Industrial Engineering

Industrial engineering may be defined as the art of utlizing scientific principles, psychological data, and physiological information for designing, improving, and integrating industrial, management, and human operating procedures  - Gerald Nadler

Industrial Engineering is Human Effort Engineering and System Efficiency Engineering - Narayana Rao


Industrial Engineering Knowledge Center

Lean Management and Head Count Reduction

Don't bring in lean management to reduce head count in financial crisis periods.

Duing financial crisis, the best approach is to deal with any necessary headcount reductions first and then try lean methods.

James P Womack
Lean Enterprise Institute

In an interview in Mint, Campaign, 25 August 2008

Partial correction of Taylorist separation of roles in the factory

Modifications are made to standard operations and the 'Work standard sheet' and such modifications are mostly made within the organization of the shopfloor. The routine process for modifying the 'Work standard sheet' at shopfloor level in Japanese companies is the submission of a kaizen proposal by members of the shopfloor work-group, followed by revision of the formal document on the basis of that proposal. Taking this process into account, Fujimoto maintains that kaizen in Japan involves the development of industrial engineering techniques in a bottom-up manner, with the participation of all of the company's employees, and he therefore terms the techniques used in Japanese companies 'whole-company industrial engineering' (Fujimoto, 2001: 149-152).

Fujimoto, T. (2001) Seisan Manegimento Nyumon I (Production Management I), Tokyo: Nihonkeizai Shinbunsha.



Japanese Production Management and Improvements in Standard Operations: Taylorism, Corrected Taylorism, or Otherwise?
Yutaka Tamura. Asian Business & Management. Houndmills: Dec 2006. Vol. 5, Iss. 4; pg. 507

Yutaka Tamura : School of Business Administration, Tohogakuen University, 3-11, Heiwagaoka, Meito-Ku, Nagoya 465-8515, Japan. E-mail: tamura@nagoya-toho.ac.jp


I have to mention at this point that Taylor in his Shop Management has clearly written that worker'suggestions have to be considered during the standard process development as well as afterwards. I shall give the reference for this statement.

KVSSNRAO

What is 6S Workplace for Administrative Areas?

What is 6S Workplace for Administrative Areas?

6S for the Office is a systematic approach to improving office organization, ordering, cleanliness, and standardization while simultaneously improving office efficiency and reducing lead times.


The 6S System for Administrative Areas includes the following activities:

Safety - identifying and eliminating unsafe conditions

Sorting - evaluating the need for items currently located within the targeted area and removing unnecessary items

Setting in Order - arranging the necessary items in the most logical and most efficient configuration. Also encompasses setting inventory limits, making location indicators, establishing reorder points, etc.

Shine - cleaning everything in the selected area and using cleaning to ensure office equipment and area cleanliness are maintained

Standardization - creating uniformity in the way work within the targeted area is performed and incorporating the first three S's into everyone's daily routines by creating visual displays, checklists and processing controls.

Sustainment - creating accountability for the preservation and continuance of the 6S System through self-discipline, training, communication and total employee involvement.


Needs & Benefits: 6S System learning and implementation is ideal for businesses that are experiencing:

employees spending too much time locating files, documents or supplies

customers placed on hold and waiting while the Customer Service Rep searches for information

misplaced or lost orders, quotes and other documents due to an unorganized office environment
reduced server space due to obsolete electronic files
employees searching for supplies and materials due to poorly organized and maintained supply area

unsafe work conditions - extension cords without safety covers, improperly marked door signs, trip hazards, etc.

lack of a feeling of ownership and responsibility among employees for the upkeep and appearance of the area in which they work

http://www.nepirc.com/news_classes_time.php?class_id=48

What is Five S?

The Five S program focuses on having visual order, organization, cleanliness and standardization.

The results you can expect from a Five S program are: improved profitability, efficiency, service and safety.

The principles underlying a Five S program at first appear to be simple, obvious common sense. And they are. But until the advent of Five S programs many businesses ignored these basic principles.



What types of businesses benefit from a Five S program?
Everyone and all types of business benefit from having a Five S program.

Manufacturing and industrial plants come to mind first, as those are the business that can realize the greatest benefits. However, any type of business, from a retail store to a power plant -- from hospitals to television stations -- all types of businesses, and all areas within a business, will realize benefits from implementing a Five S program.



What are the Five S's?


Sort - the first step in making things cleaned up and organized

Set In Order - organize, identify and arrange everything in a work area

Shine - regular cleaning and maintenance

Standardize - make it easy to maintain - simplify and standardize

Sustain -maintaining what has been accomplished


Steve Hudgik
http://www.graphicproducts.com/tutorials/five-s/index.php