Chapter 2

Productivity and work study

Productivity and the quality of life

Basic needs, quality of life and productivity

• For faster growing of population it may be difficult to meet
basic human needs. These basic needs are:
Food
• Enough food every day to generate the energy needed for
living and working.
Clothing
• Enough clothing to afford protection from adverse weather
conditions and to permit bodily cleanliness.
Shelter
• A shelter that provides protection under healthy conditions
and that is equipped with certain household equipment and
furniture.
 …cont.
Security
• Security against violence and against unemployment, and
that provides for one’s personal needs in sickness or old
age.
Health and essential services
• Safe drinking-water, sanitation, access to energy use,
medical care, education and a means of transport.
For better-off segments of the population, the aspiration is to
raise their standard of living further and improve their
quality of life.
 …cont.
• This is foreseen as an improvement in the quality of these
basic needs.
• And in the range and quantity available so that a person
exerts the option of choice among various alternatives.
• For a society or a nation to raise the standard of living of
its population, it must strive to maximize the return from
its resources or improve productivity so that the economy
can grow and sustain a better quality of life.
Productivity
Productivity may be defined as follows:
• Productivity =output/input
• This definition applies in an enterprise, a sector of economic
activity or the economy as a whole.
• The term “productivity” can be used to assess or measure
the extent to which a certain output can be extracted from a
given input. While this appears simple enough in cases
where both the output and the input are tangible and can be
easily measured.
• Productivity is an index that measures output (goods and
services) relative to the input (capital, labor, materials,
energy, and other resources) used to produce them
• Operation manager is responsible to achieve higher
productivity.
 Ways to Increase Productivity
• Increase output by using the same or a lesser amount of
(input) resource.
• Reduce amount of (input) resource used while keeping
output constant or increasing it.
• Use more resource as long as output increases at a greater
rate.
• Decrease output as long as resource use decreases at a
greater rate.
• Production is concerned with the activity of producing
goods and services.
• Productivity is concerned with the efficiency and
effectiveness with which these goods and services are
produced.
 Efficiency and effectiveness for productivity
• Efficiency is a necessary but not a satisfactory condition for
productivity. In fact, both effectiveness and efficiency are necessary
in order to be productive.
• Efficiency is the ratio of actual output generated to the expected (or
standard) output prescribed. (Efficiency is doing things right)
• Effectiveness, on the other hand, is the degree to which the relevant
goals or objectives are achieved. (doing the right thing)
• Effectiveness involves first determining the relevant (right) goals or
objectives and then achieving them.

• If, for example, nine out of ten relevant goals are achieved, the
effectiveness is 90%. One can be very efficient.
Production improvement does not necessarily mean
productivity improvement.
• Suppose a garment factory produced 1,040 shirts using
80 operators yesterday.
• Let’s say that the same factory produced 1,100 shirts
today, using 84 operators.
• Production has increased by 5%, from 1,040 to 1,100
shirts. However, the labor productivity for this operation
is unchanged, because 1,040 / 80 is equal to 13 shirts per
worker yesterday, and 1,100 / 84 is equal to 13 shirts per
worker today.
• Therefore, improvement in production does not
necessarily generate improvement in labor productivity.
 Measuring Productivity (Continued)
• Partial-Factor: Uses a single “I” factor; e.g., output/labor-
hour, sales/employee
• Multi-Factor: Uses more than one “I” factor; e.g.
output/direct costs (labor, materials, and overhead).
• Total-Factor: Uses all “I” factors.
(Note: Total-Factor captures “trade-offs” between input
factors.)
Other Measures Affecting Productivity

• Efficiency

• Effectiveness

• Quality

• Quality of Work Life

• Innovation
 Efficiency
• Measures the resources expected to be consumed to the
resources actually consumed.
• Hence, it focuses on the input side of the system. (To what
degree did the system utilize the “right” things.)

