INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING ASSIGNMENT

Name:- Chetanya Rohilla

Roll. No.- 17001004018

Q 1: Explain the following Terms :-

Ans 1: (A)

1.Job design

Job design (also referred to as work design or task design) is a core function of human resource
management and it is related to the specification of contents, methods and relationship of jobs in order
to satisfy technological and organizational requirements as well as the social and personal requirements
of the job holder or the employee. Its principles are geared towards how the nature of a person's job
affects their attitudes and behavior at work, particularly relating to characteristics such as skill variety
and autonomy. The aim of a job design is to improve job satisfaction, to improve through-put, to
improve quality and to reduce employee problems (e.g., grievances, absenteeism).

2.Job rotation

Job rotation is a job design process by which employee roles are rotated in order to promote flexibility
and tenure in the working environment. Through job rotation, employees laterally mobilize and serve
their tasks in different organizational levels; when an individual experiences different posts and
responsibilities in an organization, the ability to evaluate his or her capabilities in the organization
increases. By design, it is intended to enhance motivation, develop workers' outlook, increase
productivity, improve the organization's performance on various levels by its multi-skilled workers, and
provides new opportunities to improve the attitude, thought, capabilities and skills of workers.

Job Rotation is a management approach where employees are shifted between two or more
assignments or jobs at regular intervals of time in order to expose them to all verticals of an
organization. It is a pre-planned approach with an objective to test the employee skills and
competencies in order to place him or her at the right place. In addition to it, it reduces the monotony of
the job and gives them a wider experience and helps them gain more insights.

Job rotation is a well-planned practice to reduce the boredom of doing same type of job everyday and
explore the hidden potential of an employee. The process serves the purpose of both the management
and the employees. It helps management in discovering the talent of employees and determining what
he or she is best at. On the other hand, it gives an individual a chance to explore his or her own interests
and gain experience in different fields or operations.
3.Job enlargement

Job enlargement means increasing the scope of a job through extending the range of its job duties and
responsibilities generally within the same level and periphery. Job enlargement involves combining
various activities at the same level in the organization and adding them to the existing job. It is also
called the horizontal expansion of job activities. This contradicts the principles of specialization and the
division of labor whereby work is divided into small units, each of which is performed repetitively by an
individual worker and the responsibilities are always clear. Some motivational theories suggest that the
boredom and alienation caused by the division of labor can actually cause efficiency to fall. Thus, job
enlargement seeks to motivate workers through reversing the process of specialization. A typical
approach might be to replace assembly lines with modular work; instead of an employee repeating the
same step on each product, they perform several tasks on a single item. In order for employees to be
provided with Job Enlargement they will need to be retrained in new fields to understand how each field
works. Hulin and Blood (1968) define Job enlargement as the process of allowing individual workers to
determine their own pace (within limits), to serve as their own inspectors by giving them responsibility
for quality control, to repair their own mistakes, to be responsible for their own machine set-up and
repair, and to attain choice of method. By working in a larger scope, as Hulin and Blood state, workers
are pushed to adapting new tactics, techniques, and methodologies on their own. Frederick Herzberg
referred to the addition of interrelated tasks as 'horizontal job loading,' or, in other words, widening the
breadth of an employee's responsibilities.

4.Job enrichment

Job enrichment is a common motivational technique used by organizations to give an employee greater
satisfaction in his work. It means giving an employee additional responsibilities previously reserved for
his manager or other higher-ranking positions. In essence, an enriched job gives the employee more
self-management in his duties. Job enrichment increases the employees’ autonomy over the planning
and execution of their own work, leading to self-assigned responsibility. Because of this, job enrichment
has the same motivational advantages of job enlargement, however it has the added benefit of granting
workers autonomy. Frederick Herzberg viewed job enrichment as 'vertical job loading' because it also
includes tasks formerly performed by someone at a higher level where planning and control are
involved.

5.Job Specialization

Job specialization is the process of getting your people to master a skill in one specific job area so they
can focus solely on that area and complete all assignments with the minimum of supervision. Also called
the division of labor, job specialization may be a desirable goal for your business as it grows. Imagine if
you could have seasoned experts in each field at the forefront of your organization. Your customers
would love it, and productivity gets a boost as everyone works faster and better in a familiar job
function. That's what job specialization provides.

(B) Incentive plans

An incentive scheme is a plan to motivate individual or group performance. An incentive scheme

basically involves monetary rewards, i.e., incentive pay but also includes non-monetary rewards.
Incentives are variable rewards granted according to level of achievement of specific results. Incentives
are payment for performance or payment by results. In other words, an incentive plan must include in
its purview the characteristics of time-based and output-based systems of wage payment.\

There are a large number of such plans that are applied in industrial concerns these days. However,
before these different types of plans are discussed, the various requirements of a sound wage-incentive
system must be noted. Many companies have come out with compensation programme that offer
additional benefit based on individual, group or organisational performance. They want every individual
to think of performance to succeed in a competitive business environment. Every employee has to work
hard, deliver results on a daily basis.

