Work System

Prof. O B Krishna

Department of Industrial Engineering & Management

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur
West Bengal, India
Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur
 “Simplicity boils down to two steps:
Identify the essential. Eliminate the
rest.” ― Leo Babauta

Uncopyright
All ideas in this book are stolen, and therefore don’t belong to me. This
entire work is therefore uncopyrighted and in the public domain. No
permission is required to copy, reprint, or otherwise gleefully rip off
anything I’ve written.
No one has the right to deny the freedom of ideas.

(45 years old journalist,from US. ‘Zen habits’ on mastering art of change,
‘Simplifying the life’, ‘ 100 things to change’, ‘working towards simple
living’.)) Zen- happy, peaceful
Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur
 Reference Books

1. Work Systems –the methods, measurement & management of

work by Mikell P . Groover.
2. Introduction to Work Study- International labour Office, Geneva
3. Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work Design- Andris
Freivalds, Benjamin W. Niebel.

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 OUTLINE

1. The Nature of Work

2. Defining Work Systems
3. Types of Occupations
4. Productivity

We will take Blast furnace as the case

for explanation of the concepts and
Table time exercises.

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Work
 Is our primary means of livelihood
 Serves an important economic function in
the global world of commerce
 Creates opportunities for social interactions
and friendships
 Provides the products and services that
sustain and improve our standard of living

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Historical Note on Study Of Work………1

There is evidence that the study of work and some of the basic principles about work
originated in the ancient times.
• The Babylonians used the principle of a minimum wage around 1950 B.C.
• The Chinese worked on the principle of labour specialisation around 1644 B.C.
• The ancient Romans used primitive form of factory system for the production of
armaments, textiles, and pottery. Also perfected the military organisation structure
which is the basis for today’s line and staff organisation concept.
• The industrial revolution started in England around 1770
i) Invention of machines like James Watt’s steam engine;
ii) Henry Maudslay’s screw cutting machine etc. resulted in transfer of skills from
worker to machine,
iii)Start of machine tool industry, start factory system.
(Babylonian Empire created by Hammurabi, estimated as world largest 7-6

city from 1770 to 1670BC. The remains of the city –Hillah, Iraq and
Baghdad.)
Dr. Jitesh Thakkar, IIT Kharagpur
 Historical Note on Study Of Work ……2

• Interchangeable Parts Manufacture in US during same time 1770. Eli

Whitney (1765-1825) introduced the same in the gun making
industry.(Examples- Machine parts, Garments)
• Introduction of several consumer products (1800-1900) like sewing
machine, bicycle, automobile etc. This was requiring 1)Mass production,2)
assembly lines, and 3) scientific management.
• Mass production was an American phenomenon, as huge mass market
existed with the rise of population. One of the important technologies of
mass production was assembly lines introduced by Henry Ford(1863-
1947).
• Scientific management movement started in the United States in the
late 1800. The most important members in this movement were Frederic
W. Taylor (1856-1915), Frank Gilbreth(1868-1924), and Lillian
Gilbreth(1878-1972) wife of Frank Gilbreth. Taylor introduced time study
7-7
in Midvale steel (1881-1883). Taylor-father of Scientific management.
Frank Gilbreth is associated with motion study and known as ‘father of
motion study’. Dr. Jitesh Thakkar, IIT Kharagpur
 Historical Figures Related to Work
 Eli Whitney (1765-1825)
 Interchangeable parts manufacture
 Henry Ford (1863-1947)
 Moving assembly line
 Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915)
 Scientific management
 Time study
 Frank (1868-1924) & Lillian Gilbreth (1878-1972)
 Motion study
( they also propagated scientific management)

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 The Nature of Work
Work is an activity in which one exerts physical
and mental effort to accomplish a given task
or perform a duty
 Task or duty has some useful objective
 Worker applies skills and knowledge for
successful completion
 The activity has commercial value
 The worker is compensated

( Understand Skill, knowledge and will model)