Effectiveness
• Measures what the system sets out to accomplish (objective)
with what was actually accomplished; plan vs. actual
• Hence, effectiveness is an output measure. (Is the output
“right” - right quality, right quantity, on time, etc.)
 Quality

• Degree to which the outputs (products and services) from

the system conform to requirements or meet customer
expectations.
• The focus is on quality attributes (e.g., conformance,
performance, convenience, responsiveness, perceived
quality.)
Quality of Work Life (QWL)
• Measures the way that employees in a system respond to
the sociotechnical aspects of that system.
Innovation
• Measures the applied creativity of the system.
• Relates to the design and development of improved
products, services, and processes.
Single Factor Approach to Measuring Productivity
Capital - Number of products produced divided by
asset value
Materials - Number of products produced divided by
dollars spent on materials
Direct Labor - Number of products produced divided
by direct labor-hours
Overhead - Number of products produced divided by
dollars spent on operating cost
 Variables Affecting Labor Productivity
• Physical work environment
• Technology, equipment, materials, lighting, layout
• Product quality
• Defects, scrap, rework
• Employee job performance
• Employee ability, motivation
 Why Productivity Matters
High productivity is linked to higher standards of living
As an economy replaces manufacturing jobs with
lower productivity service jobs, it is more difficult to
maintain high standards of living
Higher productivity relative to the competition leads to
competitive advantage in the marketplace
Pricing and profit effects
For an industry, high relative productivity makes it less
likely it will be replaced by foreign industry
 Typical Impacts of Productivity Improvement

As productivity improved Costs were decreased Wages increased

Parts per man hour Cost per unit decreased Average worker's annual cash
compensation increased

$2.25
115

110 $2.00 27000

105 26000
$1.75
100 25000

95 24000
$1.50
Year A Year B Year C Year A Year B Year C Year A Year B Year C

2-17
 Example.
1. A potter working
• eight hours a day
• produces 400 pots a month
• wood-fired furnace
• Let us assume that as a result of a change in the method of
work he was able to produce
• 500 pots a month instead of 400
• with the same equipment and hours of work.
• His productivity calculated in terms of number of pots
produced will then have increased by 25 percent. ((500-
400)/400)
• Let us now assume unable to sell all 500 pots and had to
lower his price from 20 Birr a pot to 18 Birr a pot.
 …cont.
• If he wants to assess his productivity gain, the potter may
be more interested in using monetary terms rather than
simply the number of pots produced.
• He could then argue that the value of his output used to be
400 X 20 = 8000 Birr a month
• and is now 500 X 18 = 9000 Birr a month.
• His input has not changed. Hence his productivity gain is
((9000-8000)/8000) ----12.5%
 …cont.
one can make two observations.
• First, productivity was used to measure increase in output
expressed in numbers of pots produced, in the first case, and
• in monetary terms in the second, giving different values in each
case.
• In other words, depending on what one is interested in
measuring, the nature of the output and input will vary
accordingly.
• Second, while actual production increased in this example from
400 to 500 pots, productivity in monetary terms did show the same
corresponding increase.
• This means that we have to distinguish between increased
production and increased productivity, which in this example was
measured in terms of monetary gains.
 …cont.