An incentive scheme is a plan to motivate individual or group performance. An incentive scheme

basically involves monetary rewards, i.e., incentive pay but also includes non-monetary rewards.
Incentives are variable rewards granted according to level of achievement of specific results. Incentives
are payment for performance or payment by results.

According to Dale Yoder, “Incentive wages relate earnings to productivity and may use premiums,
bonuses or variety of rates to compensate for superior performance. Under incentive plan, employees
are encouraged to produce more and are rewarded accordingly.”

The term “Pay for Performance” refers to compensation options such as merit pay, commission,
individual incentive, group incentive, gain sharing scheme. Pay for performance aims at increasing
productivity and lower personnel costs. Under this scheme, the compensation payable is tied to
employee effort and performance.

Any action/programme which induces workers to produce more is described as ‘incentive’, and
remuneration paid for increased output is known as ‘incentive wage’. As such, the output-based system
is a broad or general type of incentive plan. However, an efficient plan must provide for minimum
guaranteed wage based on hourly rate and extra remuneration for increased output.

In other words, an incentive plan must include in its purview the characteristics of time-based and
output-based systems of wage payment. There are a large number of such plans that are applied in
industrial concerns these days. However, before these differ-ent types of plans are discussed, the
various requirements of a sound wage-incentive system must be noted.

Wage Incentive also called ‘Payment by results’, is anything that attracts the worker and motivates him
to work. It determines their standard of living and their attitude towards the company. Incentive
schemes provide payment based on either individual output or group output. The use of incentive
assumes that people’s actions are related to their skills and ability to achieve important goals.

According to the National Commission on Labour, “Wage incentives are extra financial motivation. They
are designed to stimulate human effort by rewarding the person, over and above the time rated
remuneration for improvements in the present or targeted results.”

Psychologists have also defined incentive as a spurring force introduced as a means of accomplishing a
goal or an outward stimulus, which activates a need or brings the motive to work.
According to Dale Yoder, “Incentive wages relate earnings to productivity and may use premiums,
bonuses or a variety of rates to compensate for superior performance”.

Incentive Plans – Characteristics and Features of Sound Incentive Plans

The following characteristics of sound incentive plans are:

1. The incentive plan consist of both monetary and non-monetary schemes.

2. The incentive plan must be guaranteed minimum wages to all employees of the organisation.

3. The incentive plan should be properly communicated to all the employees of the organisation to
encourage both individual and group performance.

4. The employee is expected to perform his task within the standard time because the standard time is
fixed and set after making job analysis or time and motion study.

Characteristics of Incentive Plan:

(a) Incentives have direct linking to performance.

(b) Incentives induce the employee to move from existing level of performance to optimum achievable
performance.

(c) It helps to improve level of technology and thus increases productivity.

(d) Incentives are measurable in monetary terms.

(e) The timing, accuracy and frequency of incentives or the very basis of successful incentive plans.

(f) Incentive plan encourages attendance and reduces absenteeism.

(g) Incentives vary from person to person, depending on their performance.

(h) Minimum wages are guaranteed to all workers.

Features of Incentive Plan:

An incentive plan has the following important features:

(a) An incentive plan may consist of both ‘monetary’ and ‘non-monetary’ elements. Mixed elements can
provide the diversity needed to match the needs of individual employees.

(b) The timing, accuracy and frequency of incentives are the very basis of a successful incentive plan.

(c) The plan requires that it should be properly communicated to the employees to encourage individual
performance, provide feedback and encourage redirection.

A manager takes different measures to motivate the employees to improve their performance. These
measures are called incentives which can be financial or non-financial. Financial incentives refer to those
incentives which are in direct monetary form or are measurable in monetary terms. They serve to
motivate the employees for better performance.

(C)

(i) TEAMWORK

Modern business leaders know that teamwork is essential to the success of any business. Long gone are
the days where a company can thrive with individuals sticking to their cubicles and not functioning
cohesively. How do you define teamwork in the workplace? When most people think of teams, they
think of sports where players work toward the goal of winning. The best definition of teamwork in
business involves a group of individuals working together to complete a task or a large goal. A leader's
role in developing and managing the team is critical to team success.

Developing Team Mentality

The workplace teamwork definition works as long as people on a team feel included, which starts with
management that establishes inclusiveness policies and employee programs. Policies and programs
should include diversity training, anti-harassment policies and procedures, and equal-opportunity rules.

