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Science based Productivity Engineering and Productivity Engineering.
Productivity Science Principle of Industrial Engineering. Develop a science for each element of a man - machine system's work related to efficiency and productivity.
I strongly feel that industrial engineering applications have to progress parallel to progress in each branch in basic engineering. Every invention that is commercialised requires applied industrial engineering of the product and process on a continuous basis throughout its life cycle. These IE applications gives rise to improved engineering elements some of which can be even patented.
I am trying to develop course materials that describe and give examples of this IE practice.
Effective industrial engineering has to satisfy management about the contribution it made to the organization.
The prime contribution of IE has to be cost reduction through productivity improvement.
Productivity improvement is achieved through time reduction of capital assets and human resources and usage reduction of consumable items.
Reduction of machine time and man time have to be made through time studies. The purpose of time study is to measure the time taken being taken currently elements and study each element to find opportunities for time reduction. The time study includes time measurement (or work measurement) and analysis for drivers of time at element level.
If the Time study is taken as the highest level task, it will have many lower level studies.
Machine Capabilities
Manpower capabilities
Method study
Motion study
Machine Appropriateness Study
Revolution Needed in Industrial Engineering to Make It More Effective
Prabhakar Deshpande
Published in Industrial Engineering (Volume 6, Issue 2)
Effective Industrial Engineering focuses on optimizing complex processes, systems, and organizations by integrating principles from various disciplines to improve efficiency, productivity, and quality. This involves analyzing and designing systems, streamlining workflows, reducing costs, and enhancing service quality within various industries.
Key aspects of effective industrial engineering include:
Systems Thinking:
Viewing processes as interconnected systems rather than isolated components to identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement.
Data-Driven Decision Making:
Utilizing techniques like statistical analysis, operations research, and simulation modeling to make informed decisions about process optimization.
Integration of People, Materials, Information, Equipment, and Energy:
Ensuring that all elements of a system work together efficiently to achieve optimal performance.
Continuous Improvement:
Implementing strategies to constantly streamline workflows, reduce costs, and improve overall performance.
Adaptability and Innovation:
Keeping up with the latest technologies and methodologies to address evolving challenges and opportunities.
In essence, effective industrial engineering is about:
Making things work better: Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of processes and systems.
Making things work smarter: Utilizing data and analytical tools to make informed decisions and optimize performance.
Making things work together: Ensuring that all components of a system are integrated and working towards a common goal.
Making things work sustainably: Optimizing resource utilization and minimizing environmental impact.
Industrial engineering is continuous (incremental studies) improvement in the engineering system through periodic studies (Time study, motion study, method study - Process improvement study, Layout improvement study etc.). In addition encourage Continuous Improvement through Employee Participation. Employee participation recommended by Taylor. Gilbreth explicitly made it as part of process chart procedure. Alan Mogensen made it a special workshop for supervisors and operators. He also advocated providing training to them in process chart analysis procedure. Continuous improvement was practiced in a best possible way by Toyota Motors. Now companies world over are trying to implement the best practice of Toyota in the continuous improvement alternative along with the other two alternatives.
Foreman & Operator Industrial Engineering - Kaizen: The philosophy is that people know a lot about the jobs they are doing and therefore should be also involved in job improvement attempted by industrial engineers. This was stated by Taylor. Emphasized by Gilbreth in 1921 in his process chart article. More systematically stated by Mogensen, another industrial engineer. Prof. Narayana Rao made it a principle of industrial engineering.
The full paper on the principles by Prof. K.V.S.S. Narayana Rao is now available for downloading from IISE 2017 Annual Conference Proceedings in Proquest Journal Base.
2012 Presentation - Employee involvement advocated by F.W. Taylor and Frank Gilbreth.
Presentation done by Dr. K.V.S.S. Narayana Rao, Professor, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, NITIE, Mumbai, India, in 5th EuroMed Business Academy Annual Conference on 4 October 2012.
Industrial Engineering is a Management Subject. It must be there in all MBA Programs. Founders of Industrial Engineering advocated harmony between management and operators and recommended employee involvement. The behavioral management authors misrepresented and stated that IE does not involve employees in development of standard methods. IEs have to involve all employees in efficiency improvement of the organization.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ3Hj7NsnaQ
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17. CASE STUDY: PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT THROUGH EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION
(Maynard's IE Handbook, 5th Edition)
17.1. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS OF THE INITIAL SITUATION
Elektrotryck AB produces printed circuit boards for the electronics industry. The headquarters and one production unit are located in Ekerö (just west of Stockholm, Sweden), and a second production unit is located in Timrå (approximately 350 kilometers north of Stockholm).
What is continuous improvement?
May 6, 2019
Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to improve all elements of an organization—processes, tools, products, services, etc.
