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Design of Work Systems (Product & Service Design)

© Trevor Naidoo

DESIGN OF WORK SYSTEMS

PRODUCT & SERVICE DESIGN

Learning Objectives:

On the completion of this section you should be able to:

• Define product and service design

• Classify the factors that influence design decisions

• Identify product life cycles

• Describe the job design process

• Explain the concept of Organisational Effectiveness (Workstudy)

• Assess hazards and conduct risk assessments

• Develop a Visual Workplace


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Design of Work Systems Product and Service Design

Product design can be defined as the idea generation, concept development, testing

and manufacturing or implementation of a product (physical object or service). Product

Designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, making them tangible through products in

a more systematic approach. The role of a product designer encompasses many

characteristics of the marketing manager, product manager, industrial designer and

design engineer. The term is sometimes equated with industrial design.

The role of the product designer combines art, science and technology to create

tangible three-dimensional goods. This evolving role has been facilitated by digital tools

that allow designers to communicate, visualize and analyze ideas in a way that would

have taken greater manpower in the past.

Skills needed

Product designers are equipped with the skills needed to bring products from

conception to market. They should have the ability to manage design projects, and

subcontract areas to other sectors of the design industry. Aesthetics is considered

important in product design but designers also deal with important aspects including

technology, ergonomics, usability, human factors and

material technology.

As with most of the design fields the idea for the design of a

product arises from a need and has a use.

Product Design Specification (PDS) is a document that

specifies the product to be designed. Once it's established,


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it acts as the mantle or cloak the envelopes all the subsequent stages in the design

core. The PDS thus acts as the control for the total design activity, because it places

the boundaries on the subsequent designs. Conceptual design is carried out within the

envelope of PDS, and this applies to all succeeding stages until the end of the core

activity.

PDS is itself a dynamic rather that static document. It is an evolutionary,

comprehensive written document that has evolved to match the characteristics of the

final product. In some cases the PDS is a contractual document, thus implications of

proposed changes upon the contract should be considered.

A comprehensive PDS can be prepared during the initial stages of the design process

using the following tools:

o Market research

o Competition analysis

o Literature searching

o Patent extracting

To be successful, you have the systematic and thorough, paying meticulous attention to

detail from the beginning to the end of the design activity.

Factors Influencing Design

Performance

Performance should be fully defined, i.e., how fast, how slow, how often, continuously

vs. discontinuous, energy requirements- electrical, hydraulic,

pneumatic, tolerance, etc. A common failing in specification

performance is to ask for the ultimate, rather than which is

obtainable from economic point of view.


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In practice the client may be amazed that the product emerging from their specifications

cost too much.

Environment

All aspects of the product’s likely environment should be considered and investigated.

These include:

Materials

humidity

temperature

gravity forces

pressure

cleanlinesscorrosion

noise

insects

vibration


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The choice of materials for a particular product is invariably left to the design team.

However, if special materials are needed, they should be specified quoting the

appropriate standards.

Product Life Span

Some indication of the life of a product is a marketable entity. Is it likely to remain in

production for 2 years or 20 years?

The answer is critical as it can affect the design approach and interacts with the market

and competition, tooling policy and manufacturing facility and the like.

Ergonomics

All products have, to some degree, a man-machine interface, certainly during

manufacture and if not directly usage, again at the time when maintenance is required.

Customer

It is essential to obtain first - hand information on customer likes, dislikes, preferences

and prejudices. Face-to-face discussion, question and answer, an examination of

competitor’s trends and specifications are all useful inputs to the specification.

Quality and reliability

A company must assure adequate feedback of any failure analysis to the design

team. Mean time before failure (MTBF) and mean times before repair (MTBR) are

familiar expressions in this field.

Shelf life (storage)


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Shelf life must be specified at the outset and the means to

combat decay considered, otherwise rusty gearboxes,

perished rubber components, seized bearings, defective

linings, corrosion and general decay will occur.

Processes

If special processes are to be used during manufacture, they should be defined for

example, plating specifications, wiring specifications.

Time-scale

What is the time-scale for the project as a whole?

Testing

Most products require some form of testing after manufacture, either in factory, on site

or both. The testing is related to performance.

Service Design

This is the activity of planning and organizing people, infrastructure, communication and

material components of a service, in order to improve its quality, the interaction between

service provider and customers and the customer's experience. The increasing

relevance of the service sector, both in terms of people employed and economic

importance, requires services to be accurately designed. The design of the service may

involve a re-organization of the activities performed by the service provider (Back office)

and/or the redesign of time and place in which customers come in contact with the

service (Front office).

