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MODAPTS Blog

How to Measure Worker Utilization using MODAPTS®

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Measuring of worker efficiency is one of the best ways to enhance and expand your company productivity and reliable delivery of products and/or services. Dependable, predictable delivery estimates are the foundation of trustworthy business relationships. With accurate work measurements it is possible to utilize a much greater reliability on accurate timeline predictions. How To Enhance Your Work Measurement Capacity Establishing a dependable work measurement standard is accomplished by establishing – then measuring – units of work. In the MODAPTS© system, a unit of work is called a MOD. A MOD – is equal to 0.129 seconds in decimal time. 7.75 MOD’s equal one second. The MOD value is used to measure the time needed to complete a body movement. There are two methods an analyst may use to classify movement activities. These are: 1. By the distance moved. 2. By the body part required to perform the move. Earlier predetermined time systems required an analyst to measure the distance involved in each move. In contrast, MODAPTS© prefers to classify by the body part required to perform a move. There is, of course, a relationship between the body part required to complete a move and the distance moved. MODAPTS© does take distances into consideration. However, the primary focus is on the body part; secondary consideration is given to the distance moved. This approach improves the speed of constructing an analysis. Every required movement can be identified with two-character codes. These are typically identified by using a letter followed by a number. The letter will represent a basic movement. For example, the MOVE to pick up of a part from a table might be coded as M3G1. The M3 represents the type of activity or the movement of the arm hinged at the elbow and 3 represents the time required to complete based on the distance. In this case approx. 12 inches. The G1 represents a simple Get. The total number of MOD’s that are required to perform and complete this activity = 4. Most typical manufacturing processes actually only involve 5, (M_G, M_P_ and W), of the 18 basic movements used in the MODAPTS© system, e.g., “move to get and move to put with a walk.” Simplicity of understanding data is what makes the MODAPTS© work measurement system most effective. Motions Sequences Followed by Coding Procedures Simplification of coding procedures so that any worker can intuitively understand them is the best way to simplify complex communications and movement analysis. Every listed activity should be recorded with the time it takes to complete the activity. Appropriate allowances are always made for potential circumstances such as break times, interruptions or other unavoidable delays. The MODAPTS© system is the simplest, most reliable and easiest to interpret PDTS available in the world today. The MODAPTS© codes, written as motion sequences in an analysis, are easy to interpret and understand at a glance. You can obtain reliable work measurements by getting certified today—and it can even be delivered on your own training site. With MODAPTS© onsite training from the Eisbrenner Productivity Group (EPG), your teams receive intensive, highly-interactive learning experiences. 

More than 97% of MODAPTS© training participants report that onsite training delivered more confidence and reliability in the evaluation of a workstation layout and conducting a MODAPTS© analysis. 

Participants also reported the perspective that the onsite and online versions of MODAPTS© certification was equally as effective. MODAPTS© Training Course Highlights Our training courses are presented with skill, enthusiasm, and up-to-date materials. The specialized and effective MODAPTS© Practitioner Training classes efficiently deliver the principles, concepts and rules for using the MODAPTS© work measurement system. Every on-site class is especially tailored to your specific employees’ needs. 

Within the three and a half day sessions, our top-notch certified instructors deliver clear and concise training methods that guarantee employees will get the results most needed. 

In order to make the sessions even more personalized – we perform a work measurement analysis on at least one of your operations as part of the hands-on MODAPTS© study. If your company is ready to begin measuring your worker utilization for an increase in productivity, delivery competence and profit expanding time measurement evaluations – simply fill out our form here.

