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Online Education/Training Session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management."
I developed an online education/training session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management." I can present the session in one hour, one and half hour or two-hour long sessions. The sessions will be valuable when company industrial engineers and other engineers and managers attend as a group. Industrial engineers require active cooperation and participation of other engineers and managers in their studies and projects. Hence a common presentation and discussion on effectiveness will be very useful.
Supporting Information.
Effective Industrial Engineering - Some Thoughts by Narayana Rao K.V.S.S.
Effective industrial engineering has to satisfy management about the contribution it made to the organization year after year.
The prime contribution of IE has to be cost reduction through productivity improvement.
Book: Productivity Through Process Analysis by Jinichi Ishiwata
Four basic principles for process improvements
1. Eliminate processes whenever possible.
2. Simplify them. (Operations analysis)
3. Combine them
4. Change the sequence
Questions
1. Eliminate - Can this be eliminated? What will happen if we eliminate it?
2. Simplify - Can this made simpler? - the task of operations analysis
3. Combine - Can two or more processes be consolidated into one?
4. Change sequence - Can this operation be switched with another one?
Big three problems in process: waste, irrationality, and inconsistency
5W1 Analysis for Product Process Analysis
Operation - Why - Who is doing it - Which machine - where - when - How
Can the layout be changed to reduce the transportation?
Can number of inspections be reduced?
Are any inspections unnecessary?
Can necessary inspections be done while the product is being processed?
Can number of delays be reduced?
Book: Motion and Time Study - Improving Productivity by Marvin E. Mundel
Checklist for Process Chart - Product Analysis
Basic principles
1. Reduce number of steps.
2. Arrange steps in best order.
3. Make steps as economical as possible (operation analysis).
4. Reduce handling.
5. Combine steps if economical.
6. Shorten moves.
7. Provide most economical means for moving (operation analysis)
8. Cut in-process inventory to workable minimum
9. Use minimum number of control points at most advantageous places
Questions
1. Can any step be eliminated?
a. As unnecessary. (Ask: Why is it done?)
b. By new equipment (Ask: Why is present equipment used?)
c. By changing the place where it is done or kept. (Ask: Why is it done there?)
d. By changing the order of work. (Ask: Why is it done in its present order?)
e. By changing the product design. (Ask: Why is it made as it is?)
f. By changing the specifications of the incoming supply. (Ask: Why is it ordered in its present form or used at all)
2. Can any step be combined with another?
a. By changing the specifications of supplies, or of any raw material?
b. By changing the design of the product, even if only the tolerances?
c. By changing the order of the steps of production, or doing inspection at any operation station so as to avoid an inventory of faulty product?
d. By changing the equipment used (e.g., using a multifunction machine, or creating a multimachine work cell served by a single person or by a robot)/
e. By redesigning one or more work places?
3. Can steps be rearranged so as to make any shorter or easier?
4. Can any step be made easier?
Methods Redesign for Efficiency/Productivity - Material, Product Design, Material Transformation Steps, Machine Effort, Human Effort
Marvin Mundel, Gerald Nadler
Nadler credits Mundel for the following steps to be followed in methods redesign.
1. Change the material being used or contemplated to help meet the goal for the operation being studied. 2. Change the present or contemplated design of product to help meet the goal for the operation being studied. 3. Change the present or contemplated sequence of modification work on the material or product to help meet the goal of for operation being studied. 4. Change the equipment used or contemplated for the operation to help meet the goal for the operation being studied. 5. Change the method or hand pattern used or contemplated for the operation to help the goal for operation being studied.
(Source: Gerald Nadler, Motion and Time Study, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1955, p.193. Nadler in turn gives credit to Marvin E. Mundel, Motion and Time Study Principles and Practice, Prentice-Hall, New York, 1950, pp. 23-26.)
Online Education/Training Session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management."
I developed an online education/training session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management." I can present the session in one hour, one and half hour or two-hour long sessions. The sessions will be valuable when company industrial engineers and other engineers and managers attend as a group. Industrial engineers require active cooperation and participation of other engineers and managers in their studies and projects. Hence a common presentation and discussion on effectiveness will be very useful.
Supporting Information.
Effective Industrial Engineering - Some Thoughts by Narayana Rao K.V.S.S.
Effective industrial engineering has to satisfy management about the contribution it made to the organization year after year.
The prime contribution of IE has to be cost reduction through productivity improvement.
Online Education/Training Session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management."
