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Principles of Human Effort Industrial Engineering

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Principles of Human Effort Industrial Engineering.

1.Develop a science for each element of a man - machine system's work related to efficiency and productivity.
2. Human Effort Industrial  Engineering for Increasing Productivity - Principle of Industrial Engineering
3. Motion Economy - Principle of Industrial Engineering
4.Operator Comfort and Health - Principle of Industrial Engineering
5. Selection of Operators - Principle of Industrial Engineering
6.Principles of Equity in Compensation
7. Productivity Methods Training - Principle of Industrial Engineering
8.Work Simplification Education and Training  to All - Principle of Industrial Engineering
9. Continuous Improvement - Employee Participation Principle of Industrial Engineering 
10. Productivity Incentives - Principle of Industrial Engineering
11. Principles of Differences in Productivity or Output of a person
12. Hearty Cooperation - Principle of Industrial Engineering
13.Respect for People Principle of Toyota Way.

Develop a science for each element of a man - machine system's work related to efficiency and productivity.


The productivity science developed is the foundation for industrial engineering in productivity engineering and productivity management phases.

F.W. Taylor made the initial experiments to develop productivity science of machines as well as for men. The experiments done by Taylor in the case of machines, tools and cutting parameters were many over a period of 30 years. Similarly, Gilbreth proposed and wrote on the development of science for human effort and he published number of papers in the area of productivity science of human effort. Ralph Barnes did his Phd work in the area of productivity science of human effort.


“Productivity science is scientific effort, that in any specific work situation, identifies the appropriate philosophy, culture, systems, processes, technology, methods and human physical action and behavior and elements of each of them of that will maximize positive (social, environmental and economic) outcomes relative to the resources consumed.” - Narayana Rao (IISE 2020 Annual Conference Proceedings)

Human Effort Industrial  Engineering for Increasing Productivity - Principle of Industrial Engineering


Human resources employed in engineering systems have their own needs. Industrial engineers are unique in engineering disciplines in taking up the engineering of human effort. They have to synthesize the theories of human sciences, some of which are developed by industrial engineering also, to design human work for an optimal combination of productivity, income, comfort, health, safety and satisfaction of the employed.

IISE - BOEING EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR Human Effort Industrial  Engineering

BOEING EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR COLLABORATION IN PRODUCTIVITY, WORKPLACE SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS

Sponsored by The Boeing Company
Recognizes the strategy and policy deployment that is the context of work in the area of productivity, safety and ergonomics. How does this project, initiative fit in the overall organization’s operational excellence initiatives?

Eligibility: 

IISE members. Members of the IISE Board of Trustees and Honors Steering Committee are ineligible.
Criteria: 

Quantified impact on productivity, workplace safety and ergonomics
Innovative solutions with potential for broad application
Collaborative efforts between industry and academia
Contributions to IE profession


Motion Economy - Principle of Industrial Engineering


Operators use motions to work manually using hand tools and or to operate machines. Principles of motion economy were developed by Gilbreth and others based on the productivity science developed out of the frameworks created by Taylor and Gilbreth. They need to be employed in human effort industrial engineering in all engineering activities of the processes producing goods or services. Many of these principles are applicable in human effort applied to non-engineering activities also.


Principles of Motion Economy


Use of the Human Body

1. The two hands should begin as well as complete their motions at the same time.

2. The two hands should not be idle at the same time except during rest periods.

3. Motions of the arms should be made in opposite and symmetrical directions and should be made simultaneously.

4. Hand and body motions should be confined to the lowest classification with which it is possible to perform the work satisfactorily.

5. Momentum should be employed to assist the worker wherever possible, and it should be reduced to a minimum if it must be overcome by muscular effort.

6. Smooth continuous motion of the hands are preferable to straight line motions involving sudden and sharp changes in direction.

7. Ballistic movements are faster, easier and more accurate than restricted (fixation) or controlled movements.

8. Work should be arranged to permit an easy and natural rhythm wherever possible.

9. Eye fixations should be as few and as close together as possible.


Arrangement of the workplace

10. There should be a definite and fixed place for all tools and materials.

11. Tools, materials and controls should be located close to the point of use.

12. Gravity feed bins and containers should be used to deliver material close to the point of use.

13. Drop deliveries should be used wherever possible.

14. Materials and tools should be located to permit the best sequence of motions.

15. Provisions should be made for adequate conditions for seeing. Good illumination is the first requirement for satisfactory visual perception.

