Supervisors Guide to Productivity Improvement - …

1 ContentsIntroduction ..5 The aim of this Guide ..5 Who this Guide is for ..5 How to use this Guide ..51. What is Productivity ? ..9 Production ..9 Service Operations ..10 Productivity ..11 Improving Productivity ..12 Section Review ..13 Agenda for Action ..132. How Productivity is measured ..15 Single Resource Productivity (SRP) ..15 Standards ..17 Productivity Index ..17 Total Resource Productivity (TRP) ..19 Section Review ..20 Agenda for Action ..203. What influences Productivity ? ..21 Utilization ..21 Efficiency ..25 Psychological Influences ..26 Section Review ..27 Agenda for Action ..284. How to measure utilization and efficiency ..29 Activity Sampling ..29 Work Sampling ..31 Time Study ..32 Work Rating ..33 Basic Time ..33 Relaxation Allowances ..34 Process and Special Allowances ..35 Standard Time ..35 Section Review ..36 Agenda for Action.

2 375. Ways to improve Productivity ..39 Method Study ..39 Value analysis ..43 Loss control ..44 Motivation ..44 Economic feasibility ..45 Redundancy ..45 Section review ..46 Agenda for action ..466. How to measure and improve clerical Productivity ..47 Defining tasks ..47 Measuring clerical utilization ..48 Measuring clerical efficiency ..49 Putting the measurements to work ..50 Improving clerical Productivity ..51 Keeping it going ..53 Section review ..54 Agenda for action ..547. Measuring the utilization and efficiency of cash ..57 Measurement of input ..57 Fixed assets ..58 Current assets ..58 Return on assets managed (ROAM) ..59 Measuring stock turnover ..60 Measuring debtor levels ..60 Measuring cash utilization ..61 Improving the Productivity of assets ..61 The Bottom line ..63 Section review ..63 Agenda for action ..648. Setting up a Productivity programme.

3 65 Gaining commitment ..66 Choosing the projects ..68 Maintaining progress ..68 The bottom line ..68 Section review ..68 Agenda for action ..69 Quick cost reduction checklist ..72 The fundamentals ..72In connection with Materials ..72In connection with Labor Costs ..73In connection with Expenses ..73In connection with Delivery Costs ..73 Examine Sales Costs ..74 Examine Office Expenses ..74 Causes of poor Productivity ..75 Waste of Time ..75 Waste of Ideas ..75 Waste of Methods and Supplies ..75 Waste of Machinery and Equipment ..76 Waste of Manpower ..77 Waste of Accidents ..77 Waste of Non cooperation ..78 Waste of Space ..78 Ergonomics ..79 Indicators of the Need for Human Factors Evaluation ..79 Need for Task Design ..79 Need for Workplace Redesign ..79 Special Considerations in the Working Environment ..80 IntroductionThe aim of this guideMy aim in producing this Guide is to provide a basic understanding of how to improve Productivity in any business organization.

4 I wanted to give it a provocative In search of Productivity , but you don t need to search for opportunities for Productivity improve-ment they exist in every workplace have tried to keep it simple, practical and effective. It is not intended to turn you into a Work Study expert but if it arouses your interest in the subject there are several excellent textbooks you can turn to if you want to hone your skills. Improving Productivity is not only necessary to the economic survival of an organization, but also to national prosperity. It also provides a new and absorbing dimension to your job a constant challenge to do it this Guide is forManagers, Supervisors , trainers and employees at any level who wish to develop their understanding of Productivity and their ability to improve the efficiency and utilization of resources in their to use this guideEach of the eight sections has the same structure.

5 Every section: takes a theme (listed in the contents) outlines the key issues gives examples of how those issues affect work suggests ways of handling the issues, in some cases with examples of what happened when other people used the approach. Each section is self contained and can be read by itself, though they do of course relate to one another. Throughout the text you ll features, all of which are designed to help make your learning as effective and enjoyable as possible. The features are as follows: At the beginning of each section Indicates a list of objectives key activities that you should be able to carry out when you have completed the section. You ll find a reminder in the Section Review at the end of each section to check back over this the end of each section It suggests a personal agenda for action a set of resolutions to put what you have learnt into practice.

