A logical and systematic approach to determine and apply personal,unavoidable delay and fatigue allowances for setting reliable andequitable performance standards, especially for…
Abstract
A logical and systematic approach to determine and apply personal, unavoidable delay and fatigue allowances for setting reliable and equitable performance standards, especially for wage incentive application, is presented. Personal and unavoidable delay allowances should be determined for a group of similar jobs or for a department by work sampling. Fatigue allowances can be determined scientifically by physiological methods but companies may lack manpower or expertise to employ such methods. Reliable fatigue allowance values found in the literature should be used by companies in a consistent manner. A separate fatigue allowance should be provided for each classified working area. Since personal and unavoidable delay allowances are not a function of operator work efficiency or pace, they should be applied as fixed allowances in terms of minutes per day or an eight‐hour work shift basis, especially for wage incentive application. A comparative analysis among three methods, Conventional, Barnes and Das (author), revealed that the Das method of applying allowances would make a substantial saving in direct labour cost for a company. The fatigue allowance is a function of operator work efficiency, consequently it can be applied as a percentage of the normal time for only the effort or manual work time.
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Biman Das, Donald R. Smith, James K. Hennigan and Richard J. Yeager
The effect of situational factors on the rating ability of 28industrial analysts was determined through the use of rating films. Therating ability was evaluated in terms of rating…
Abstract
The effect of situational factors on the rating ability of 28 industrial analysts was determined through the use of rating films. The rating ability was evaluated in terms of rating accuracy and consistency. Significant differences in rating accuracy were found among the analysts from five different companies. The analysts who used time standards for planning functions surprisingly rated more consistently than those who employed time standards for a wage incentive programme. Shop labour organization, union or non‐union, had no significant impact on the analysts′ rating ability. The analysts′ rating consistency was significantly better for the medium (85‐120 per cent) and fast (125‐145 per cent) pace ranges than for the slow (60‐80 per cent) pace range. The rating consistency of the fast pace range was significantly better than the medium pace range. The familiar (machining) operations were rated more accurately and consistently than the unfamiliar (sheet metal) operations. The rating accuracy for the simple operations was significantly better than the moderate and complex operations. The simple and complex operations were rated significantly more consistently than the moderate operations.
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Biman Das, Alberto Garcia‐Diaz and Clarence L. Hough
For machine‐paced operations a two‐factor monetary incentive planis developed by employing production quantity output and productionwaste as criteria for incentive earnings. The…
Abstract
For machine‐paced operations a two‐factor monetary incentive plan is developed by employing production quantity output and production waste as criteria for incentive earnings. The plan takes into account machine time allowance and increased operator work pace for manual work for establishing standards in a machine‐paced operation. The two incentive earning factors are given proper weights in terms of their relative economic importance. The weights are determined by comparing possible labour and material costs savings when the operators perform at incentive pace level. To demonstrate the working of the proposed monetary incentive plan an illustrative example is presented.
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Biman Das, Alberto Garcia‐Diaz, Corinne A. MacDonald and Kalyan K. Ghoshal
The purpose of this paper is to develop a computer simulation model to evaluate increasing versus decreasing mean operation times assembly line arrangement for normal and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a computer simulation model to evaluate increasing versus decreasing mean operation times assembly line arrangement for normal and exponential distributions and the variances equal to 1 and 16.
Design/methodology/approach
The model was developed on the basis of a realistic case problem and applied to a six‐station assembly line. The evaluation criteria were: the minimization of the total elapsed time; the maximization of the average percentage of working time; and the minimization of the average time in the system.
Findings
The increasing mean operation times line arrangement is superior to the decreasing mean operation times line arrangement for the normal and exponential distributions and the variances equal to 1 and 16, in terms of the total elapsed time and the average percentage of the working time evaluation criteria. The decreasing mean operation times lines is marginally superior to the increasing operation times line for the normal distribution for the variances equal to 1 and 16, in terms of the average time in the system evaluation criterion. The above inference can be made for the exponential distribution for the variance 16, but no definitive conclusion can be made for the variance 1. Overall, the increasing mean operation times line arrangement has proven to be superior to the decreasing operation times line arrangement for both the stated distributions and variances, in terms of the important evaluation criteria.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the computer simulation approach to solving assembly line problems that deal with the impact of normally and exponentially distributed operation times, with variances equal to 1 and 16, on the increasing and decreasing mean operation times assembly line arrangements.
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Arijit K. Sengupta, Biman Das and J. Pemberton Cyrus
The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of computer simulation for performance improvement analysis for a large‐scale ergonomic intervention and redesign project of a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of computer simulation for performance improvement analysis for a large‐scale ergonomic intervention and redesign project of a supermarket checkstand. Owing to its relatively complex operating logic, coupled with myriad physical characteristics of grocery items and variable buying patterns, conventional methods of analysis are impractical.
