MODAPTS Blog Archives - Page 18 of 23

American Manufacturing is on the Rise

eisbrennerpg / October 11, 2015

More and more is being written about on shoring or re shoring, bringing back manufacturing to US soil. How can that be? Is this a fad? Is this the latest “flavor of the month” program management signed up for? What are the reasons why? Why is this happening? The reasons are many I am sure. In the auto industry many of the suppliers now supply all the car manufacturers with the same or very similar parts. The materials they use are the same. The machines used to produce the parts are also from the same supply base, e.g., the stampings, the pick and place robots, welding robots, etc… So what is different? The difference I believe, is simple yet commonly overlooked… the American workers and the culture of the company for whom the work. World class companies in the US are brining jobs back on shore. People want to succeed. People want to be measured against an objective/goal. Establishing clearly defined objectives matched to each individual’s capabilities and interests can provide healthy motivation, while fair, routine performance evaluations reveal if they are on the right course for success. People want to thrive. People need leaders to follow. People need heroes to admire not to envy! Although envy is a normal reaction it is destructive. A recent study at Princeton University and a post on the Princeton Journal Watch discusses the effects on envy-driven emotion the Germans call “Schadenfreude”. The study suggests schadenfreude is a basic biological response in humans, not something we consciously choose to feel. People with low self-esteem are more likely to envy others. Perhaps you have heard people say, “…oh she is good looking that is why…. “ Or, “he is the boss’s son so he does have to work…” etc., etc. The examples are endless. The point is no good can every come from envy, especially in the work place. What works? What works for world class companies with world class leaders whom people want to follow and work for? Good communication of company policy and worker expectations is an essential foundation. Bonus plan/profit sharing Continuous team building exercises (exercises to help improve how employees interact with each other) Visual growth plans for the company Reimbursement program for continuing work related education programs/classes. Clearly defined objectives matched to each individual’s capability. The use of or implementation of a Predetermined Time System , ( PDTS),for setting fair and equable work standards and measuring workers utilization is a start. Employees set work standards? Gasp! When company teams learn how to apply work standards in a way that expands effectiveness and efficiency – money has been saved, labor efforts reduced and potentials for a quality-of-excellence increased. A published report from Japan indicates that shop employees have successfully used a PDTS to develop production standards for their own work activity.2 These employees have also analyzed conveyor tasks and utilized this system for assembly line balancing. The report indicates that that this PDTS is easier for employees to understand, learn and apply in comparison to other predetermined techniques. Are predetermined time systems right for your company? Are you interested in improving their assembly line productivity? Do you use PDTS in your facility? Are you correctly using your PDTS? Are you considering using PDTS vs. a stop watch for setting production standards? Is a PDTS right for your organization and culture to determine with precision exactly what the reasonable amount of time is required to complete any defined task by any typical operator or laborer? Download our Whitepaper on PDTS….it might help you decide. ————————————————— 1. Yokomizo, Y. (1982). The Utilization of MODAPTS® by Workers. Waseda University Research Reports.

