Module 4 Basics of Work Measurement Quiz

Work Measurement Basics

• Work measurement is the application of techniques to establish the time taken for a qualified worker to carry out a specified job at a defined level of performance.

Work Definition

• Work is an activity that requires physical and mental effort to accomplish a task or perform a duty with a useful objective.
• It involves one or more steps in making a product or delivering a service.
• The worker must apply certain skills and knowledge to complete the task successfully.

Work System

• A work system consists of humans, information, and equipment designed to perform useful work.
• It is a physical entity that represents the central theme in industrial engineering.

Pyramid of Structure

• A task is an amount of work assigned to a worker or for which a worker is responsible.
• Repetitive tasks have a time requirement of 30 seconds to several minutes.
• Non-repetitive tasks are performed periodically, infrequently, or only once and have a longer time requirement.

Work Elements

• A work element is a series of work activities logically grouped together due to a unified function in the task.
• Examples of work elements include assembling a component to a base part using several nuts and bolts.

Basic Motion Elements

• Basic motion elements are components of a work element.
• Examples of basic motion elements include reaching for an object, grasping the object, moving the object, walking, and eye movement.

Work Measurement Definition

• Work measurement is the systematic application of industrial engineering techniques to establish the work content and time required to complete a task or series of tasks.
• It is a productivity improvement tool used to measure the current productivity level of an organization.

Objectives of Work Measurement

• Quantify expectations from people and processes, and communicate them.
• Determine staffing levels as output levels rise or fall.
• Assign and schedule work to people and equipment based on expectations.
• Identify and manage constraints in equipment, process, and facility.
• Balance individual workloads in lines or work groups for optimum performance.
• Offer pay related to output; labor incentives.
• Calculate actual capacity the operation can produce.
• Develop standard cost models for products and services.
• Justify equipment and automation acquisition.
• Meet financial understanding of costs.
• Judge disagreements about workload, assignments.
• Analyze variance to find problems.
• Estimate potential benefit from changes beforehand.

Work Measurement Components

• Preferred methods may not always be the most efficient or fastest way to do a task.
• Quality is equally important, and good performance and good quality go hand in hand.

Time Study Requirements

• Selection of the operator.
• Recording significant information.
• Positioning the observer.
• Analyst's responsibility.
• Supervisor's responsibility.
• Unions' responsibility.
• Operator's responsibility.

Preparation for Timing

• Identify the task/cycle to be studied before the time study.
• Analyze the complete task method.
• Lay out the workplace.
• Identify the equipment used.
• Establish environmental conditions.
• Identify machine speeds and feeds.
• Establish inspection equipment.
• Develop communication with the foreman, workers, and documents for process/task instructions.

Timing Method

• Continuous timing: the clock never stops, and no time is omitted.
• Snapback timing: the watch shows the time for each element and automatically resets to zero for the start of each element.

Selecting a Job for Time Study

• The job is new and has not been previously carried out.
• A change in material or method of working has been made.
• A complaint has been received about the time standard for an operation.
• A particular operation appears to be a bottleneck holding up subsequent operations.
• Standard times are required prior to the introduction of an incentive scheme.
• To investigate the utilization of a piece of plant, the output of which is low.
• To compare the efficiency of two proposed methods.
• When the costs of a particular job appear to be excessive.