Beyond a basic set of rules and policies, leaders should take the time to talk to team members
individually about concerns and create environments both in and out of the office where the team
members can get to know one another, mingle, and learn new and different things about one another.
Many team-building exercises that leaders use is designed to engage team members who might be shy
or reticent about stepping out of the cubicle and joining the collaboration table.

Understanding Task Assignment

Teams must be organized. A basketball team has five positions on the court and relief players on the
bench, as well as at least one coach. Their goal is to make baskets and win games, but they can't do this
unless all the people on the court understands their job assignments. The centre and the point guard
have different responsibilities. The same is true when establishing teamwork in the office.

Leaders must not only delegate tasks appropriately but also explain to the team how one person's job is
intertwined with the entire goal. Often, people on a team are reliant on one person completing a task
before they can complete their own job. This interdependency must be addressed to ensure that
everyone is able to keep the workflow moving efficiently. Look at a restaurant; the chef doesn't know
what to cook unless the waitress not only takes the order but also delivers it to the kitchen quickly. If
she takes nine orders before handing them in, a backlog occurs, and the customers have a poor
experience waiting for their food.

Dealing with Conflict in Teams

One of the downfalls with teamwork in the workplace is conflict. Some conflict is good, such as
brainstorming new ideas that might not be in agreement with existing standards. Other conflict is
harmful. It usually occurs when team members have personal issues with one another or don't feel
comfortable in team environments. Managers must be aware of the conflict and have remedies to
address it quickly.

If two team members are having a problem because one of them feels discriminated against, the
manager must follow company protocol, investigate, and resolve the issue. If the negative conflict isn't
addressed, it affects more than just the two people who are not getting along. Everyone on the team
can develop anxiety over the situation, and productivity often declines.

(ii) QUALITY CIRCLES

Conceptually Quality Circles can be described as a small group of employees of the same work area,
doing similar work that meets voluntarily and regularly to iden-tify, analyse and resolve work related
problems.

This small group with every member of the circle participating to the full carries on the activities,
utilising problem-solving techniques to achieve control or improvement in the work area and also help
self and mutual development in the process.

The Quality Circle concept provides an opportunity to the circle members to use their wis-dom,
creativity and experience in bringing about improvements in the work they are engaged in by converting
the challenging problems into opportunities and it contributes to the develop-ment of the employees
and in turn benefits the organisation as well. The concept encourages the sense of belongingness in
circle members and they feel that they have an important role to play in the organisation.

Characteristics of Effective Quality Circles: -

1. The atmosphere should be informal, comfortable and relaxed. The members should feel involved
and interested.

2. Everyone should participate.

3. The objectives should be clear to the members.

4. The members should listen to each other.

5. The group should feel comfortable even when there are disagreements.

6. The decisions should generally be taken by a kind of consensus and voting should be minimum.

7. When an action is required to be taken, clear assignments should be made and ac-cepted by all the
members.

Objectives of Quality Circles:

Some of the broad objectives of the Quality Circle are: -

(i) To improve quality, productivity, safety and cost reduction.

(ii) To give chance to the employees to use their wisdom and creativity.
(iii) To encourage team spirit, cohesive culture among different levels and sections of the employees.

(iv) To promote self and mutual development including leadership quality,

(v) To fulfil the self-esteem and motivational needs of employees.

(vi) To improve the quality of work-life of employees.

Benefits of Quality Circles (Q.C.): -

1. Through the forum of Q.C. the chronic problems-of organisations which really create hurdles in work
get resolved by the grass root employees of organisation, whose knowl-edge and experience otherwise
is not fully utilized.

2. With such a capable work force, any organisation can easily undertake more difficult and challenging
assignments for its growth and profit.

3. As the employees gain experience, they take more challenging projects, in due course they undertake
projects on cost reduction, material handling, quality improvement, preventing wastage, improving
delivery schedule, improving customer service, im-proving inspection and test methods, preventing
accidents improving design and pro-cess etc.

4. Cost reduction.

5. Increased productivity.

6. Improved quality.

7. Better communication.

(iii) EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment is the process of giving employees in the organisation the power, authority,
responsibility, resources, freedom to take decisions and solve work related problems. In order to take
such initiatives and decisions, they are given adequate authority and resources.

This allocation of authority is not based on the concept of “delegation” based relationship. In
empowerment it is a “trust-based relationship”, which is established between management and
employees. It is a continuous process.

The empowered employee becomes “self-directed” and “self-controlled”. Empowerment focuses on

employees to make use of their full potential. On the other hand, empowerment means giving up
control on employees and letting every employee make decisions, set goals, accomplish results and
receive rewards. It means making a person able to manage by himself. It is a process for helping right
person at the right levels to makes the right decision for the right reasons.

