Work Systems and the Methods, Measurement, and Management of Work


Book Description

Divided into two major areas of discussion - work systems, and work methods, measurement, and management - this guide provides up-to-date, quantitative coverage of work systems and how work is analyzed and designed. Includes 30 chapters organized into six parts: Work Systems and How They Work; Methods Engineering and Layout Planning; Time Study and Work Measurement; New Approaches in Process Improvement and Work Management; Ergonomics and Human Factors in the Workplace, and Traditional Topics in Work Management. Addresses the "systems" by which work is accomplished, such as worker-machine systems, manufacturing cells, assembly lines, projects, and office work pools. Summarizes many aspects of work systems, operations analysis, and work measurement using mathematical equations and quantitative examples. For professionals in the area of industrial engineering.




Work Measurement and Methods Improvement


Book Description

Practical, up-to-date coverage for a new generation of engineering and management professionals. Lawrence S. Aft s Productivity, Measurement, and Improvement has long served as a seminal reference for students and professionals in industrial engineering, quality management, and other related fields. Now Work Measurement and Methods Improvement brings his work right up to date with the demands of today s rapidly changing marketplace, where work measurement and methods improvement have a vital role to play in improving quality and enhancing productivity in a wide range of industries. Accessible and easy to follow, this book presents solid, practical coverage of the key principles and practices of work measurement. It explains the purpose, use, advantages, and limitations of tools and methods for: * Work analysis including graphical productivity analysis and work methods improvement * Product measurement from time study and standard data systems to work sampling and labor reporting issues * Product improvement ergonomics, incentive systems, continuous improvement, process improvement, and more With straightforward examples, chapter-end summaries, review questions, and practice exercises that emphasize the application of fundamental concepts, Work Measurement and Methods Improvement is an essential reference for current and future professionals who must do the work and manage the process to achieve better quality, higher productivity, and powerhouse performance for their organization.




Taking the Measure of Work


Book Description

This book is a handbook for people who want to assure the use of reliable and valid questionnaires for collecting information about organizations. It significantly reduces the time and effort required for obtaining validated multi-question measures of aspects of organizational ‘health’ such as employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational justice, and workplace behaviors. It helps users in measuring some factors underlying employee perceptions of work such as job characteristics, role ambiguity or conflict, job stress, and the extent to which employees believe their values and those of the organization are congruent. All the measures in the book have been used and tested in research studies published in the 1990’s. In addition, all the measures describe the extent and types of reliability and validity tests that have been completed, a feature that organizational researchers should find particularly useful. All in all, this book is a handy tool to increase the efficiency of researchers, consultants, managers, or organizational development specialists in obtaining reliable and valid information about how employees view their jobs and organizations.




Making Work Systems Better


Book Description

Combines theory with practice to demonstrate how organizations work. Based on a non-hierarchical model of enterprises, it offers a framework in order to recognize the dynamics for successful organizations and to improve performances by highlighting and strengthening these dynamics. Provides excellent guidance for managers, encouraging them to reflect on their own experiences to avoid the chaotic detail of constant change and to concentrate on their true strategic intentions.




Handbook of Work Disability


Book Description

​This book addresses the developing field of Work Disability Prevention. Work disability does not only involve occupational disorders originating from the work or at the workplace, but addresses work absenteeism originating from any disorder or accident. This topic has become of primary importance due to the huge compensation costs and health issues involved. For employers it is a unique burden and in many countries compensation is not even linked to the cause of the disorder. In the past twenty years, studies have accumulated which emphasize the social causes of work disability. Governments and NGOs such as the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have produced alarming reports on the extent of this problem for developed and developing countries. However, no comprehensive book is presently available to help them address this emerging field where new knowledge should induce new ways of management.​




Fundamentals of Work Measurement


Book Description

This book will provide a quick reference on Work Measurement. While the nature of the work may differ, measuring work is fundamental to any industrial or service activity. It’s needed to determine such things as the amount a person should be paid, how much time should it take to perform an activity, what is an acceptable days’ work, or how any two or more methods or designs compare. This book provides non-industrial engineers with the why and the how work is measured in order to perform their jobs.




Work Organization and Methods Engineering for Productivity


Book Description

Work Organization and Methods Engineering for Productivity provides an introduction to, and practical advice on, assessing methods of working to achieve maximum output and efficiency. The main focus of the book is on the 'work study', which helps to increase the productivity of men, machines and materials. We are currently seeing a lot of disruptive advancement in industrial operations caused by technologies, including artificial intelligence and IoT. Against this technological backdrop, and with ever increasing focus on value, the fundamental understanding of how to analyze and organize the workplace for productivity is more important than ever. Case studies and illustrations throughout make this book a much have for managers with responsibility for production and planning in industry. - Helps the reader understand the fundamental factors affecting productivity, along with their relevance to work organization - Includes valuable industry case studies from sectors including manufacturing, textile production and sea port operations - Includes several formats and charts that are important in the recording of data for practical work studies




Factory Operations


Book Description

Volume two of the second edition of the comprehensive Handbook of Manufacturing Engineering illuminates the role of the manufacturing engineer as the key component of factory operation. The focus is on the planning and instruction duties that are critical to successful operations management, which fall upon the manufacturing engineer who may be unf




The Handbook of Work Analysis


Book Description

This new handbook, with contributions from experts around the world, is the most comprehensive treatise on work design and job analysis practice and research in over 20 years. The handbook, dedicated to Sidney Gael, is the next generation of Gael’s successful Job Analysis Handbook for Business, Industry and Government, published by Wiley in 1988. It consists of four parts: Methods, Systems, Applications and Research/Innovations. Finally, a tightly integrated, user-friendly handbook, of interest to students, practitioners and researchers in the field of Industrial Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management. Sample Chapter available: Chapter 24, Training Needs Assessment by Eric A. Surface is available for download.




Production Ergonomics


Book Description

Production ergonomics – the science and practice of designing industrial workplaces to optimize human well-being and system performance – is a complex challenge for a designer. Humans are a valuable and flexible resource in any system of creation, and as long as they stay healthy, alert and motivated, they perform well and also become more competent over time, which increases their value as a resource. However, if a system designer is not mindful or aware of the many threats to health and system performance that may emerge, the end result may include inefficiency, productivity losses, low working morale, injuries and sick-leave. To help budding system designers and production engineers tackle these design challenges holistically, this book offers a multi-faceted orientation in the prerequisites for healthy and effective human work. We will cover physical, cognitive and organizational aspects of ergonomics, and provide both the individual human perspective and that of groups and populations, ending up with a look at global challenges that require workplaces to become more socially and economically sustainable. This book is written to give you a warm welcome to the subject, and to provide a solid foundation for improving industrial workplaces to attract and retain healthy and productive staff in the long run.