• Assume in the previous example and that the potter decided to

replace his wood-fired furnace by an oil-fired furnace.
• This cost him an investment of 6,000 Birr, which he estimates
should be amortized over ten years. In other words, the cost of
this investment will be 600 Birr a year for ten years, or 50 Birr
a month. He also would need oil that would cost him 50 Birr a
month more than what he would have paid for the wood.
• Let us also assume that his production remained constant at
500 pots a month. Measured in monetary terms, the value of
his output is 500 X 18 Birr = 9000 Birr per month, from which
will be deducted 50 Birr for capital investment and 50 Birr for
fuel, or 100 Birr. Thus his monetary gain is 9000 -100 = 8900.
•
 …cont.
• In this case his productivity expressed in monetary gain
has not improved since, while originally he was producing
only 400 pots, he sold them for 20 Birr each - arriving at
almost the same financial figure.
• However, the potter may wish to argue that as a result of
the new furnace
• his quality has improved, that he will have fewer rejects
returned and that the
• users' satisfaction will increase over time so that he may
be able to increase his price again.
• Furthermore, his own sense of satisfaction at work has
improved, as it has become much easier to operate the
new furnace.
 …cont.
• Here, the definition of the output has been enlarged to
encompass
• quality and a relatively intangible factor,
• that of consumer satisfaction.
• Similarly, the input now encompasses another intangible
factor, that of satisfaction at work.
• Thus productivity gains become more difficult to measure
accurately because of these intangible factors and because
of the time lag that needs to be estimated until users'
satisfaction will permit an increase in prices of the pots
produced in the new furnace.
 Productivity and the organization
• Productivity in the individual enterprise may be affected
by a series of external factors, as well as by a number of
deficiencies in its operations or internal factors.
• Examples of external factors include
• The availability of raw materials and skilled labor,
• Government policies towards taxation and tariffs,
• Existing infrastructure,
• Capital availability and interest rates,
• And adjustment measures applied to the economy or to
certain sectors by the government.
• These external factors are beyond the control of any one
employer however, are within the control of managers in
an enterprise and these are the ones that will be discussed.
 The output and input factors in an enterprise
• In a typical enterprise the output is normally defined in terms of
products or services rendered.
• In a manufacturing concern, products are expressed in numbers, by
value and by conformity to predetermined quality standards.
• In a service enterprise such as a public transport company or a travel
agency, the output is expressed in terms of the services rendered.
• In a transport company this may be the number of customers or tons
of cargo per kilometer carried.
• In a travel agency it could be value of tickets sold or average value
of tickets per customer, and so on.
• Both manufacturing and service enterprises should equally be
interested in consumers' or users' satisfaction, such as number of
complaints or rejects.
 Inputs of an enterprise
Land and buildings: Land and buildings in a convenient location.
Materials: Materials that can be converted into products to be sold,
both as raw materials or auxiliary materials such as solvents or other
chemicals and paints needed in the process of manufacturing and
packaging material.
Energy : in its various forms such as electricity, gas, oil, or solar
power.
Machines and equipment: Machines and equipment necessary for the
operational activities of the enterprise, including those intended
for transport and handling, heating or air conditioning, office
equipment, computer terminals and the like.
Human resources : Men and women trained to perform the
operational activity, to plan and control, to buy and sell, to keep track
of accounts and to perform other operations such as maintenance or
administrative and secretarial jobs.
 …cont.
• Another factor of production or input is that of capital
which, while not explicitly defined here, is implicitly
included since it is used to finance the purchase of land,
machinery, equipment, materials and labor, and to pay for
the services rendered by human resources.
• The use which is made of all these resources combined
determines the productivity of the enterprise.
 The task of management
• The management of an enterprise is responsible for seeing
that the enterprise resources mentioned above are
combined in the best possible way to achieve the highest
productivity.
• In any concern larger than a one-person business (and to
some extent even in a one-person business), exploiting
and coordinating these resources and balancing one
resource against another is the task of management.
• If management fails to do what is necessary, the
enterprise will fail in the end.
 …cont.
• In such a case, the five resources become uncoordinated
like the efforts of five horses without a driver.
• The enterprise like a driverless passenger car moves
forward jerkily,
• now held up for lack of material,
• now for lack of equipment,
• because machines or equipment are badly chosen and
even more badly maintained, or
• because energy sources are inadequate or employees
unwilling to contribute their best.
• Figure 1 illustrates this management function.
Management functions.
 …cont.
• In its pursuit for higher productivity, an efficiency-minded
management acts to influence either one or both of the two factors,
• the output (i.e. products and services) or
• the input (i.e. the five resources at its disposal).
• Thus management may be able to produce
• A larger quantity ,
• And/or better-quality or
• Higher-value,
• Products or services with the same input, or
• It may achieve a better result by changing the nature of the input
such as investing in advanced technology, information systems and
computers or by using an alternative source of raw material or
energy.
…cont.
• It is rare, however, that one manager or a small team of
top managers can by themselves attend to the normal
running of an enterprise and at the same time devote
enough thinking and energy to the various issues
involved in improving productivity.
• More frequently they will rely on specialists to assist
them in this task, and among them is the work study
practitioner.
 Work study and productivity
• In the previous lesson, we mentioned that management
frequently calls on specialists to assist it in improving
productivity. One of the most powerful tools they can use
is that of work study.
“Work study is the systematic examination of the methods of
carrying on activities so as to improve the effective use of
resources and to set up standards of performance for the
activities being carried out.”
• Then aims is simplifying or modifying the method of
operation to reduce unnecessary or excess work, or the
wasteful use of resources, and setting up a time standard
for performing that activity.
 …cont.
• The relation between productivity and work study is thus
obvious.
• If work study results in reducing the time of performing
a certain activity by 20 percent, merely as a result of
• rearranging the sequence or
• simplifying the method of operation and
• without additional expenditure, then
• productivity will go up by a corresponding value, that is
by 20 percent.
 How the total time of a job is made up