Need of Employee Empowerment: -

The need for employee empowerment arises because of the following factors:
(i) Increasing pace of change, turbulence of environment and the changing expectations of customers
requires a speedy and flexible response which is incompatible with the old-style command and control
model of organisational functioning.

(ii) Organisations are using new types of structures to achieve their objectives. The impact of
downsizing, delayering and decentralising means that the old methods of achieving co-ordination and
control are no longer appropriate. Achieving performance under these circumstances require the
employees to accept greater responsibility and authority.

(iii) Organisations require cross-functional working and greater integration in their processes if they are
to meet the customers’ needs. Such co­operation can be achieved through empowerment.

(iv) Employees now have greater awareness and are more concerned with the satisfaction of higher-
level needs. Empowerment can be used to satisfy such needs of employees and thus motivate them.

(v) Empowerment can provide opportunities to the employees at lower levels to develop their
competencies. Thus, it can be used as a source of managerial talent for the organisation.

Importance Employee Empowerment: -

Importance of employee empowerment can be ascertained from the following:

(i) Employee empowerment improves quality of goods produced by employees.

(ii) In changing scenario, workers need acceptance of changes in Operation, methods, techniques,
quality of products and this is possible if organizations practice employee empowerment.

(iii) It brings congenial and conducive atmosphere in the organization to achieve organizational goals.

(iv) A culture of openness and trust is developed which establishes healthy relations between
supervisors and employees.

(v) It helps to create motivated and committed work force in organization.

(vi) It satiates the need of workers for recognition, status, challenging work, responsibility (that means
workers’ esteem need is satisfied through empowerment).

Benefits of Employee Empowerment: -

1. Increased Productivity:
A lot of time is saved when employees can take their own decisions and do not have to wait for approval
from senior levels. Workflow is not disturbed due to unnecessary hassles, and delays are avoided. The
increased sense of responsibility motivates employees to try out innovative methods of doing work.

Employees derive more satisfaction from their work as their contribution towards the organizational
goals is increased. Higher job satisfaction coupled with saving of precious time results in higher
productivity.
2. Reduced Costs:
By taking their own decisions, employees save the time and efforts of top management. Since there is a
high level of decentralization in an organization where employees are empowered, the need for middle
level managers is considerably lower. Properly trained employees are also less likely to waste resources
or have an accident. All these benefits collectively reduce the unnecessary expenditures of the
organization.

3. Improved Quality:
Employee empowerment requires that the employees are properly trained in order to take good
managerial decisions. Adequate resources are also provided to them to enable them to tackle day-to-
day affairs in an efficient manner.

The senior managers delegate much of their work to other employees so that they can concentrate on
more important tasks. Better efficiency in operations is achieved as a result of employee empowerment
which leads to improved quality.

4. Competitive Edge:
Empowering employees can help a firm to gain a competitive edge over its competitors. Competitive,
motivated and loyal employees can be created as a result of empowerment. It helps to utilize manpower
in the best possible way. Employees get a chance to exercise their managerial and decision-making
abilities while performing their job duties. A dedicated, loyal and empowered workforce helps to place
the company ahead of its competitors.

5. Better Job Satisfaction and Retention of Employees:

Employee turnover is a big problem faced by many organizations in the modern world. Employee
empowerment helps in curbing this problem by improving job satisfaction of the employees. Employees
get to perform a variety of jobs at different levels requiring different skills and abilities. This creates a
challenging and dynamic work environment where employees actually enjoy their jobs.

Q 2:

(A)Discuss in brief “The history behind the development in work study”. Also give its
application areas.

Ans: History behind the development in Work Study

The origin of work study is as old as the existence of the human beings. Perhaps the basic
objective of the human beings is to get the work done in better or easier way and this is the core
concept of work study.
 As early as 18th century the Industrial Revolution had started particularly in British Cotton
Textile Industry. Many machines had been invented and improved. Sir Richard Arkwright (1732-1792)
was one of the most outstanding Engineers during this period, who displayed excellent managerial
qualities and probably the first man to realize the value of training the workmen so that they eliminate
the wastage of time and maintain systematic work habits.

J. R. Perronet, a Frenchman in 1760 made some efforts in systematic overall time study on
manufacturing of pins and arrived at a standard production rate. His contemporary, Matthew Boulton,
who started a factory at Soho in 1762, had encouraged mechanical inventions, which were superior in
multitude variety and simplicity. Most important of all, he had lightly trained and skilled craftsmen who
were more accurate than others in hardware trade of English midlands at that time. Within the span of 4
years (between 1963-1967) his turnover increased to $30.000 from $3,000.