Product Life Cycles


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The product life cycle goes through many phases, involves many professional

disciplines, and requires many skills, tools and processes. Product life cycle (PLC) has

to do with the life of a product in the market with respect to business/commercial costs

and sales measures

The different stages in a product life cycle are:

Market introduction stage

o cost high

o sales volume low

o no/little competition - competitive manufacturers watch for

acceptance/segment growth losses

o demand has to be created

o customers have to be prompted to try the product

Growth stage

o costs reduced due to economies of scale

o sales volume increases significantly

o profitability

o public awareness

o competition begins to increase with a few new players in establishing

market

o prices to maximize market share

Mature stage

o Costs are very low as you are well

established in market & no need for

publicity.

o sales volume peaks

o increase in competitive offerings


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o prices tend to drop due to the proliferation of competing products

o brand differentiation, feature diversification, as each player seeks to

differentiate from competition with "how much product" is offered

o profits decrease

Decline or Stability stage

o costs become counter-optimal

o sales volume decline or stabilize

o prices, profitability diminish

o profit becomes more a challenge of production/distribution efficiency than

increased sales

Generating New Products

Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using

a SWOT analysis (Strengths; Weaknesses; Opportunities;

Threats), Market and consumer trends, company's Research &

Development department, competitors, focus groups, employees,

salespeople, corporate spies and trade shows.

Most industry leaders see new product development as a proactive process where

resources are allocated to identify market changes and seize upon new product

opportunities before they occur (in contrast to a reactive strategy in which nothing is

done until problems occur or the competitor introduces an innovation). Many industry

leaders see new product development as an ongoing process (referred to as continuous

development) in which the entire organization is always looking for opportunities.

Because the new product development process typically requires both engineering and

marketing expertise, cross-functional teams are a common way of organizing projects.

The team is responsible for all aspects of the project, from initial idea generation to final

commercialization, and they usually report to senior management. In those industries

where products are technically complex, development research is typically expensive,


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and product life cycles are relatively short, strategic alliances among several

organizations helps to spread the costs, provide access to a wider skill set, and speeds

the overall process. New Product Developm

Job Design

Job design refers to the way that a set of tasks, or an entire job, is organized. Job

design helps to determine:

• what tasks are done,

• how the tasks are done,

• how many tasks are done, and

• in what order the tasks are done.

It takes into account all factors which affect the work, and organizes the content and

tasks so that the whole job is less likely to be a risk to the employee. Job design

involves administrative areas such as:

• job rotation,

• job enlargement,

• task/machine pacing,

• work breaks, and

• working hours.

(Product & Service Design)



New Product Development follows the following stages:


how the tasks are done,

how many tasks are done, and

tasks are done.



involves administrative areas such as:



ent follows the following stages:





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A well designed job will encourage a variety of 'good' body positions, have reasonable

strength requirements, require a reasonable amount of mental activity, and help foster

feelings of achievement and self-esteem.

How can job design help with the organization of work?

Job design principles can address problems such as:

• work overload,

• work underload,

• repetitiveness,

• limited control over work,

• isolation,

• shiftwork,

• delays in filling vacant positions,

• excessive working hours, and

• limited understanding of the whole job process.


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Good job design:

Good job design accommodates employees' mental and physical characteristics by

paying attention to:

• muscular energy such as work/rest schedules or pace of work, and

• mental energy such as boring versus extremely difficult tasks.

Furthermore it:

• allows for employee input. Employees should have the option to vary activities

according to personal needs, work habits, and the circumstances in the

workplace.

• gives employees a sense of accomplishment.

• includes training so employees know what tasks to do and

how to do them properly.

• provides good work/rest schedules.

• allows for an adjustment period for physically demanding

jobs.

• provides feedback to the employees about their

performance.

• minimizes energy expenditure and force requirements.

• balances static and dynamic work.

Job design is an ongoing process. The goal is to make adjustments as conditions or

tasks change within the workplace.

Approaches to job design include:

Job Enlargement: changes the jobs to include more and/or different tasks. Job

enlargement should add interest to the work but may or may not give employees more

responsibility.


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Job Rotation: moves employees from one task to another. It distributes the group tasks

among a number of employees.

