Method Study - ILO Book Description

Work Study Focus is Human Effort

Work study is only motion and time study. It does not deal with technical aspects the production process directly. Subjects that deal with improvements in technical aspects directly are needed in industrial engineering so that it contributes in a significant way to productivity improvement of engineering systems.
Work Study - Important Issues to Notice
http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2017/03/work-study-important-issues-to-notice.html




Method study is the systematic recording and critical examination of existing and proposed ways of doing work, as a means of developing and applying easier and more effective methods and reducing costs.

The term "method study" is being increasingly used in place of "motion study", although the latter was intended by its inventor, Frank Gilbreth, to cover almost exactly the same field.

Industrial Engineering Terminology, published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, gives separate definitions for "method study" and "motion study", the latter being confined to hand and eye movements at the workplace. However, "motion study" is used in most United States textbooks with the same meaning as "method study". Method study as a term is not popular in USA. But methods design as a term was used by some authors.

Frank Gilbreth's Usage of the Word Methods in His Writings

Frank B. Gilbreth. Discussion on "The present state of art of industrial management." Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering. Vol. 34 (1912). 1224-6


It is now possible to capture, record and transfer not only skill and experience of the best worker, but also the most desirable elements in the methods of all workers. To do this, scientific management carefully proceeds to isolate, analyze, measure, synthesize and standardize least wasteful elementary units of methods. This it does by motion study, time study and micro-motion study which are valuable aids to sort and retain all useful elements of best methods and to evolve from these a method worthy to be established as a standard and to be transferred and taught. Through this process is made possible the community conservation of measured details of experience which has revolutionized every industry that has availed itself of it. p. 1124-5


The objects of method study are

The (productivity) improvement of processes and procedures.

The improvement of factory, shop and workplace layout and of the design of plant and equipment (at the operation stage).

The development of a better physical working environment.

Economy in human effort and the reduction of unnecessary fatigue.

Improvement in the use of materials, machines and manpower.

METHOD STUDY - BASIC PROCEDURE

SELECT the work to be studied.
RECORD all the relevant facts about the present method by direct observation.
EXAMINE those facts critically and in ordered sequence, using the techniques best suited to the purpose.
DEVELOP the most practical, economic and effective method,having due regard to all contingent circumstances.
DEFINE the new method so that it can always be identified.
INSTALL that method as standard practice.
MAINTAIN that standard practice by regular routine checks.

SELECTING THE WORK TO BE STUDIED

A process has to be selected to do method study investigation based on certain factors that indicate that the job is priority in terms of benefits that will be realized. These are-

Economic considerations.
Technical considerations.
Human reactions.

Economic considerations.

Obvious early choices are

• "bottlenecks" which are limiting the production
• movements of material over long distances between shops, or operations involving a great deal of manpower and equipment;
• operations involving repetitive work using a great deal of labour and liable to run for a long time.

Technical considerations.

Are technical experts available to participate in the studies?

Human reactions.

Avoid jobs where human resistance is present.

Select the job most likely to have the greatest over-all effect on the productivity of the enterprise as a whole.

RECORDING THE FACTS

(Chapter 7. Record, Examine, Develop)

The most commonly used of these recording techniques are charts and diagrams. There are charts indicating sequence and charts indicating time scale. Diagrams are used to record movements in a layout. Diagrams supplement charts.

In the charts called process charts five different activities are represented.

OPERATION     O
Inspection           []
Transportation   ->
Temporary Delay  D
Permanent Delay  Inverted triangle


OPERATION Indicates the main steps in a process, method or procedure.
Usually the part, material or product concerned is modified or changed during the operation.

INSPECTION Indicates an inspection for quality and/or a check for quantity.

TRANSPORT Indicates the movement of workers, materials or equipment from place to place.

TEMPORARY STORAGE OR DELAY Indicates a delay in the sequence of events: for example,
work waiting between consecutive operations, or any object laid aside temporarily without record until required.

PERMANENT STORAGE Indicates a controlled storage in which material is received into or issued from a stores under some form of authorisation; or an item is retained for reference purposes.

The Outline Process Chart
p.84

A "bird's-eye" view of a whole process or activity can be obtained by using an outline process chart.

An outline process chart is a process chart giving an over-all picture by recording in sequence only the main operations and inspections.

The time being taken for each step, if it is observed during the study is also added.

The outline process chart is intended to provide a first "bird's-eye" view of the activities involved. The work study man will understand the operations and inspections being carried out in the process. The chart may be used for the purpose of eliminating unnecessary operations or combining those that could be done together (It is to be noted that technical persons may be required to give the opinion or to answer the questions posted by the work study analyst). (Page 89).

Flow Process Charts
p. 89
Types: Worker type, Material type, Equipment type

Worker type p. 116

Flow Diagram
p.101

Chapter 8

Sections
1. Movement of workers and material
2. The string diagram
3. The worker-type flow process chart
4. The multiple activity chart
5. The travel chart


String Diagram
p. 109

The multiple activity chart

A multiple activity chart is a chart on which the activities of more than subject (worker, machine or item of equipment) are each recorded on a common time scale to show their interrelationship.

The travel chart

a travel chart is a tabular record for presenting quantitative data about the movements of workers, materials or equipment between any number of places over any given period of time.

Process Charts - Outline and Flow - Slide Share - Electric motor assembly
https://www.slideshare.net/rahulmeshram14/lecture-2-process-charts-work-study

Industrial Engineering Discipline has to promote Process Improvement Study

The process improvement study has to study material transformation, inspection, material handling/transport between machines and warehousing or storage. Each of these operations require machine effort and human effort apart from infrastructure. Time is involved and cost is involved in these operations. Apart from the delays are recognized in process charts that cost money and loss of time as jobs wait in shop floor inventory.

22 May 2022

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-kanak-madrecha-a4145822_answering-seven-powerful-questions-for-success-activity-6933265569047576576-1jXL?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

Who, the answer is person, Which relates to machine is missing in these questions. That became the weakness of industrial engineering. That question would have given alternate machines within the company as better. It would have suggested possible new machines. It would have led to investigation of new machine accessories. All things connected to machine were ignored in IE curriculum.

Dear Prof Narayana Rao, Great point highlighted- role of Machine/Equipment/Automation in Industrial Engg (IE)

TFV (Transformation - Flow - Value) theory of Lean Production and Construction. Product and Process Industrial Engineering.

In lean construction theory development, it is explicitly stated that material transformation activity needs to be improved, flow activities of the process are to be improved and product design has to be improved to reflect the customer requirements and economic design considerations. Thus product industrial engineering and process industrial engineering are better described in TFV theory.

http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/08/lean-systems-in-various-business-and.html

Updated on 23.5.2022, 8.1.2022,  7 July 2019,  25 June 2019, 13 March 2017