Charles Babbage (1792-1891), who devoted most of his time in developing a calculating machine, was
not an engineer or practical industrialist but was in the forefront of the movement of scientific inquiry.

Contribution of F. W. Taylor - Scientific Management

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) is considered as the father of Modern Industrial Engineering and
he did much pioneering Work in the field of work study. His effort and ideas in 'Scientific Management
and work Measurement' in Industrial Engineering came into existence in USA in 188 1. He concentrated
his activities in the area of maximum production in minimum time and developed a formula. It has three
elements:

(a) A definite task: The best and correct sequence of operation

(b) A definite time: By stopwatch or from standard data

(c) A definite method: Developed by a detailed experimentation.

Taylor developed and proved the technique of management called as the task system. He tried to
eliminate the brutalisation of men, started in Industrial Revolution. Due to scientific management and
technical advances a new impersonal relation came about between employees and workmen.

Taylor observed cause of conflicts is that management, without knowing what is proper day's work,
tried to secure maximum output by pressure. He made a clear conclusion that management would gain
by elimination of waste of workers' time and machine time, more than that by pressurizing them.

Gilbreth's Contribution: -

Taylor's primary objective was determining the time required for a job and had paid a little attention to
the possibility of improving the method. The credit of investigating the possibilities of improving the
method goes to Frank Gilbreth (1868-1924) and his wife Lillian M. Gilbreth. Gilbreth was originally a
bricklayer. He applied the principles of scientific analysis and had shown a tremendous and immediate
increase in the output per man-hour. His three years analysis and study of art of brick laying enabled
him to reduce the number of motions by workmen in laying brick from 18 per brick to 5 per brick. As a
result of this, the most rapid union rate of brick laying (120 bricks/man/hour) had increased nearly three
folds (360 bricks/man/hour) on an average. Development of the principles of motion economy,
discovery of THERBLIG and use of micro motion pictures for motion analysis are the memorable
contributions of Gilbreth. The spectacular result secured by combination of time study, motion study
and wage incentive plans tempted the industrialists during the early decades of 20th century. During the
period of 'First World War', when the demand for increased production reached the peaks, the
principles of work study were applied extensively. However, during the period between the two world
wars, a sound work study was installed by qualified persons who demonstrated the advantages of work
study. Gilbreth presented a refinement in these original motion study techniques in the form of motion
pictures in 1912. Their techniques eventually developed and are now known as a cyclographic and
chrono cyclographic analysis.

APPLICATIONS: -

Work study finds applications in:

1. Industries (Production operations, research and development)

2. Marketing, sales and distribution

3. Offices, stores and warehouses

4. Material handling

5. Design

6. Building and other constructions

7. Transport

8. Hospital

9. Army

10. Agriculture

(B) What is method study? Discuss the various techniques used in the method study.

Ans: METHOD STUDY

Method study enables the industrial engineer to subject each operation to systematic analysis. The main
purpose of method study is to eliminate the unnecessary operations and to achieve the best method of
performing the operation. Method study is also called methods engineering or work design.

Method engineering is used to describe collection of analysis techniques which focus on improving the
effectiveness of men and machines. According to British Standards Institution (BS 3138): “Method study
is the systematic recording and critical examination or existing and proposed ways or doing work as a
means or developing and applying easier and more effective methods and reducing cost.”

Fundamentally method study involves the breakdown of an operation or procedure into its component
elements and their systematic analysis. In carrying out the method study, the right attitude of mind is
important. The method study mainly should have:

• The desire and determination to produce results.

 • Ability to achieve results.
• An understanding of the human factors involved.
Objectives of Method Study
Method study is essentially concerned with finding better ways of doing things. It adds value and
increases the efficiency by eliminating unnecessary operations, avoidable delays and other forms of
waste. The improvement in efficiency is achieved through:

• Improved layout and design of workplace.

• Improved and efficient work procedures.
• Effective utilization of men, machines and materials.
• Improved design or specification of the final product.
The objectives of method study techniques are:

• Present and analyse true facts concerning the situation.

• To examine those facts critically.
• To develop the best answer possible under given circumstances based on critical examination of
facts.
Method Study techniques
The method study techniques are explained below: -

(i) Charts: This is the most popular method of recording the facts. The activities comprising the jobs are
recorded using method study symbols. A great care is to be taken in preparing the charts so that the
information it shows is easily understood and recognized. The following information should be given in
the chart. These charts are used to measure the movement of operator or work (i.e., in motion study).

• Adequate description of the activities.