• The time taken by a worker or a machine to carry out an

operation or to produce a given quantity of a certain
product may be considered as made up in the following
manner, which is illustrated in the following figure .
The basic work content of the product or operation
• Work content means, of course, the amount of work
"contained in" a given product or a process measured in
"work-hours" or "machine hours".
• A worker hour is the labor of one person for one hour.
• A machine-hour is the running of a machine or piece of
plant for one hour.
How operational time is made up
 …cont.
• The basic work content is the time taken to manufacture
the product or to perform the operation if the design or
specification of the product or service provided were
perfect;
• if the process or method of operation were perfectly
carried out, and
• if there were no loss of working time from any cause
whatsoever during the period of the operation (other than
legitimate rest pauses permitted to the operative).
• The basic work content is the irreducible minimum time
theoretically required to produce one unit of output.
 …cont.
• This is obviously a perfect condition which never occurs
in practice,
• Although it may sometimes be approached, especially in
line manufacturing or process industries.
• In general, however, actual operation times are far in
excess of it on account of: excess work content
 The work content is increased by the following
A. Work content added by poor design or specification
of product or its parts, or improper utilization of
materials
There are several ways in which unnecessary time and
waste (resulting in higher cost of the product) can be
attributed to poor design of the product or its parts, or
to incorrect quality control.
A.1.Poor design and frequent design changes
A.2.Waste of materials
A.3.Incorrect quality standards
…cont.
B. Work content added by inefficient methods of
manufacture or operation
Ineffective time and higher cost can result from a poor
method of carrying out the operations, resulting in
unnecessary movements of persons or materials.
Similarly, such ineffective time can be due to inappropriate
handling methods, poor maintenance of machinery or
equipment resulting in frequent breakdowns, or poor
inventory control causing delays because of an absence of
products or parts or higher costs as a result of overstocking.
B.1.Poor layout and utilization of space
B.2.Inadequate materials handling
B.3.frequent stoppages as production changes from
one product to another
 …cont.
B.4.Ineffective method of work
B.5.Poor planning of inventory
B.6.Frequent breakdown of machines and
equipment
C. Work content resulting mainly from the
contribution of human resources
If management fails to provide a safe and satisfying work
climate, workers could respond by absenteeism, lateness
or deliberately working slowly.
C.1.Absenteeism and lateness
C.2.Poor workmanship
C.3.Accidents and occupational hazards
 Work study, the approach
1. Why is work study valuable?
• The prime value of work study lies in the fact that, by carrying out
its systematic procedures, a manager can achieve results as good as
or better than the less systematic genius was able to achieve in the
past.
• Work study succeeds because it is systematic both in the
investigation of the problem being considered and in the
development of its solution.
• Systematic investigation takes time. It is therefore necessary, in all
but the smallest firms, to separate the job of making work studies
from the task of management.
• work study must always be the responsibility of someone who is
able to undertake it full time, without direct management duties:
someone in a staff and not a line position. Work study is a service
to management and supervision.
 Why is work study valuable...
• (1) It is a means of raising the productivity of a plant or operating
unit by the reorganization of work, a method which normally
involves little or no capital expenditure on facilities and equipment.
• (2) It is systematic. This ensures that no factor affecting the
efficiency of an operation is overlooked, whether in analyzing the
original practices or in developing the new, and that all the facts
about that operation are available.
• (3) It is the most accurate means yet evolved of setting standards of
performance, on which the effective planning and control of
production depends.
• (4) It can contribute to the improvement of safety and working
conditions at work by exposing hazardous operations and
developing safer methods of performing operations.
 Why is work study valuable...
• (5) The savings resulting from properly applied work
study start at once and continue as long as the operation
continues in the improved form.
• (6) It is a "tool" which can be applied everywhere. It can
be used with success wherever work is done or plant is
operated, not only in manufacturing shops but also in
offices, stores, laboratories and service industries such as
wholesale and retail distribution and restaurants, and on
farms.
• (7) It is relatively cheap and easy to apply.
• (8) It is one of the most penetrating tools of investigation
available to management.
2. Techniques of work study and their relationship
• Method study is the systematic recording and critical examination
of ways of doing things in order to make improvements.
• Work measurement is the application of techniques designed to
establish the time for a qualified worker to carry out a task at a
defined rate of working.
• Method study and work measurement are, therefore, closely
linked.
• Method study is concerned with the reduction of the work content
of a job or operation,
• while work measurement is mostly concerned with the
investigation and of any ineffective time associated with it; and
with the subsequent establishment of time standards for the
operation when carried out in the improved fashion, as determined
by method study.
The relationship of method study and work measurement

