Business Dictionary Archived 2019 06 21 at the Wayback Machine Business Professor Brisch 1955 References EditEdward Brisch Subject analysis in eighty one concepts in ASLIB Proceedings vol 1 no 3 1955 pp 157 162 Edward Brisch From Riga to Rangoon June August 1941 A Travelogue 2018 Online edition with illustrations Edward Brisch R S Geoghegan Simplification and standardisation for automation in Institution of Production Engineers Journal vol 36 9 September 571 582 includes brief biographies and photographs p 571 Business Dictionary Brisch classification Archived 2019 06 21 at the Wayback Machine Business Professor Brisch classification Definition F C Francis Mr E G Brisch in The Times 26 April 1960 p 15 New York Times Edward G Brisch Consultant Dies Expert on Industrial Coding and Classification Headed Firms in U S and Europe in New York Times 10 April 1960 p 86 paywall Raymond Parmenter A Screw By Any Other Name in The Observer 19 October 1952 p 6 1971 ERIC ED066203 Classification and Coding An Introduction and Review of Classification and Coding Systems Management Guide No 1 with bibliography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edward G Brisch amp oldid 1090022528, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