I developed an online education/training session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management." I can present the session in one hour, one and half hour or two-hour long sessions. The sessions will be valuable when company industrial engineers and other engineers and managers attend as a group. Industrial engineers require active cooperation and participation of other engineers and managers in their studies and projects. Hence a common presentation and discussion on effectiveness will be very useful.
Supporting Information.
Effective Industrial Engineering - Some Thoughts by Narayana Rao K.V.S.S.
Effective industrial engineering has to satisfy management about the contribution it made to the organization year after year.
The prime contribution of IE has to be cost reduction through productivity improvement.
Method Study is Efficiency Improvement Technique of Industrial Engineering Method study is production, service or business process improvement technique
Method study term study is popular in Europe and in many Asian countries who are associated with England or Britain. ILO productivity missions also promoted work study. Method study and Work Measurement constitute Work Study. Hence Method Study became popular term in many countries. Method study has its foundation in "Motion and Time Study" books and is therefore has more focus on man's work. The evaluation work machine work is not given the attention it requires. Hence machine work study or machine method study has to be developed separately and an attempt is done by Narayana Rao.
Lowry, Maynard and Stegemerten might have used the term "Method Study" in their book of 1927. In the third edition of their book (1940), the term was used. The term "Method" was used by Frank Gilbreth in 1912. Maynard and Stegemerten advocated as detailed study of each operation under many heads as part of method study and this approach provides steps for examining various engineering elements that go into the method used by machine dominated work methods.
ILO Work Study book is mainly focused on human work as it is only some broader discussion of motion and time study. According to the book, work study contains method study and work measurement. Based on the coverage of the book, it will be better if we consider more areas under human work study or human effort study. They can be study of human sciences, (anatomy, physiology, psychology, sociology, biomechanics and ergonomics), Equipment and tools used by operators, human productivity improving devices, working conditions, method study, motion study and work measurement. We will cover all these areas in detail in the modules, Process Human Effort Industrial Engineering and Industrial Engineering Measurements.
Method study is the systematic recording and critical examination of ways of doing things in order to make improvements[1]. We can generalize it as: Method study is the systematic recording and critical examination of production, service and business processes in order to make improvements.
Method study is known by another term "methods engineering". The following definition, appears in the 3rd edition of the Industrial Engineering Handbook [2]:
The technique that subjects each operation of a given piece of work to close analysis to eliminate every unnecessary element or operation and to approach the quickest and best method of performing each necessary element or operation. It includes the improvement and standardization of methods, equipment, and working conditions: operator training; the determination of standard time; and occasionally devising and administering various incentive plans. Operation analysis using operation analysis sheet is advocated by Maynard and Stegemerten. The operation analysis sheet can be made for every step or operation recorded in process flow chart. Operation - Inspection - Transport - Temporary Delay - Controlled Storage Each of the above steps is actually an operation. Production or material shape changing operation - Inspection operation - Transport operation - Temporary storage operation - Controlled storage operation. Process improvement or method improvement requires improvement of every operation. Japanese industrial engineers or scientific managers improved every operation systematically and created world class companies going ahead of US companies in many industries. Shigeo Shingo's description of Toyota Production System captures the focus of Japanese in every step involved in the process and process flow and a must read for industrial engineers.
This definition, however, tends to define methods engineering rather narrowly. It states that methods engineering is limited to operations or pieces of work, but recently the trend has been to address broader areas, such as production processes, the factory in total, or large scale work systems that involve a lot of people and extensive equipment[3].
Frank Gilbreth's Mention of Method 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
Method Study - Basic Approach
The basic approach suggested for the method study consists of eight steps.
1. SELECT
2. RECORD
3. EXAMINE
4. DEVELOP
5. EVALUATE
6. DEFINE
7. INSTALL
8. MAINTAIN
Brief explanation of the eight steps
1. SELECT
The process to be studied to selected and its boundaries are to be defined
2. RECORD
The process is to be recorded in specified charts and diagrams.
Process charts Flow charts Flow diagram String diagram
A variety of techniques for analysis and charting have for a long time been established as IE techniques. Among the methods of analysis, process analysis, operation analysis, motion study, time study, work sampling, and flow analysis are widely used. Similarly, among the charting techniques, process charts, pitch diagrams, multiple activity charts, process charts, and machine sequential charts are used. From among these various techniques, the appropriate one will be chosen, based on the object being analyzed [3].
Process charts were used and advocated by Frank Gilbreth in a paper presented to ASME in 1921.
