Before attempting motion study, the motion study person has to investigate all other factors and examine whether any changes to them can improve motion pattern. Of course, the examination can continue even when the motion analysis is being done. If changes to some operations factors can bring overall efficiency, motion study person has to recommend them to IE group and complete the motion study only after IE group examines all such recommendations.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Pre-Motion Study Operation Analysis
Before attempting motion study, the motion study person has to investigate all other factors and examine whether any changes to them can improve motion pattern. Of course, the examination can continue even when the motion analysis is being done. If changes to some operations factors can bring overall efficiency, motion study person has to recommend them to IE group and complete the motion study only after IE group examines all such recommendations.
Pre-Motion Study Process Analysis
There is a criticism that elaborate motion study is done on operations or jobs which may be no longer relevant. Pre-motion study process analysis is a step to avoid such a waste motion study.
A pre-motion study process analysis carried out by industrial engineers would help to eliminate or rearrange operator activity and provides a better foundation to focus on the motions of specific operators.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Focus on Technical Efficiency by F.W. Taylor
Focus on Technological Efficiency – the era of Scientific Management
The primal focus of the Industrial Revolution in its formative years was on increased mechanization of activities. With this arose the need to put more efficiency in the manufacturing processes, for, the final output was directly related to the efficiency of the processes – the better the processes, the better the output. To improve the processes, Frederick Taylor (1856 - 1915) proposed systematic observation and study of the processes involved. He was of the view that a proper observation and analysis would help one arrive at the most efficient way to perform a task. Taylor would observe people working, then put them in controlled situation and analyze the results to arrive at conclusions. As Taylor used scientific ways to arrive at solutions to management problems, he is rightly regarded as the Father of Scientific Management. It was an irony that the first chapter of the book of Management Education was not written in the arena of academics, but was written on the shop floor. However, Taylor was of the view that management needed to be formulated as an academic discipline, and industries should consult those having the knowledge of this discipline to arrive at the most efficient ways of doing things.
Taylor believed that it would be better to separate planning from execution; earlier those who planned would execute. This way he reasoned that most of the work which the workers were doing could be done by the top management in a better way. Thus, the onus to plan shifted to the top management and the workers remained responsible only for the execution of the plans. Taylor also focused on the selection and development of workers. He put the emphasis on imparting skills through education; this was very different from the earlier thought of gaining skills through continual and repetitive practice. Nonetheless, he was of the view that continual practice helped one refine the skills, but ‘which skills to refine’, and ‘the best way to refine the skills’ was to be decided by the top management. Taylor also focused on designing a compensation system which was different from the traditional piece-meal system. The compensation system which he designed valued above-average performance and punished below-average performance; to arrive at the ‘average performance’ he once again took help of the scientific enquiry. This way, Taylor introduced the scientific enquiry into all the fields of management, whether it was selection, training, recruitment or compensation. For the first time, the industry was looking at these activities in a different way: the processes were being standardized and the focus was on finding the best way of doing things through scientific investigation. However, scientific investigation had its limits – in business activities, not all processes could have been standardized. The biggest criticism of scientific management was related with its treatment of humans as mere instrument of production. The men too were seen as being machines, and thus their behavior too was to be molded and standardized! Perhaps, scientific management tried to deliver too much, and with its excessive focus on treating humans as instrument of production, it failed to take care of the human issues inside the organization which had started to surface with the advancement of the industries.
Source for the content
http://www.voxmentis.com/2011/01/this-is-pa-r-t-one-of-t-w-o-pa-r-t.html
The content to be included in Technology Efficiency Engineering
Modernism and Culture of Efficiency
Book by Evelyn Cobley
Google Book Link
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=3J5fYfM0shoC
Special Issue on Taylor by Jounal of Business and Management
http://www.chapman.edu/asbe/_files/journals-and-essays/jbm-editions/jmb-vol-17-01.pdf
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Methods Time Measurement (MTM) - Detailed Description
Engineered Work Measurement: The Principles, Techniques, and Data of Methods-time Measurement Background and Foundations of Work Measurement and Methods-time Measurement, Plus Other Related Material
Delmar William Karger, Franklin H. Bayha
Industrial Press Inc., 1987 - Technology & Engineering - 503 pages
Includes extensive information on I.E. and work measurement software. Focuses on the MTM material that has been refined for more than three decades. Provides accurate answers to all questions regarding MTM-1 found in the MTM Association for Standards and Research MTM-1 Examinations. Covers the minimum work measurement background essential to all who must understand and apply MTM-1.
Google Book Link with Preview facility
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=K-JSTQ0tkkkC
Monday, July 8, 2013
Human Effort Engineering - General Statements
The work should be organized so that the operator receives only essential information through the appropriate sensory channels and at the time and place needed. The information should be presented in a way that permits the operator to react to it in the optimum manner.
