7-1

Design of Work Systems

Chapter 7

Design of Work Systems

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-2

Design of Work Systems

Job Design
Job design involves specifying the content and methods of job
What will be done Who will do the job How the job will bob will be done Where the job will be done Ergonomics--incorporating human factors into the design of a product or process

Goals
Productivity Safety Quality of work life
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-3

Design of Work Systems

Design of Work Systems Specialization Behavioral Approaches to Job Design Teams

Methods Analysis
Motions Study Working conditions

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-4

Design of Work Systems

Job Design Success Successful Job Design must be:

Carried out by experienced personnel with the necessary training and background Consistent with the goals of the organization

In written form
Understood and agreed to by both management and employees

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-5

Design of Work Systems

Specialization in Business: Advantages

For Management:
2. High productivity

For Labor: 1. Simplifies training 1. Low education and

skill requirements

3. Low wage costs

2. Minimum responsibilities
3. Little mental effort needed

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-6

Design of Work Systems

Disadvantages

For Management:
1. Difficult to motivate quality

For Labor:
1. Monotonous work

2. Limited opportunities for advancement 2. Worker dissatisfaction, possibly resulting in 3. Little control over work absenteeism, high 4. Little opportunity for turnover, disruptive self-fulfillment tactics, poor attention to quality
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-7

Design of Work Systems

Behavioral Approaches to Job Design

Ways of overcoming worker boredom Job Enlargement
Giving a worker a larger portion of the total task by horizontal loading

Job Rotation
Workers periodically exchange jobs

Job Enrichment
Increasing responsibility for planning and coordination tasks, by vertical loading

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-8

Design of Work Systems

Motivation What makes people work People can be motivated by:

Money Social needs Self-fulfillment Sense of accomplishment Fear

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-9

Design of Work Systems

Self-Directed Teams
Groups empowered to make limited changes in their work processes Based on the assumption that no one knows more about a process than the workers Can lead to:
Higher productivity Higher quality Greater worker satisfaction Lower turnover

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-10

Design of Work Systems

Methods Analysis
Analyzing how a job is done The need for methods analysis can come from a number of different sources: Changes in tools and equipment Changes in product design or new products Changes in materials or procedures Regulations or contractual issues Other factors (e.g. accidents, quality problems, productivity)
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-11

Design of Work Systems

Methods Analysis
Can be used on new or existing jobs Procedure:
Identify the operation to be studied and gather facts Discuss the job with supervisor and operator Study and document current/proposed method Analyze the job Propose new methods Install new methods Follow-up to ensure results have been achieved

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-12

Design of Work Systems

Motion Study Motion study is the systematic study of the human motions used to perform an operation in order to improve ergonomics, safety, and efficiency.

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-13

Design of Work Systems

Motion Study Techniques

Analysis of therbligs - basic elemental motions into which a job can be broken down Micromotion study - use of motion pictures and slow motion to study motions that otherwise would be too rapid to analyze

Charts

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-14

Design of Work Systems

Developing Work Methods Eliminate unnecessary motions Combine activities Reduce fatigue Improve the arrangement of the workplace Improve the design of tools and equipment

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-15

Design of Work Systems

Working Conditions Environmental conditions that impact worker performance, safety, and productivity

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-16

Design of Work Systems

Working Conditions

Temperature & Humidity

Ventilation

Illumination

Color

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-17

Design of Work Systems

Working Conditions (contd)

Noise & Vibration

Work Breaks

Safety

Causes of Accidents

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-18

Design of Work Systems

Work Measurement
Determining how long it should take to do a job Critical for manpower planning, estimating labor costs, scheduling, budgeting, etc.

Methods:
Stopwatch Time Study Standard Elemental Times Predetermined Time Standards Work Sampling
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-19

Design of Work Systems

Compensation
Two most basic categories of compensation:
Time based Output based

Other subcategories:
Individual Incentive Plans

Group Incentive Plans

Knowledge-Based Pay System Management Compensation

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7-20

Design of Work Systems

Form of Incentive Plan Accurate Easy to apply Consistent Easy to understand Fair

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Operations Management, Seventh Edition, by William J. Stevenson Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.