3. EXAMINE
A process or method has activities. The activities are categorized into action activities and idle (inventory) activities. Action categories are subdivided into i) MAKE READY activities, (ii) Do operations iii) PUT AWAY activities
Each activity is subjected to a series of questions:
A. Purpose What is done? Why is it done? What else might be done? What should be done? B. Place Where is it done? Why is it done there? Where else might it be done? Where should it be done?
C. Sequence When is it done? Why is done then? When it might be done? When should it be done? D. Person Who does it? Why does that person do it? Who else might do it? Who should do it?
E. Means How is it done? Why is it done that way? How else might it be done? How should it be done?
These questions in the above sequence must be asked every time a method study is undertaken. They are the basis of successful method study.
4. DEVELOP
The shortcomings of the present process are brought out by the systematic questioning process that is combined with a knowledge relevant to the process being examined. Industrial may have the knowledge required or may not have the adequate knowledge. They need to have a knowledge library to support their effort as well as access to the experts during the study period. Alternatives to the current activities which have the shortcomings are to be generated during this stage.
Development requires new knowledge. Industrial engineers have to update their knowledge continuously.
Alternatives are to be evaluated at this stage to find their contribution to the efficiency of the process as well as effectiveness.
6. DEFINE
The new method or process suggested has to be put down standard process sheets that are issued to the shop or department.
7. INSTALL
Industrial engineers of methods study persons have to train the operators and their supervisors in the new method and participate in installing the method.
8. MAINTAIN
Industrial engineers have to conduct a periodic review of methods to observe modifications brought into the installed methods by operators and supervisors and if they are beneficial, they have to be made part of standard operating procedure (SOP). If they are not beneficial, supervisors are to be informed of the same to bring the method back to SOP.
Approaches to Analysis
Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, Simplify (ECRS).
When thinking about how to improve a certain process or operation, an efficient way is to consider how to eliminate, combine, rearrange, and simplify (in that order) the components of the process or operation. If an operation can be eliminated, the elements and equipment related to that operation can be eliminated at the same time. For this reason, elimination of operation in a process or method usually produces the best improvement results, and should therefore be the first activity considered. Next consideration is how to combine. By finding opportunities to combine operations, tools, jigs, or parts and to perform simultaneous processing, we can often expect to reduce the amount of material handling as well. In addition, by rearranging, a better sequence for operations frequently results in the elimination of redundant work.
After these steps—eliminate, combine, and rearrange operations have been completed, simplify will be considered. Simplify implies operation improvement, operation analysis or kaizen (in Japanese terminology), and involves establishing the operation and its elements in a very concrete and practical way of positioning of parts and materials, the layout of the work area, the use of appropriate jigs and tools, etc.
The 5W1H Method.
This is a rationalizing step. For every operation and every element, the rationale of doing it and doing it in a particular way is identified in this step. The ideas is that some operations or elements do not have sufficient rationale to exist.
To accomplish the important step of verifying the necessity of existing work elements, the 5W1H method is effective.This method entails a clear definition of the conventional 4W1H (What? Where? Who? When? How?) in regard to the process or operation being studied, and in addition the question: Why? The technique of seeking improvement ideas through the combination of the 5W1H method and ECRS can be quite useful.
Principles of Methods Efficiency Engineering Or Industrial Engineering Review of Methods
For successful work in any field, it is important to define beforehand what is to be accomplished. The goal-determination step includes:
1. General goal: Most industries have as a goal a better product for a lower cost. For industrial engineering projects, the general goals most of the times are going to be cost reduction and increased productivity.
2.After the general goals is decided the next decision is "where to start the work?" Will it be single operation or full process.?
3. For each specific problem, a specific goal is to be determined.
Some of the specific goal alternatives are:
Eliminate time spent in obtaining and tools
Reduce discomfort of the operator
Improve the organization of the workplace
Eliminate some make-ready time.
Eliminate some put-away time.
Reduce operator delay
Reduce total cycle time.
Reduce scrap.
Principles of Methods Efficiency Design
1. Change the material being used or contemplated to help meet the goal for the operation being studied.
2. Change the present or contemplated design of product to help meet the goal for the operation being studied.
3. Change the present or contemplated sequence of modification work on the material or product to help meet the goal of for operation being studied.
4. Change the equipment used or contemplated for the operation to help meet the goal for the operation being studied.
5. Change the method or hand pattern used or contemplated for the operation to help the goal for operation being studied.