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 S-K-W Model

Skill

Skill Knowledge Will

Knowledge Skill Will

Will Knowledge Skill

Source- DuPont Sustainability Services

Ex: Tata Steel Blast Furnace
 Typical Blast Furnace

Table time exercise-1 on S-K-W Model

for workers, middle managers and
head..
Prof. OB Krishna, IS&E department
12
 Work (Physics Definition)
The displacement (distance) that an object moves
in a certain direction multiplied by the force
acting on the object in the same direction.
 Units of measurement:
 Newton-meters (N-m) in the International
System of Units (metric system)
 Foot-pounds (ft-lb) in U.S. customary units

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 The Pyramidal Structure of Work
 Work consists of tasks
 Tasks consist of work elements
 Work elements consist of basic motion
elements

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Task
An amount of work that is assigned to a
worker or for which a worker is responsible
 Repetitive task – as in mass production
 Time required = 30 seconds to several
minutes
 Non-repetitive task – performed
periodically, infrequently, or only once
 Time required usually much longer
than for repetitive task

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Work Element
A series of work activities that are logically
grouped together because they have a unified
function in the task
 Example: assembling a component to a base
part using several nuts and bolts
 Required time = six seconds or longer

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Basic Motion Elements
Actuations of the limbs and other body parts
 Examples:
 Reaching for an object
 Grasping the object
 Moving the object
 Walking
 Eye movement
 A work element consists of multiple basic
motion elements

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Pyramidal Structure of Work
 Extended to a worker’s career

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Importance of Time
 In many human endeavors, “time is of the
essence”
 In sports
 In daily living
 In business and industry
 In work

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Time in Business and Industry
 New product introduction
 Product cost
 Delivery time
 Overnight delivery
 Competitive bidding
 Production scheduling

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Importance of Time in Work
 Time is the most frequently used measure of
work
 How many minutes or hours are required
to perform a given task?
 Most workers are paid by the time they work
 Hourly wage rate
 Salary
 Workers must arrive at work on time
 Labor and staffing requirements computed in
units of time

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Work System Defined
Work System is defined as
(1) a physical entity and
(2) a field of professional practice

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Work System Defined
As a physical entity, a work system is a system
consisting of humans, information, and equipment
designed to perform useful work
 Contributes to the production of a product or delivery of a
service
 Examples:
 Worker operating a machine tool in a factory
 Robotic welding line in an automobile plant
 Parcel service agent driving a delivery truck to make
customer deliveries
 Designer working at a CAD workstation

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 A Work System as a Physical Entity

Materials

Ex-Cooking Process

Table time exercise- 1,on work

system as physical entity.

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Typical Blast Furnace
Physical entity based
 Work System Defined
As a field of professional practice, work systems include:
 Work methods - analysis and design of tasks and jobs involving
human work activity (VR and AR based studies)
 Work measurement – analysis of a task to determine the time that
should be allowed to perform the task (IOT based )
 Work management – organizational and administrative functions
that must be accomplished to achieve high productivity and
effective supervision of workers
 Data management- Facilitation and application Descriptive
analytics, Predictive analytics and Prescriptive analytics

Ex: i) Blast furnace productivity

ii) Reducing the shutdown time
iii) Cost reduction iv) Yield optimization
Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur
Prof. OB Krishna, IS&E department
27
 Pellet TSCR
Plant
Merchant Mill

Long Products
Fines
Sinter
Plant New Bar Mill
Iron Ore

CUSTOMER
Hot Wire Rod Mill
Metal

Coke
Fluxes Blast Hot Strip Mill

Flat Products
Furnaces

Coke
Plant
Coal Steel Making
Converter
Cold Rolling Mill

Raw Materials Raw Materials Iron Making Steel Rolling

Processing Making

Integrated Iron and Steel Plant

Table time exersice-2 on
professional practice for steel
melting vessel 28
 Jobs and Occupations
 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor
identifies 821 occupations in its Standard Occupational
Classification (SOC)
 The SOC covers virtually every type of work performed for
pay or profit in the United States
 Occupations are organized into 23 major groups
 Groups are established on the basis of type of work and/or
the industry in which it is performed