In the decision-making phase of a task, the work should be arranged so that interpretations and decisions will be as nearly automatic as possible. The number of choices which the operator must make at a given time should be as few as possible.
The work method should be so designed so as to enable the operator to perform the task in the shortest possible time and with the greatest ease and satisfaction. The number of body members and the number of motions should be as few as possible, and the length of motions should be as short as possible. The job should be so designed so that it results in the lowest energy expenditure and the least physiological stress, as measured by calories per minute and heart beats per minute.
Source
R.M. Barnes, Motion and Time Study, 5 Edition
P. 212
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Accounting Analysis of IT Costs
Accounting for internal IT - Analyze Your Overlooked IT costs
Because of the many variables involved, many companies simply write off IT as necessary overhead
that’s too complex to track and analyze through cost and management accounting
Here are the key cost areas to watch and some practical ways to account for them.
1. IT labour
Projects ranging from a non-standard data query to the implementation of the latest business intelligence application may require hours, days and even months of IT labour time. Accounting for this time alone will get organizations much closer to understanding IT costs. Establish a standard rate based on the average cost of an IT employee. You need not overcomplicate this and with a standard average rate, you can get a pretty good picture of what it’s actually costing you without having to do overly detailed cost accounting.
When coming up with a number, be sure to factor in staff turnover, absenteeism and training, as these costs can be substantially higher in IT than in other areas.
2. Data entry
The people who support IT systems are not exclusively in IT. ERP (enterprise resource planning) and other business support systems may require significant, regular data entry to keep current. As with IT labour, using an hourly rate to approximate what this activity is costing the organization. Some companies use $20 an hour. Even at that rate, the costs can add up. If 100 hours a month is spend by various people to keep an ERP system up to date, the $24,000-per-year total might raise some eyebrows. “The big sin is to omit it,”
3. Training
If employees aren’t properly trained, even a routine software upgrade such as installing a new version of Microsoft Outlook can wreak havoc on an organization’s workforce.People struggle to do things with new IT systems that they used to be able to do before with old process. A significant proportion of help-desk
calls — 25 per cent or more — occur because the end-user didn’t understand how to use the application. The true costs of neglected training are not directly visible. Instead, they show up in the poor use of software
features, buddy systems in which employees interrupt one another to get assistance and countless hours spent deciphering user manuals. It costs the organizations thousands and thousands of dollars in lost productivity, and most organizations don’t see that, and don’t track it.”
Real training costs, which include the training itself and employee time spent in classrooms, are substantial. Two weeks per year is not unusual for IT people, and people who could be considered power users — administrators, coordinators, analysts — may require five days or more. Delegating end-user training to the
IT department is a common mistake. IT people are not necessarily good teachers, and they often can’t spare the time to train. [For more on IT training, see “Taking on the IT Training Deficit” in the July/August 2011 issue of CMA magazine.]
4. Change management
When an organization acquires significant information management capabilities that affect daily operations, big changes can occur in a workplace. Months can also pass before the workforce becomes comfortable with a new system.The costs can be especially high when the affected workforce deals directly with customers. This is the cost of disruption. You really need to have sufficient planning, testing and training to get people not just to a rudimentary level of user capability, but to a point where they are reasonably
proficient. Once again, labour costs should be approximated.
5. Infrastructure
Hardware and software quickly become obsolete, and because many organizations see annual data storage increases of 30 per cent or more, capacity is an ongoing concern. Changes in an IT system can also cause existing infrastructure to reach capacity and set off a spiral of upgrades. For example, a new software system might require more storage capacity which could trigger upgrades to operating systems, servers and network hardware.
The best way to stay on top of infrastructure costs is to create standard rates for machine capacity and storage, and track usage in dollars. This strategy prevents surprises. It also ensures that the cost of upgrading isn’t unfairly allocated to one department or project when an existing system reaches capacity or
is incompatible with a new application.
A rough system for estimating and tracking the costs of IT is far better than no system at all. By establishing standard rates and applying them continuously, organizations can bring much-needed transparency to IT
funding.
In addition to allowing organizations to manage their recurring IT expenditures more effectively, this strategy also gives decision makers the cost benchmarks that they need to create business cases for new technology or outsourcing options such as cloud computing.
Reference
Jacob Stoller
CMA MAGAZINE November/December 2012 pp.40-41
See www.jacobstoller.com.
(To be revised once again)
Because of the many variables involved, many companies simply write off IT as necessary overhead
that’s too complex to track and analyze through cost and management accounting
Here are the key cost areas to watch and some practical ways to account for them.
1. IT labour
Projects ranging from a non-standard data query to the implementation of the latest business intelligence application may require hours, days and even months of IT labour time. Accounting for this time alone will get organizations much closer to understanding IT costs. Establish a standard rate based on the average cost of an IT employee. You need not overcomplicate this and with a standard average rate, you can get a pretty good picture of what it’s actually costing you without having to do overly detailed cost accounting.