(Source: Gerald Nadler, Motion and Time Study, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1955, p.193. Nadler in turn gives credit to Marvin E. Mundel, Motion and Time Study Principles and Practice, Prentice-Hall, New York, 1950, pp. 23-26.)
Principles of Motion Economy.
These principles have been organized into the following categories: (a) body movements, (b) positioning of jigs, tools, and materials, and (c) design of jigs and equipment.The Gilbreth introduced these principles. Ralph M. Barnes, Benjamin W. Niebel, Marvin E. Mundel, have refined these principles. These principles apply to actual human motions and hence are applicable at elemental level.
Brainstorming is a method to involve many persons connected with the method in improvement process.
Brainstorming can be a powerful method for bringing out creative ideas from people. This technique was developed by A. F. Osborne. It is based on the formation of a team consisting of several members who will be working to come up with improvement ideas and plans. If the team is made up of representatives from different areas of the company, ideas created from synthesis of different perspectives will emerge and good results can be obtained. During brainstorming, to encourage creative thinking some rules for are specified. They include:keep a record of all ideas, do not criticize the ideas of others, it is acceptable to support the ideas of others, extreme ideas are permitted, try to generate as many ideas as possible and limit the brainstorming session to a set length of time.
Management of Method Study by Industrial Engineer
Management involves three categories of skills: technical, human and conceptual skills. An industrial engineer needs to know the potential of method study and the procedure of applying it. It is a conceptual skill. A method study is applied to a process having specific technology. To improve the process, the industrial engineer has to manage the participation of the persons with the deep knowledge of the technology. To contribute to the method study process in a meaningful way and also to manage the process of participation of various technology people, industrial engineer needs to have the required technical skill of the process or method to be improved. Human skills are required to create the ideal environment in which the operator, the supervisor, other technical experts and the industrial engineer interact, come out with the improved solution, install it successfully and provide the anticipated benefit of the new method.
Scope for Methods Studies and Methods Efficiency Engineering
Akiyama and Kamata write: "Present day work systems may not be perfect. In newly built work systems, many imperfect points remain, and there will be room for further enhancement through improvement activities. The function of methods engineering is then to be employed continuously to raise these imperfect work systems ever closer to perfect systems (or as Toyota expresses it:“The relentless pursuit of perfection”). '"[3]
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.
The process improvement study would involve facilities improvement, working conditions improvement, process machine effort studies, process human effort studies and productivity management (planning and control) studies.
References
1. George Kanawaty (Editor), Introduction to Works Study, Fourth (Revised) Edition, ILO Geneva, 1992
Online Education/Training Session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management."
I developed an online education/training session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management." I can present the session in one hour, one and half hour or two-hour long sessions. The sessions will be valuable when company industrial engineers and other engineers and managers attend as a group. Industrial engineers require active cooperation and participation of other engineers and managers in their studies and projects. Hence a common presentation and discussion on effectiveness will be very useful.
Supporting Information.
Effective Industrial Engineering - Some Thoughts by Narayana Rao K.V.S.S.
Effective industrial engineering has to satisfy management about the contribution it made to the organization year after year.
The prime contribution of IE has to be cost reduction through productivity improvement.
Online Education/Training Session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management."
I developed an online education/training session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management." I can present the session in one hour, one and half hour or two-hour long sessions. The sessions will be valuable when company industrial engineers and other engineers and managers attend as a group. Industrial engineers require active cooperation and participation of other engineers and managers in their studies and projects. Hence a common presentation and discussion on effectiveness will be very useful.
Supporting Information.
Effective Industrial Engineering - Some Thoughts by Narayana Rao K.V.S.S.
Effective industrial engineering has to satisfy management about the contribution it made to the organization year after year.
The prime contribution of IE has to be cost reduction through productivity improvement.
Productivity management is one of the important functions of industrial engineering departments in companies. Productivity measurement facilitates planning and controlling productivity levels in the companies.
Productivity can be calculated for each individual input into an operation, process or product. Such productivity measurements for individual inputs are called partial productivity measures. At this measurement level, potential productivity for recent developments in technology can be defined or determined.
Productivity can be defined as output/input. Both output and input can be in numbers or quantity. When multiple outputs come from an input and if one wants to calculated combined productivity, the output may be converted into monetary terms or equivalent product units.
