Oper-Work System Design The paper#2 will cover the following chapters,Capacity Planning and Facility ,Facility Layout Location , Work System Design

Week11_ch11_WorkSystemDesign.pdf

Home >Information Systems homework help >Oper-Work System Design The paper#2 will cover the following chapters,Capacity Planning and Facility ,Facility Layout Location , Work System Design

Chapter 11- Work System Design

Operations Management

6th Edition

Instructor: Dr. Henrietta Okoro

Learning Objectives

Discuss work system design.

Discuss job design.

Explain work measurement.

Describe compensation approaches.

Work System Design

Designing a work system is part of developing an

operations strategy

 Effective operations strategy provides structure for

company productivity

 The work system includes:

 Job design

 Work measurements

 Worker compensation

Job Design

 Job Design - specifies work activities of an individual or group

 Jobs are designed by answering questions like:

 What is the job’s description?

 What is the purpose of the job?

 Where is the job done?

 Who does the job?

 What background, training, or skills are required to do the job?

Job Design Factors

 Technical feasibility:

 The job must be physically and mentally doable

 Economic feasibility:

 Cost of performing the job is less than the value it adds

 Behavioral feasibility:

 Degree to which the job is intrinsically satisfying to the

employee (e.g. Google)

Machines or People – Should the Job Be

Automated?

 Safety & risk of injury to workers

 Repetitive nature of the task (monotonous?)

 Degree of precision required

 Complexity of the task

 Need for empathy, compassion, or other emotional elements

 Need for personal customer relationships

Levels of Labor Specialization

 Level of labor specialization can:

 Reduce the employee’s scope of expertise (higher levels of

specialization)

 Increase the employee’s scope of expertise (lower levels of

specialization)

 Work satisfaction helps define level of specialization

 Specialization can result in employee boredom

Specialization: Management’s View

Advantages:

 Readily available labor

 Minimal training required

 Reasonable wages costs

 High productivity

Disadvantages:

 Lack of flexibility

 Worker dissatisfaction:

 High absenteeism

 High turnover rates

 High scrap rates

 Grievances filed

Specialization: Employee’s View

Advantages:

 Minimal credentials required

 Minimal responsibilities

 Minimal mental effort

needed

 Reasonable wages

Disadvantages:

 Boredom

 Little growth opportunity

 Little control over work

 Little room for initiative

 Little intrinsic satisfaction

Eliminating Employee Boredom

 Job enlargement

 Horizontal expansion of the job through increasing the scope of the work assigned; instill pride

 Job enrichment

 Vertical expansion of the job through increased worker responsibility; control & pride

 Adding work planning or inspection to a routine assembly task

 Job rotation

 Shifting of cross trained workers to other tasks

 Broadens understanding and can reduce fatigue

Team Approach to Job Design

 Problem-solving teams:

 Small groups, trained in problem-solving techniques. Used to

identify, analyze, & propose solutions to workplace problems

 Special-purpose teams:

 Highly-focused, short-term teams with a focused agenda (often

cross-functional)

 Self-directed or self-managed teams:

 Team members work through consensus to plan, manage, & control

their assigned work flow

 SD (goal defined by team); SM (goal defined by others)

The Alternative Workplace

Brings work to the worker rather than the worker to the

workplace

 Alternative workplaces are made possible by

technologies like email, e-networks, cell phones, & video

conferencing.

 A survey at IBM reveals that 87% of alternative workplace employees believe their effectiveness has increased significantly

 Sun Microsystems gives many of its designers the option to work at home

 AT&T provides flexible workstations so workers can rotate in and out as needed

The Work Environment

 Working conditions can effect worker:

 Productivity

 Product quality

 Worker safety

 Temperature, ventilation, noise, and lighting are all

factors in work system design

 Congress passed OSHA in 1970 to mandate specific

safety conditions that must be met

Methods Analysis

A detailed step-by-step analysis of how a given job is performed

 Can distinguish between value-added & non-value-added steps

 Gather all information and talk with employees who use the operation

 Analysis can revise the procedure to improve productivity

 After improvement, must revise the new standard operating procedure

 Follow-up to insure that changes actually improve the operation

Methods Analysis - cont’d

 Method Analysis consists of:

1. Identify the operation to be analyzed

2. Gather all relevant information

3. Talk with employees who use the operation

4. Chart the operation

5. Evaluate each step

6. Revise the existing or new operation as needed

7. Put the revised or new operation into effect, then follow

up on the changes or new operation

Methods Analysis at FEAT Company: The methods analyst has been asked to review the

transformer wiring operation because of past quality problems from poor solder joints. The

solder operation sequence and the workstation layout are shown below.

1. Picks up wire in left hand and

moves it to the terminal

2. Simultaneously picks up solder

iron in right hand and moves to

the terminal

3. Solders wire to terminal and

replaces solder iron in holder

4. Solders terminal #1, then

#2 - #6, going right to left

Analyst’s Recommendations: A. Maize reviews the workplace layout and the present flow chart

(below), and recommends reversing the solder sequence from #6-#1, which is less problematic for the

right handed operator. He schedules a follow up to insure that the new method has fixed the quality

problem.

