Operations Management

Chapter 11 : Work Measurement

Uses of Setting Work Standards
Work Measurement Techniques
Time Study
Standard Data
Predetermined Motion Time study
Work Sampling
Historical Analysis
Employee Self Timing
Compensation

Chapter Summary

Work measurement involves the estimation of the amount of human effort needed for producing a unit of specified output from an operation. The amount of time that is usually taken by a well trained worker, operating under normal working conditions, to produce one unit of output is referred to as work standard.

Operations managers use work standards when assigning work to employees, scheduling work in departments, and evaluating employee performance. Managers use several different techniques to set work standards. In this chapter, we discussed time study, standard data, predetermined motion times, work sampling, historical analysis and employee self timing.

Time study involves recording the time required to complete a job by a worker, incorporating the necessary allowances, and then estimating the total time required to perform the job. Standard data makes use of a database which provides standards that have been set for common tasks or movements.

Managers need not set fresh standards for these common tasks; they can simply refer to the database to obtain them. The predetermined motion time study is a technique for setting work standards that uses the recorded standard time data for each of the basic motions (reach, grasp, move, turn, stretch, etc.) associated with performing a task to determine the time required to perform the whole task.

Adjustments are made to this data since operating conditions vary from firm to firm and job to job. Work sampling is a method of analyzing the work by taking a number of observations at random. Historical analysis is a non-scientific technique that makes use of past data to set standards.

Employee self timing is another technique for setting standards. In this method, employees maintain a log of the time spent on each specific task. This technique is generally used to set standards for white-collar workers. Managers use work standards to evaluate the performance of employees and take decisions regarding rewards and compensation.

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