Method study
To simplify the job and
develop more economical
methods of doing it.
Work
study
Work measurement
To determine how long it should
take to carry out

Higher
Productivity
…cont.
• As will be discussed from later lessons of this course,
both method study and work measurement are themselves
made up of a number of different techniques.
• Although method study should precede the use of work
measurement when time standards for output are being
set,
• it is often necessary to use one of the techniques of work
measurement, such as work sampling, in order to
determine why ineffective time is occurring and what is
its extent, so that management can take action to reduce it
before method study is begun.
• Again, time study may be used to compare the
effectiveness of alternative methods of work before
deciding on the best method to install.
 3. Basic procedure of work study

There are eight steps in performing a complete work study.

They are:
1. Select the job or process to be studied.
2. Record or collect all relevant data about the job or
process, using the most suitable data collection
techniques , so that the data will be in the most
convenient form to be analyzed.
3. Examine the recorded facts critically and challenge
everything that is done, considering in turn:
 the purpose of the activity;
 the place where it is performed;
 the sequence in which it is done;
 the person who is doing it;
 the means by which it is done.
cont...
4. Develop the most economic method, taking into account
all the circumstances and drawing as appropriate on
various production management techniques, as well as on
the contributions of
 managers,
 supervisors,
 workers and
 other specialists with whom new approaches should
be explored and discussed.
5. Evaluate the results attained by the improved method
compared with the quantity of work involved and calculate
a standard time for it.
6. Define the new method and the related time and present
it to all those concerned, either verbally or in writing, using
demonstrations.
cont...
7. Install the new method, training those involved, as an agreed
practice with the allotted time of operation.
8. Maintain the new standard practice by monitoring the results
and comparing them with the original targets.

• Steps 1, 2 and 3 occur in every study, whether the technique

being used is method study or work measurement.
• Step 4 is part of method study practice, while step 5 calls for
the use of work measurement.
• It is possible that after a certain time the new method may
prove to be in need of modification, in which case it would be
re-examined again using the above sequence.
• These eight steps will be discussed in detail in the coming
lessons.
Work study and production management
• When work study emerged in the early part of this century as a
technique aimed at rationalizing and measuring work, the emphasis
was on economy of motion and movement.
• Because of that it was called time and motion study.
• modern production management looks at various aspects of
production such as
Product design,
Quality control,
Layout and materials handling,
Production planning and control,
Maintenance management and invariably work study.
• These techniques may be applied, singly or in combination, in the
enterprise.
 …cont.
• Furthermore, with time many of them began to rely
increasingly on sophisticated quantitative methods such as
operations research to solve ever more complicated
operational problems.
• Advances in the fields of computers and information
systems helped to boost production management techniques
to the level attained at present.
The human factor in the application of work study
The human factor in enterprise operations
• The human factor is one of the most crucial elements in enterprise
operations, for it is through people that management can control
the utilization of its resources and the sale of its products or
services.
• To give the best of their ability, employees must be motivated to
do so.
• Managers must be able to provide a motive or a reason for doing
something, or make people want to do it.
• It is of little use for management to prepare elaborate plans or give
instructions for carrying out various activities if the people who
are supposed to carry out the plans do not wish to do so ; even
though they may have to.
…cont.
• Intimidation is no substitute for action that is taken
voluntarily and willingly. The result would be half-
hearted effort and disordered workmanship.
• Thus, employees at all levels must feel a sense of
belonging to the enterprise;
• they should develop a sense of security, and the feeling
that they are working in a safe, healthy and enriching
working environment.
• When this happens they will contribute not only their
labor but also many useful suggestions that can lead to
productivity improvement and assist willingly the work
study person in developing improved methods of work.
 …cont.
• If work study is to contribute seriously to the improvement
of productivity, relations between management and workers
must be reasonably good before any attempt is made to
introduce it,
• and the workers must have confidence in the sincerity of
management towards them;
• otherwise they will regard it as a way of getting more work
out of them without any benefit to themselves.
 …cont.
• If management is able to create a satisfying working
environment at the enterprise and a culture that welcomes
and encourages productivity improvement, then a work
study development program may be seen as "owned"
jointly by managers, supervisors and the workforce.
 Work study and management