Productivity is calculated for combinations of inputs. Such a calculation becomes necessary, when increase in one input leads to decrease in another input. So an optimal or maximum profit combination is to be found, specified and monitored.
When all inputs into a process are considered in the denominator, we come to total factor productivity.
Productivity - Definitions
Productivity was mentioned probably for the first time in an article by Quesnay in 1766.
In 1883, Littre defined productivity as the "faculty to produce," that is, the desire to produce.
In 1950, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) provided the following definition of productivity:
"Productivity is the quotient obtained by dividing output by one of the factors of production. In this way it is possible to speak of the productivity of the capital, investment, or raw materials according to whether output is being considered in relation to capital, investment, or raw materials, etc."
Productivity may be defined as follows:
Productivity = Output/Input (Kanawaty, ILO Work Study)
The term productivity can be used to assess or measure the extent to which a certain output can be extracted from a given input. The inputs of an enterprise are land and buildings, materials, plant machines and equipment, energy and human resources. The outputs are saleable products and services.
Life of a cutting tool is a productivity measure. If the life can be extended through design of cutting process parameters and if this change gives benefit at the overall process level to reduce total time including the time spent for tool sharpening and tool change, it is productivity improvement that is driven by the tool life. For each part, one can calculated output per machine per hour. This can be used as a productivity measure to compare alternative processes or process plans.
Measurement of productivity for single input and single output is relatively used. But to calculate productivity for single machine used for multiple outputs is relatively more difficult. We have to use some common output measure to calculate weekly productivity to compare at week level. When multiple input and multiple parts/products are there, the calculation is much more complex and we have different methods proposed by different persons or organizations.
Productivity Measures proposed and used by economists and accountants
I. Kendrick – Creamer Model:[1]
Kendrick and Creamer (1965) introduced productivity indexes at the company level in their book, "Measuring Company Productivity". They proposed two types of indices: total productivity and partial productivity. Partial productivity of labour, capital or material productivity index can be calculated as: Partial productivity index for a period = (Output in base period price) / (Any one Input in base period price)
Total productivity index for given period = (Measured period output in base period price) / (Measured period input in base period price)
Total factor productivity index = net output/total factor input
Net output = Gross output – intermediate goods and services
Total factor input = manhour input and total capital
II. Craig –Harris Model :
Craig and Harris (1972, 1973) [2,3] defined total productivity measure:
PT= OT / ( L+C+R+Q )
Where;
PT = total productivity,
OT= total out put.
L = labor input factor,
C = capital input factor,
R = raw material input factor and
Q = other miscellaneous goods and services input factor
The output is defined as the summation of all units produced times their selling price, plus dividends from securities and interest from bonds and other such sources-all adjusted to base-period values.
III. Hines (1976)[4] proposed some measurement improvements to various individual items in productivity measurement models.
IV. American Productivity Centre Model :[5]
AmericanProductivityCenter has measure that expresses profitability as a product of productivity and price factor. The way it is done is:
Total productivity (TPM) = total tangible output/total tangible input
Where
Total tangible output = (value of finished units produced + value of partial units produced
+ dividends from securities + interest from bonds+ other income)
and
Total tangible input = value of (human + material + capital + energy + other expenses) inputs used.
Sumanth provided a structure for finding productivity at product level and summing product level productivities to total firm level productivity. The model also has the structure for finding partial productivities at the product level and aggregating them to product level productivities.
Is productivity measurement in practice today?
The answer is yes.
In FY 2006 the study group on the Creation of a Productivity Database on Japanese, Chinese, and South Korean Companies at the Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER) created the East Asian Listed Companies Database 2007 ("EALC 2007") along with the Hitotsubashi University Center for Economic Institutions (CEI), the CENU Center for China and Asian Studies (CCAS; Professor Tomohiko Inui as project representative), and the Center for Corporate Competitiveness of Seoul National University (Professor Keun Lee as project representative). EALC 2007 in principle targets all listed firms in Japan, China, and South Korea (not including the financial sector). It includes data necessary to measure total factor productivity at the company level and the periods covered are 1985 through 2004 for Japanese firms, 1985 through 2005 for South Korean firms, and 1999 through 2004 for Chinese firms.
Based on direct comparison of the total factor productivity of listed firms in Japan, China, and South Korea, the researchers analyzed the following questions. 1) In which industries in particular are South Korean and Chinese companies catching up to Japanese ones? 2) Has productivity growth in Japanese firms stagnated since the 1990s? 3) If it has stagnated, in which industries is this most remarkable? 4) What are the characteristics of disparities in productivity among companies in the same industries in each country? The reports (in Japanese) cover the results of the research on these questions[6].
