1

Role of Work Study in Improving Productivity

In order to understand the role of work study, we need to understand the role of method study
and that of time study.

Method Study
To simplify the job & develop more
economical methods
of doing it

Work
Study

Work Measurement
To determine how long it should take it to
carry out

Higher Productivity

Productivity:

Productivity refers to the rate of output per unit of labor, capital or equipment (input).

Example: In a factory, you can measure it by dividing the total output by the number of workers.
Imagine a table factory that employs 100 people producing 2000 tables per day. The productivity
of each employee is:

2000 (tables) ÷ 100 (workers) = 20 tables per worker per day

There are three types of Productivity:

(1) Total Productivity: When the change in output is caused by changed in the quantity of
all or more than one variable, it is called as total factor productivity.
 2

(2)Partial productivity:

(a) When there is a change in output, due to the change in one input, it is called as partial factor
productivity.

(b)The ratio of output of the product and the input of that concerned factor would give partial
productivity related to that factor.

Productivity of a single input is typically measured by calculating the ratio of the output to the
input as follows:

Productivity ratio / Output/Input

Because the productivity of only one input is being measured, the measure is called a partial
productivity measure. If both output and input are measured in physical quantity. tities, then we
have an operational productivity measure. If output or input is expressed in dollars, then we have
a financial productivity measure.

Example 1

The cost of 20 parts is $1000 in 20 man-days. The cost of 20 man-days is $500. What will be
the labour productivity?

Labour productivity=1000/50= $2

Example 2: A Company produced 240,000 parts and used 60,000 labour-hours. What is
the labour productivity? If the selling price of each part is $30 and the cost of labour is
$15/ hour, then what is the labour productivity in dollars.

(a) Labour productivity = 240,000/60,000=4 parts/hour.

(b) Labour productivity in $ = $7,200,000/$900,000=$8

 3

(3) Total factor Productivity:

The total factor productivity is defined as the ratio of net output to the sum of associated labour
and capital (factor) input and is represented as:

(2)The following data is for Company A

Description 2017 2018

Number of Parts produced 240,000 250,000
Labor hours used 60,000 50,000
Materials used (Kg.) 1,200,000 1,300,000
Unit selling price (Part) $30 $30
Wages per labor hour $15 $15
Cost per Kg of material $3 $3.50

What is efficiency?
Efficiency is used to mean a state of producing a maximum number of quality products with
limited inputs, i.e. labour, money, material, time etc..

Productivity focuses on getting the maximum production per worker or unit of machine per
minute, hour, day, or week, etc. Efficiency, on the other hand, looks more at eliminating waste
and maximizing quality.
 4

Example: An average person walks one km distance in 20 minutes. Person A covers 1 km

in 25 min and person B covers 1 km in 30 minutes. If person A takes 30 minutes in second
If person A takes 30 minutes in second attempt what will be the change in efficiency?

5 Ways to Improve Productivity:

 5

Factors affecting Productivity

(a) Factors

(b) Internal Factors and External Factors

Internal Factors
1) Environmental factors within company (Incentive scheme, working conditions etc.)
2) Level of mechanization
3) Technical and managerial skills available
4) Use of material and processes
5) Application of Work study, product design, plant layout, quality control, material
handling and management techniques
6) Industrial relations in the factory (smooth work without Strike, Agitation etc. )
External Factors
1) The level of competition
2) Rules and regulation local and global
3) Policies by government
4) Sociological factors
Techniques to improving productivity;
1) Work-study
2) Product design
3) Cost Control
4) Plant layout
5) Ergonomic
6) Market research
7) Research & development
Example: An organization A manufacture 360 parts by employing 24 hours similarly the
organization B manufacture 360 parts by employing 20 hours. Calculate the productivity
and compare it.
 6

Productivity of Organization A: Productivity of Organization B:

=360/24=15 =360/20=18
Comparison of Productivity B to A =18/15x100 =120
Example: An organization A manufacture 360 parts by employing 24 hours in 2016,
similarly manufacture 360 parts by employing 20 hours in 2017 and manufacture 360
parts by employing 28 hours in 2018. Calculate the productivity and compare.

Example:

A company is making 5000 parts /month by engaging 20 workers for 25 days in a month in
a shift of 8 hrs/day. The production of parts is 5000 no/month. Calculate the labor
productivity? If the company increases the production to 8000 parts by employing 5 more
workers, calculate the revised productivity.
 7

Productivity Audit Cycle:

8