Chapter Seven

Design of Work Systems

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 Overview
• The work system comprises workers and work
equipment acting together to perform the system
function in the workspace, in the work environment,
under the conditions imposed by the work tasks.
• Work system design is a flexible and iterative
process that takes into account system components
and interdependencies between system components
(e.g. work task, work organization, work
environment).
– Synergy: the design of the whole system is more than the
sum of its parts.

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 The objectives of Work System Design
• The aim of work systems design is designing working
conditions for human operators that
– ensure human safety, health, and well-being
– result in optimal operator workload
– optimize overall system performance
• The design of a work system follows general design
criteria referring to human performance, safety and
health as well as design strategies.
• Work design is closely related to other design
decisions.
• Product Design determines the type of activities the
worker will be involved with.

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 Steps in Work System Design
• Define the work system, i.e. a description of the work
system that comprises a determination of the limits of the
work system under consideration.
– It should also include a classification of the work system in
superordinate and the subordinate structures.
– The description of the work system including determination of the
limits of the work system should be described in a document.
• Design the process which is the analysis and documentation
of the human work task.
– This serves as a framework for the design of all other system
components (e.g. work environment, work space, work
equipment).
– Descriptions of all other system components follow and include
interactions between components.

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 Criteria for Work System Design
• Feasibility of work: basic criterion and requires consideration of
generic human abilities in the process of designing work
systems.
– It addresses human physical and mental capabilities, limitations and
needs across the working life.
• Freedom from harm: calls for prevention of occupational
accidents and diseases as well as work-related health risks by
design of safe and healthy working conditions.
• Freedom from physical and mental impairments: avoid
working conditions that impair human activities and conscious
experience potentially resulting in accidents.
– Impairments such as mental fatigue, mental satiation, monotony
and reduced vigilance result in deteriorations of human
performance capabilities that may also manifest in harm when
occurring frequently or over longer periods.
• Development of learning, health and personality: sustainable
perspective on a broad range of factors in work systems design
including inter-individual interactions and work-life balance.
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 Types of Work System Design
• Work Systems Design involves:
–Job design
–Work measurement
–Worker compensation

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 Job Design
• Job design refers to the way that a set
of tasks, or an entire job, is
organized.
• Job design helps to determine:
–What tasks are done?
–How the tasks are done?
–How many tasks are done?
–In what order the tasks are done?
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 …Job Design Techniques
• Traditional Engineering Techniques
– Job Specializations
– Work Methods Analysis
– Work Environment Analysis
• Behavioral Approach
– Job Rotation
– Job Enlargement
– Job Enrichment

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 …Job Specialization
• Job specialization is the degree to which the overall
task of the organization is broken down into smaller
component parts.
• Job specialization is a process that occurs when
employees gain knowledge, education and experience
in a specific area of expertise.
• Job specialization is a process where individuals or
employees develop specific skills and expertise to
perform certain activities.
• Job specialization has both advantages and
disadvantages
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 …Specialization: Advantages

For Management: For Labor:

1. Simplifies training 1 . Low education and
skill requirements
2. High productivity
2. Minimum
3. Low wage costs
responsibilities
3. Little mental effort
needed
 …Specialization: Disadvantages

For Management: For Labor:

1. Difficult to motivate 1. Monotonous work
quality 2. Limited opportunities
2. Worker dissatisfaction, for advancement
possibly resulting in 3. Little control over work
absenteeism, high
4. Little opportunity for
turnover, disruptive
self-fulfillment
tactics, poor attention
to quality
 …Work Methods Analysis
• Methods analysis caries out evaluation about how a
job gets done
• Methods analysis is concerned with the study of an
existing method or process.
• The Objectives of method analysis:
– Eliminate unnecessary and non-value-adding work
elements
– Combine elements and operations
– Rearrange elements into more logical sequence
– Simplify remaining elements and operations

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 …Work Methods Analysis
• 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
– Other factors (e.g. accidents, quality
problems)
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 …Work Methods Analysis Steps
1.Identify the operation to be studied
2.Get employee input
3.Study and document current method
4.Analyze the job
5.Propose new methods
6.Install new methods
7.Follow-up to ensure improvements
have been achieved

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 …Work environment
• A work environment is the setting, social aspects,
and physical conditions in which an individual
performs their job.
• The work environment includes a company’s
location, facilities, culture, interactions between
employees and employers, and growth
opportunities, and others.
• It has the potential to significantly impact
employee morale, workplace relationships,
performance, job satisfaction, and employee
health.
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 …Working Environment

Temperature & Ventilation

Humidity

Illumination Color
 …Working Environment

Noise & Vibration Work Breaks

Safety Causes of Accidents

 Behavioral Approaches to Job Design
• Job Enlargement
– Giving a worker a larger portion of the total
task by horizontal loading
• Job Enrichment
– Increasing responsibility for planning and
coordination tasks, by vertical loading
• Job Rotation
– Workers periodically exchange jobs

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 Work Measurement
• Work Measurement is a technique for establishing
a Standard Time, which is the required time to
perform a given task.
• Work measurement is concerned with the
determination of the amount of time required to
perform a unit of work.
• Work measurement is the implementation of a
series of techniques which are designed to find
out the work content by ascertaining the actual
amount of time necessary for a qualified worker
at a predetermined performance level.
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 …Work Measurement
• Work measurement is the application of
techniques which is designed to establish the time
for an average worker to carry out a specified
manufacturing task at a defined level of
performance.
• It is concerned with the duration of time it takes
to complete a work task assigned to a specific job.
• It means the time taken to complete one unit of
work or operation it also that the work should
completely complete in a complete basis under
certain circumstances which take into account of
accountants time

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 …Work Measurement

• Standard time
• Stopwatch time study
• Historical times
• Predetermined data
• Work Sampling

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 Motion Study Techniques
• Motion study is the systematic study of the
human motions used to perform an operation.
• Motion study principles - guidelines for
designing motion-efficient work procedures
• 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

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 Work Compensation
• A compensation study provides information
regarding employee compensation programs,
including wages, salaries, leave plans,
performance pay and fringe benefits.
– Time-based system
• Compensation based on time an employee has
worked during a pay period
– Output-based (incentive) system
• Compensation based on the amount of output an
employee produces during a pay period

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 …Form of Incentive Plan

• There are two types of incentives:

• Financial (monetary) incentives are
payments or rewards that are given in
exchange for achieving certain goals or
targets.
• Non-financial incentives are non-monetary
rewards, such as awards, privileges, or
recognition.

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 …Compensation Plans
• Individual Incentive Plans
• Group Incentive Plans
• Knowledge-Based Pay System
• Management Compensation

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 REFERENCES
• Chase, R.B., Jacobs, F.R. and Aquilano, N.J. (2006) Operations
Management for Competitive Advantage with Global Cases. McGraw-
Hill/Irwin, Boston.
• Gaither & Frazier, Operations Management, Cengage, New Delhi
• Panner Selvem, Production and Operation Management, Prentice Hall of
India.
• Chunnawals, Production & 9*/89Operation Management Himalaya,
Mumbai
• Kanishka Bedi, Production & Operation Management, University Press.
• Upendra Kachru: Operation Management, Excel Publications.
• Adam, E.E& Ebert; R.J. Production and Operation Management, 6th Ed.,
Prentice Hall
• Chary , S.N.Production and Operation Management, New Delhi, Tata
McGraw Hill

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