MODAPTS Blog

How to Execute a Work Study

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Reviewing Current Shared Operating Procedures In planning work-study, think through the kinds of work, i.e.; the series of actions each person takes when performing the task. This may involve observation and interviews for an accurate understanding of what is involved in each operating procedure. For example if your business in not the mass production of parts down an assembly line, what kinds of tasks constitute 80 percent of work on any given day? How many people are involved in shared or interconnected task performances? Seek examples, write them down and estimate the average time an employee spends moving through each process. It will not be definitive, but it will be revealing to compare estimates and assumptions about where the time goes when reviewing the actual tasks for a specific measurement. Consider recording every process engaged during the day. Including breaks, meetings, project/process work and lunch. How frequently do workers ask supervisors or peers questions? How long is the wait-time while data is pulled up or a computer is refreshed? How often and how many phone calls or inquiries are coming from others? Determine which information to gather related to the actual work tasks such as: Sources of work Numbers of defect occurrences for incoming work Workflow during different times of the day, week or month Inaccurate or incomplete work Identifying Workload Drivers The work-study team or individuals, should consider how detailed they need to be with data generation and recording of information. Should you measure how much time it takes to complete a spreadsheet of adjustments from a client – or should the job be broken down into task units, and the drivers that motivate the task? In making this choice, consider the “unit” of work – the lowest common-denominator task engaged by the workers being studied. For example, all maintenance transactions might be performed in individual units. These kinds of tasks all take about the same amount of time. The only unique factor is frequency – relative to each other – and what drivers affect the volume of the workload determining how long this task will take. Remember, the work-study is not intended to capture every single employee interaction or task. It is initially needed to comprehend the top percentages – from 70 to 90 percent of tasks, which will provide a representative sample. Creating Lists of Every Activity Performed This of course needs to be done across various job functions. Most work-study processes are subject to variations in volume resulting from seasonal factors. These are predictable within limits. Consider for example a manufacturer of upholstered furniture: these manufacturers usually have an influx of orders in the Fall before the holiday season at the end of the year. It comes again in March and April, and then work tasks fall off over the summer. Decide in advance when to conduct the work-study. Prepare by listing all of the activities and tasks needed to be considered for review. If it is during light season, people may have more time on their hands. Results would show this emphasis of non-work time. If it is a during pre-holiday season, associates will be under pressure to get the work out. Many will be putting in overtime in order to avoid backlogs. It may be best for you to conduct the work studies during both periods, making an average of the results. Collect Data Using a Reliable Work Measurement Tool Use good task sampling procedures for reliable results. The most effective work measurement processes include time performance measurement procedures such as MODAPTS®. The fastest growing and easiest to use PDTS in the world today.

MODAPTS Blog

Improvements in US Manufactured Goods

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January 1, 2014 marks the 20-year anniversary of the NAFTA’s implementation and there is strong evidence of the pact’s positive impact on manufacturing in the United States. U.S. manufactured goods to Canada and Mexico more than tripled since 1993, growing some $173 billion through 2012 and accounting for over 18 percent of the total growth in U.S. manufactured exports over that period. Some of these resulting studies are overlooking the effect of the further development and interconnection of supply chains. Most of which have been credited to NAFTA. Manufacturing companies in the three primary countries, especially U.S. auto manufacturers – as well as North American makers of appliances, electronics and machinery reap the advantages of expanding production lines across countries to drop more costs while becoming far more globally competitive. This is an approach that would be far more challenging without the tariff reductions provided by NAFTA. Leading economists have calculated that at least 40 percent of the contents of U.S. imports from Mexico as well as 25 percent of the content of U.S. imports out of Canada are of U.S. origin [PDF]. When you look at U.S. imports coming out of China, by comparison, they include a mere 4 percent of U.S. content. The Congressional Service Research report suggests; “Ignoring these input-output linkages could underestimate potential trade gains.”  The U.S. Labor Market on NAFTA Broad speculation and even disagreement continues relating to how and to what amount does NAFTA account for the shifts within net employment from the corrections inside the labor market. Promoters of NAFTA, as well as significant numbers of economists, view the positive impact on U.S. employment. They also point to new export-related jobs inside the United States that offer 15 to 20 percent more on average than those focused on domestic production. However – the unintended side-effects of this treaty shouldn’t be ignored. Edward Alden is a highly-respected senior fellow on the Council of Foreign Relations. He is quick to note that wages failed to keep pace with labor productivity. This problem led to a wage inequality within the United States and average incomes haven’t risen in recent years. This is partly because of the pressures placed on the U.S. manufacturing base. To a degree, according to Alden, our trade deals have only quickened this fast-changing pace in that they have “reinforced the globalization of the American economy.”  Mostly, though, economists report that it’s quite a stretch to try blaming these shifts on NAFTA. When manufacturing inside the United States was placed under this kind of pressure decades before the treaty, job losses in this market section were viewed as connected to a structural shift within the U.S. economy. This shift was seen as being more toward the light manufacturing and other high-end services. Alden has also been noted as having said that larger economic trends that have the power to affect U.S. employment – like China’s rise of economy – would not be nearly as affected by U.S. policy changes where NAFTA is concerned. Predetermined Time Systems – PTS Predetermined time systems have been in use for almost 80 years.  They are proactive systems that serve the common purpose of improving any organizations productivity and calculating reliable production standards.  In this regard – I contend the drive toward greater profitability and the need to maintain a competitive edge, e.g. maintain our standard of living, within this global labor and manufacturing market – the proven work measurement system MODular Arrangement of Pre-Determined Time Standards, MODAPTS, is an indispensable tool integral to the re-shoring renaissance of manufacturing underway in the US. When it comes to applying best-use practices for the manufacturing labor force all of the tools exist.  Anything less than the expectation of world class excellence can be viewed as incompetence. When markets have to battle to keep the flow of labor available, as well as competitively trained, every reasonable method that has been proven is what managers and administrators will apply. Are you interested in learning more about how predetermined systems can be used to train and teach your employees?  If so, contact us for more information.  We have helped other, maybe we can help you too.

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