The Japan Center for Economic Research, the Hitotsubashi University Center for Economic Institutions, the CENU Center for China and Asian Studies, and the Center for Corporate Competitiveness of Seoul National University plan to continue joint research in FY 2007, including revising and updating the EALC database, expanding the countries targeted, and analyzing results.
References
1. Kendrick, J.W., and D. Creamer, “Measuring Company Productivity: Handbook with Case Studies.” Studies in Business Economics, No. 89, National Industrial Conference Board, New York, 1965.
2. Craig, C.E., and C.R. Harris, “Productivity Concepts and Measurement- A Management Viewpoint,”Unpublished Master’s thesis, M.I.T., Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1972.
3. Craig, C.E., and C.R. Harris,“Total Productivity measurement at the firm level,” Sloan Management Review, Vol 14, No. 3, 1973, pp. 13-29.
4. Ruch, W.A., “Your Key to Planning Profits”, The Productivity Brief 6, Oct.1981, by American Productivity Cente,r Houston. TX-77024.
5. Sumanth, David J., Productivity Engineering and Management, McGraw Hill Book Company, 1984.
Productivity Measurement: Racing to Keep Up Annual Review of Economics Vol. 11:591-614 (Volume publication date August 2019) First published as a Review in Advance on May 17, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080218-030439 Daniel E. Sichel Department of Economics, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481, USA, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-economics-080218-030439?journalCode=economics
Productivity measurement in an age of multinational companies and new technologies
This Manual presents the theoretical foundations to productivity measurement, and discusses implementation and measurement issues. The text is accompanied by empirical examples from OECD countries and by numerical examples to enhance its readability. The Manual also offers a brief discussion of the interpretation and use of productivity measures.
International Applications of Productivity and Efficiency Analysis: A Special Issue of the Journal of Productivity Analysis Thomas R. Gulledge, C.A. Knox Lovell Springer Science & Business Media, Nov 11, 2013 - 200 pages
International Applications of Productivity and Efficiency Analysis features a complete range of techniques utilized in frontier analysis, including extensions of existing techniques and the development of new techniques. Another feature is that most of the contributions use panel data in a variety of approaches. Finally, the range of empirical applications is at least as great as the range of techniques, and many of the applications are of considerable policy relevance.
Managerial Issues in Productivity Analysis Ali Dogramaci, Nabil R. Adam Springer Science & Business Media, Dec 6, 2012 - 246 pages
A. Dogramaci and N.R. Adam Productivity of a firm is influenced both by economic forces which act at the macro level and impose themselves on the individual firm as well as internal factors that result from decisions and processes which take place within the boundaries of the firm. Efforts towards increasing the productivity level of firms need to be based on a sound understanding of how the above processes take place. Our objective in this volume is to present some of the recent research work in this field. The volume consists of three parts. In part I, two macro issues are addressed (taxation and inflation) and their relation to productivity is analyzed. The second part of the volume focuses on methods for productivity analysis within the firm. Finally, the third part of the book deals with two additional productivity analysis techniques and their applications to public utilities. The objective of the volume is not to present a unified point of view, but rather to cover a sample of different methodologies and perspectives through original, scholarly papers.
Construction Management and Economics Volume 24, Issue 10, 2006 Construction equipment productivity estimation using artificial neural network model Seung C. Oka & Sunil K. Sinhaa*
An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis Tim Coelli Springer Science & Business Media, Jul 22, 2005 - 349 pages
The second edition of this book has been written for the same audience as the first edition. It is designed to be a "first port of call" for people wishing to study efficiency and productivity analysis. The book provides an accessible introduction to the four principal methods involved: econometric estimation of average response models; index numbers; data envelopment analysis (DEA); and stochastic firontier analysis (SFA). For each method, we provide a detailed introduction to the basic concepts, give some simple numerical examples, discuss some of the more important extensions to the basic methods, and provide references for further reading. In addition, we provide a number of detailed empirical applications using real-world data. The book can be used as a textbook or as a reference text. As a textbook, it probably contains too much material to cover in a single semester, so most instructors will want to design a course around a subset of chapters. For example, Chapter 2 is devoted to a review of production economics and could probably be skipped in a course for graduate economics majors. However, it should prove useful to undergraduate students and those doing a major in another field, such as business management or health studies.
