7-1 Design of Work Systems

William J. Stevenson
Operations Management
8
th
edition
7-2 Design of Work Systems
CHAPTER
7
Design of
Work Systems
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Operations Management, Eighth Edition, by William J. Stevenson
Copyright 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
7-3 Design of Work Systems
Job design involves specifying the content
and methods of job
What will be done
Who will do the job
How the job will bob will be done
Where the job will be done
Ergonomics
Job Design
7-4 Design of Work Systems
Design of Work Systems
Specialization
Behavioral Approaches to Job Design
Teams
Methods Analysis
Motions Study
Working conditions
7-5 Design of Work Systems
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 Design of Work Systems
Specialization in Business: Advantages
For Management:
1. Simplifies training
2. High productivity
3. Low wage costs
For Labor:

1 . Low education and
skill requirements
2. Minimum
responsibilities
3. Little mental effort
needed
Table 7.1
7-7 Design of Work Systems
Disadvantages
For Management:
1.
Difficult to motivate
quality

2. Worker dissatisfaction,
possibly resulting in
absenteeism, high
turnover, disruptive
tactics, poor attention
to quality
For Labor:
1. Monotonous work
2. Limited opportunities
for advancement
3. Little control over work
4. Little opportunity for
self-fulfillment
Table 7.1
7-8 Design of Work Systems
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 Design of Work Systems
Motivation and Trust
Motivation
Influences quality and productivity
Contributes to work environment
Trust
Influences productivity and employee-
management relations

7-10 Design of Work Systems
Teams
Benefits of teams
Higher quality
Higher productivity
Greater worker satisfaction
Self-directed teams
Groups of empowered to make certain
changes in their work process
7-11 Design of Work Systems
Methods Analysis
Methods analysis
Analyzing how a job gets done
Begins with overall analysis
Moves to specific details

7-12 Design of Work Systems
Methods Analysis
Changes in tools and equipment
Changes in product design
or new products
Changes in materials or procedures
Other factors (e.g. accidents, quality
problems)
The need for methods analysis can come
from a number of different sources:
7-13 Design of Work Systems
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 Design of Work Systems
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
7-15 Design of Work Systems
FLOW PROCESS CHART
Job Requisition of petty cash
Details of Method
ANALYST
D. Kolb
PAGE
1 of 2
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
Figure 7-2
7-16 Design of Work Systems
Motion Study
Motion study is the systematic
study of the human motions used
to perform an operation.
7-17 Design of Work Systems
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

7-18 Design of Work Systems
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
Developing Work Methods
7-19 Design of Work Systems
Working Conditions
Temperature &
Humidity
Ventilation
Illumination Color
7-20 Design of Work Systems
Working Conditions (contd)
Noise & Vibration
Causes of Accidents
Safety
Work Breaks
7-21 Design of Work Systems
Work Measurement
Standard time
Stopwatch time study
Historical times
Predetermined data
Work Sampling
7-22 Design of Work Systems
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
7-23 Design of Work Systems
Form of Incentive Plan
Accurate
Easy to apply
Consistent
Easy to understand
Fair
7-24 Design of Work Systems
Compensation
Individual Incentive Plans
Group Incentive Plans
Knowledge-Based Pay System
Management Compensation
7-25 Design of Work Systems
Gortrac Manufacturing
GTE5
Process improvement/examples/ teams
7-26 Design of Work Systems
Gortrac Manufacturing
GTE2
Teams/improvement