Alan Mogensen - Proactive Involvement of Operators in Methods Improvement and Process and Operations Improvement Projects - Work Simplification Workshops
F.W. Taylor emphasized development of science of each and every element of work of machines and men. While work of machines is complex, some elements of man's work are not that complex. Some of the manual elements are also very complex. Scientific enquiry into them was difficult and to interpret results, lot of insight was required. Gilbreth also followed Taylor's direction and developed science of human effort. Both emphasized the role of the operator in giving feedback on the new method designed and its continuous improvement based on use of the method. Gilbreth specifically mentioned in his paper on process charts that operators are to be shown the process chart and encouraged to give improvement suggestions.
Alan Mogensen made an organizational arrangement for it in the form of work simplification workshops. In the workshop, operators are given inputs in process chart improvement approaches and are involved in improvement of the processes. He termed it as common sense method study.
Work simplification proposed by Alan Mogensen consists of three elements: the philosophy, the pattern and the plan of action.
The philosophy is that people know a lot about the jobs they are doing and therefore should be also involved in job improvement attempted by industrial engineers. This was stated by Taylor. Emphasized by Gilbreth in 1921 in his process chart article. More systematically stated by Mogensen, another industrial engineer. Prof. Narayana Rao made it a principle of industrial engineering.
Industrial Engineering Principle 15. Employee involvement Principle of Industrial Engineering.
Involve employees in continuous improvement of processes and products for productivity improvement.
The operators should be trusted by management. Also they have to create conditions such that workers themselves should want to be involved in job improvement. They should be trained. To ensure success in work simplification, it is essential to build trust in the organisation and to demonstrate management commitment to the philosophy of involving operators in improvement.
The pattern of work simplification is an organised approach of conducting the work simplification workshop with training inputs and encouraging all to participate.
The pattern uses the following six steps which are the basic steps described in method study.
· Select a job to improve.
· Get all the facts.
· Make a process chart and associated operation data sheets.
· Challenge every detail (every element of the operation), asking all possible questions; list possibilities and improve necessary details.
· Develop the preferred method. (Plan)
· Introduce it and check results. (Do and Check)
Improve it further (Adjust)
Work simplification tools include flow process charts, operation data and analysis sheets, flow diagrams, and principles of motion economy.
Work simplification workshops now became Kaizen blitz events. The process advocated by Alan Mogensen became part of TWI. TWI was promoted in USA and the term Kaizen became popular in industrial activities of Japan. Japanese companies implemented operator industrial engineering that is improvement in engineering activities proposed and implemented by operators themselves in more focused way and increased industrial engineering significantly in their organizations. That additional industrial engineering became a big advantage over a decade and Japanese companies raced ahead of many US companies in many industrial sectors.
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7 Dec 2009
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ELEVEN BASIC PRINCIPLES OF WORK SIMPLIFICATION
Alan Mogensen - From the article by Clem Zinck
1. Work simplification is a generator of methods improvement ideas.
2. Resistance to change and criticism are arch enemy of methods improvement and they can be adequately managed in work simplification projects where all are involved and asked to provide improvement suggestions.
3. To create a sense of "belonging," and of "participating." and of "accomplishing" in each and every employee is a vital responsibility of management. Work simplification stresses this human factor. Here, of course, the foreman plays a vital part.
4. Involvement of Supervisors in Work Simplification
Interesting point. An industrial engineer has to contribute $50,000 in cost savings per year (1984 is the copy right year of the book).
5. Work simplification rests of the principle that any work that does not add value to the product, does not give or receive essential information, does not plan or calculate is essentially WASTE.
7. The major specific wastes in a process are TRANSPORTION, DELAY or STORAGE, and INSPECTION. The major waste in a man-machine combination is IDLE TIME by both the operator and the machine. The major wastes in the activity of a worker in a process, a man-machine combination or in hand operation are TRANSPORTION, DELAY , and FAILURE TO REDUCE THE ELAPSED TIME of activity by the use of KNOWN FASTER DEVICES.
11. Ingenuity has great possibilities. Often the results of a new twist are startling. Work-simplification techniques give full scope to ingenuity and see to its proper application.
With “Work Simplification” Allan Mogensen became a forerunner of organizational development by building a bridge from Taylorism to organizational development, including work teams, for over 50 years. He found what topics can better be covered by worker and work teams than bosses, and what managerial rather than technological innovation is their precondition, i.e., the managers’ trust of subordinates’ capability to be creative, professional, serious, and reliable. His influence over my work in Slovenia (and other areas of Yugoslavia, then) regarding work teams and innovation helped produce very substantial savings.
Allan Mogensen (1901–1989): A Pioneer with Work Teams and His Impact on Yugoslavian Teams.
Matjaž Mulej.
Mulej M. (2000) Allan Mogensen (1901–1989). In: Beyerlein M.M. (eds) Work Teams: Past, Present and Future. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 6. Springer
The company's achieved significant productivity gain through a Schleuniger machine, CrimpCenter 36 S fully automatic crimping machine. "We process a substantial amount of sealed wire leads, and the CrimpCenter's throughput is amazing. We have easily increased productivity by 50 to 100%, improved quality and instantly unlocked new abilities, even attracting new customers," said Haring.
The MultiStrip 9480 cut and strip machine, eliminated manual stripping of inner conductors when processing multiconductor cable, increasing efficiency. They are even looking at adding to their Cut & Strip line to serve a niche they have built for processing larger gauge cable.
