BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management

GRADUATE SCHOOL

BA 506 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Narrative Report
Job Design and Work Measurement (Part 2)
Garcia, Jeremiah R.

METHODS ANALYSIS

Method Analysis is the study that focuses on how a task is accomplished.

Whereas job design shows the structure of the job and names the tasks within the
structure, method analysis details the tasks and how to do them. Whether controlling a
machine or making or assembling components, how a task is done makes a difference in
performance, safety and quality.
Methods analysis consists of the following steps:
1. Identify the operation to be analysed.
2. Gather all relevant information about the operation, including tools, materials and
procedures.
3. Talk with employees who use the operation or have used similar operations. They
may have suggestions for improving it.
4. Chart the operation, whether you are analysing an existing operation or a new
operation.
5. Evaluate each step in the existing operation or proposed new operation.
6. Revise the existing or new operation as needed.
7. Put the revised or new operation into effect, and then follow up on the changes or
new operation.
Methods techniques are used to analyze the following:
1. Movement of individuals or material – the analysis is performed using flow
diagrams and process charts.
2. Activity of human and machine and crew activity – the analysis is performed by
activity charts.
3. Body movement (primarily arms and hands) – the analysis is performed using
operations charts.

Flow diagrams are schematics (drawings) used to investigate movement of people

or material. Process charts use symbols to help us understand the movement of people or
material. In this way non-value added activities can be recognized and operations made
more efficient. Activity charts are used to study and improve the utilization of an operator
and a machine or some combination of operators and machines. Body movement is
analyzed by an operations chart. It is designed to show economy of motion by pointing
out wasted and idle time (delay).

THE VISUAL WORKPLACE

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 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

The visual workplace uses low-cost visual devices to share information quickly
and accurately. Well-designed displays and graphs root out confusion and replace
difficult to understand print outs and paper works. Because workplace data change
quickly and often, operations managers need to share accurate and up to date information.
The visual workplace can eliminate non value added activities by making standards,
problems and abnormalities visual.

LABOR STANDARDS

Labor standards are the amount of time required to perform a job or part of a job.
Effective manpower planning is dependent on knowledge of the labor required. Labor
standards are set in four ways, historical experience, time studies, predetermined time
standards and work sampling.

Historical Experience

Labor standards can be estimated based on historical experience - that is how

many hours were required to do a task the last time it was performed. It is usually
available from employee time cards or production records. However, if not objective, and
don’t know their accuracy, whether they represent a reasonable or a poor work place, and
whether unusual occurrences are included. Because these variables are unknown, their
use is not recommended. Instead, time studies, predetermined time standards, and work
sampling are preferred.

Time Studies

The classical stopwatch study, or time study, originally proposed by Frederick W.

Taylor in 1881, involves timing a sample of a worker’s performance and using it to set
standards. A trained and experienced person can establish a standard by following these
eight steps.

1. Define the task to be studied (after methods analysis has been conducted).
2. Divide the task into precise elements (parts of a task that often take no more than
a few seconds).
3. Decide how many times to measure the task (the number of job cycles or sample
needed).
4. Time and record elemental times and ratings of performance.
5. Compute the average observed (actual) time. The average observed time is the
arithmetic mean of the times for each element measured, adjusted for unusual
influence for each element:

6. Determine performance rating (work place) and then compute the normal time for
each element.

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 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

The performance rating adjusts the average observed time to what a trained
worker could expect to accomplish working at a normal pace. For example, a
worker should be able to walk 3 miles per hour. He or she should also be able to
deal a deck of 52 cards into 4 equal piles in 30 seconds. A performance rating of
1.05 would indicate that the observed worker performs the task slightly faster than
average.
7. Add the normal times for each element to develop a total normal time for the task.
8. Compute the standard time. This adjustment to the total normal time provides for
allowances such as personal needs, unavoidable work delays, and worker fatigue:

Personal time allowances are often established in the range of 4% to 7% of total

time, depending on nearness to rest rooms, water fountains, and other facilities.
Delay allowances are often set as a result of the actual studies of the delay that
occurs. Fatigue allowances are based on our growing knowledge of human
expenditure under c=various physical and environmental conditions.
Time study requires a sampling process; so the question of sampling error in the
average observed time naturally arises. In statistics, error varies inversely with sample
size. Thus, to determine just how many cycles we should time, it must consider the
variability of each element in the study. To determine an adequate sample size, three
items must be considered:
1. How accurate we want to be (e.g. is +- 5% of observed time close enough?).
2. The desired level of confidence (e.g., the value z-value; is 95% adequate or is
99% required?)
3. How much variation exists within the job elements (e.g. if the variation is large, a
larger sample will be required).
The formula for finding the appropriate sample size, given these three variables, is:

Where:
h = accuracy level (acceptable error =) desired in percent of the job element,
expressed as a decimal (5% = 0.05)
z = number of standard deviations required for desired level of confidence (90%
confidence = 1.65)
s = standard deviation of the initial sample
x = mean of the initial sample
n = required sample size

Predetermined Time Standards

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 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

Predetermined time standards divide manual work into small basic elements that
already have established times (based on very large samples of workers). To estimate the
time for a particular task, the time d=factors for each basic element of that task are added
together, Developing a comprehensive system of predetermined time standards would be
prohibitively expensive for any given firm. Consequently, a number of systems are
commercially available. The most common predetermined time standard is methods time
measurement (MTM) which is a product of the MTM Association.
Predetermined time standards are an outgrowth of basic motions called therbligs.
The term therblig was coined by Frank Gilbreth. Therbligs include such activities as
select, grasp, position, assemble, reach, hold, rest, and inspect. These activities are stated
in terms of time measurement units (TMUs), which are equal to only 0.0001 hour or
0.0006 minute each. MTM values for various therbligs are specified in very detailed
tables.

Work Sampling
The fourth method of developing labor or production standards, work sampling,
was developed in England by L. Tippet in the 1930s. Work sampling estimates the
percent of the time that a worker spends on various tasks. Random observations are used
to record the activity that a worker is performing. The results are primarily used to
determine how employees allocate their time among various activities. When work
sampling is done to establish delay allowances, it is sometimes called a ratio delay study.
The work sampling procedure can be summarized in five steps:
1. Take a preliminary sample to obtain an estimate of the parameter value (e.g.
percent of time a worker is busy).
2. Compute the sample size required.
3. Prepare a schedule for observing the worker at appropriate times. The concept of
random numbers is used to provide for random observation.
4. Observe and record worker activities.
5. Determine how workers spend their time (usually as a percentage).
The following formula gives the sample size for a desired confidence and accuracy:

Where
n = required sample size
z = number of standard deviations for the desired confidence level (z = 1 for 68%
confidence, z = 2 for 95.45% confidence, and z = 3 for 99.73% confidence)
p = estimated value of sample proportion (of time worker is observed busy or idle)
h = acceptable error level, in percent.

REFERENCE:

Heizer, J. and Render, B. (2010) Operations Management (10th edition). Pearson

Education, New Jersey.

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