• Because a well-conducted work study analysis is

ruthlessly systematic, the places where effort and time are
being wasted are laid bare one by one.
• In order to eliminate this waste, the causes of it must be
looked for. The latter are usually found to be bad planning,
bad organization, insufficient control or the lack of proper
training.
• Since members of the management and supervisory staffs
are employed to perform these functions, it will look as if
they have failed in their duties.
• Applying work study in one working area can start a chain
reaction of investigation and improvement which will
spread in all directions throughout the organization:
 …cont.
• If the application of work study in an enterprise is to
succeed, it must have the understanding and the backing
of management at all levels, starting at the top.
• If top management, the managing director, the managing
agent or the president of the company do not understand
what the work study person is trying to do and are not
giving him or her their full support, it cannot be expected
that managers lower down will lend their support either.
• If the work study person then comes into conflict with
them, as he or she may do in such circumstances, he or she
may well lose the case, however good it may be, if an
appeal is made to the top.
 Work study and the supervisor
• The work study specialist's most difficult problem may
often be the attitude of supervisors.
• Before the work study practitioner starts work, the whole
purpose of work study and the procedures involved must
be very carefully explained to the supervisor, so that he
or she understands exactly what is being done and why.
• Unless this is done, the supervisor is likely to be difficult,
if not actually obstructive, for many reasons.
 …cont.
Among the reasons the following are evident:
• (1) Supervisors are the people most deeply affected by
work study. The work for which they may have been
responsible for years is being challenged;
• if, through the application of work study methods, the
efficiency of the operations for which they are responsible
is greatly improved, they may feel that their prestige in
the eyes of their superiors and of the workers will be
lessened.
 …cont.
(2) In most firms where specialists have not been used, the
whole running of a certain operation - planning programs
of work, developing job
• methods, making up time sheets, setting piece rates,
hiring and firing workers — may have been done by the
supervisor.
• The mere fact that some of these responsibilities have
been taken away is likely to make him or her experience a
loss of status.
• No one likes to think that he or she has "lost face" or "lost
ground".
 …cont.
3) If disputes arise or the workers are upset, supervisors are
the first people who will be called upon to clear matters up,
and it is difficult for them to do so fairly if they do not
understand the problem.
• Because most supervisors have practiced their occupation
or skills for many years,
• they find it difficult to believe that they have anything to
learn from someone who has not spent a very long time in
the same occupation.
 …cont.
• The work study practitioner will only retain the
supervisors' friendship and respect by showing from the
beginning that he or she is not trying to take over their
place. The following rules must be observed:
 …cont.
• (1) The work study person must never give a direct order
to a worker. All instructions must be given through the
supervisor. The only exception to his is in matters
connected with methods improvements where the worker
has been asked by the supervisor to carry out the
instructions of the work study person.
• (2) Workers asking questions calling for decisions outside
the technical field of work study should always be
referred to their supervisor.
• (3) The work study person should take care never to
express opinions to a worker which may be interpreted as
critical of the supervisor (however much he or she may
feel like it!). If the worker later says to the supervisor: "...
but Mr/Ms .. . said ...", there will be trouble!
 …cont.
• (4) The work study person must not allow the workers to
"play him or her off against the supervisor or to use him or
her to get decisions altered which they consider harsh.
• (5) The work study person should seek the supervisor's
advice in the selection of jobs to be studied and in all
technical matters connected with the process (even if he or
she knows a great deal about it). The work study person
should never try to start alone.
 Work study and the worker
1. The problem of raising productivity should be
approached in a balanced way, without too great an
emphasis being placed on productivity of labor.
2. Be open and frank as to the purpose of the study.
Nothing breeds doubt like attempts to hide what is being
done;
3. Workers' representatives should be kept fully informed
of what is being studied, and why.
4. Although asking for a worker's suggestions and ideas
implicitly serves to satisfy his or her need for
recognition, this can be achieved in a more direct way by
giving proper credit where it is due.
 …cont.

