7

Design of
Work Systems
 Learning Objectives
Explain the importance of work design.
Briefly describe the two basic approaches to job
design.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
specialization.
Explain the term knowledge-based pay.
Explain the purpose of methods analysis and
describe how methods studies are performed.
Describe four commonly used techniques for
motion study.

7-2
 Learning Objectives
Discuss the impact of working conditions
on job design.
Define a standard time.
Describe and compare time study methods
and perform calculations.
Describe work sampling and perform
calculations.
Compare stopwatch time study and work
sampling.
Contrast time and output pay systems.
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 Job Design
Job design involves specifying the
content and methods of a job
What will be done
Who will do the job
How the job will be done
Where the job will be done
Ergonomics: Incorporation of human factors
in the design of the workplace

7-4
 Design of Work Systems
Specialization
Behavioral approaches to job design
Motivations
Teams
Methods analysis
Motions study
Working conditions

7-5
 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

7-6
 Specialization in Business: Advantages
Table 7.1

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

7-7
Specialization in Business: Disadvantages
Table 7.1

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

7-8
 Behavioral Approaches to
Job Design
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

7-9
 Motivation and Trust
Motivation
Influences quality and productivity
Contributes to work environment
Trust
Influences productivity and employee-
management relations

7-10
 Teams
Benefits of teams
Higher quality
Higher productivity
Greater worker satisfaction
Self-directed teams
Groups are empowered to make certain
changes in their work process

7-11
 Methods Analysis
Methods analysis
Analyzing how a job gets done
Begins with overall analysis
Moves to specific details

7-12
 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)

7-13
Methods Analysis Procedure
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

7-14
 Selecting an Operation
Selecting a job to study:
High labor content
Done frequently
Unsafe
Tiring
Unpleasant
Noisy
Designated problem

7-15
 Analyzing the Job
Flow process chart
Chart used to examine the overall
sequence of an operation by focusing on
movements of the operator or flow of
materials
Worker-machine chart
Chart used to determine portions of a
work cycle during which an operator and
equipment are busy or idle

7-16
Figure 7.2

tion
ent
tion
FLOW PROCESS CHART ANALYST PAGE

age
vem

pec

ay
Job Requisition of petty cash D. Kolb

era
1 of 2

Stor
Del
Ins
Mo
Op
Details of Method
Requisition made by department head
Put in pick-up basket
To accounting department
Account and signature verified
Amount approved by treasurer
Amount counted by cashier
Amount recorded by bookkeeper
Petty cash sealed in envelope
Petty cash carried to department
Petty cash checked against requisition
Receipt signed
Petty cash stored in safety box

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 Motion Study

Motion study is the systematic

study of the human motions used
to perform an operation.

7-18
 Motion Study Techniques
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
Therbligs

7-19
 Developing Work Methods
1. Eliminate unnecessary motions
2. Combine activities
3. Reduce fatigue
4. Improve the arrangement of the
workplace
5. Improve the design of tools and
equipment

7-20
 Therbligs
Therbligs: Basic elemental motions that
make up a job.
Search
Select
Grasp
Hold
Transport load
Release load

7-21
 Working Conditions
T e m p e ra tu re & V e n t ila t io n
H u m id it y

I llu m in a t io n C o lo r

7-22
 Working Conditions
Noise & Vibration Work Breaks

Safety Causes of Accidents

7-23
 Work Measurement
Work measurement: Determining how
long it should take to do a job.
Standard time
Stopwatch time study
Historical times
Predetermined data
Work sampling

7-24
 Standard time

Standard time:
The amount of time it should take a qualified
worker to complete a specific task, working at a
sustainable rate, using given methods, tools and
equipment, raw materials, and workplace
arrangement.

7-25
 Stopwatch Time Study
Stopwatch time study: Development of a
time standard based on observations of
one worker taken over a number of cycles.
The basic steps in a time study:
1. Define the task to be studied
2. Determine the number of cycles to observe
3. Time the job
4. Compute the standard time

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 Standard Elemental Times
Standard elemental times: Time
standards derived from a firms historical
data.
Steps for standard elemental times
1. Analyze the job
2. Check file for historical times
3. Modify file times if necessary
4. Sum elemental times to get normal time

7-27
 Predetermined Time Standards
Predetermined time standards: Published
data based on extensive research to
determine standard elemental times.
Advantages:
1. Based on large number of workers under
controlled conditions
2. Analyst not requires to rate performance
3. No disruption of the operation
4. Standards can be established

7-28
 Work Sampling
Work sampling: technique for estimating the
proportion of time that a worker or machine
spends on various activities and idle time.
Work sampling involves making brief
observations of a worker or machine at
random intervals
Work sampling does not require
timing an activity
continuous observation of an activity

7-29
 Compensation
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

7-30
 Incentive Plan
Characteristics of good plan:
Accurate
Easy to apply
Consistent
Easy to understand
Fair

7-31
 Compensation
Individual incentive plans
Group incentive plans
Knowledge-based pay system
Management compensation

7-32