DECA Manufacturing Boosts Productivity with Schleuniger
DECA Manufacturing, located in Lexington, OH, has been manufacturing high-quality wire harnesses and cable assemblies for over 40 years. When President Cameron Haring decided to modernize the facility’s equipment, Schleuniger's technology, expertise, and support caught his eye.
Prior to restructuring, DECA used a menagerie of legacy equipment to facilitate its processes. To streamline manufacturing, Haring knew finding a supplier who would partner with DECA and add value to the overall business would be critical to the company’s success. According to Haring, “Schleuniger Direct Sales Representative, Bruce Moore, provided a full-service approach to creative solutions for advancing our capabilities.”
DECA now owns several Schleuniger machines, but Haring attributes the company’s significant productivity gain and overall growth to their investment in the CrimpCenter 36 S fully automatic crimping machine. “We process a substantial amount of sealed wire leads and the CrimpCenter’s throughput is amazing. We have easily increased productivity by 50 to 100 percent, improved quality, and instantly unlocked new abilities, even attracting new customers,” says Haring.
In addition to the success of the CrimpCenter, Haring noted that with the MultiStrip 9480 cut and strip machine, they’ve been able to eliminate manual stripping of inner conductors when processing multiconductor cable, increasing efficiency. They’re even looking at adding to their Cut & Strip line to serve a niche they’ve built for processing larger gauge cable.
For other small manufacturers considering equipment upgrades, Haring shared, “The important thing is to invest in the training offerings that are available at the time of purchase, [because] once you know what you are doing, you can shift work from old techniques to new ones and reap the benefits. Schleuniger provided exceptional, responsive support to help get us up and running."
Frederick Taylor's Productivity Improvement System - Element Level Machine/Tool/Work Improvement - Time Calculation and Measurement - Piece Rate Fixing - 1895
Machine Work Study - Machines and Tools Related Efficiency/Productivity Analysis
The machines, accessories and tools used to perform the operation needs to analysed logically to identify process improvement opportunities to increase productivity and engineering has to be done to modify the process to use new equipment, accessories, tools and modified equipment, accessories or tools.
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Some Questions regarding Machines, Tools and Equipment - Introduction
Can a foot device be arranged so that an operation now performed by hand can be done by foot?
Are raw materials properly placed? Are there racks for pans of material and containers for smaller parts? Can the parts be secured without searching and selecting? Are the most frequently
used parts placed in the most convenient location? Are the handling methods and equipment satisfactory? Would a roller or a belt conveyer facilitate handling? Can the parts be placed aside by means of a chute?
Is the design of the apparatus the best from the viewpoint of manufacturing economy? Can the design be changed to facilitate machining or assembly without affecting the quality of the apparatus? Are tools designed so as to insure minimum manipulation time? Can eccentric clamps or ejectors be used?
Is the job on the proper machine? Are the correct feeds and speeds being used? Would a bench of special design be bettor than a standard bench? Is the work area properly laid out?
Such questions examine the machines, equipment and related aspects.
Relation of Machine Work Study - Industrial Engineering to Quality. Industrial Engineering and a method of it, machine work study focus primarily on eliminating waste and reducing costs. In so doing, it is imperative that nothing should be done to impair the quality of the finished product or
its saleability. F.W. Taylor particularly stated it explicitly and also in product industrial engineering method, value engineering L.D. Miles stated it explicitly. Industrial engineers exist and do their work to enhance the competitive position of his company's products, he quite naturally must take a keen interest in the factor of quality. Products of superior quality outsell products of inferior quality, other things being equal; hence, an improvement in quality is always desirable and efforts to preserve it are made by IEs. Industry engineer is quite likely to discover ways of making the product better. In addition, because he eventually sets up working methods that are easy, efficient methods, and because he trains all operators to follow those methods, a higher and more uniform quality of workmanship results than where each operator is left to develop methods for himself. As a result, therefore, methods study either of machine work or human work tends to raise the quality of the finished product.
Industrial engineers examines every detail in the engineering system or production system, that is likely to affect operating time and cost. Experience leads to the recognition of the points at which the greatest possibilities for improvement lie, and the major part of the study will be made on them.
In a machine shop, the term "setup" is loosely used throughout industry to signify the workplace layout, the adjusted machine tool, or the elemental operations performed to get ready to do the job and to tear down after the job has been done. More exactly, the arrangement of -the material, tools, and supplies that is made preparatory to doing the job may be referred to as the " workplace layout." Any tools, jigs, and fixtures located in a definite position for the purpose of doing a job may be referred to as "being set up' or as "the setup." The operations that precede and follow the performing of the repetitive elements of the job during which the workplace layout or setup is first made and
subsequently cleared away may be called "make-ready" and "put-away" operations. For the sake of clearness, the more exact phraseology will be used throughout this book, although the workplace layout, the setup, and the make-ready and putaway operations are all considered under item 6 on the analysis sheet.