5.The work study person must make it clear that it is the

work, and not the worker, that is being studied.
6. involve the workforce in work study investigations
even more directly
7.The work study person should remember that the
objective is not merely to increase productivity but also
to improve job satisfaction,
The work study practitioner
• Nevertheless, there are certain qualifications and qualities which
are essential for success.
• Education
• better still a university education, preferably in the engineering
or business fields.
• Practical experience
It is desirable that candidates for posts as work study specialists
should have had practical experience in the industries in which
they will be working. This experience should include a period of
actual work at one or more of the processes of the industry. This
will enable them to understand what it means to do a day's work
under the conditions in which the ordinary workers with whom
they will be dealing have to work. Practical experience will also
command respect from supervisors and workers, and an
engineering background enables one to adapt oneself to most
other industries.
 Personal qualities
The following are essential qualities:
• Sincerity and honesty
• The work study person must be sincere and honest; only if
this is the case will he or she gain the confidence and
respect of those with whom he or she will work.
• Interest
• He or she must be really keen on the job, believe in the
importance of what he or she is doing and be able to
transmit enthusiasm to the people round about.
• sympathy with people
• The person must be able to get along with people at all
levels. It is necessary to be interested in them, to be able to
see their points of view and to understand the motives
behind their behavior.
 …cont.
• Tact; Tact in dealing with people comes from
understanding them and not wishing to hurt their feelings
by unkind or thoughtless words, even when these may be
justified. Without tact no work study person is going to
get very far.
• Good appearance The person must be neat and organized
and look efficient. This will inspire confidence among the
people with whom he or she has to work.
• Self-confidence The work study practitioner must be able
to stand up to top management, supervisors, trade union
officials or workers in defense of his or her opinions and
findings, and to do so in such a way that will win respect
and not give offence.
Working conditions and the working environment
• The reduction in productivity and the increase in
production rejects and manufacturing waste that result
from fatigue due to excessively long working hours and
bad working conditions
• in particular, lighting and ventilation have shown that
the human body, in spite of its immense capacity for
adaptation, is far more productive when working under
optimal conditions.
• Thus, not only may a hazardous working environment be
a direct cause of occupational accidents and diseases, but
workers' dissatisfaction with working conditions which
are not in line with their current cultural and social level
may also be at the root of a decline in production quality
and quantity, excessive labor turnover and increased
absenteeism.
 Occupational safety and health organization
• The most effective method of obtaining good results in the
prevention of occupational hazards includes the following:
 to recognize the importance of the employer's
responsibilities for ensuring that the workplace is safe
and without risk to workers' health;
 to adopt an occupational safety and health policy that
provides for the establishment of a good occupational
safety and health organization within the enterprise; and
 to encourage strong participation of workers in safety and
health activities at the workplace; including safety
committees, inspection and accident investigation, and
the appointment of specialists
 …cont.

 Education and training on safety and health matters

should always be an integral part of training activities at
any enterprise regardless of size.
 Sufficient time and effort must be invested in
implementing these training activities.
 New workers should receive an orientation to their tasks
so that they will learn to perform their jobs in a safe
manner.
 Safety criteria
• Occupational accidents
• visible and invisible hazards at the workplace. Visible
hazards include unfenced frameworks, openings in the
floor, dripping or leaking chemicals or the locked
working zone of a robot.
• Work-related diseases
• Dangerous operations (for example, those resulting in
environmental pollution or producing noise or
vibration) and harmful substances which may
contaminate the atmosphere at the workplace should be
replaced by harmless or less harmful operations or
substances.
 The prevention of industrial accidents
• Fire prevention and protection
• The first principle of fire prevention is to design
buildings, processes and storage facilities in such a way
as to limit the possible combination of oxygen, fuel and
an increase in temperature.
• The second principle is to eliminate or reduce sources
of heat or ignition, thus limiting the rise in temperature.
• Major hazard control
• Identifying major hazard installations
• Information about the plant
• Action inside the plant.
• Emergency planning
 Working building
• In developing a layout, emphasis should be placed on the
principle of isolating any operation which is hazardous or
constitutes a nuisance. Wherever possible,
• work location should be above ground level and
equipped with windows having a surface area of not less
than 17 per cent of the floor area.
• Minimum ceiling height should not be less than 3 meters
and each worker should have at least 10 cubic meters of
air (or more where temperatures or the level of
atmospheric pollution are high). For the purposes of
accident prevention,
• It is important to ensure that each worker has an
adequate minimum free-floor area which should not be
less than 2 square meters per person.
 Good housekeeping
• Good housekeeping, which when used with reference to a
factory or workplace is a general term embracing tidiness
and general state of repair, not only contributes to
accident prevention but is also a factor in productivity.
 Lighting
• It is estimated that 80 per cent of the information required
in doing a job is perceived visually.
• Good visibility of the equipment, the product and the data
involved in the work process is an essential factor in
accelerating production, reducing the number of defective
products, cutting down waste and preventing visual
fatigue and headaches among the workers.
• It may also be added that both inadequate visibility and
glare are frequently causes of accidents.
 Noise and vibration