16. The height of the work place and the chair should preferably arranged so that alternate sitting and standing at work are easily possible.

17. A chair of the type and height to permit good posture should be provided for every worker.

Design of tools and equipment

18. The hands should be relieved of all work that can be done more advantageously by a jig, a fixture, or a foot-operated device.

19. Two or more tools should be combined wherever possible.

20. Tools and materials should be prepositioned whenever possible.

21. Where each finger performs some specific movement, such as in typewriting, the load should be distributed in accordance with the inherent capacities of the fingers.

22. Levers, hand wheels and other controls should be located in such positions that the operator can manipulate them with the least change in body position and with the greatest speed and ease.

References

Ralph M. Barnes, Motion and Time Study Measurment of Work, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1980


Operator Comfort and Health - Principle of Industrial Engineering


As human effort engineers, industrial engineers are concerned with comfort and health of operators.

The productivity improvement and the consequent extra production from a man-machine combination should not lead to discomfort, fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders.

Principles of Ergonomics

1. Work in neutral postures
2. Reduce excessive forces
3. Keep everything in easy reach
4. Work at proper heights
5. Reduce excessive motions
6. Minimize fatigue and static load
7. Minimize pressure points
8. Provide clearance
9. Move exercise and stretch
10. Maintain a comfortable environment

Good explanation with illustrations is available in  http://www.danmacleod.com/ErgoForYou/10_principles_of_ergonomics.htm


Principles of Fatigue


Fatigue refers to the issues that arise from excessive working time or poorly designed shift patterns. It is generally considered to be a decline in mental and/or physical performance that results from prolonged exertion, sleep loss and/or disruption of the internal clock. It is also related to workload, in that workers are more easily fatigued if their work is machine-paced, complex or monotonous.

Fatigue results in slower reactions, reduced ability to process information, memory lapses, absent-mindedness, decreased awareness, lack of attention, underestimation of risk, reduced coordination etc. Fatigue can lead to errors and accidents, ill-health and injury, and reduced productivity. It is often a root cause of major accidents


Key principles in fatigue


1.Fatigue needs to be managed, like any other hazard.
2.It is important not to underestimate the risks of fatigue. For example, the incidence of accidents and injuries has been found to be higher on night shifts, after a succession of shifts, when shifts are long and when there are inadequate breaks.
3.The legal duty is on employers to manage risks from fatigue, irrespective of any individual’s willingness to work extra hours or preference for certain shift patterns for social reasons. Compliance with the Working Time Regulations alone is insufficient to manage the risks of fatigue.
4.Changes to working hours need to be risk assessed. The key considerations should be the principles contained in HSE’s guidance. Risk assessment may include the use of tools such as HSE’s ‘fatigue risk index’.
5.Employees should be consulted on working hours and shift patterns. However, note that employees may prefer certain shift patterns that are unhealthy and likely to cause fatigue.
6.Develop a policy that specifically addresses and sets limits on working hours, overtime and shift-swapping, and which guards against fatigue.
7.Implement the policy and make arrangements to monitor and enforce it. This may include developing a robust system of recording working hours, overtime, shift-swapping and on-call working.
8.Problems with overtime and shift-swapping may indicate inadequate resource allocation and staffing levels[1].
9.There are many different shift work-schedules and each schedule has different features. This sheer diversity of work and workplaces means that there is no single optimal shift system that suits everyone. However, a planned and systematic approach to assessing and managing the risks of shift work can improve the health and safety of workers.
10.There are a number of key risk factors in shift schedule design, which must be considered when assessing and managing the risks of shift work. These are the workload, the work activity, shift timing and duration, direction of rotation and the number and length of breaks during and between shifts. Other features of the workplace environment such as the physical environment, management issues and employee welfare can also contribute to the risks associated with shift work.
11.Sleep disturbances can lead to a ‘sleep debt’ and fatigue. Night workers are particularly at risk of fatigue because their day sleep is often lighter, shorter and more easily disturbed because of daytime noise and a natural reluctance to sleep during daylight.

( Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/topics/fatigue.htm    )


Selection of Operators - Principle of Industrial Engineering


There has to be science that guides selection of operators. Management has to select persons based on specified criteria for each category of jobs and then train them specially. Now it is being termed competence based approach. Taylor made it a principle in scientific management. Physical capacity, intelligence, aptitude,  knowledge, skill etc. are to be specified for each job category and appropriate way of testing people for these specifications are to be developed by management.

Principles of Equity in Compensation


In Equity Theory Towards a General Theory of Social Interaction (The Academic Press, 1976), J. Stacy Adams proposed that an employee continuously monitors his or her inputs and outputs on the job, and perceives an equitable situation when the ratio of his or her inputs and outputs are equal, to those of other employees. If this ratio is not equal, the employee may feel angry (as a result of not being paid enough) or guilty (as a result of being paid too much). Either feeling could result in dissatisfaction or discomfort.

(  Pay equity: Iinternal and external considerations  )


Productivity Methods Training - Principle of Industrial Engineering

Taylor emphasized the importance of training in creating a change in the systems of an organization in his writings. The following discussion is from Shop Management.

The most important and difficult task of the organizer (of change)  will be that of selecting and training the various functional foremen who are to lead and instruct the workmen, and his success will be measured principally by his ability to mold and reach these men. They cannot be found, they must be made. They must be instructed in their new functions largely, in the beginning at least, by the organizer himself; and this instruction, to be effective, should be mainly in actually doing the work. Explanation and theory will go a little way, but actual doing is needed to carry conviction.

To illustrate: For nearly two and one-half years in the large shop of the Bethlehem Steel Company, one speed boss after another was instructed in the art of cutting metals fast on a large motor-driven lathe which was especially fitted to run at any desired speed within a very wide range. The work done in this machine was entirely connected, either with the study of cutting tools or the instruction of speed bosses. It was most interesting to see these men, principally either former gang bosses or the best workmen, gradually change from their attitude of determined and positive opposition to that in most cases of enthusiasm for, and earnest support of, the new methods. It was actually running the lathe themselves according to the new method and under the most positive and definite orders that produced the effect. The writer himself ran the lathe and instructed the first few bosses. It required from three weeks to two months for each man.
http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/08/train-operators-in-high-productivity.html

The speed foreman of the shop must be able to train operators to achieve specified productivity.
The quality foreman of the shop must be able to train operators to produced the specified quality in specified standard time. - F.W. Taylor.


Work Simplification Education and Training  to All - Principle of Industrial Engineering

Continuous Improvement - Employee Participation Principle of Industrial Engineering 

Productivity Incentives - Principle of Industrial Engineering

Productivity improvement will be done only when it is beneficial to people involved. Customers, employees and company have to get the benefit. Customers have to get price reduction, employees extra income and company extra profits through cost reduction per unit.

In the initial days of implementation of new productivity methods or process, employees are given incentives in proportion to the incremental extra production achieved and it is called incentive. After the process is stabilized, the fixed monthly or weekly payments are increased. Incentives are offered once again when new more productive methods are implemented.


Principles of Differences in Productivity or Output of a person

It is empirically observed by IEs that in a group of workers there can be difference of 100% in output between the top performing worker and the lowest performance workers.


Hearty Cooperation - Principle of Industrial Engineering



How to develop hearty cooperation?

F.W. Taylor included hearty cooperation as a principles in Scientific management. But how to achieve hearty cooperation was not described by him. As an engineer by education and profession, he is not the right person to discuss how to achieve it. In his writing he might have mention some acts he has done to increase cooperation.  Henri Fayol in his essay on "General and Industrial Administration" also included cooperation as a principle. Chester Barnard discussed cooperation in much more detail. At the present moment, Organizational Behavior is the subject that is discussing cooperation in more detail as the subject is concerned with managers and employees in organizations.

Industrial engineers have to master the subject of Organizational Behavior, implement it in the practice and must engage continuous discussion regarding the utility and limitation of the concepts, relations, and implications developed so far in the discipline.

Respect for People Principle of Toyota Way.
(Added on 12.9.2022)

We respect others, make every effort to understand each other, take responsibility, and do our best to build mutual trust.

Toyota Way - As Described by Toyota Officially

Related Materials

Human Factors Engineering Considerations in Safety - Principles and Practices










Ud  27.10.2023,12.9.2022, 22.10.2022
Pub 17.2.2012

(C) K.V.S.S. Narayana Rao, 2012, 2021

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