(SOC – rail car Loader, Radio Announcers, Professors(Physical

Chemistry),Program analysts )
Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur
 Jobs and Occupations
 Four broad categories that reflect the work
content and job function:
1. Production workers - make products
2. Logistics workers - move materials, products, or
people
3. Service – provide a service, apply existing information
and knowledge, communicate
4. Knowledge workers - create new knowledge, solve
problems, manage

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

Comparisons: Industries and Workers
1. Production workers
 Manufacturing, construction, agriculture
2. Logistics workers
 Transportation, distribution, material handling
3. Service workers
 Banking, retail, government, health care
4. Knowledge workers
 Management, engineering, legal, consulting,
education, Analytics

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Comparisons: Worker Discretion
Refers to the need to make responsible decisions
and exercise judgment in carrying out duties of
the position
 Jobs that are highly standardized and routine require
minimum worker discretion
 Typical for production and logistics workers
 Jobs in which workers must adapt their behavior in
response to variations in the work situation require high
discretion
 Typical for service and knowledge workers

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Productivity
The level of output of a given process relative to
the level of input
 Process can refer to
 Individual production or service operations
 A national economy
 Productivity is an important metric in work systems
because
 Improving productivity is the means by which worker
compensation can be increased.
 More products and services to consumers at lower
prices.
 Improves standard of living

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Labor Productivity
 The most common productivity measure is labor
productivity, defined by the following ratio:

WU
LPR = LH

where LPR = labor productivity ratio, WU = work units of

output, LH = labor hours of input

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Labor Factor in Productivity
 Labor itself does not contribute much to improving
productivity
 More important factors:
 Capital - substitution of machines for human labor
 Technology - fundamental change in the way some
activity or function is accomplished

Tata Steel Example: 2MT with 72,000 employees- 28 kg/man

10MT with 30,000 employees- 333kg/man
13MT with 32500 employees-400kg/man
Factors- Size, Process, capital employed, Maintenance practices,
Use of IT, Safety

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Examples of Technology Changes
Horse-drawn carts Railroad trains
Steam locomotive Electric locomotive
Telephone operator Dial phone
Dial phone Touch-tone phone
Manually operated Computerized Numerically
milling machine controlled (CNC) milling machine
DC-3 passenger Boeing 747 passenger airplane
airplane (1930s) (1980s)

Ex: Industry 4.0-Smart Systems, Cyber Physical Systems(CPS)

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

Let us take one Example and discuss Capital ,
Technology and human
Let us take one Example and discuss Capital ,
Technology and human

Compare
i) Tooling ii) machine iii) controls iv)
manpower v) cost

EX: 1st CNC Machine in Tata Steel

Machine shop, CNC Scoda-1989
 Typical Blast Furnace

( Discuss Tata Steel example , i) production of HM and reduction of coke ii) life iii)Safety iv) Analytics)
 Capital versus Technology
 Distinctions between capital improvements and
technology improvements are often subtle or
precise
 New technologies almost always require
capital investments
 Important to recognize important gains in
productivity are more likely to be made
 By the introduction of capital and technology
in a work process( Tata steel example: Sheet mill Vs HSM)
 Than by attempting to get more work in less
time out of the workers

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Measuring Productivity
Not as easy as it seems because of the following problems:
 Nonhomogeneous output units
 Multiple input factors
 Labor, capital, technology, materials, energy
 Price and cost changes due to economic forces
 Product mix changes
 Relative proportions of products that a company sells
change over time

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

Prof. OB Krishna, IS&E department
42
 Labor Productivity Index
Measure that compares input/output ratio from
one year to the next
LPRt
LPI =
LPRb

where LPI = labor productivity index,

LPRt = labor productivity ratio for period t, and
LPRb = labor productivity ratio for base period

Tata Steel Example: 2MT with 72,000 employees- 28 kg/man

10MT with 30,000 employees- 333kg/man
13MT with 32500 employees-400kg/man
Factors- Size, Process, capital employed, Maintenance practices,
Use of IT, Safety

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Labor Factor in Productivity
 Labor itself does not contribute much to
improving productivity
 More important factors:
 Capital - substitution of machines for
human labor
 Technology - fundamental change in the
way some activity or function is
accomplished

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

Example: Productivity Measurement
During the base year in a small steel mill, 326,000
tons of steel were produced using 203,000 labor
hours. In the next year, the output was 341,000
tons using 246,000 labor hours.
Determine: (a) the labor productivity ratio for
the base year, (b) the labor productivity ratio for
the second year, and (c) the productivity index
for the second year.