The workplace layout and the setup, or both, are important because they largely determine the method and motions that must be followed to do the job. If the workplace layout is improperly made, longer motions than should be necessary will be required to get materials and supplies. It is not uncommon to find a layout arranged so that it is necessary for the operator to take a step or two every time he needs material, when a slight and entirely practical rearrangement of the workplace layout
would make it possible to reach all material, tools, and supplies from one position. Such obviously energy-wasting layouts are encountered frequently where methods studies have not been made and when encountered serve to emphasize the importance of and the necessity for systematic operation Analysis.
The manner in which the make-ready and put-away operations are performed is worthy of study, particularly if manufacturing quantities are small, necessitating frequent changes hi layouts and setups. On many jobs involving only a few pieces, the time required for the make-ready and put-away operations is greater than the time required to do the actual work. The importance of studying carefully these no-nrepetitive operations is therefore apparent. When it can be arranged, it is often advisable to have certain men perform the make-ready and put-away operations and others do the work. The setup men become skilled at making workplace layouts and setups, just as the other men
become skilled at the more repetitive work. In addition, on machine work it is usually possible to supply them with a standard tool kit for use in making setups, thus eliminating many trips
to the locker or to the toolroom.
The tool equipment used on any operation is most important, and it is worthy of careful study. Repetitive jobs are usually tooled up efficiently, but there are many opportunities for savings
through the use of well-designed tools on small-quantity work which are often overlooked. For example, if a wrench fits a given nut and is strong enough for the work it is to do, usually
little further attention is given to it. There are many kinds of wrenches, however. The list includes monkey wrenches, openend wrenches, self-adjusting wrenches, socket wrenches, ratchet wrenches, and various kinds of power-driven wrenches. The time required to tighten the same nut with each type of wrench is different. The more efficient wrenches cost more, of course, but for each application there is one wrench that can be used with greater over-all economy than any other. Therefore, it pays to study wrench equipment in all classes of work. The same remarks apply to other small tools.
Jigs, fixtures, and other holding devices too often are designed without thought of the motions that will be required to operate them. Unless a job is very active, it may not pay to redesign an inefficient device, but the factors that cause it to be inefficient may be brought to the attention of the tool designer so that future designs will be improved.
Under the head of "Setup," a description is given of the workplace layout and the arrangement of tools, fixtures, and so on. This description may be written if the setup is simple, but a photograph will be found more useful and infinitely clearer if the arrangement is at all complex. It would require several hundred words, for example, to describe the workplace layout pictured in Fig. 44, and even then it would be difficult to visualize the layout in its entirety. The picture tells the story at a glance and shows clearly the arrangement of the workplace at the time of the analysis.
When the machine setup is being considered, the tool equipment also is examined. The tools and the setup are so closely related that it is difficult to separate them, and nothing is gained by attempting to do so. In examining the setup of the milling machine, it is noted at once that a standard vise and a special side cutter are used. A description of these items of tool equipment is therefore recorded. Often, when tool equipment is examined with thoughts of job improvement uppermost in mind,
suggestions for improving the tool equipment will immediately occur to the analyst. These should be recorded as they arise, even though they may reoccur during the consideration of items 7 and 9. It is better to duplicate the small amount of writing involved than to risk the possibility of overlooking a good idea.
More Detailed Questions on Machine, Equipment and Tools
The tools and equipment used to perform the operation needs to analysed logically. The following questions are the sort that will lead to suggested improvements:
1. Is the machine tool best suited to the performance of the operation of all tools available?
2. Would the purchase of a better machine be justified?
3. Can the work be held in the machine by other means to better advantage?
4. Should a vise be used?
5. Should a jig be used?
6. Should clamps be used?
7. Is the jig design good from a motion-economy standpoint?
8. Can the part be inserted and removed quickly from the jig?
9. Would quick-acting cam-actuated tightening mechanisms be desirable on vise, jig, or clamps?
10. Can ejectors for automatically removing part when vise or jig is opened be installed?
11. Is chuck of best type for the purpose?
12. Would special jaws be better?
13. Should a multiple fixture be provided?
14. Should duplicate holding means be provided so that one may be loaded while machine is making a cut on a part held in the other?
15. Are the cutters proper?
16. Should high-seed steel or cemented carbide be used?
17. Are tools properly ground?
18. Is the necessary accuracy readily obtainable with tool and fixture equipment available?
10. Are hand tools pre-positioned ?
20. Are hand tools best suited to purpose?
21. Will ratchet, spiral, or power-driven tools save time?
22. Are all operators provided with the same tools?
23. Can a special tool be made to improve the operation?
24. If accurate work is necessary, are proper gages or other measuring instruments provided?
25. Are gages or other measuring instruments checked for accuracy from time to time?
Because of the wide variety of tools available for different kinds of work, this list could be extended almost indefinitely with specific questions. Foundries, forge shops, processing industries, assembly plants, and so on all have different kinds of tools, and different questions might be asked in each case. The list given above, drawn up principally and by no means completely for machine work, will indicate the kind of searching, suggestive questions that should be asked. A special list might well be drawn up by each individual plant to cover the kind of tools that might be advantageously applied upon its own work.
