What is Work-Study in Operations Management?

What is work-study?

“Work-study is a conventional term for such techniques like method study and time study, which utilize in human work and which deliberately lead to the examination of the relative components that impact the effectiveness and economy of the circumstance evaluate to impact improvement.”

The work-study mainly deals with improving the efficiency of men, machines, and materials.

The purpose of work-study is to decide the best strategy to do any operation and kill wastage or any kind of resource disturbance and improve overall production efficiency.

The work-study also considers the standard time that a certified laborer should complete the following task assigned to him.  

The work-study has designed some of the methods or strategies that can help achieve the desired results more efficiently. It, therefore, provides means to enhance the production efficiency of any firm.

Types of work-study

Following are the two types of work-study and the steps involved in each of them:

Method Study:

Method study is the systemic study or examination of the existing and proposed methods of doing operations and then proposing new and more compelling techniques or strategies to do the same job more efficiently. It helps in analyzing the results of the functions and changes the methods or eliminates unnecessary activities.

The goals of the method study are:

• It improves the appropriate use of labor, machine, and materials;
• It improves the industrial facility format, workplace, and so on.
• It additionally improves the procedure and strategy
• It grows better actual workplace
• It diminishes unwanted usage of resources.

Steps involved in method study are:

• The very first step is to determine the appropriate task or operation, which is to examine.
• Then after that, record the related facts of the exciting method used to execute the following operation.
• Then study all the facts carefully
• And develop the most feasible, financially possible, and effective strategy
• Lastly, install the plan you created and start the work accordingly.

• Time And Motion Study:

Time Study signifies a procedure for deciding, as precisely as conceivable, the time duration required to complete a given task at various performance standards.

On the other hand, motion study is the investigation of the body movement utilized in carrying out an operation, with the prospect of improving the activity by disposing of unnecessary movements from a particular operation and only focusing on the necessary ones.

Thus, in brief, time study signifies the assurance of standard time taken by a worker of average capacity under ordinary working conditions for completing a task.

And, while the motion study decides the right strategy for doing something important by eliminating the unnecessary movements and utilizing the time in the best manner.

Steps involved in time and motion study are:

• The Time and Motion study both focuses on eliminating unnecessary movements.
• Their first step is to study the proposed techniques critically and decide the best one.
•  Then they determine the standard time for each operation with the help of a stopwatch.
•  They make a rundown of all the tasks done by applying the existing methods or techniques.
• Then they introduce the appropriate strategy as the standard one.
• They very closely observe the workers who are doing the following task
• Lastly, they survey the legitimate speed of the worker.

Objectives of work-study

Work-study is a procedure that manages the accompanying issues:

• The first is to how could a particular task be finished more efficiently and
• How much time a task must take for completing.

Now, the following are the objectives of work-study:

1. The work-study helps in designing more efficient methods for accomplishing any task.
2. It focuses on minimizing the cost of production or input.
3. Work-study helps in determining the standard time for doing any task.
4. It helps in eliminating unnecessary movements and work on essential activities.
5. It helps in enhancing the productivity of men, machines, and materials.
6. It further expands proficiency, product quality, improves the procedure, and helps in optimum utilization of resources.
7. It helps in determining the best and appropriate strategy to complete the task

Benefits of Work-Study:

Following are the services of the work-study:

1. The Work-study helps in improving the productivity of the operations.
2. Work-study works on providing better working conditions with less exhaustion
3. Work-study ensure fair wages to laborers
4. Work-study offers workers job satisfaction and job security.
5. Work-study assists with smooth production methods with the least interferences.
6. Work-study assists with minimizing the overall cost of production and eliminate unnecessary movements.
7. Work-study ensure the fulfillment of delivery commitments.
8. It ensures better utilization of resources
9. It provides better working conditions.
10. Refines the current techniques used and helps in developing new and straightforward strategies.
11. Assists with setting up the standard time for completing a task and ensure proper time management.

Work-Study Procedure

Work-study is a methodology and deliberate examination to set up the one most ideal standard technique for doing a task or an operation by examining and investigating all the facts concerning the job and existing methods.

Following are the Steps Involved in Work-Study:

• The very first step is to determine which task or operation to be considered and examined.
• Then make a rundown of every one of the facts concerning the task.
• Inspect the recorded details critically by posing inquiries like who, what, when, why;
• Then foster the most efficient and feasible technique to do the same task more efficiently.
• Then with the help of time study, set standard time to do that work;
• Characterize new technique and normal time
• Introduce the new technique as a standard practice
• Start working accordingly with the latest traditional technique

Work Simplification and Work-Study

The production involves coordinating human resources, i.e. men with the physical aid, i.e., machines and materials.

The introduction of new technologies in the production department of the economy is making the production cycles and strategies more complicated.

The method study targets simplifying these techniques and making them work even more straightforward for the workers.

The work simplification begins with the investigation of the operations and a definite assessment concerning whether it may change to something simpler to deliver by minimizing the wastage, killing unnecessary tasks, methods alteration, optimum utilization of time and resources, and so on forth.

Impact of Method and Time Study on Production Activities

The fundamental target of production is to produce the correct amount and top quality of products at the appropriate time and predetermined cost.

Work-study is, therefore, helps in accomplishing this goal. When determining the standard time and method of doing a particular task, work-study plays its role.

The method study helps determine the best strategy to complete the task more efficiently without any wastage of resources and minimum cost.

While time and motion study ensures the standard time for doing a particular job by eliminating the unnecessary movements and focusing on the basic motions of the task.

The studies or techniques help control the quality and amount of products manufactured and helps in enhancing the overall productivity and efficiency.