Work Measurement

Work Measurement helps determine how long it

should take to do a job

 Involves determining Standard Time

 The length of time a qualified worker, using appropriate

processes and tools to complete a specific job, allowing time for

personal fatigue, and unavoidable delays

Work Measurement – cont’d

 Standard time is used in:

 Costing the labor component of products

 Tracking employee performance

 Planning a production schedule

Procedure For a Time Study 20

How To Do a Time Study

 When making a time study several decisions are

made to assure desired results:

 # of observations to make

 Desired level of accuracy

 Desired level of confidence for the estimated standard

time

 Desired accuracy level is typically expressed as a %

of the mean observed times

Doing a Time Study

 

  

  

  

  

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z n

 Need to determine how many observations are required

 Involves determining the level of accuracy required and

confidence level desired

 n: number of observations of an element that are needed

 z: the number of normal standard deviations needed for desired confidence

 s: the standard deviation of the sample

 a: desired accuracy or precision

 x-bar: the mean of the sample observations

Pat’s Pizza Place: Pat hires an analyst to determine a standard time to prepare a large pepperoni and

cheese pizza. He takes 10 observations of the 7 elements and calculates the mean time and the standard

deviation per element. He must then calculate the # of observations to be within 5% of the true mean 95%

of the time.

nsobservatio 25 0.24

0.03

0.05

1.96

z n

7 = 

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 =

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 =

 Calculate observations for each element to determine how many additional observations

must be taken. The maximum number of 25 (in this case) for element #7 means that an

additional 15 observations must be made; then the observed times are revised.

Other Time Factors Used in Calculating Standard Time

 The normal time (NT) is the mean observed time

multiplied by the performance rating factor (PRF)

 The PRF is a subjective estimate of a worker’s pace

relative to a normal work pace

 The frequency of occurrence (F) is how often the

element must be done each cycle.

Other Time Factors Used in Calculating Standard Time

 The allowance factor (AF) is the amount of time allowed for

personal, fatigue, and unavoidable delays

 Standard Time = normal time x AF, where:

(NT)(AF)ST

117.6%1.176 0.151

PFD1

1 AF Work edTme

== −

= −

Calculating Normal Time and Standard Time at Pat’s

Pizza

 The standard time for preparing a large, hand-tossed cheese and pepperoni pizza is 2.313 minutes. This means that during an eight-hour day, our worker should be able to prepare 207 (480 minutes per eight-hour shift, divided by the standard time of 2.313 minutes) large, handtossed cheese and pepperoni pizzas.

Other Time Study Methods

 Elemental time data establishes standards based on

previously completed time studies, stored in an

organization’s database.

 Predetermined time data (e.g. MTM and MTS) is a

published database element time data used for

establishing standard times

 Reach, grasp, move, engage, insert, turn, etc.

 Work Sampling is a technique for estimating the

proportion of time a worker spends on an activity

Work Sampling Procedures

1. Identify the worker or machine to be sampled

2. Define the activities to be observed

3. Estimate the sample size based on level of accuracy and

confidence level

4. Develop the random observation schedule. Make

observations over a time period that is representative of

normal work conditions

5. Make you observations and record the data. Check to see

whether the estimated sample size remains valid

6. Estimate the proportion of the time spent on the given

activity

Work Sampling Example: We are interested in estimating the proportion of time spent by secretaries

arranging and scheduling travel. We are considering the possibility of bringing an on site travel agency to

free up secretaries from this time consuming task. We estimate that the proportion might be as high as

.50.

 Step 1 – We need to estimate the number of observations needed to provide an estimate with 97% confidence (z=2.17), and the resulting estimate will be within 5% of its true value. We use

 Step 2 – Based on the first 30 observations the secretary was making travel reservations 6 times (6 out of 30 observations = 0.2). With this new estimate, recalculate the sample size needed .

 Step 3 (final) – After making the 302 observations, the secretary was making reservations 60 times or 19.9%. This estimate can now be used to make the decision on savings that might result by consolidating this task with an in house travel agency

( ) nsobservatio 470.890.510.5 0.05

2.17 p1p

z n

=− 

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))

0.5p = 

( ) nsobservatio 3020.210.2 0.05

2.17 n

=− 

  

 

Learning Curves

 Basis: Each subsequent time we do a task, it would take less

time

 Attributes:

 It takes less time to complete a task each additional time it is

done by the same employee

 Time savings decrease with each additional time task is done

 When number of times a task is completed doubles, the decrease

in time per task affects rate of learning curve

 Better estimate labor costs, schedule workload

Learning Curves – cont’d

 When the number of times the task is

repeated doubles, the time per task reduces

as shown in the graph

 With an 85% learning curve rate, the 2nd

time a task is done will take 85% of the 1st

time.