Equipment.—A study of existing equipment may suggest changes and improvements or repairs. Machine operations should be those which combine economy with uniformity of standard quality. Standard times and methods are dependent upon standardization of machines within each class (using the best machines for operations), and the maintenance of normal conditions with respect to their upkeep. (https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2019/07/operation-study-arthur-g-anderson-1928.html)
Tools: For the most part, it may be said that the tools do function properly from the standpoint of the finished job. But from a productivity angle, industrial engineer has to examine the productivity possible from the existing tool and has to compare it with productivity possible from alternative tools to decide the appropriate alternative. Industrial engineers have to receive information regarding new tools from purchase department, representatives of organizations selling tools, consultants and technical literature being procured by the company. Industrial engineers have to monitor technology and engineering developments on a continuous basis and have to set up libraries for their departments or there have to sections within the company library for industrial engineering materials.
Similarly, whether, the jigs and fixtures etc. function properly from a motion-economy standpoint is subject to evaluation by industrial engineers. The tool designer is usually more concerned with making a tool that will do a certain job than he is with the motions that will be required to operate it. Therefore, unless he has made a study of the principles of methods engineering or has had the importance of motion economy impressed upon him in some other way, it is probably safe to say that the motions required to operate the tool are the last thing he thinks of.
There can be alternative work holding methods that require less time to use. The common machine vise takes a lot of time set up the work piece. The quick-acting vise is far superior. On machining operations where the cutting time is short, it will save 20 to 40 per cent of the total operation time. The jaws of the vise are cam-actuated. They are tightened by moving the two levers in opposite directions which conforms to the principles of motion economy. They hold securely without hammering on the levers. They are adjustable to a variety, of sizes of work. In short, they possess many real advantages over the standard vise.
Suggestions that will improve the quickness of operation of tools should be made to tool designers as they are conceived. If they are presented with a summary of the yearly saving in dollars and cents that they will effect, interest in better tool design from a use-time standpoint will be aroused. Tool designers as a group are clever and ingenious, and if the importance of reducing the time required to operate tools is clearly demonstrated, they will be able to assist materially toward this end by producing more suitable designs.
Hand Tools. Too little attention to the hand tools used upon even the more repetitive operations. There is choice available in even simple hand tool as a screw driver from productivity point of view. Screw drivers vary widely in design, and some are more suitable than others. Screw drivers come in a number of different styles. There are the solid screw drivers, the ratchet screw drivers, the spiral screw drivers, and the various types of power-driven screw drivers. Even the variation among screw drivers of a given type is tremendous. They vary in size, of course, but in addition they vary in about every other way imaginable. The handles vary in diameter, length, cross section, shape, and nature of gripping surface. Points are wide, narrow, blunt, sharp, taper toward the point like a wedge, or are narrower right above the point than at the point. A lately introduced type has a special point to fit a special screw head which offers many advantages. When all these factors are considered, the choice of the screw driver is important from efficiency or productivity point of view.
There is a screw driver that is better for a given application. For medium work with the conventional screw-head if a solid screw driver is to be used, the one with the largest cylindrical handle which can be comfortably grasped by the operator should be chosen. The handle should, of course, be fluted to prevent slipping. The diameter of the handle will vary with the size of the operator's hand, but two or three standard sizes are sufficient for most hands. The diameter of the handle should be large, because the larger the handle within the limits of the human hand, the more easily can a given torque be applied. To prevent slipping, the point should not be wedge-shaped but should be slightly larger at the point than just above it.
If many screws have to be driven, a ratchet, spiral, or power-driven screw driver can often be used to good advantage. If many screws of the same size are to be driven, a piece of hardened tubing slipped over the end of the screw-driver point will make it much easier to locate the screw driver in the slot.
The same sort of searching analysis can be made for every type of hand tool used. Wrenches, hammers, chisels, saws, scissors, knives, pliers, and drills all come in a great variety of styles. Standardization on a limited number of the better styles within a plant will tend to prevent the use of the more inefficient tools. Tests must be made to determine which styles are actually the most efficient. Time taken for the element is the decision criterion.
Judgment must be used, of course, in determining the amount of time that can economically be spent in analyzing the tools used on any one job. Unless a job is highly repetitive, it will not pay to try to discover the best screw driver for that particular job. Instead, the whole subject of hand tools including screw drivers may be investigated in a general way, and good tools may be adopted for standard use. The tool supply should be plentiful, for it is not uncommon to see operators not only using the wrong size of tool, but also using a chisel for a hammer or a screw driver for a crude chisel merely because the proper tool is not available. An insufficient supply of proper tools may reduce the amount expended for tools, but it will prove costly in the long run.
Setup - Workplace Layout
The order in which tools are set up in a turret lathe, for example, will determine the order in which the various machining operations are performed. The position in which material is placed with respect to the point of use will determine the class and the length of the motions required to secure it.
