Processes, Facilities, and Work Systems ( discussion )

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Work Design and Measurement

Chapter 7

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You should be able to:

LO 7.1 Explain the importance of work design

LO 7.2 Compare and contrast the two basic approaches to job design

LO 7.3 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of standardization

LO 7.4 Describe behavioral approaches to job design

LO 7.5 Discuss the impact of working conditions on job design

LO 7.6 Compare the advantages and disadvantages of time-based and output-based pay systems

LO 7.7 Explain the purpose of methods analysis and describe how methods studies are performed

LO 7.8 Describe four commonly used techniques for motion study

LO 7.9 Define a standard time

LO 7.10 Describe and compare time study methods and perform calculations

LO 7.11 Describe work sampling and perform calculations

LO 7.12 Compare stopwatch time study and work sampling

Chapter 7: Learning Objectives

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Job Design

Job design

The act of specifying the contents and methods of jobs

What will be done in a job

Who will do the job

How the job will be done

Where the job will be done

Importance

Organization’s are dependent on human efforts to accomplish their goals

Many job design topics are relevant to continuous and productivity improvement

Objectives

Productivity

Safety

Quality of work life

LO 7.1

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Efficiency vs. Behavioral Job Design

Efficiency School

Emphasizes a systematic, logical approach to job design

A refinement of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s scientific management concepts

Behavioral School

Emphasizes satisfaction of needs and wants of employees

LO 7.2

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Specialization

Work that concentrates on some aspect of a product or service

Advantages
For management: Simplifies training High productivity Low wage costs	For employees: Low education and skill requirements Minimum responsibility Little mental effort needed
Disadvantages
For management: Difficult to motivate quality Worker dissatisfaction, possibly resulting in absenteeism, high turnover, disruptive tactics, poor attention to quality	For employees: Monotonous work Limited opportunities for advancement Little control over work Little opportunity for self-fulfillment

LO 7.3

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Behavioral Approaches to Job Design

Job Enlargement

Giving a worker a larger portion of the total task by horizontal loading

Job Rotation

Workers periodically exchange jobs

Job Enrichment

Increasing responsibility for planning and coordination tasks, by vertical loading

LO 7.4

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Motivation

Motivation is a key factor in many aspects of work life

Influences quality and productivity

Contributes to the work environment

Trust is an important factor that affects motivation

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Teams

Teams take a variety of forms:

Short-term team

Formed to collaborate on a topic or solve a problem

Long-term teams

Self-directed teams

Groups empowered to make certain changes in their work processes

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Benefits of teams

Higher quality

Higher productivity

Greater worker satisfaction

Team problems

Some managers feel threatened

Conflicts between team members

Teams

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Quality of Work Life

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-workers

Quality of management

Working conditions

Compensation

LO 7.5

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Compensation

It is important for organizations to develop suitable compensation plans for their employees

Compensation approaches

Time-based systems

Output-based systems

Incentive systems

Knowledge-based systems

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Time-based system

Compensation based on time an employee has worked during the pay period

Output-based (incentive) system

Compensation based on amount of output an employee produced during the pay period

Compensation Systems

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Comparing Compensation Approaches

	Management	Worker
TIME-BASED Advantages	Stable labor costs Easy to administer Simple to compute pay Stable Output	Stable pay Less pressure to produce than under output system
Disadvantages	No incentive for workers to increase output	Extra efforts not rewarded
OUTPUT-BASED Advantages	Lower cost per unit Greater output	Pay related to efforts Opportunity to earn more
Disadvantages	Wage computation more difficult Need to measure output Quality may suffer Difficult to incorporate wage increases Increased problems with scheduling	Pay fluctuates Workers may be penalized because of factors beyond their control (e.g., machine breakdown)

LO 7.6

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Individual incentive plans

Straight piecework

Worker’s pay is a direct linear function of his or her output

Minimum wage legislation has reduced their popularity

Base rate + bonus

Worker is guaranteed a base rate, tied to an output standard, that serves as a minimum

A bonus is paid for output above the standard

Group incentive plans

Tend to stress sharing of productivity gains with employees

Individual and Group Incentive Plans

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Knowledge-based pay

A pay system used by organizations to reward workers who undergo training that increases their skills

Three dimensions:

Horizontal skills

Reflect the variety of tasks the worker is capable of performing

Vertical skills

Reflect the managerial skills the worker is capable of

Depth skills

Reflect quality and productivity results

Knowledge-Based Pay Systems

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Management Compensation

Many organizations used to reward managers based on output

New emphasis is being placed on other factors of performance

Customer service

Quality

Executive pay is increasingly being tied to the success of the company or division for which the executive is responsible

