Traditional time and motion studies were greatly beneficial to streamline manufacturing across many industries. The methods by which such time and motion studies are conducted have inherent problems, however, which modern technology can help to alleviate.
Costly Procedures
The original method of conducting a time and motion study was dictated by the technology available at the time. An observer watches someone do their work, timing their actions with a stopwatch, and making notes.
With a careful observer and a well-designed study, accurate data capture is possible with this system. Even so, the potential problems are not difficult to identify. Few people enjoy being watched closely on the job, and this can have a real impact on performance. Having monitors on the shop floor with stopwatches and clipboards can lead to serious tensions between workers and management. Influence from unions can pressure monitors to change their data, reducing the overall accuracy of the study.
Even in instances where a traditional time and motion study doesn’t result in extra tensions on the shop floor, it still requires personnel to observe and measure actions, personnel who need to be paid for their efforts. The study must also be designed in advance so the monitors know what to watch. The high cost of such a study can push companies away from engaging in them, which means inefficiencies in the manufacturing process go undiscovered. Also, a badly-designed study can waste large amounts of time, effort, and resources.
A Technological Solution
Enter Ceequel®, to alleviate the problems with traditional time and motion studies. Instead of using monitors to watch workers and record data, workers themselves record the data as they move around the shop floor with a simple swipe of a card. The ease of this Shop Floor Data Capture system means it quickly becomes habitual for workers, enabling complete and accurate time and motion data capture. There are no distracting monitors to create performance anxiety, and no external pressure on the monitors to “adjust” their data.
Because data capture is constant and complete, the risks of losing resources to a poorly-planned study are reduced. All of the data on worker movements and productivity are always available for further analysis in new ways. There is no need to engage a human monitor in the task of measuring data, and no risk that the monitor will miss some important detail in the data they collect.
Ceequel® brings time and motion analysis into the 21st century, refining the process of shop floor productivity measurement to be more accurate and seamless with regular production. For more information on how Ceequel® can benefit your production, contact us to discuss the specific needs of your company.