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Example: Solution
(a) In the base year, LPR = 326,000 / 203,000
= 1.606 tons per labor hour
(b) In the second year, LPR = 341,000 / 246,000
= 1.386 tons per labor hour
(c) Productivity index for the second year
LPI = 1.386 / 1.606 = 0.863
Comment: No matter how it’s measured,
productivity went down in the second year.
Can you give some examples from your
experience!

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Productive Work Content
A given task performed by a worker can be
considered to consist of
 Basic productive work content
 Theoretical minimum amount of work
required to accomplish the task
 Excess nonproductive activities
 Extra physical and mental actions of worker
 Do not add value to the task
 Do not facilitate the productive work content
 Take time

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Excess Nonproductive Activities

Can be classified into three categories:

 Excess activities due to poor design of product or
service
 Excess activities caused by inefficient methods,
poor workplace layout, poor understanding of
hazards and interruptions
 Excessive activities cause by the human factor
 Unsafe environment

Ex: London to Paris – Travel by air VS Travel by train.

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur
 Allocation of Total Task Time

Excess activities

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Poor Design of Product or Service
 Products with more parts than necessary,
causing excess assembly time (Ex: Human
bones-206, Electric Car vs Diesel car )
 Frequent design changes
 Waste of materials
 Quality standards too stringent ( Ex: uniform to
workers)

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 Inefficient Methods, Layout, Etc.
 Inefficient layout that increases material
handling activities
 Inefficient workplace layout that increases
hand, arm, and body motions
 Methods that include unnecessary work
elements that waste time
 Long setup times in batch production
 Frequent equipment breakdowns
 Workers waiting for work

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 The Human Factor
 Absenteeism ( EX: absenteeism due to
alcoholism)
 Tardiness( lateness)
 Workers spending too much time socializing
 Workers deliberately working slowly
 Inadequate training of workers
 Industrial accidents caused by human error
 Hazardous materials that cause occupational
illnesses

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

Productivity

Productivity is the relationship between the amount produced by a

given system during a given period of time and quantity of
resources consumed to create or produce those outputs over the
same period of time.
Outputs
Transformations Goods &
Inputs
Services
 Man
 Machine System
 Material
 Method etc.
Productivity Model
Different Productivities

Productivity Model
Prof. OB Krishna, IS&E department
55
Outcome of Productivity:
At all stages of production and overall

i. Output should be maximum

ii. Inputs utilised optimal
iii. Waste is minimum
iv. Cost of production is minimum

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur

 EXAMPLE#1

A company is manufacturing 24,000 components per

month by employing 100 workers in 8 hour shift. The
company gets additional order from government to supply
additional 6000 components. The management decides
to employ additional workers. What will be production and
productivity level when the number of additional workers
employed are:
i) 30 ii) 25 iii) 20
 Present Production= 24,000 components

Present Production (i.e., output)

Present Productivity (of Labour)=
Total man-hours (i.e., input)
24, 000 components 24, 000
= = = 1 component/man-hour
(100 workers)(8 hours)( 30 days of the month) 24, 000

With increased order

ii) When additional 25 workers are hired
i) When additional 30 workers are hired Production=24,000+6,000=30,000 components
Production=24,000+6,000=30,000 components
Increased total production
Increased total production Productivity (of Labour)=
Productivity (of Labour)= Total man-hour
Total man-hour 30, 000
=
30, 000 =
(100 + 30) × (8) × (30) (100 + 25) × (8) × (30)
=0.96 Components/man-hour =1 Components/man-hour

iii) When additional 20 workers are hired

Production=24,000+6,000=30,000 components
Increased total production 30, 000
Productivity (of Labour)= =
Total man-hour (100 + 20) × (8) × (30)
=1.04 Components/man-hour
 In this example, it is clear that production has increased by 6000 units. Therefore,
30, 000 − 24, 000
Increase in Production= × 100 =
25%
24, 000

In case of productivity, the labour productivity falls below the initial level of 1 component per man- hour
if more than 25 workers are hired. This level of additional man- power may be termed as break- even
level from the labour productivity point of view. Therefore other things remaining constant, no more than
25 workers should be hired for this increased production.

