Session-1

Online Sessions : Industrial Engineering UME-

515

Module: Work Study & Ergonomics

Topic : Method Study

Dr. Anu Mittal

Assistant Professor , MED
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala
Steps in Method Study - SELECT
1. Select the job/task for which method study is to be conducted.

For selecting a job for method study, look for activities and places etc. which
reflect on the inadequacies present in the production system e.g. poor use of
resources, employee complaints, bottleneck machines, high rejection/rework
rates, high fatigue causing work, high accident rates, large overtimes, large
materials handling, long waiting time periods etc. The following factors are
considered for selecting a job/activity for method study.

A. Economic considerations
B. Technical considerations
C. Human considerations

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Steps in Method Study - SELECT
A. Economic considerations: Any job/task/process which on improvement due to
method study will result in large cost-cutting (and thus monetary savings)
becomes a preferred choice for method study. If the economic importance of a job
is small, it is not wise to start or continue a long study. Jobs/processes needing
improvement through method study have the following main characteristics:

• Have high workforce requirements and large manufacturing lead times.

• Result in high scrap/rework costs.
• Have high cycle times resulting in line imbalances (i.e. Tasks/processes
that act as bottlenecks in the production line).
• Result in high accident rates (tasks/processes which pose threat to
human safety when being worked upon).
• Result in large materials handling (tasks/processes which cause
movement of materials or men over long distances).
• Result in large overtimes or high fatigue

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Steps in Method Study - SELECT
B. Technical Factors

The method study engineer and his team must have the necessary technical
knowledge about the job(s) to be studied. A method study project should be
undertaken only when adequate technical knowledge in required fields is
available. In other words, any method study project would require a team
comprising of experts drawn from different areas viz. production, design,
maintenance etc.

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Steps in Method Study - SELECT
C. Human Considerations
While selecting a job for method study, the emotional reactions of
employees/workers must be taken into consideration. Any job which can
cause controversy, unrest, dissatisfaction among the employees should not
be undertaken, however useful it may be from an economic viewpoint (it
can be taken up at a later stage when a few other method study projects
have been successfully completed in the organization and as a result
method study initiatives have won trust of employees). Initial method study
projects should be the ones which are important from health, safety, and
environmental viewpoint. In other words, it is better to take up first those
jobs which are considered ‘unsafe, ‘boring’, ‘highly fatiguing’, or ‘unpleasant’
by the workers. This would ensure participation and cooperation from
workers/employees for other method study projects also.

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

 Steps in Method Study - SELECT
Other Factors: Another important aspect to keep in mind while selection step is
to limit the scope of work/task undertaken for method study project at a time.
The scope of project must be limited e.g. one operation or a specific sequence of
operations only must be clearly identified. Also, it should be clear as to which
aspect of resources is to be investigated, whether worker or materials, or
machinery etc.

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Steps in Method Study – Collect and Record
2. Collect and Record information
The next step in method study is to collect information with regard to the
method study project and also to record this information. The information
on the current method is collected/recorded to visualize the activities for
investigation in totality with a view to improving them by subsequent critical
examination.
A. Information Collection Techniques
• There are four main sources for collecting information required for a method
study project (i.e. collecting necessary facts about the existing method).
• The techniques include (i) Direct Observation (ii) Discussions (iii) Past
Records and (iv) Video Films. These methods are not exclusive of each
other and any one or more of these information collection techniques can be
used for a method study problem. Accuracy of the collected data/information
is important for developing an effective improved method. These techniques
are discussed as follows:

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Steps in Method Study – Collect and Record
(i) Direct Observation: This is a common technique for collecting information
on the present method/existing situation by only observing the work or
work site. The method study engineer/team visits the site of work and
observes the various steps being followed in the existing method.

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Steps in Method Study – Collect and Record
(ii) Discussions: This is also a common technique in which the method study
engineer/team holds discussions with the workers/supervisors involved
in the work (for which method study is being done). The workers
involved in the job/task or their supervisors can often provide important
information to the method study team (during discussion) which could
not be obtained through the first method of direct observation.
Workers/supervisors can suggest practical measures with regard to
making the existing method more safe and efficient. Even if direct
observation can completely accomplish the data collection task for a
particular method study project, still discussions technique should be
used as it helps in developing good relations with the workforce (and
ensuring their participation and cooperation in the method study project).

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Steps in Method Study – Collect and Record
(iii) Past Records: Written formal records existing in the organizations like log
books containing production records, inventory records etc. At times, this
technique is the only way to obtain accurate data for certain type of
information related to the existing practice.
(iv) Video Films: This technique collects information by taking motion pictures
or video film by focusing attention at a particular point or motion in an
operation. This technique provides the most detailed and accurate
information about the existing method. Another benefit of this technique is
that the collected information can be easily shared/communicated at all
levels throughout the organization. The collected information can be
conveniently used for training purposes also. Further, for any method study
project where the job/task involves too many workers/employees, this is
probably the only technique that can be used for information collection.

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Steps in Method Study – Collect and Record
B. Information Recording Techniques

There are three main types of information recording

tools/techniques:

 Process Charts
 Diagrams
 Templates

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Steps in Method Study – Collect and Record
Process Charts
Process Chart is a graphical representation of the activities/steps that occur
during processing of a job/task (i.e. manufacturing of a part etc.). Process
charts are of two main types:
i.Process charts that record the sequence of steps in a process in their order of
occurrence but without depicting the events to a time scale. Examples of such
process charts include:
Operation Process Charts (Outline Process Charts)
Flow Process Charts (Man/Material/Equipment Type)
Operator Charts (Two Handed Process Chart)
ii.Process charts that record the sequence of steps in a process in their order of
occurrence on a time scale so that interaction of related events can be
investigated easily. Examples of such process charts include:
Multiple Activity Charts
SIMO Charts
Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)
Steps in Method Study – Collect and Record
Outline Process Charts

 Elements of Work
Before discussing the details of process charts etc., let us discuss the five basic
elements of work:
•Operation,
• Inspection,
•Transportation,
•Delay, and
•Storage (details in Table 1).

It may be noted that sometimes, more than one elements occur simultaneously.
Such combined elements are represented with a combined symbol (e.g.
“Operation in combination will Inspection” etc.).
Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)
Steps in Method Study – Collect and Record
 Elements of Work

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)
Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)
Thank You for Watching

Dr. Anu Mittal (TIET Patiala)