Work Study: Forerunner of All the Latter-day Techniques

Work Study (Method Study and Work Measurement)- Still the Most Fundamental Improvement System

Work Study comprising of its two main branches

- Method Study and

- Work Measurement

remains, even to date, the most fundamental system of introducing continual improvements in effectiveness, efficiency and overall productivity. It is the forerunner of the latter-day systems and techniques like Business Process Reengineering, TQM, Kaizen etc.

Therefore, a thorough knowledge of Work Study becomes imperative.

Gain Knowledge in Work Study in the Quickest Way

To facilitate gaining the knowledge in this important subject, our well-known authors Shyam Bhatawdekar and Dr Kalpana Bhatawdekar authored a book titled "Essentials of Work Study".

In order to impart the knowledge of Work Study in the shortest possible time, the authors included only the “essential” aspects of Work Study in the book and titled the book aptly as "Essentials of Work Study".

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Conceptual Framework for Carrying Out Work Measurement

(It will be advisable to read all the previous (older) blog posts sequentially to have a better understanding of the subject of Work Study).

Work Measurement: Conceptual Framework

It is essential to understand the following concepts in order to undertake work measurement exercise in any organization:

• Qualified worker: Qualified worker is one who is accepted as having the necessary physical attributes, who possess the required intelligence and education and who has acquired the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out the work in hand to satisfactory standards of safety, quantity and quality.
• Standard rating: Rating is the assessment of the worker's rate of working relative to the observer's concept of the rate corresponding to standard pace (or standard rate).
• Standard performance (pace or rate): It is the rate of output which a qualified worker will naturally achieve without over-exertion as an average over the working day or shift, provided that he knows and adheres to the specified method and provided that he is motivated to apply himself to his work. The time taken to achieve the standard performance by the qualified worker is called "standard time".

(Refer our High Quality Management Encyclopedia “Management Universe” at: http://management-universe.blogspot.com/)

Work Measurement

(It will be advisable to read all the previous (older) blog posts sequentially to have a better understanding of the subject of Work Study).

(Refer our High Quality Management Encyclopedia “Management Universe” at: http://management-universe.blogspot.com/)

Work Measurement: Introduction

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 or at a defined level of performance.

It measures the time taken in performance of an operation or a series of operations and in can separate out ineffective time from effective time. Thus ineffective time can be studied and by way of method study described in earlier paragraphs, the ineffective operations can be reduced or eliminated.

Fair Day's Work

Amount of work that can be produced by a qualified worker/employee when working at normal pace and effectively utilizing his time and where work is not restricted by process limitations.

Objectives of Work Measurement

• Finding ineffective time in an activity or a process (series of activities).
• Setting standard (norms) for output level.
• Evaluating workers' performance.
• Assessing and planning manpower needs.
• Determining available capacity.
• Comparing various work methods.
• Facilitating operations scheduling.
• Establishing wage incentive schemes.

Some Techniques of Work Measurement

• Stop-watch time study.
• Work sampling.
• Predetermined time standards (PTS).
• Standard Data.