We have understood three things from the above example:

1. Production and productivity are two different things.
2. Increase in production does not necessarily mean increase in productivity.
3. Productivity is always associated with the context in which it is calculated. For example, in the above
case, we have calculated and interpreted labour productivity. In another case, some one may like to
know about material productivity or energy productivity. If labour productivity has decreased due to
some reason, it may not always mean that other forms of productivity, say material productivity, will
also fall. Various forms of productivity will be explained in sections to follow.
Effect of Production Volume and Workers on
Productivity
Efficiency (η ) :It is the ratio actual output attained to the standard expected output.
Therefore, efficiency indicates a measure of how well the resources are uitilized to accomplish a target or result.

Effectiveness (ϕ ) :It is the degree of accomplishing the objectives.

Productivity is an integration of both efficiency and effectiveness.

It indicates a combined effect of resource utilization (i,e., efficiency) and performance (i.e., effectiveness).

The combined effect of efficiency and effectiveness is used in defining a term called productivity index.

Performance achieved Effectiveness

Productivity index= =
Input resources consumed Efficiency

Since, effectiveness is difficult to measure quantitatively and productivity index decreases

when efficiency increases at a given effectiveness (which is not acceptable), this definition is modigied as follows:
f1 (Effectiveness)
Productivity index=
f 2 ( Efficiency )
where, f1 and f 2 are two different functions,
 TYPES OF PRODUCTIVITY INDEX

1. Labour productivity

2. Direct labour cost productivity

3. Capital productivity

4. Direct cost productivity

5. Total cost productivity

6. Foreign exchange productivity

7. Energy productivity

8. Raw material productivity

 DIFFERENT FORMS OF PARTIAL PRODUCTIVITY

Partial Productivity Formula Some Uses

1. Labour To understand the effect of

Productivity or increase/decrease in hiring
Human Productivity of labour and to see how
they perform
2. Material In material management
Productivity

3. Capital In financial assessment

Productivity

4. Energy In the consideration of

Productivity energy required by the
system
5. Advertising and In marketing management
Media Planning
Productivity
6. Other Expense In the analysis of system
Productivity
 EXAMPLE 2

Item Year 1 Year 2

1 Number of outputs (all of one kind) (Rs 50,000 per 100 200
unit)
2 Direct labour hours (@Rs 10 per hour) 5,000 8,000
3 3 Direct labour cost (in Rs) 40,000 45,000
4 Capital depreciation (in Rs) 5,000 6,000
5 Capital book value(in Rs) 20,000 25,000
6 Total indirect cost (in Rs) 40,000 46,000
7 Foreign exchange used,(in $) $4500 $100
8 Energy used (@Rs 4 per watt) 500Kw 1800Kw
9 Raw materials used (Rs 1000 per ton) 10 ton 16 ton
10 Services of consultant hired (in Rs) 10,000 15,000
 EXAMPLE#2

200 200
=
Labour productivity index 8000 ×=
100 125 =
Total Indirect Cos t productivity index 46000 ×
= 100 174
100 100
5000 40000

200
45000 × 200
=
Direct Labour productivity index = 100 177.8 =
Foreign Exchange productivity index 100 × 100
= 9000
100 100
40000 4500

200
200 (1800 × 4)
6000 ×= =
Energy Used productivity index = × 100 55.5
=
Capital Depreciation productivity index 100 166.7 100
100 (500 × 4)
5000

200 200
(1000 × 16)
=
Capital Book Value productivity index 25000 ×
= 100 16 =
Raw Material productivity index = × 100 125
100 100
20000 (1000 × 10)
 EXAMPLE#2

Net Output Total Output − (material purchased + Serviced hired )

=
Total Factor productivity =
( Labour + Capital ) Input ( Labour + Capital ) Input

200 × 50000 − (16 × 1000 + 15000)

(45000 × 10) + 25000
=
100 × 50000 − (10 × 1000 + 10000)
(40000 × 10) + 20000
20.987
= = 1.756
11.952
 EXAMPLE 3

The price index for the year 1998 and 1999 are given below, for 100
being 1997 as base year. Calculate the different productivity
measures for the factory whose statement is given below.