When coming up with a number, be sure to factor in staff turnover, absenteeism and training, as these costs can be substantially higher in IT than in other areas.
2. Data entry
The people who support IT systems are not exclusively in IT. ERP (enterprise resource planning) and other business support systems may require significant, regular data entry to keep current. As with IT labour, using an hourly rate to approximate what this activity is costing the organization. Some companies use $20 an hour. Even at that rate, the costs can add up. If 100 hours a month is spend by various people to keep an ERP system up to date, the $24,000-per-year total might raise some eyebrows. “The big sin is to omit it,”
3. Training
If employees aren’t properly trained, even a routine software upgrade such as installing a new version of Microsoft Outlook can wreak havoc on an organization’s workforce.People struggle to do things with new IT systems that they used to be able to do before with old process. A significant proportion of help-desk
calls — 25 per cent or more — occur because the end-user didn’t understand how to use the application. The true costs of neglected training are not directly visible. Instead, they show up in the poor use of software
features, buddy systems in which employees interrupt one another to get assistance and countless hours spent deciphering user manuals. It costs the organizations thousands and thousands of dollars in lost productivity, and most organizations don’t see that, and don’t track it.”
Real training costs, which include the training itself and employee time spent in classrooms, are substantial. Two weeks per year is not unusual for IT people, and people who could be considered power users — administrators, coordinators, analysts — may require five days or more. Delegating end-user training to the
IT department is a common mistake. IT people are not necessarily good teachers, and they often can’t spare the time to train. [For more on IT training, see “Taking on the IT Training Deficit” in the July/August 2011 issue of CMA magazine.]
4. Change management
When an organization acquires significant information management capabilities that affect daily operations, big changes can occur in a workplace. Months can also pass before the workforce becomes comfortable with a new system.The costs can be especially high when the affected workforce deals directly with customers. This is the cost of disruption. You really need to have sufficient planning, testing and training to get people not just to a rudimentary level of user capability, but to a point where they are reasonably
proficient. Once again, labour costs should be approximated.
5. Infrastructure
Hardware and software quickly become obsolete, and because many organizations see annual data storage increases of 30 per cent or more, capacity is an ongoing concern. Changes in an IT system can also cause existing infrastructure to reach capacity and set off a spiral of upgrades. For example, a new software system might require more storage capacity which could trigger upgrades to operating systems, servers and network hardware.
The best way to stay on top of infrastructure costs is to create standard rates for machine capacity and storage, and track usage in dollars. This strategy prevents surprises. It also ensures that the cost of upgrading isn’t unfairly allocated to one department or project when an existing system reaches capacity or
is incompatible with a new application.
A rough system for estimating and tracking the costs of IT is far better than no system at all. By establishing standard rates and applying them continuously, organizations can bring much-needed transparency to IT
funding.
In addition to allowing organizations to manage their recurring IT expenditures more effectively, this strategy also gives decision makers the cost benchmarks that they need to create business cases for new technology or outsourcing options such as cloud computing.
Reference
Jacob Stoller
CMA MAGAZINE November/December 2012 pp.40-41
See www.jacobstoller.com.
(To be revised once again)
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Capabilities of Various Muscles, Joints and Bones - Biblography
Endurance time, pain and resumption in passive loading of the elbow joint
Linda Roseab, Mats Ericsonb & Roland Ortengrena
Ergonomics, Volume 43, Issue 3, 2000, pages 405-420
Monday, July 1, 2013
Industrial Engineering in Forestry - Bibliography
Analysis of Methods of Studying Operation Efficiency in Forestry
1967 MS Thesis describing the role of various IE techniques
https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/id/128824/UBC_1967_A6
Motion and Time Study for Lean Manufacturing, 3rd Edition By Fred E. Meyers, Jim R. Stewart - Book Information
Published by Prentice Hall
Published Date: May 22, 2001
Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Motion and Time Study.
2. Motion and Time Study for the Lean Environment.
3. History of Motion and Time Study.
4. The Importance and Uses of Motion and Time Study.
5. Techniques of Methods Design: The Product Flow Macromotion.
6. Techniques of Micromotion Study: Operations Analysis.
7. Motion Study: The Work Station Design.
8. Predetermined Time Standards (PTS) System.
9. Stopwatch Time Study.
10. Standard Data and Its Uses in Balancing Work.
11. Work Sampling.
12. Indirect Labor and Motion and Time Study.
13. Performance Control Systems.
14. Wage Payment Systems.
15. Time Management Techniques.
16. Attitudes and Goals for Industrial Engineers.
Appendix A: Forms.
Appendix B: Answers to Problems.
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