Before any work can be done, certain preliminary or "make ready" operations must be performed. These include such elements as getting tools and drawings, getting material and instructions, and setting up the machine or laying out material and tools about the workplace. When the operation itself has been completed, certain clean up or "put-away" elements must be done such as putting away tools and drawings, removing finished material, and cleaning up the workplace or machine.
Questions on "Make-ready" and "Put-away" Elements. The procedure followed to perform the
'make-ready' and "putaway" elements may carry the operator away from his workplace and should be questioned closely. In small-quantity lot work, these operations may consume more time than productive operation work. The necessity for trips to other parts of the department should be minimized.
Questions which will lead to suggestions for improvement of "Make-ready" and "Put-away" Elements are:
1. How is the job assigned to the operator (job card or ticket issue to operator)?
2. Is the procedure such that the operator is ever without a job to do (delays in giving job ticket)?
3. How are instructions imparted to the operator?
4. How is material secured?
5. How are drawings and tools secured?
6. How are the times at which the job is started and finished checked?
7. What possibilities for delays occur at drawing room, toolroom, storeroom, or time clerk's office?
8. If operator makes his own setup, would economies be gained by providing special setup men?
9. Could a supply boy get tools, drawings, and material?
10. Is the layout of the operator Js locker or tool drawer orderly so that no time is lost searching for tools or equipment?
11. Are the tools that the operator uses in making his setup adequate?
12. Is the machine set up properly?
13. Is the machine adjusted for proper feeds and speeds?
14. Is machine in repair, and are belts tight and not slipping?
15. If vises, jigs, or fixtures are used, are they securely clamped to the machine?
16. Is the order in which the elements of the operation are performed correct?
17. Does the workplace layout conform to the principles that govern effective workplace layouts?
18. Is material properly positioned?
19. Are tools prepositioned?
20. Are the first few pieces produced checked for correctness by anyone other than the operator?
21. What must be done to complete operation and put away all equipment used?
22. Can trip to return tools to toolroom be combined with trip to get tools for next job?
23. How thoroughly should workplace be cleaned?
24. What disposal is made of scrap, short ends, or defective parts?
25. If operation is performed continuously, are preliminary operations of a preparatory nature necessary the first thing in the morning?
26. Are adjustments to equipment on a continuous operation made by the operator?
27. How is material supply replenished?
28. If a number of miscellaneous jobs are done, can similar jobs be grouped to eliminate certain setup elements?
29. How are partial setups handled?
30. Is the operator responsible for protecting workplace overnight by covering it or locking up valuable material?
It may be seen that an analysis of "make-ready " and "put-away" operations covers a rather wide field. Some are related to operator work also. But they are mentioned here as they form part of set up and make ready the equipment step. Some of the steps are standard for every job; and after it has been thoroughly analyzed for one job and improved as much as possible, it need not be considered so carefully again. Therefore, the subject should receive a thorough analysis at least once, and preferably so that irregularities will not be permitted to creep in and become standard practice more often, say at least every 6 months.
Make Ready - Allocation of Jobs and Giving Instructions
The methods followed in giving out jobs differ widely throughout industry. Some procedure for telling an operator what job he is to work upon next must be provided. In some cases, material to be processed is placed near the work stations of a number of operators. The operators go to the material and themselves select the jobs they wish to do. This procedure has certain serious disadvantages. Some jobs are more desirable from the operator's standpoint than others. They may be easier or lighter or cleaner, some jobs may carry looser rates than others, thus permitting higher earnings for a given expenditure of effort. If the operators are allowed to pick their own jobs, those who have stronger characters or are physically superior are likely to get the best jobs, and the weaker must take what is left. The least desirable jobs will be slighted altogether as long as there is any other work to do, which causes these jobs to lag and become overdue. There is no assurance that the operators will get the jobs for which they are best suited, considering the group as a whole.
Where the group system is used, these difficulties are minimized, but principally because the group leader assumes a function of management and hands out the work to the members of his group. The group knows that sooner or later it will have to handle all jobs sent to it, and so there is less tendency to slight undesirable work. In the interests of good performance as a group, the skilled men will do the more difficult jobs, leaving the easier tasks to the new or less skilled men. In short, the entire
situation is changed; when the group system is used, the selection of jobs may be left to the workers themselves.
Another common procedure is for the foreman to assign jobs. The foreman knows the work, and he knows his men. Therefore, he is in a good position to distribute the work so that it will be performed most effectively. The chief difficulty with this arrangement is that the modern foreman is so loaded
with duties and responsibilities that he often does not have time to plan his work properly. In moments of rush activity, instead of always having several jobs ahead of each operator, he is likely
to assign jobs only when men run out of work. When a man comes to him for a job, he is likely to glance at the available work and assign the first job he sees that he thinks the operator can do. It may not be the one best suited to the operator; perhaps even more important, it may not be the job that fits most important from a delivery standpoint.
With regard to this last point, in order to get work through the shop on schedule, the planning or production department must work closely with the foreman. Usually, chasers or expediters call to the attention of the foreman the job that is required next. If there are only a few rush jobs, the foreman may be able to have them completed as desired. In times of peak activity, however, when the shop is overloaded, all jobs become rush jobs. Each expediter has a long list of jobs to be completed at once.