Item 1998 1997

Curren Price Current Price
t Rs index Rs index
In In 1000s
1000s
1 Net sales 1500 107 2200 130
2 Labour 200 108 380 135
3 Material 800 105 1200 140

4 Services 300 106 370 120

5 Depreciation(after 90 120
compensated for price
index
 EXAMPLE #3

1998 1999
Productivity
Item Current Price Compensated Current Rs. Price Compensated Rise 1998 to
Rs. Index at 1997 (In 000s) Index at 1997 1999
(In 000s) (b) [(a) x (b)÷100] (c) (d) [(c) x (d)÷100]
(a)
1. Net sales 1500 107 1402 2200 130 1692
2. Labour 200 108 185 480 135 355
3. Material 800 105 762 1200 140 857
4. services 300 106 283 370 120 308
5. Description - - 90 - - 120
6. Total 1320 1640
Inputs

(2)+(3)+(4)+(5)
7. Net Output 357 527
(1)+(3)+(4)
(Contd…..)
 EXAMPLE #3

1998 1999
Current Price Compensated Current Rs. Price Compensated Productivity
Item Rs. Index at 1997 (In 000s) Index at 1997 Rise 1998 to
(In 000s) (b) [(a) / (b)]*100 (c) (d) [(c) / (d)]*100 1999
(a)
8. Labour
Capital 275 475
Input = (2)+(5)

9. Labour
Productivity 1.93 1.48 -23.31%
(Fall)
(7)/(2)

10. Labour
Capital 1.298 1.109 -14.56%
(Fall)
Productivity =
(7)/(8)

11. Total 1.062

Productivity 1.032 -2.82%
(Fall)
(1)/(6)
 WAYS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY

1. Machine : Manual labour be replaced by machines

Reliable machines
Automation
2. Management : Motivated workforce
Better Planning and coordination
Effective control of processes
3. Process : Computerization of system
Use of Management Information system (MIS)
Improvement of scheduling
Better material flow
Fast and accurate retrieval of parts
4. Work Design : Improve job-design
Better work method
On-job training
5. Work Environment : Better lighting and illumination
Better ventilation
Safe work-place
Total Quality Management (TQM)
6. Program : Quality circle
 : Suggestion scheme
Incentive schemes
Revise pay or policy
7. Technology : Acquire new technology such as electro-chemical machining (ECM),
etc.
Acquire automation in assembly, for example, surface mounting
technology (SMT) for printed circuit board assembly unit.
Acquire computer controlled machines, such as CNC or DNC.
Use automated guide vehicle (AGV) for material transportation.

8. Manufacturing strategy : change the manufacturing system from functional to cellular layout, if
it is a batch production unit
Adopt stock-less production strategy and Just-In-Time framework in
the production unit.
Keep work place clean and environment friendly (also termed as green-
production system).
Go for total change in the process/product or strategy if the system is
not working properly (also known as business process re-engineering or
BPR).
9. External environment : Better political stability
Boosting economy and purchasing capacity of buyers.
Globalization and open market economy.
10. Data Analytics : AI,IOT,IIOT
 Means to improve productivity for different
planning horizons

Planning Horizon Means to improve Productivity Effect on

Result
Long term Improve basic process by proper research and No limit
development (Use BPR : refer Chapter 36) -> to results
Heavy capital deployment

Improve existing process and provide better plant

and equipment (Use TQM/Kaizan No major
capital deployment
Medium term Simplify the product, reduce and standardize the Results
product range -> May require some capital are
deployment subjected
Short term Improve existing methods of plant operation, to effort
Improve work planning and use of manpower and
Increase effectiveness of all employees commitm
->May require little or no capital deployment ents
Expenditure of resources
for any goal other than
the creation of value for
the end customer is
wasteful, and thus a
target for elimination.

Prof.OB Krishna, IIT Kharagpur