Job Enrichment: allows employees to assume more responsibility, accountability, and

independence when learning new tasks or to allow for greater participation and new

opportunities.

Work Design (Job Engineering): Work design allows employees to see how the work

methods, layout and handling procedures link together as well as the interaction

between people and machines.

Organizational Effectiveness (Workstudy)

Organizational effectiveness also known as Work Study is the systematic examination

of the methods of carrying out activities so as to improve the effective use of resources

and to set up standards of performance for the activities being carried out. Work Study

aims at examining the way an activity is being carried out, simplifying or modifying the

method of operation to reduce unnecessary or excess work, or the wasteful use of

resources and setting time studies for performing that activity. Work Study comprises of

two categories, Work Measurement and Method Study.

Think Point

In almost all organizations, we are bound to find a certain percentage of

employees either over-utilized or under-utilized. As an Operations Manager, explain

how you would establish a “fair day’s” work for your staff.


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Basic work content or a product or operation

The basic work content is the time taken to manufacture a product or to perform the

operation if the design or specification was perfect, or if th

was perfectly carried out. Therefore the basic work content is the irreducible minimum

time required producing one unit of output. This is obviously a perfect condition, which

seldom, if ever, occurs in practice.

Ψ Work content means the amount of work contained in a given product or a process,

measured in work or machine hours.

Ψ A work hour is the labour for one person for one hour.

Ψ A machine hour is the running of a machine for one hour.


Basic work content or a product or operation


operation if the design or specification was perfect, or if the process of the operation



seldom, if ever, occurs in practice.

ans the amount of work contained in a given product or a process,

measured in work or machine hours.

A work hour is the labour for one person for one hour.

A machine hour is the running of a machine for one hour.


e process of the operation



ans the amount of work contained in a given product or a process,


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Excess work content

The following can increase work content:

Ψ Poor design and frequent design changes

The product may be designed in such a way that it may require a large number of non-

standard parts causing lengthy times to assemble. Excessive variety of products and

lack of standardization means that work has to be produced in small batches, with time

lost as the operator adjusts and shifts from one batch to the next.

Ψ Waste of Materials

The components of the products may be so designed that an excessive amount of

material has to be removed to bring them to their final shape.

The uses of work measurement

We use work measurement to:

⇒ Compare the efficiency of different methods.

⇒ Balance the work of team members.

⇒ Determine the ideal number of machines a worker can operate.

⇒ Provide the basis for planning and control.

⇒ Choose an improved layout for process planning and for establishing a Just-in-

Time system.

⇒ Provide information for tender estimates, selling prices and delivery dates.

⇒ Set standards for machine utilization and labour performance that can be used

for incentive schemes.

⇒ Provide information for labour cost control and to enable standard costs to be

fixed and maintained.


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Work measurement techniques

These include:

Activity Sampling

(Work Sampling)

•is a method of

finding a percentage

occurrence of a

certain activity by

statistically

sampling and

random

observations. The

basis of activity

sampling is to

observe numerous

machines or

workers at random

intervals, noting

which are working

and which are idle.

The more frequent

the observations,

the more accurate

the results.

Time Studies

•A time study

procedure involves

timing a sample of a

worker’s

performance and

using it to set a

standard.


Work measurement techniques

Time Studies

A time study

procedure involves

timing a sample of a

worker’s

performance and

using it to set a

standard.

Predetermined Time

Studies

•This is an approach

that divides manual

work into small

basic elements that

have been

established with

widely accepted

times.

Synthesis

•A work

measurement

technique used to

build up the time

for a task at a

defined rate of work

using previously

established

elemental times.

Synthesis

measurement

technique used to

build up the time

for a task at a

defined rate of work

using previously

established

elemental times.


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Method study

Method Study is the systematic recording and critical examination of ways of doing

things in order to make improvements. The basic approach to method study consists of

the following steps:

� Select the work to be studied and define its boundaries.

� Record the relevant facts about the job by direct observation and collect such

additional data as may be needed from appropriate sources.

� Examine the way the job is being performed and challenge its purpose, place,

sequence and method of performance.

� Develop the most practical, effective and economical

method, seeking help from those concerned.

� Evaluate the various alternatives to developing a new

improved method. Cost out these alternatives to see which

yields the best results.

� Define the new method in a clear manner and

communicate it to all concerned – workers, supervisors,

management, etc.

� Install the new method as standard practice and train persons involved in applying it.