Considerable pressure is brought to bear upon the foreman to get out this job and that, and he is likely to find himself devoting time to detailed production activities that could better be spent on taking steps to relieve the congestion.
In most up-to-date plants, the foreman is regarded as a very important man. He is called into conferences and meetings and often participates in educational programs. He is, therefore, away from his department at intervals and, if he has the responsibility of giving out jobs, must give out enough work to last until he returns. If he is called away suddenly or is unexpectedly detained, operators will run out of work. Then they either lose considerable time and hence money which creates dissatisfaction, or they help themselves to another job. If this latter practice is countenanced in a time of emergency, there is a danger that it will soon develop into a standard practice. If men get their own
jobs, the foreman is relieved of a certain amount of work and, if he is otherwise overloaded, may tend to allow operators to select their work with increasing frequency, until all the advantages gained by having the foremen hand out work are lost. The decisions with respect to the order in which jobs are to be put through the shop are made by the planning or production department. Since they know in what order jobs are wanted, it would, therefore, appear that a representative of this department should cooperate closely with the foreman in giving out the work. The foreman may specify the men who are to work on each job when the orders first reach his department, and a dispatch clerk may give the work to the assigned men in the order of its importance from a delivery standpoint. This arrangement is followed in a number of plants.In typical dispatching station system under the control of the production department, time tickets for each operation on each job are made out in a central planning department and are marked with the date the operation should be completed. The dispatcher arranges these time tickets in his dispatch board. Each group of machines within the department is assigned a pocket the dispatch board, and each pocket has three subdivisions.
The time tickets are received considerably in advance of the material. They are first filed in a subdivision of the proper machine pockets called the "work ahead " division. The number of tickets in the "work ahead" divisions at any time gives a rough idea of the load on the shop. When material for a given job enters the department, the dispatcher is notified. He then moves the time ticket for the first operation from the "work ahead" division to the "work ready " division. The time tickets in the latter pocket then show the jobs that are actually ready to be worked upon. When an operator completes one job, he goes to the dispatcher's station and turns in the ticket for that job. The dispatcher then gives him another job by taking the time ticket from the "work ready" division and handing it to him. He selects always the ticket marked with the date nearest to the current date and thus gets the work done in the desired order.
When the operator has received notification in one way or another of the job he is to do, he must next secure drawings, tools, and material. The way in which this is done also varies widely. In some cases, the operator must hunt everything for himself. In others, he goes to a tool- or drawing-room window
and waits while an attendant gets what he requires. In still other cases, everything is brought to him, and he does not have to leave his work station. The exact procedure that is followed will depend upon existing conditions; but if it is possible to work out an economical system for furnishing the operator with what he needs at his work station, it is desirable to do so. Besides reducing costs, this procedure increases the amount of time the equipment is utilized and thus increases the productive capacity of the plant. Often a low-rated worker can do the errands of the operators and bring tools, drawings, and materials.
Where the group system is used and no supply boy is available, the group leader commonly gets all necessary supplies and tools. By getting the necessary items for several jobs at one time, he is
able to effect economies.
A conveyer system can be employed and the jobs may be dispatched by the production department in the order wanted, and all material, tools, and drawings can be sent out at the same time on the conveyer. Thus the amount of time spent by the operator in getting ready to make the setup is reduced to a minimum.
The manner in which instructions are furnished with regard to how the job should be done is worthy of careful consideration. In many cases, no instructions at all are given. The operator is supposed to be familiar enough with the work to know how to do it. If not, he may ask the foreman. When no definite instructions are given or when the foreman gives only brief general advice, the method that the operator follows is likely to be one of his own devising which may or may not be effective. The fact that in so many cases different operators follow different methods in doing the same operation may be traced directly to insufficient instruction. To secure effective performance, the best method must first be worked out and then taught.
Some plants employ instructors or demonstrators to perform the teaching function. If these men know the best methods themselves and are good teachers, good results will be secured. Too often, however, the instructor is merely an experienced operator who knows only such methods as he himself used before he was promoted. Even though he was a highly skilled operator, the chances of his knowing and being able to impart a knowledge of the best methods are small, unless he has received additional
training himself in the principles of methods engineering. If he is a machine instructor, he is likely to teach feeds and speeds and the best way to grind tools, mentioning only briefly, if at all, the arrangement of the workplace and the motions that should be used.
Feeds, speeds, and the grinding of tools all are important, of course, but they constitute only part of the method. A lathe operator, for example, was engaged in turning shafts in an engine lathe. Each shaft had to be stamped with a number. The operator would remove a finished shaft from his lathe, turn to a bench, stamp the number, set aside the shaft, pick up another, and return to his machine. The turning required a long cut under power feed. A much better method is as follows: While a cut is being taken, the operator gets the next shaft to be machined; he places it on the machine ways in a convenient position; as soon as the cut is taken, he removes the finished shaft and inserts the other; he starts the cut and then while the machine is running, stamps and lays aside the finished shaft. Thus, the machine runs nearly continuously, and idle time on the part of both the operator and the machine is reduced. Instruction in some manner with regard not only to feeds and speeds but also with
regard to the proper motion sequence would be necessary to correct his difficulty.
