Work Study

Dr. Sanchayan Mukherjee

B.M.E. (1st Class Hons.), M.E.(Distinction), M.I E., F.A.E., Ph.D. (Engineering) Member of Faculty Department of Mechanical Engineering Kalyani Government Engineering College Kalyani 741235, Nadia, West Bengal, India

Productivity

Remedial Measures
To minimize material losses v Maintain quality of raw materials v Install good and efficient production process To maintain losses in labour-hour v Utilize manpower properly v Maintain minimum set-up time, no or least re-work v Maintain continuity and uniformity of production To minimize losses in machine-hour v Implement good maintenance system v Keep the machine idle-time minimum

Motivation and Productivity

Productivity (P) of a person depends upon his Ability or competence (A) Motivation or willingness to work (M) Technology or equipment used (T) P=AxMxT

Work Study
Work study is the study of work, or more particularly, study of human work. It is the systematic analysis of the work of men and machines so as to improve methods of production and establish time standards for these works. Work study has two aspects: i. Development of the best method of doing work Method Study. ii. Determination of standard time for completion of work Work Measurement.

Work Study

Method Study
(To improve methods of production)

Work Measurement
(To assess human effectiveness)

Resulting in more effective use of material, machine & manpower (3M)

Resulting in improved planning & control

Higher productivity

Steps of Work Study

Select the job (or work or process) to be studied. 1. 2. Record all facts relevant to the work that has been selected for study. Examine the recorded facts critically and challenge everything that is being done currently considering Purpose of activity is the activity needed at all for the job? Sequence in which it is done is it the right sequence? The person who is doing it is the person really competent for the job? Develop the most economic method that will eliminate all the unnecessary work for the job or operation under study. Measure the quantity of work involved for the job under study in terms of time and calculate the standard time for doing it. Define the new method with the standard time for doing it. Install the new method as a standard practice for doing the job just studied. Maintain the new standard or practice for doing the job or operation that underwent work study and apply proper control measures.

3.
4. 5. 6. 7.

Note: Step 1, 2 and 3 occur in every study, Step 4 is a part of Method Study and Step 5 is related to Work Measurement.

Method Study
As defined by ILO, Method Study is the systematic recording and critical examination of the existing and proposed ways of doing work, as a means of developing and applying easier and more effective methods and reducing costs. It covers the following activities a) Factory layout; b) Factory automation; c) Materials handling; and d) Motion study.

Steps of Method Study

1. Select the work to be studied. 2. Record all facts relevant to the work. 3. Examine all facts recorded in a very critical way. 4. Develop a new method that will eliminate unnecessary works 5. Install the new method and put it into work. 6. Maintain the method newly developed and installed as a standard one and provide routine checks.

Work Measurement

ILO, Geneva, defines work measurement as under Work Measurement is 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.

Steps of Work Measurement

1. Select the work to be studied. 2. Record all the relevant data related to the work. 3. Examine the recorded data and break the work into smallest identifiable element. 4. Measure the quantity of work involved in each such smallest element, in terms of labour-hour or machine-hour. 5. Compile the standard time for the work taking into account all the allowances for personal needs, rest etc. 6. Define precisely the series of activities and methods of operation for which time has been compiled and issue the time as standard for activities and methods specified.

Two methods of Work Measurement

Time Study Motion Study

Time Study
As defined by ILO, Geneva, Time Study is a work measurement technique for recording the time and rates of working for the elements of a specified job carried out under specified conditions, and for analyzing the data so as to obtain the time necessary for carrying out the job at a defined level of performance. Time Study had its beginning in the machine shop of Midvale Steel Company in 1881, and F.W. Taylor was its originator.

Steps of Time Study

1. Select the job or operation to be studied. Record all the information available about the job. 2. Breakdown the works involved for completion of a job into smallest identifiable elements. 3. Ensure that each element of the job uses most effective methods and motions. If not, rectify it accordingly. 4. Measure and record the time required (usually with a stop watch) by an operator or worker to perform each element of the job or operation. Conduct repeated observations as in above to arrive at an average time taken by a worker for performing each element of the job. 5. Add all the average times obtained for each and every element of the job to get a generally accepted basic time required for the job as a whole. 6. Determine the allowances to be made over and above the basic time. The allowances are required to be provided for rest, fatigue, personal needs etc. 7. Add all the times measured in Step 5 and 6 to get standard time for the job, i.e. Standard Time = Basic Time + Time for Allowances.

Motion Study
In 1885 Frank B. Gilbreth, as a young man of seventeen, started his career as a building contractor. F.B. Gilbreth, with civil engineering background, and his wife Lilian M Gilbreth, a psychologist, undertook the work involving an understanding of the human factor as well as a knowledge of materials, tools and equipment in scientific accomplishment of jobs. Together, they developed the Motion Study and introduced Therbligs Analysis that contributed a lot to the development of scientific theory of management.

Therbligs Analysis
In the Motion Study, the smallest elements of motion are identified. The motions those take a minimum time by an average human being are expressed in seconds. A work is the sum total of such smallest elements of motions. All the necessary motions for a work are listed. The time required for each such time is standardized in terms of microseconds, and added together to get the standard time for the execution of the work. Gilbreth presented identified set of seventeen basic human movements that are required to be observed while doing any work and gave the name THERBLIGS (which is arrangement of the word GILBRETH in the reverse order with T coming before H and an S has been added to make it plural) to these sets of motions. The seventeen elements of THERBLIGS are grasp, position, pre-position, assemble, disassemble, release load, transport empty, transport loaded, search, select, hold, unavoidable delay, avoidable delay, rest for overcoming fatigue, plan, inspect etc. Some of the non-therbligs motions are sit, arise, eye-focus etc.