6 This is a reminder that the Guide is about practical, attainable changes in working habits. One way of recording your agenda is as an action plan a list of targets with a date for the attainment of each. Here are some typical entries from one such plan: Determine the inputs, process and outputs of my job by 31/10. Improve the understanding and the importance of Productivity of subordinates / colleagues by publishing my weekly indices (graphs and tables) 15/11 Complete indices for all jobs and processes in my department by 25/7 There is also a summary of objectives for the whole of the Guide on the next : What is Productivity ?After completing this section you will be able to: Understand the concept of the production process Understand the concept of Productivity Know the five ways to improve productivity2: How Productivity is measuredAfter completing this section you will be able to: Understand the importance of measurement.

7 Calculate Single Productivity Ratios (SRP) Set standards of performance Calculate and maintain Productivity indices (PIs) Calculate Total Resource Productivity (TRP)3: What influences productivityAfter completing this section you will be able to: Understand the term utilization and relate it to resources Understand the term efficiency Understand and recognize some of the factors that affect efficiency4: How to measure utilization and efficiencyAfter completing this section you will be able to: Be able to apply the activity sampling technique to measure utilization Be able to apply the work sampling technique to measure efficiency Be aware of the technique of time study Understand the concept of work rating Understand the concept of standard time5: Ways to improve productivityAfter completing this section you will be able to: Look at work critically to look for Productivity Improvement potential Select and critically examine work Develop an alternative improved method Apply and measure the improved method6: How to measure and improve clerical productivityAfter completing this section you will be able to: Be able to measure clerical utilization Be able to measure clerical efficiency Identify the causes of low clerical Productivity and take appropriate action Explain the advantages of improving Productivity in house7: Profit from productivityAfter completing this section you will be able to.

8 Look at your organization, its inputs, processes and outputs in financial terms Understand that the lifeblood of any organization is money Understand key financial ratios8: Setting up a Productivity programmeAfter completing this section you will be able to: Understand the importance of gaining commitment at all levels when introducing a Productivity Improvement program. Carefully select and train suitable employees and form teams Select projects in consultation with others and maintain momentumProductivity | you decide that you have not achieved what you set out to do: Discuss the objectives with someone preferably your adviser. Have you interpreted these correctly? Have you set out to do too much too soon? Work through the relevant section of text again, taking particular note of the practical steps we recommend Above all, persist, if the objective is one you value the effort you put into achieving it, will be well F.

9 8 | | What is Productivity ?After completing this section you will be able to: Understand the concept of the production process Understand the concept of Productivity Know the five ways to improve productivitySo what is Productivity ? Well, for a start, Productivity isn t half the things that people (who should know better) say it is. It does not mean working harder unless people are loafing on the job; cutting costs unless this can be done without affecting quality; reducing staff and workers unless your market is shrinking; extra work for managers it s part of their job; employing specialists it s a job for is nothing new about Productivity . Early writings on the subject go as far back as 400 BC and by AD 1400 an efficient assembly line was working in Venice. By the 1800 s the role of the worker in Productivity had been recognized but it was not until the early 1900 s that the modern approach to the Productivity of industrial processes really came into then the word Productivity has become the best used (and abused) word in the manager s and politician s vocabulary.

10 Many people confuse production and Productivity . Whilst both are important to any business they are really quite different in meaning. So let s clear up this misunderstanding before we go any further. ProductionProduction is the process of converting resources into products or services. It is usually measured in terms of output per time period ( boxes per hour, tones per day, book-ings per month) or cost per unit of output ( $10 per box, $20 per ton, etc). The objec-tive of production operations is to meet the forecasted needs of the market in which they perform at the lowest possible cost. ResourcesConversionOutputManpowerMachine ryMaterialsMoney AgricultureMiningIndustryServices ProductsServicesThe output of a production process can be improved by increasing the input of resources or by changing the process or Man(Normal day) Carrying bricks by hand 500 bricks per day1 Man(Working overtime)Carrying bricks by hand550 bricks per dayIf we increase the resources by making a worker work overtime we will increase the out-put of the process and so meet our market needs.