• Whether the charting is for present or proposed method.
• Specific reference to when the activities will begin and end.
• Time and distance scales used wherever necessary.
• The date of charting and the name of the person who does charting.
Types of Charts: -
It can be broadly divided into

(A) Macro motion charts and (B) Micro motion charts.

Macro motion charts are used for macro motion study and micro motion charts are used for micro
motion study. Macro motion study is one which can be measured through ‘stop watch’ and micro
motion study is one which cannot be measured through stop watch.

MACRO MOTION CHARTS

Following four charts are used under this type:

(1) Operation Process Chart

It is also called outline process chart. An operation process chart gives the bird’s eye view of the
whole process by recording only the major activities and inspections involved in the process.
Operation process chart uses only two symbols, i.e., operation and inspection. Operation, process
chart is helpful to:

• Visualize the complete sequence of the operations and inspections in the process.
• Know where the operation selected for detailed study fits into the entire process.
• In operation process chart, the graphic representation of the points at which materials
are introduced into the process and what operations and inspections are carried on
them are shown.
(2) Flow Process Chart
Flow process chart gives the sequence of flow of work of a product or any part of it through the
work centre or the department recording the events using appropriate symbols. It is the
amplification of the operation process chart in which operations; inspection, storage, delay and
transportation are represented. However, process charts are of three types:

• Material type— which shows the events that occur to the materials.
• Man type—Activities performed by the man.
• Equipment type— how equipment is used.
The flow process chart is useful:

• to reduce the distance travelled by men (or materials).

• to avoid waiting time and unnecessary delays.
• to reduce the cycle time by combining or eliminating operations.
• to fix up the sequence of operations.
• to relocate the inspection stages.
• Like operation process chart, flow process chart is constructed by placing symbols one
below another as per the occurrence of the activities and are joined by a vertical line. A
brief description of the activity is written on the right-hand side of the activity symbol
and time or distance is given on the left-hand side.
(3) Two Handed Process Chart
A two handed (operator process chart) is the most detailed type of flow chart in which the activities
of the workers hands are recorded in relation to one another. The two-handed process chart is
normally confined to work carried out at a single workplace. This also gives synchronized and
graphical representation of the sequence of manual activities of the worker. The application of this
charts is: -

• To visualize the complete sequence of activities in a repetitive task.

• To study the work station layout.
•
(4) Multiple Activity Chart
It is a chart where activities of more than subject (worker or equipment) are each recorded on a
common time scale to show their inter-relationship. Multiple activity chart is made:

• to study idle time of the man and machines,

• to determine number of machines handled by one operator, and
• to determine number of operators required in teamwork to perform the given job.
MICRO-MOTION STUDY CHART
Micro-motion study provides a technique for recording and timing an activity. It is a set of techniques
intended to divide the human activities in a group of movements or micro-motions (called Therbligs) and
the study of such movements helps to find for an operator one best pattern
of movements that consumes less time and requires less effort to accomplish the task. Therbligs were
suggested by Frank O. Gilbreth, the founder of motion study. Micro-motion study was mainly employed
for the job analysis. Its other applications include:

1. As an aid in studying the activities of two or more persons on a group work?

2. As an aid in studying the relationship of the activities of the operator and the machine as a
means of timing operations.
3. As an aid in obtaining motion time data for time standards.
4. Acts as permanent record of the method and time of activities of the operator and the machine.
SIMO Chart
Simultaneous motion cycle chart (SIMO chart) is a recording technique for micro-motion study. A SIMO
chart is a chart based on the film analysis, used to record simultaneously on a common time scale the
Therbligs or a group of Therbligs performed by different parts of the body of one or more operators.

It is the micro-motion form of the man type flow process chart. To prepare SIMO chart, an elaborate
procedure and use of expensive equipment are required and this study is justified when the saving
resulting from study will be very high.

THERBLIGS: - Therbligs were suggested by Gilbreth. Therbligs are used to describe the basic elements of
movements or fundamental hand motions of the work cycle. Every therblig is represented by a symbol,
a definite colour and with a word or two to-record the same. For example, therblig Grasp has symbol U,
red colour and is denoted by the word G. Simo chart employs therbligs which are of microscopic nature,
whereas a process chart uses symbols like operation, inspection, transportation, etc., which are
macroscopic. A single operation may consist of many therbligs, for example,

Microscopic motion

1. Operation of picking away a screw driver.

Macroscopic motion

1. Reach hand for screw driver (transport empty).

2. Grasp the same (Grasp).

3. Take away the screw driver (transport loaded).

Mainly Therbligs are used for the following:

1. In studying the activities of two or more persons on a group work.

2. In studying the relationship of the activities of the operator and the machine as a means of
timing operations.
 3. In obtaining motion time data for time standards.
4. Acts as a permanent record of the method and time of activities of the operator and the
machine.