� Maintain the new method and install control procedures to ensure that the previous

method has been changed.


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Working Conditions

Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting

the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. As a

secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers,

customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the public who are

impacted by the workplace environment.

The reasons for establishing good occupational safety and health standards are

frequently identified as:

• Moral - An employee should not have to risk injury at work, nor should others

associated with the work environment.

• Economic - many governments realize that poor occupational safety and health

performance results in cost to the State (e.g. through social security payments to

the incapacitated, costs for medical treatment, and the loss of the "employability"

of the worker). Employing organisations also sustain costs in the event of an

incident at work (such as legal fees, fines, compensatory damages, investigation

time, lost production, lost goodwill from the workforce, from customers and from

the wider community).

• Legal - Occupational safety and health requirements may be reinforced in civil

law and/or criminal law; it is accepted that without the extra "encouragement" of

potential regulatory action or litigation, many organisations would not act upon

their implied moral obligations.


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Hazards, risks, outcomes

The terminology used in Occupational; Health & Safety generally includes:

• A hazard is something that can cause harm if not controlled.

• The outcome is the harm that results from an uncontrolled hazard.

• A risk is a combination of the probability that a particular outcome will occur and

the severity of the harm involved.

Risk assessment

Modern occupational safety and health legislation usually demands that a risk

assessment be carried out prior to making an intervention. This assessment should:

• Identify the hazards

• Identify all affected by the hazard and how

• Evaluate the risk

• Identify and prioritise the required actions

The calculation of risk is based on the likelihood or probability of the harm being

realised and the severity of the consequences. This can be expressed mathematically

as a quantitative assessment (by assigning low, medium and high likelihood and

severity with integers and multiplying them to obtain a risk factor, or qualitatively as a

description of the circumstances by which the harm could arise.

Physical hazards include:

• Slips and trips

• Falls from height

• Workplace transport

• Dangerous machinery

• Electricity

• Heavy metals


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Physical agents include:

• noise

• vibration

• ionizing radiation

• heat stress and cold stress

• lighting

• barotrauma (hypobaric / hyperbaric pressure)

Chemical agents, include

• solvents

• biological agents

Psychosocial issues include:

• Work related stress, whose causal factors include excessive working time and

overwork

• Violence from outside the organisation

• Bullying (sometimes called mobbing) which may

include emotional, verbal, and Sexual

harassment

Other issues include:

• Reproductive hazards

• Work environment factors, such as temperature, humidity, lighting, welfare

• Avoidance of musculoskeletal disorders by the employment of good ergonomic

design

• Particulate inhalation


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The Visual Workplace

The Visual Workplace is a system for improving productivity, safety, quality, on-time

delivery, profits and employee moral by implementing "visual controls."

Visual controls make working areas user friendly by answering questions; identifying

equipment, materials and locations; describing actions and procedures; and providing

safety warnings and precaution information. Visual controls help employees avoid

wasting time by giving them the information they need, where and when they need it.

A Visual Workplace begins with implementing a Five S program.

5S, abbreviated from the Japanese words Seiri, Seiton, Seison, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke,

are simple but effective methods to organize the workplace.

The 5S, translated into English are: housekeeping, workplace organization, cleanup,

keep cleanliness, and discipline. They can be defined as follows:

• Housekeeping. Separate needed items from unneeded items. Keep only what is

immediately necessary item on the shop floor.

• Workplace Organization. Organize the workplace so that needed items can be

easily and quickly accessed. A place for everything and everything in its place.

• Cleanup. Sweeping, washing, and cleaning everything around working area

immediately.

• Cleanliness. Keep everything clean for a constant state of readiness.

• Discipline. Everyone understands, obeys, and practices the rules when in the

plant.

Potential Benefits of 5S

Implementing 5S methods in the plant would help the company to reduce waste hidden

in the plant, improve the levels of quality and safety, reduce the lead time and cost, and

thus, increase company's profit.


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Using Visual Workplace techniques involves proper labeling and signage to create a

workplace in which employees have the information they need, understand their role,

and contribute in a positive way to the success of your company.

Establishing a Visual Workplace is not an expensive management tool nor is it difficult

to implement. It involves posting information about the job to be done, the work area

(environment), the equipment and materials to be used, safety and job performance.


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Explain how you would set up a visual workplace in your department/

organization. Consider what information would you display, where would you locate the

display, how often would you update.

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