 The 4th time will take 85% of the 2nd

 If an employee took 12 hours to complete

an initial task, how long will the 16th time

take (4th doubling)?

T x Ln = time required to perform a

task the nth time

T = the time required to perform the

task the first time

L = the rate of learning

n = the number of times the task has

doubled hours 6.26(.85)x 12task 16thfor Hours

4 ==

Compensation

 Third part of work system design

 Time-based systems

 pay based on the number of hours worked

 Output-based systems

 pay based on the number of units completed

 Group incentive plans reward employees when company

achieves certain performance objectives

 Profit sharing – a employee bonus pool based on sharing of

company’s profits

 Gain sharing – focus on cost reduction vs. than profits

Worker Compensation Systems -cont'd

 Consider

 Plans put part of a worker’s salary at risk

 Does the compensation system undermine teamwork?

 Does plan prevent free-riders not doing their fair share?

 Does the incentive plan encourage workers to support the long- term health of the organization?

 Trends

 Individual incentive systems undermine teamwork, short term focus

 Study (20 SSA offices) showed no effect on worker performance

 Group incentive systems outperform

Work System Design Within OM: How It All Fits

Together

 Work system design includes job design, methods analysis, and work measurement.

 Job design determines exactly how the product or service will be done and is linked directly to product and process design. Based on the type of product (standard or custom) and its proposed process (mass-producing or producing one at a time), a company determines the skills set needed by its employees as well as the necessary equipment.

 Method analysis provides a means for evaluating different processes and materials, thus allowing a company to focus on continuous improvement. This ties in directly with a company’s total quality management (TQM) focus.

WSD: How It All Fits Together – cont’d

 Work measurement techniques allow a company to develop standards to use as a basis for evaluating the cost and effectiveness of different methods and materials for building a product or providing a service; detailed work schedules and for determining long-term staffing levels; making delivery or completion-time promises to customers.

 Standard times are used to develop lead-time estimates, which are inputs for the MRP (material requirement planning) system as well as the MPS (master production schedule) process.

 Work system design provides the means for setting standards against which to compare new methods, new materials, and new designs, assures that employees know how to do their job, and provides the information needed by the company to calculate its costs.

Work System Design Across The Organization

 Accounting calculates the cost of products manufactured,

variances between planned and actual costs as well as

operational efficiency

 Marketing uses work system design as the bases for

determining led time

 Information Systems uses estimates of job duration and

resources in the software for scheduling and tracking

operations

 Human Resources uses work sampling to establish and

validate hiring criteria

Chapter 11 Highlights

 Work system design involves job design, methods or process

analysis and work measurement. Job design specifies the work

activities of an individual or group in support of organizational

objectives

 Relevant job design issues include design feasibility, the choice

of human or machine, the use of teams, and the location where

the work is to be done. Technical feasibility is the degree to

which an individual or group of individuals is physically and

mentally able to do the job. Economic feasibility is the degree to

which the value of a job adds and the cost of have the job done

are profitable for the company.

Chapter 11 Highlights – cont'd

 Methods or process analysis is concerned with how the employee

does the job. Methods analysis can also be used to improve the

efficiency of an operation.

 Work measurement is used to determine standard times. A

standard time is how long it should take a qualified operator,

using the appropriate process, material, and equipment, and

working at a sustained pace, to do a particular job. Standard

times are used for product costing, process and material

evaluations, and for planning workloads and staffing. Standard

times are usually based on time studies. Work sampling is used

to estimate the proportion of time that should be spent on an

activity.

Chapter 11 Highlights – cont'd

 To do a time study, first identify the job then break job into work elements. Determine number of observations needed and perform the observation.

 Work sampling involves random observations of a worker. Each time you observe the worker, you note what activity the worker is doing. After numerous observations, you can project the expected proportion of time the worker should spend on different activities.

Chapter 11 Highlights – cont'd

 Standard times are developed with either time studies, elemental time data, or predetermined time data. You learned how to develop standard times using time studies. After conducting the time study, you compute the mean observed time for each work element. You compute the normal time for the work element by multiplying the mean observed time by the performance rating factor. You find the standard time for each work element by multiplying the normal time by the allowance factor.

 Standard times are used to compare alternative processes, evaluate new materials or components, and evaluate individual worker performance. Standards also allow you to determine when a job should be completed or how many units can be done in a period of time.

Chapter 11 Highlights – cont'd

 Worker compensation systems are either time-based or out-put based. Time-based systems pay the employee for the number of hours worked. Output-based systems pay the employee for the number of units completed. Compensation schemes can be based on either individual or group performance. and can be based on individual or group performance.

 Learning curves show the rate of learning that occurs when an employee repeats the same task. Using learning curves, you can estimate how long a particular task will take. It allows the company to schedule better and calculate cost more accurately.

 Environmental and social sustainability key in work system design