MODAPTS Blog

A Guide to Staffing Model Development

eisbrennerpg / September 11, 2015

Staffing Model Development Guide: By creating and using a staffing model, a small business can maximize efficiency by ensuring it is staffed with the right number of people, possessing the relevant skill sets to meet critical business needs at the appropriate time. 1) Begin with Right Number of People Identify all critical skills and define each job role needed to properly staff the company. Develop a baseline staffing level, or standard. This is made up of staff members whose absence has a significant impact on core functions within the business. 2) Possess the Relevant Skill Sets Identify any critical gaps within the organization. Determine when and where critical needs exist that aren’t being met by current staffing levels. Examine if any additional skill-sets are needed that are not currently possessed by any current employee. Assess these gaps to be filled with internal actions such as transfers or cross training. Cross training is a very effective way of developing talent from within. Determine if external recruitment efforts will be needed. 3) Forecasting Growth Forecast your future organizational needs. Review your goals, mission statement and strategic plan to develop a sound staffing model for your small business. Identify any areas where the company is expected to grow in the near future. Consider any planned expansion such as new product lines, new customers or market segments and any potential acquisition of competitors. Identify the additional staffing or skill sets needed to achieve this growth. Utilize your staffing model to identify any additional positions that will increase a permanent base for your staffing levels. Identify any temporary gaps to address a defined short-term need. 4) Plan for the Unexpected – Cross Training Staff Account for absences. This includes those that can be controlled — such as terminations – and those which cannot be controlled, like medical leave. Show in the staffing model your retirement-eligible staff – determine if there are actions that can be taken to train other staff to replace those duties. Especially when retirements occur or when your business needs to hire from the outside. 5) Recruitment for Hard-to-Find Skills Develop a recruitment plan to quickly solve any staffing issues that can’t be dealt with through internal training or succession planning. Know when recruitment is required in order to keep essential staff on board at all times. If you are recruiting staff with hard-to-find skills, it might be wise to have an open recruitment. Hiring staff members whenever you can find someone suitable — even if no gap exists — will help you to be sure you have appropriately-skilled individuals any time you need them. Document all staffing model plans in writing. Also, remember to adjust them as changes to your business plan take place. Utilization of Predetermined Time Standards in Staffing Model Development Accurate staffing is particularly important in a small business, because many positions can represent a single point of failure. In a large business, holes in staffing can be compensated for in other areas. Over-staffing can be absorbed until attrition occurs. However, this is not always the case in a small business – where a single staff member represents a significant percentage of your total employees. To this end, many businesses are choosing to apply modular arrangements of predetermined time standards (MODAPTS) to position development and task performance consistency for better direct labor staffing model applications. 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 others, maybe we can help you too.

MODAPTS Blog

Why Measure White-Collar Work?

eisbrennerpg / August 30, 2015

Studies on human workplace and task-efficiency and safety have been conducted across the broad fields of industry for centuries. While most people associate work place training for efficiencies as largely a blue-collar necessity there remains equal value across-the-board when ergonomics and – it can be argued for some industries time standard applications are applied to white-collar jobs as well. White collar tasks tend to have more activity variability, longer mental task durations and often less repetitive. Many industries like health, public safety and organizational administration all require job performance evaluations to support effectiveness, time management and muscular injury prevention for either not enough movement, or too much. Ergonomics and Human Factors This multidisciplinary field incorporates multiple contributions from many fields such as: Psychology Statistics Engineering Operations research Biomechanics Industrial design Graphic design Anthropometry Mechanobiology In its essence it is defined by the study of designing equipment and devices that fit easily with the human body and its cognitive functioning. The terms of “human factors” and “ergonomics” remain essentially synonymous. Why Work Measurement The International Ergonomics Association describes ergonomics (or human factors) as follows: “Ergonomics (human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.” The Association is mandated to fulfill the goals of health and safety, as well as productivity. This is primarily relevant for proper-design of things like safe furniture or easy-to-use interfaces to machines and other equipment. Exceptional, up-stream, pre-production phase ergonomic task performance design is needed in order to prevent repetitive-strain injuries. This in turn prevents other muscular-skeletal disorders, most of which develop over time while leading to long-term disabilities. Work measurement is one of the ways job tasks and performance is broken down into manageable movements within pre-set ergonomic guidelines and standards applied to them. This is also why it is so important to measure white collar work as it generates efficiencies such as improved planning, activity-based costing, managing performance, process-improvement, training, and much more. Work Measurement Human factors and ergonomics look at the “fit” between the environment, the user, and their equipment. The process takes into account the user’s abilities, potential and limitations. The goal is to ensure those tasks, functions, information and the environment best support fast and efficient task performance by every individual user. To determine and better assess the fit between a person and the technology being utilized, human factors specialists, or ergonomists, evaluate the job and inherent activities being performed along with the physical and mental demands on the user. An evaluation is made of the equipment used including its size and shape, and how appropriate it may or may not be for the task. This information is then used to break the task down into measurable time increments that can be repeated by others in a similar time frame. The information gathered during the time and work measurement study determines how that task is presented, approached, and or changed as needed to deliver better health, safety and efficiency of effort. Ergonomics gathers from many disciplines when studying humans and their work environments. It has long been understood that the effectiveness of this endeavor spans across the workplace and dramatically enhances both white and blue-collar task performance. Work measurement becomes especially important when it comes to lawsuits or workplace injury cases – experts in work injury management and applied ergonomics must base their opinions and case decisions on sound, recognized methodology such as those from the use of predetermined time systems, PDTS. To this end – business owners protect both themselves and their workers. Are you using a PDTS to establish your work standards? 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 others, maybe we can help you too.