Design/methodology/approach
The probability distributions of activity time elements and system characteristics are determined from video analysis of the checkstand operation. A SLAM II model represented the functional logic and random samplings from probability distributions simulated effects of variable grocery characteristics and buying patterns. The utilization indices obtained from the model facilitated prioritizing design improvements. The proposed design changes of the checkstand are implemented in the model by applying scaling factors estimated from the predetermined time standards.
Findings
The mean performance rates of the present and the proposed (ergonomic) checkstand design are predicted within ±2 percent of the true mean values with 90 percent confidence. Owing to high variability of activity time elements and system parameters, it would be impractical or would be prohibitively expensive to achieve comparable precision level of analysis, if a conventional time study technique is used.
Originality/value
This investigation has demonstrated for the first time that a computer simulation methodology can be used advantageously for determining the effect of design layout change of a complex workstation, such as a supermarket grocery checkstand.
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Biman Das and Alberto Garcia‐Diaz
The lost time arising from travelling and waiting of the production operators and manufacturing inspectors at the tool and gauge crib counters can be considerable in a large…
Abstract
The lost time arising from travelling and waiting of the production operators and manufacturing inspectors at the tool and gauge crib counters can be considerable in a large manufacturing plant. This travelling and waiting time can be eliminated or minimized by consolidating the tool and gauge cribs near the master crib, extending the totebox system and providing a dispatching system. In the proposed system the tools and gauges will be delivered at the workstation by the dispatchers. The new system would improve the utilization of the tool and gauge crib attendant’s time and reduce the tool and gauge inventory. The case problem revealed that a net annual labor cost saving of about $320,600 and a saving of $242,100 from the reduction of tool and gauge inventory could be achieved. The additional floor space requirement would be about 1,700sq. ft and the implementation cost would be about $144,500.
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Biman Das, Jesus M. Sanchez‐Rivas, Alberto Garcia‐Diaz and Corinne A. MacDonald
The purpose of this paper is to develop a computer simulation model to evaluate the bowl phenomenon and the allocation at the end of the line of stations with either greater mean…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a computer simulation model to evaluate the bowl phenomenon and the allocation at the end of the line of stations with either greater mean operation times or higher variability of operation times.
Design/methodology/approach
The model was developed on the basis of a realistic case problem and applied to a six‐station assembly line. The evaluation criteria were the: minimization of the total elapsed time; maximization of the average percentage of working time; and minimization of the average time in the system.
Findings
The performance of an assembly line with independently normally distributed operation times could be improved by applying the bowl phenomenon. The allocation of large operation mean times to stations located near the end of the line did not produce improved results. Instead a more balanced allocation proved to be more significantly effective. On the other hand, the assignment of larger variability of operation times to the stations near the end of the line improved the performance of the assembly line.
Originality/value
The investigation contributed to the computer simulation approach to solving assembly line problems that dealt with the impact of normally distributed operation times on the bowl phenomenon and assembly lines with increasing mean operation times and higher variability of operation times at the end of the line of stations.
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The apex planning body of India, NITI Aayog launched an Aspirational District Programme (ADP) in January 2018. The programme aimed to the quick and effective transformation of 112…
Abstract
The apex planning body of India, NITI Aayog launched an Aspirational District Programme (ADP) in January 2018. The programme aimed to the quick and effective transformation of 112 (14%) districts of the country. This programme is considered as world's biggest result-based governance initiative having reached up to 250 million people. It is based on a ranking that is done on monthly basis. This ranking is based on 49 KPIs across six broad socio-economic themes.
The study attempts to inquire and assess the progress made by 112 Aspirational Districts under Financial Inclusion, Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure theme from the inception of the programme to June 2022 (i.e. 54 months). Instead of ranking districts with delta rank or composite scores, the study divorce from NITI Aayog's methodology of monthly delta ranking. The study explores 8 indicators under the basic infrastructure theme and 16 indicators under the financial inclusion and skill development themes. For this purpose, the study explores the availability of individual household latrines, drinking water, electricity and road connectivity. Districts are also tracked for the number of Internet-connected Gram Panchayats, and panchayats with Common Services. Every district is provided with the target as per national development priority, the study makes an effort to grasp the distance of each district from the national target. This allows researchers to develop a scale Very Far, Far, Near, Very Near, Achieved with descriptive statistics techniques. Juxtaposing the scale with timelines results in a pattern of progress made by these 112 districts.