(C)What do you understand by work measurement ?What are the various methods of work
measurement? Explain:-

(i)Time study

(ii)Predetermined motion study time

(iii)Work Sampling

Ans: WORK MEASUREMENT

Work measurement is concerned with the determination of the amount of time required to perform a
unit of work. Work measurement is very important for promoting productivity of an organization. It
enables management to compare alternate methods and also to do initial staffing. Work measurement
provides basis for proper planning.

Since it is concerned with the measurement of time it is also called ‘Time Study’. The exact examination
of time is very essential for correct pricing. To find the correct manufacturing time for a product, time
study is performed. To give competitive quotations, estimation of accurate labour cost is very essential.
It becomes a basis for wage and salary administration and devising incentive schemes.

Work measurement has been defined by British Standard Institution as, “The application of techniques
designed to establish the time for a qualified worker to carry out a specified job at a defined level of
performance”. This time is called standard or allowed time. Time study may also be defined as “the art
of observing and recording the time required to do each detailed element of an industrial operation”.

Objectives of Work Measurement:

1. To compare the times of performance by alternative methods.

2. To enable realistic schedule of work to be prepared.

3. To arrive at a realistic and fair incentive scheme.

4. To analyse the activities for doing a job with the view to reduce or eliminate unnecessary jobs.

5. To minimise the human effort.

6. To assist in the organisation of labour by daily comparing the actual time with that of target time.

Uses of Work Measurement:

1. Wok measurement is used in planning work and in drawing out schedules.

2. Wok measurement is used to determine standard costs.

3. Wok measurement is used as an aid in preparing budgets.

4. It is used in balancing production lines for new products.

5. Wok measurement is used in determining machine effectiveness.

6. To determine time standards to be used as a basis for labour cost control.

7. To establish supervisory objectives and to provide a basis for measuring supervisory efficiency.

8. To determine time standards to be used for providing a basis for wage incentive plans.

Techniques of Work Measurement: -

Work measurement is investigating and eliminating ineffective time. It not only reveals the existence of
ineffective time. But it can be used to set standard times for carrying out the work so that ineffective
time does not evolve later. It will be immediately found out by the increased standard time. For the
purpose of work measurement, work may be regarded as repetitive work and non-repetitive work.

The principal techniques of work measurement are classified under the following heads:

1. Time Study

2. Work Sampling

3. Pre-determined Motion Time System

4. Analytical Estimating

(i)Time Study
When a customer wants to purchase some products, then he usually compares the prices with those of
similar products, which are being manufactured by other producers. Therefore, to give competitive
quotations, estimation of accurate labour cost is very essential as it has got large effect on the price.
If the prices are higher, then, the manufacturer may not get supply orders and if these are lower, then
losses may occur. Thus, exact estimation of time is very essential for correctly pricing. As labour cost
depends upon time estimation, therefore, time must be estimated correctly as far as possible.

Secondly, whenever a customer contracts for the purchase of certain products then he de-sires that the
products should reach to him at a promised date which is only possible when manufacturer is aware of
the time to be taken by the product during manufacture. Therefore, to find the correct manufacturing
time for product, time study is performed by the Time Study Engineer.

Time study may be defined as “the art of observing and recording the time required to do each detailed
element of an industrial operation”.

Uses of Time Study: -

(i) It is useful in determining the standard time for various operations, which helps in fixing wages and
incentives.

(ii) It is useful to estimate the cost of a product accurately.

(iii) It helps in production control.

(iv) It helps in predicting accurately as to when the work will be completed and hence customers can be
promised to take delivery on a fixed date.

(v) Using the time study techniques, it can be found that how much machines an opera-tor can run.

(ii)WORK SAMPLING

Work sampling, also called ‘Activity Sampling’ or ‘Ratio Delay Study’, is based on the statis­tical method
first devised by L.H.S. Tippet in 1934. He used this technique firstly, in the British textile industry. Later
Morrow carried out several investigations.

The results obtained by the all-day stop-watch time study and such other statistical methods were in
most cases found to be in close agreement with the work sampling method, which places it on a sound
reliable basis.

Workers have wrong concept that the results of a time study may go against them and reduce their
wage rates. Therefore, they oppose the stop-watch method. For this technique, workers have no such
feelings.

Objectives of Work Sampling: -

Work sampling is a fact-finding tool and has the following two main objectives:

1. To measure activities and delays while a man is working and percentage of that he is not working. It
means a fair day’s work.