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Methods Analysis

Analyzing how a job gets done

It begins with an analysis of the overall operation

It then moves from general to specific details of the job concentrating on

Workplace arrangement

Movement of workers and/or materials

Methods Analysis

LO 7.7

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The need for methods analysis can arise from a variety of sources

Changes in tools and equipment

Changes in product design or introduction of new products

Changes in materials and procedures

Government regulations or contractual agreements

Accidents or quality problems

The Need for Methods Analysis

LO 7.7

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Methods Analysis Procedure

Identify the operation to be studied, and gather relevant data

Discuss the job with the operator and supervisor to get their input

Study and document the present methods

Analyze the job

Propose new methods

Install the new methods

Follow up implementation to assure improvements have been achieved

LO 7.7

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Consider jobs that:

Have a high labor content

Are done frequently

Are unsafe, tiring, unpleasant, and/or noisy

Are designated as problems

Quality problems

Processing bottlenecks

etc.

Guidelines for Selecting a Job to Study

LO 7.7

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Analyzing the Job: Flow Process Charts

Flow process chart

Chart used to examine the overall sequence of an operation by focusing on movements of the operator or flow of materials

LO 7.7

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Analyzing the Job: Worker-Machine Chart

Worker machine chart

Chart used to determine portions of a work cycle during which an operator and equipment are busy or idle

LO 7.7

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Motion study

Systematic study of the human motions used to perform an operation

Motion Study Techniques

Motion study principles– guidelines for designing motion-efficient work procedures

Analysis of therbligs– basic elemental motions into which a job can be broken down

Micromotion study– use of motion pictures and slow motion to study motions that otherwise would be too rapid to analyze

Charts– activity or process charts, simo charts (simultaneous motions)

Motion Study

LO 7.8

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Developing Work Methods

In developing work methods that are motion efficient, the analyst attempts to

Eliminate unnecessary motions

Combine activities

Reduce fatigue

Improve the arrangement of the workplace

Improve the design of tools and equipment

LO 7.8

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Work Measurement

Work measurement is concerned with how long it should take to complete a job.

It is not concerned with either job content or how the job is to be completed since these are considered a given when considering work measurement.

LO 7.9

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Work Measurement

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

LO 7.9

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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.

Work Measurement Techniques

LO 7.10

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Stopwatch Time Study

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

Basic steps in a time study:

Define the task to be studied and inform the worker who will be studied

Determine the number of cycles to observe

Time the job, and rate the worker’s performance

Compute the standard time

LO 7.10

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The number of observations to collect is a function of

Variability of the observed times

The desired level of accuracy

Desired level of confidence for the estimated job time

Number of Cycles to Observe

LO 7.10

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Observed Time

LO 7.10

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Normal Time

Assumes that a single performance rating has been made for the entire job

LO 7.10

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Normal Time

Assumes that performance ratings are made on an element-by-element basis

LO 7.10

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Standard Time

LO 7.10

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Historical Times

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.

LO 7.10

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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

Predetermined Time Standards

LO 7.10

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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

Uses:

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.

analysis of non-repetitive jobs.

Work Sampling

LO 7.11

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Work Sampling

LO 7.11

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Work Sampling vs. Stopwatch Time Studies

Advantages
Observations are spread out over a period of time, making results less susceptible to short-term fluctuations There is little or no disruption of work Workers are less resentful Studies are less costly and less time-consuming, and the skill requirements of the analyst are much less Studies can be interrupted without affecting the results No timing device is required It is well suited for nonrepetitive tasks
Disadvantages
There is much less detail on the elements of a job Workers may alter their work patterns when they spot the observer, thereby invalidating the results In many cases, there is no record of the method used by the worker Observers may fail to adhere to a random schedule of observations It is not well suited for short, repetitive tasks Much time may be required to move from one workplace to another and back to satisfy the randomness requirement

LO 7.12

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Job Design Success

Success factors:

Carried out by personnel with appropriate training and background

Consistent with the goals of the organization

In written form

Understood and agreed to by both management and employees

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It is important to make design of work systems a key element of strategy:

People are still at the heart of the business

Workers can be valuable sources of insight and creativity

It can be beneficial to focus on quality of work life and instilling pride and respect among workers

Companies are reaping gains through worker empowerment

Operations Strategy

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