Instruction sheets can be used to instruct operators and, under certain conditions, their use is not too costly.
Setup.
The setup of the machine and of any tools, jigs, or fixtures used should be studied in detail. The correctness and the adequacy of the setup should first be considered, followed by a brief review of the methods employed to make it. The correct setup is fixed by the nature of the operation, the nature of the part, the requirements of the job, and the mechanical features of the machine. Sometimes, it is possible to do a job in more than one way, and care should be taken to ascertain
that the best way is being used.
Many ingenious ways are tried to extend the time for doing a job during the course of a time study. Some changes are done in setup like belts may be loosened so that they slip under load, or a carbon steel cutter may be used in place of a higher speed alloy. In one incident of a time study on a milling-machine operation, the operator loosened the bolts slightly that held the vise to the machine table. When the cut was taken, the vise very slowly slid along the surface of the table, and of course, the time for taking the cut was extended. The time-study engineer, checked the feed and length of cut and found a discrepancy between his data and what the cutting time should be. It was difficult to detect at first where the trouble lay, but the vise eventually reached a point where it was noticeably out of position. Then it was reset it properly, and then restudied the job. Therefore industrial engineers have to examine the setuup and described it adequately in the standard process sheet.
When the setup is being made, certain tools are usually required. These should be suitable for the purpose. If each operator must make his own setup, he should be provided with the necessary tools. If only one or two wrenches are furnished to a group of 10 operators, for example, the time lost in hunting the wrenches and in waiting for a chance to use them will usually far offset the cost of additional equipment. If setup men are employed to setup machines ahead of the operators, their setup work is to them fairly repetitive work, because they are performing the same elements day after day. It will therefore be desirable to treat it as such and to furnish the setup men with special-purpose quick-acting tools.
The Workplace Layout.
The improvement of the layout of the workplace of the industrial worker is too often overlooked as
a means for effecting operating economies. The layout of the workplace partly determines the method the operator must follow in doing a given task, and it almost wholly determines the motions he must employ. For this reason, the principles which affect workplace layouts will be discussed briefly.
Two general concepts underlie workplace layouts. The first has to do with the classes of motions that a human being can make. There are five general classes, as follows:
1. Finger motions.
2. Finger and wrist motions.
3. Finger, wrist, and forearm motions.
4. Finger, wrist, forearm, and upper-arm motions.
5. Finger, wrist, forearm, upper-arm, and body motions.
It is usually stated that motions of the lower classes can be made more quickly and with less expenditure of effort than in motions of the higher classes.
The arc which bounds the maximum working area is traced by the fingers when the arm, fully extended, is. pivoted about the shoulder.
The principles of efficient work areas should be applied to all lines of work, for they are universal. It is customary to think of them in connection with bench operations; but they can and should be applied to the arrangement of tools and materials around machines or on work such as molding, forging, and the like, and to the arrangement of levers, hand wheels, and so on, when designing machine-tool equipment.
In work place layout, one of the most glaring faults commonly encountered lies in the arrangement
of containers of raw and finished material. If the placement is left to the operators, a body motion will often be used for getting or laying aside material, because the operator sets the material containers on the floor or the bench or in some other place that is available but not particularly convenient. Industrial engineers can design an arrangement that minimizes motions and fatigue and thus save time and increase productivity.
Put Away. The put-away elements usually consume less time than the make-ready elements. Tools are put away, the setup is torn down, and the workplace is more or less thoroughly cleaned up. Usually, some of the put-away elements can be combined with some of the make-ready elements for the next operation. Tools for one operation, for example, may be returned to the tool room when the tools for the next operation are obtained. The procedure that will prove most economical for the put-away
elements will depend to a large extent upon the manner in which the make-ready elements are performed. Where a number of similar operations are performed on a machine, it is sometimes possible to use 'the same or part of the same setup on two or more jobs. A part that is common to
several assemblies may be ordered separately for each and appear on several different orders. If these orders are grouped, one setup will care for them all. Again, in milling-machine work, for example, it may be possible to use the same cutter for several different jobs. The elements of "get cutter from
toolroom; "place cutter on machine, "remove cutter from machine/ and "return cutter to toolroom" will thus be performed but once for the several jobs.
Where possibilities of this sort exist, provision should be made when setting up the make-ready and put-away routine so that the economies will be made. If the operator does not know what job he is to do next, if he must completely tear down his setup before going for another job, and if neither the foreman nor the dispatcher attempts to group similar jobs, advantage cannot be taken of partial setups. This is wasteful, of course, and every attempt should be made to secure the benefit of partial setups. Whether or not the operator is paid for the complete setup or only for that part which he actually makes depends upon the difficulty in controlling setups and upon whether or not the saving is due to the operator's own initiative. In either case, more time is available for productive work which is a distinct gain.