2. Under certain circumstances, to measure manual tasks that is to establish time stan-dards for an
operation.

Procedure for Work Sampling Study: -

The following steps are involved in making a “Work Sampling” study:

1. Define the Problem.

(a) State the main objectives or purpose of the problem.

(b) Describe the details of each element to be measured.

2. Obtain the approval of the In Charge of the department in which study is to be made. Obtain the co-
operation of the operators to be studied and they should also under-stand the purpose of study.

3. Determine the desired accuracy of the final results in the form of standard error or percentage.

4. State the confidence level.

5. Make a preliminary estimate of the percentage occurrence of the activity or delay to be measured for
one day or two days. This may be estimated on the basis of past experience.

6. (a) Design the study.

Determine the number of:

(i) Observations to be made.

(ii) Observations needed. Select and instruct them.

(iii) Days or shifts needed for the study.

(b) Make plans for taking the observations such as time for taking and the route to be followed by the
observer.

(c) Design the observations form.

7. Make the observations and record the data.

8. Summarize the data at the end of each day.

9. Check the accuracy or precision of the data at the end of the study.

10. Prepare the report and state results. If required make recommendations.

Applications of Work Sampling: -

1. Work sampling can be applied for the estimation of the percentage utilization of machine tools,
cranes, fork trucks etc.

2. Work sampling can also be used to estimate the unavoidable delay times for deciding the delay
allowances.

3. To estimate the percentage of the time consumed by various job activities, i.e. supervision, repair,
inspection etc.

4. Work sampling is also used to find out time standards, specially where the job is not repetitive and
where time study by stop-watch method is not possible, e.g. for maintenance work, office work, repair
work, ship building etc. Time standards can be calcu-lated by combining rating with work sampling.

(iii)Pre-determined Motion Time System

A predetermined motion time system may be defined as a procedure/method which analyses any
manual activity/human motion in terms of the basic or fundamental motions required to perform it.
Each of these motions is assigned a predetermined or a previously established standard time value in
such a manner those times for the individual motions on addition provides a total time for the
performance of the activity.

PMTS is a work measurement technique which comes next to synthetic times. They are more refined
and accurate than the synthetic times because they are obtained gradually with more accuracy and
often used as a source of synthetic time data.
PMTS are thus more basic in nature than standard data and are more commonly utilized for manual
work cycles.

The application of a predetermined time system needs that the operation being measured be split into
basic movements/motions as called for by the particular system being utilized. Each system has its own
specific rules and procedures which must be followed exactly.

The level of performance as represented by the time standards produced by the system should be
determined and adjustments made, it needed in order to match the company performance level when a
predetermined system is adopted by an enterprise for the first time.

This is a one-time adjustment, since no further consideration is required to be given to performance

rating. Usually predetermined time systems do not include allowances, so these are added as they
would be in a time study.

Procedure:
(1) Study the complete operation cycle few times.

(2) Observe and record the activities of one hand at a time.

(3) Record only few symbols at a time.

(4) Recording should be started at a point of time that can be easily distinguished. For examples activity
of picking up the such work piece at the beginning of cycle of work is a good point from which recording
the movements should be started,

(5) Care should be taken that no activity is left while recording, as it\will affect the method study badly.

(6) Combinations of operations and transport should be avoided, unless they actually occur at the same
time.

Objectives of PMTS:
The predetermined lime systems have been successfully applied to:

(i) Determine job time standards.

(ii) Compare the times for alternative, proposed methods so as the determine the economics of the
proposals before the production runs or other way round fabrication/ production of equipment to be
employed.

(iii) To estimate the manpower, equipment and space requirements before production or prior to
setting up of facilities.

(iv) To develop tentative layouts for assembly lines before the work starts so as to minimize the
investment on subsequent rearrangement and rebalancing etc.

(v) For improving and modifying work methods before stating the work on the job.

(vi) To set time standards for various jobs.

(vii) To provide a basis for estimation of labour cost and wage plans.
(viii) To facilitate training of the workers and supervisory staff.

(ix) To utilize for timing of those short and repetitive motion which are difficult to be measured by stop
watch.

Uses of PMTS:
Most of the uses have been minted while explaining the advantages. Their uses are classified under the
two heads i.e. work methods and work measurement.

Uses in Work Methods:

(1) Existing methods improvement.

(2) Evaluation of proposed methods in advance of actual production.

(3) Evaluation of design of tools, jigs and equipment etc.

(4) Aiding in design of production.

(5) Aiding in training operators.

(6) Training members of the staff to become motion conscious.

Uses in Work Measurement:

(1) Establishing time standards.

(2) Completion of standard data formulas for specific classes of work.

(3) Checking standards established by time study.

(4) Auditing time standards.

(5) Balancing Production lines.

(6) Estimating labour costs.