Work Study and Industrial Engineering

Introduction

To survive in the current competitive and global environment, it is important for the organization to continuously look at ways to improve efficiency and productivity. It needs to discover a new, easy and cost-effective way of manufacturing or providing services.

Work study and industrial engineering play important role in job simplification, job design, job enrichment, value analysis/engineering, method analysis, operational analysis, etc. Work study has been utilized by companies to job productivity. Industrial engineering is the latest method employed to improve productivity. It deals with design, enhancement and setting up of engineering systems encompassing plants, machinery, workers, etc.

Work Study

Work study uses techniques like method study and work measurement to understand human work potential in terms of time spend on completing a task, looking at ways to make the task simpler and easy, as to increase productivity and efficiency. Work study is field used to finding ways of increasing on job performance, optimum usage of plant and machinery, standardization of work methods, etc. Therefore, objectives of work study are as follows:

• Scientific and controlled analysis of existing available methods of executing a task.
• Measuring performance of mentally and the physically qualified workers, establishing it as standard for performance measurement.
• Optimum utilization of workers, plant, machinery and other resources at minimum cost.
• Improved productivity and enhance worker mood.
• Increasing efficiency of organization.

For an organization, productivity can be increased over a period of time, if workers are efficient and are focused. Therefore, advantages of work study are as follows:

• Increase in production efficiency.
• Higher levels of production and optimum utilization of resources.
• Efficient flow of material and products.
• Efficient handling of material and better layout.
• Decreased cost of production as times spend on the job is decreased.
• Increased morale of workers with an increase in safety and efficiency.
• Benchmark and standard performance level are established, thus providing targets for organization.
• Better job satisfaction and incentive planning due to work study.

Method Study

It is a scientific process to better job design. It studies the existing job process and proposed job process as to identify the appropriate job process which results in efficient and cost effective operations. Therefore, objectives of method study are as follows:

• To study existing work process and proposed work process.
• To find out new methods of increased production and reduction of cost.
• To achieve optimum utilization of resources.

Method study ensures that there is an increase in overall productivity and profitability of organization. Method study involves following procedures:

• Selection of work to be studied.
• Recording the present method.
• Critical examination of the facts.
• Development of most practical, economic and effective method.
• Installation of new method.
• Maintenance of new method and practices checking

Industrial Engineering

Industrial engineering is concerned with developing the most effective and efficient way to use plant, machinery, materials, etc. The main objectives of industrial engineering are as follows:

• To increase productivity without incurring the incremental costs.
• To encourage automation as to decrease human intervention.
• To develop efficient and effective operation work cycle.