PROCESOS INDUSTRIALES

JORGE VALDES SANDOVAL

GRUPO AD
PROCESOS INDUSTRIALES
LUIS PATERNINA TAPIAS

UNIVERSIDAD DE LA COSTA

20 DE FEBRERO DE 2016

PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY LIFE

In the 1950s worldwide population was about 2.5 billion people. Since 2000s it has
grown to plus 6.2 billion, an equivalent up to 250% in just fifty years. More than 50%
growth correspond to developing countries. And a sixth part lived under poverty
media to satisfy their needs. [1] This basics needs are:

Feeding
Clothing
Housing
Security
Health and others services

The goal to achieve is to elevate to a higher grade this basics need to a good quality
life. This means all services mentioned above have to be well-managed. Increasing
the numbers of services and quality comes with challenges of all kind. Even social,
cultural and other environmental issues comes with this particular situation. Having
this in mind we now can focus on an important aspect of resources management,
simply say productivity. A nation or society needs productivity to elevate his quality
life.
But, what is productivity? Productivity is a relation between production and supplies.
Thought this refers to a company, an economy area or all economy as a whole. This
terms can be used to measure a certain grade what we can extract form a product
of a giving supply. When supplies are tangibles is simpler to calculate than when
supplies are intangibles. Under such condition is more difficult to calculate
productivity. Lets make an example of this:
A potter works eight hours a day and produces four hundreds shreds a month using
an oven with wood. Suppose that this potter changed his method and produced five
hundred shreds a month whit the same equipment y work hours. His productivity,
calculating with numbers of shreds produced, is up to 25%.
Now suppose he couldnt sell all five hundred shreds and had to reduce its price
form 2 pounds to 1.80 pounds. If you want to calculate his productivity but in
monetary terms, because this potter is interested in knowing this indicator, his
previous price was 400 x 2 = 800 pounds a month, but now he sold them 500 x 1.8
= 900 pounds a month, doing math we see that his productivity just went up 12.5%.
This little exercise helps us to see two observations, first we can calculate
productivity in base of unit produced, and calculate it in monetary terms, but having
in mind that give different results. Second, although real production went up from
400 to 500 shreds, productivity in monetary terms reflects no a good raising. So we
have to be careful to make a distinction between production and productivity.
[1] Kanawaty,

G. (1996). Introduccin al estudio del trabajo.

Keeping the example, now we suppose the potter decided to buy a new oven fueled
with oil. It cost 6.000 pounds, which he reckons he should be amortized over ten
years. This cost increases in 50 pounds a month. And oil 50 pounds more. A total of
100 plus. With a production of 500 shreds selling them 1.80 pounds is 900 pounds
lees 100 pounds of the new equipment, its 800. So it makes no difference form the
first way of production to this last one. But the potter can argue that its quality has
improved and more clients are willing to buy more for that. And this new equipment
helps him with his health, both things are intangibles, so its difficult to calculate.
This prove that different factors affects productivity. Now we see that benefices from
applying concepts of productivity helps to improve supplies managements and
products, but even all this things helps quality life.

NOTA:
Este artculo tiene el objetivo de analizar un problema que tiene los ingenieros
industriales, y es que a veces confunden produccin con productividad. Diferenciar
estos conceptos es lo que nos van a ayudar a mejorar los procesos cruciales dentro
de las diferentes empresas. Con un sencillo ejemplo de un alfarero se puede
entender estos conceptos y diferenciarlos. La idea de la productividad es sacar el
mximo provecho a los recursos que se tiene disponibles para lograr una calidad de
vida.