• Noise means any disagreeable or undesired sound. Sound-

level meters are used to measure the pressure variations
producing audible sound. The practical unit for measuring
noise is decibel (dB).
• The human ear responds in different ways to sounds of
different frequencies. The unit of frequency is hertz (Hz)
and the ear responds over the approximate range of 20 to
20,000 Hz.
• Vibration :Although only a limited number of workers are
exposed to vibrations which constitute a health hazard, the
necessary protective measures should not be neglected.
Climatic conditions
• Working in a hot environment
• Working in a cold environment(below 10 0 c)
• Working in a wet environment
• Control of the thermal environment
• Ventilation
 Exposure to toxic substances
• The protection of workers' health against hazards due to
the contamination of air at the workplace and the
prevention of contamination of the work environment
should be the concern of all those involved in the design
and organization of work.
Personal protective equipment
• The protection of workers' health against hazards due to
the contamination of air at the workplace and the
prevention of contamination of the work environment
should be the concern of all those involved in the design
and organization of work.
Ergonomics

• Ergonomics is concerned with:

(a) the study of the individual operator or working team, and
(b) the provision of data for design.
The aims of ergonomics are, therefore, to enhance functional
effectiveness while maintaining or improving human welfare.
• For ergonomics, then, the task is to develop the most
comfortable conditions for the worker as regards
lighting, climate and noise level, to reduce the physical
workload (in particular in hot environments), to facilitate
psycho-sensorial functions in reading instrument
displays, to make the handling of machine levers and
controls easier, to avoid unnecessary information recall
efforts, and so on.
Ergonomics
 Display design must be based on a clear definition of
the task and on an understanding of the way in which
the particular kind of operator performs it.
 There are three kinds of display: pictorial, qualitative
and quantitative
 Quantitative displays are only used when numbers
are essential to the task.
 In most tasks the operator receives information both
from a real work process and from an artificial display
representing it.
 The artificial display must be so designed as to be
compatible with the real display in terms of patterns and
relative movements.
 …cont.
When the information to be presented artificially has
been assessed, it must be allocated:
• between the three sensory channels: visual, auditory
and kinesthetic(movement perception);
• and between dynamic and static displays.
 In designing displays for maximum speed and minimum
attention, use the kinesthetic channel.
 For maximum attention, use the auditory channel.
 For maximum precision and agreement between
operators, use the visual channel.
 Working time
• The definition of working time is an important
consideration for work study practitioners. Any
calculations of output must be done with due
consideration to operations time and working time.
Working time has in recent times become a subject of
considerable importance
 Work-related welfare facilities
Work-related welfare facilities offered at or through the
workplace can be an important factor in attracting, retaining
and motivating workers, and in preventing or reducing
fatigue.
• Drinking-water. Safe, cool drinking-water is essential for
all types of work, especially in a hot environment.
• Sanitary facilities. Hygienic sanitary facilities should exist
in all workplaces.
• First-aid and medical facilities. Facilities for rendering
first-aid and medical care at the workplace in case of
accidents or unforeseen sickness are directly related to the
health and safety of the workers.
…cont.
• Rest facilities. Rest facilities can include seats, rest-
rooms, waiting rooms and shelters
• Feeding facilities. It is now well recognized that the
health and work capacity of workers depend on an
adequate, well-balanced diet.
• Child-care facilities. Many employers find that working
mothers are especially loyal and effective workers, but
they often face the special problems of caring for their
children.
• Recreational facilities. Recreational facilities offer
workers the opportunity to spend their leisure time in
activities likely to increase physical and mental well-
being.