Work Designand Measurement

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

You should be able to:1. Explain the importance of work design2. Compare and contrast the two basic approaches to job design3. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of standardization4. Explain the term knowledge-based pay5. Explain the purpose of methods analysis and describe how

methods studies are performed6. Compare the four commonly used techniques for motion study7. Discuss the impact of working conditions on work design8. Define a standard time9. Describe and compare time study methods and perform

calculations10. Describe work sampling and perform calculations11. Compare stopwatch time study and work sampling12. Contrast time and output pay systems

7-2Student Slides

Quality of work life affects not only workers’ overall sense of well-being and contentment, but also their productivity

Important aspects of quality of work life:How a worker gets along with co-workersQuality of management

Manager vs. mentorCompensation

Time-based Output based (incentive)

Working conditions

7-3Student Slides

Time based systemStable labor cost and payNo incentiveMore widely used for officers, managers, and

blue collar workers.Output based (incentive) system

Need to measure outputQuality may sufferStandard may be difficult to set up.Incentive may be based on individual or group

output.

7-4Student Slides

Temperature and humidityVentilationIlluminationNoise and vibrationWork time and work breaksOccupational health careSafetyEthical issues

fairness in assignment & opportunities.

7-5Student Slides

Job design Specifies the contents and methods of jobs, focusing on

What will be done in a jobWho will do the jobHow the job will be doneWhere the job will be done

ObjectivesProductivitySafetyQuality of work life

Student Slides 7-6

SpecializationWork that concentrates on some aspect of a

product or service

AdvantagesFor management:1.Simplifies training2.High productivity3.Low wage costs

For employees:1. Low education and skill

requirements2. Minimum responsibility3. Little mental effort needed

DisadvantagesFor management:1.Difficult to motivate quality2.Worker dissatisfaction, possibly resulting in absenteeism, high turnover, disruptive tactics, poor attention to quality

For employees:1.Monotonous work2.Limited opportunities for advancement3.Little control over work4.Little opportunity for self-fulfillment

Student Slides 7-7

Job EnlargementGiving a worker a larger portion of the total

task by horizontal loadingJob Rotation

Workers periodically exchange jobsJob Enrichment

Increasing responsibility for planning and coordination tasks, by vertical loading

Student Slides 7-8

Maslow’s hierarchy of needsSocialization and self-actualization

Teams take a variety of forms:Short-term team

Formed to collaborate on a topic or solve a problem

Long-term teamsSelf-directed teams

Groups empowered to make certain changes in their work processes

Student Slides 7-9

The scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system.

Considers human intuitive response under stress.

Foundation for work designDesign for 95%

Student Slides 7-10

It analyzes how a job gets doneIt begins with an analysis of the overall

operationIt then moves from general to specific details

of the job concentrating onWorkplace arrangementMovement of workers and/or materials

It uses flow process charts to document the sequence of a process, including work elementsOperationMovementInspectionDelaystorage

7-11Student Slides

Standard time The amount of time it should take a qualified worker to

complete a specified task, working at a sustainable rate, using given methods, tools and equipment, raw material inputs, and workplace arrangement.

Commonly used work measurement techniques Stopwatch time study Historical times Predetermined data Work sampling

Student Slides 7-12

Stopwatch Time Study Used to develop a time standard based on observations of

one worker taken over a number of cycles.Standard Elemental Times

are derived from a firm’s own historical time study data.Predetermined time standards

involve the use of published data on standard elemental times.

Work sampling a technique for estimating the proportion of time that a

worker or machine spends on various activities and idle time.

7-13Student Slides

Used to develop a time standard based on observations of one worker taken over a number of cycles.

Basic steps in a time study:1. Define the task to be studied and inform the worker

who will be studied2. Determine the number of cycles to observe3. Time the job, and rate the worker’s performance4. Compute the standard time

Student Slides 7-14

Standard Elemental Times are derived from a firm’s own historical time study data.

Over time, a file of accumulated elemental times that are common to many jobs will be collected.

In time, these standard elemental times can be retrieved from the file, eliminating the need to go through a new time study to acquire them.

Student Slides 7-15

Predetermined time standards involve the use of published data on standard elemental times.

Developed in the 1940s by the Methods Engineering Council.

The MTM (methods-time-measurement) tables are based on extensive research of basic elemental motions and times.

To use this approach, the analyst must divide the job into its basic elements (reach, move, turn, etc.) measure the distances involved, and rate the difficulty of the element, and then refer to the appropriate table of data to obtain the time for that element

7-16Student Slides

The basic motion elements: Therbligs (Gilbreth spelled backward)

Search, select, grasp, hold, transport load, and release load.

Principles

Eliminate unnecessary motions

Combine activities

Reduce fatigue

Improve the arrangement of the work piece

Improve the design of tools and equipment

7-17Student Slides

Work sampling is a technique for estimating the proportion of time that a worker or machine spends on various activities and the idle time.

Work sampling does not require timing an activity or involve continuous observation of the activity

The observer instead makes brief observations of a worker or machine at random intervals and notes the nature of the activity

Major uses of work sampling:

1.Ratio (%)-delay studies which concern the percentage of a worker’s time that involves unavoidable delays or the proportion of time a machine is idle.

2.analysis of non-repetitive jobs. 7-18Student Slides

It is important to make design of work systems a key element of strategy:People are still at the heart of the businessWorkers can be valuable sources of insight and

creativityIt can be beneficial to focus on quality of work

life and instilling pride and respect among workers

Companies are reaping gains through worker empowerment

Student Slides 7-19