The aim of the lego exercise is to understand the key steps of method study. In the exercise, MBA students assemble the blocks with different colors on a plastic base according to the requirement indicated on the worksheet.

Iteration 2

The revised method was recorded as follows:

1. Sort the blocks by colors and shape;
2. Compose one “RWRWR” module and install it on the base.  Then handle and install another “RWRWR”;
3. Install the “W” block in the center of the base;
4. Symmetrically and simultaneously install the two “B” blocks with two hands;
5. Repeat 2 – 5 for layer 2, 3, 4.

The time for iteration 2 is 1’35”.  The improvement of the assembly method and the operator’s skill contributes to the higher efficiency.

Two important questions were raised in the “Examine” stage of the second iteration:

• Does sorting the blocks by color and shape save much time?

No.  As the number of the blocks is limited, the “sorting” step does not seem necessary.

• Is a one-operator approach the only choice to finish the task?

No.  It is reasonable to use several operators to do the work.

It is agreed to try a group work method.  Thus, a new procedure with two operators sharing in the work was designed in the following “Develop” stage.

Iteration 3

The process of the 3rd iteration included these main steps:

1. One of the two operators pre-composes the “RWRWR” modules;
2. The other operator installs “RWRWR” modules and other blocks on the plastic base.

The time for this method is just 1 minute.  As this approach requires two operators, the cost of it is twice as much as that of one-operator approach.  This indicates that the group work method in this case actually used more time (1min/person * 2 person = 2 minutes) than one-operator method did.

In the “Examine” stage, the group raised two major questions:

• Why it takes longer time to put together the four white blocks in center?

It is difficult to push the white block into the hole that is surrounded by the rest blocks.

• What else might be done?

To position the white blocks in center first and then place blue blocks, which are vertical to red and white ones. The reason is because that more efforts need to be exerted to fit a block into a hole properly than force a block from left or right side towards center.

In the “Develop” stage, the group agreed that one-operator method is appropriate for this task and that the center stack with white blocks should be fixed at first.  The main steps are recorded as the following:

1. Piled up the center blocks and installed to the center of the base;
2. Install the Blue blocks in each layer;
3. Pre-composed “RWRWR” just before installing it on the base;
4. Install all modules by repeating step 3.

It took only 59” for the final method to finish the task.  Therefore, this method seems to be the best one among those methods we had tried.

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Critique of the Block-structure Assembly Exercise

The lego exercise reflects the essence of method study.  It is obvious that through several circles of “Record – Examine – Develop”, the method for assembling blocks was gradually improved.   There are several points worth further consideration.

First, while group work (iteration 3) in this exercise does not seem to be the most efficient method, it is crucial in practical work for mass production.  As discussed above, the reasonable time required by the group work method, which includes two operators in our case, should be half of other methods with one operator.  Since pre-composing “RWRWR” required more time than fixing modules and blocks on the base, the operator in charge of the later work often had to wait for the “RWRWR” modules.  This factor, together with the difference of the operators’ skills, impeded the speed of the group work method.  In practice, mass production and complexity of products decide that a complicated job should be divided into several steps completed by different workers.  By effective work arrangement, the overall efficiency of a team can be maximized.  

Second, it is hard to compare the effectiveness of two methods if the operator is not equally familiar with them.  In fact, the operator will finish a task more quickly with a familiar method than with a strange one.  In this sense, determining the effectiveness of a method merely by the time an operator uses to finish the task may sometimes be biased.   Thorough analysis and sufficient observation are necessary to make the decision.

Third, as the number and type of blocks in this exercise is limited, sorting these blocks seems not necessary.  In practical work, products are composed by dozens or hundreds of accessories.  Sorting all accessories before assembly is an indispensable procedure.

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Job Design of Nortel PABX Installation Projects

TG-Nortel (my former organization), a joint venture of Nortel Networks in China, manufactures and sells Nortel Meridian 1 ISDN PABX, an advanced digital voice communication system for enterprises.  As customers have different requirement of system configuration and features, the on site installation procedure, which includes both hardware and software work, is complicated and crucial.  

The system was once mainly used in hotels and enterprises that need over five hundred extensions.  A project team of two or three engineers stayed in customer’s sites, dedicating to the project for several months.  As the technical requirements of projects are different, Nortel gave project teams high flexibility to arrange their installation procedure.  Since the number of the projects was limited, such policy was feasible to the technical support department with 20 to 30 engineers.  After 1997, with price declination and technology advancement, more and more offices with less than one hundred extensions chose the product.  The proportion of small projects, which can be finished within 10 days, soon exceeded that of big projects.  Since many small projects actually should be executed simultaneously, it is hard to ensure enough engineers for every project, especially during peak period.  The technical support department immediately felt the pressure, and decided to redesign the jobs of the installation procedure for the new circumstances, thereby increasing productivity.

Installation process was divided into two main stages – hardware installation and soft programming, each of them with several sub-procedures.  All these specific procedures were recorded in process chart drafts for further consideration and check.  Project teams were re-organized as well, with project managers, hardware engineers, and software engineers.  Each team member focuses on his own work scope.  The job assignment has two main advantages.  First, it clarifies the responsibilities of each job, thereby preventing redundant work.  Second, as engineers now specialize in either hardware or software, they are more efficient and skillful in their area than before.  

Based on the draft of process chart, the technical support department further examined and developed the process.  Each operation was carefully checked by a set of standards to ensure that it is effective and feasible.  Both managers and engineers are required to give feedback and encouraged to make suggestions.  Furthermore, several trails of the new job design were conducted in real projects.  Through these efforts, the operation procedure was optimized.  For example, by pre-programming some common data in factory, the on site software programming time can be reduced by 20%; Cabinet fixing should be the first step of hardware installation to ease cabling; Connecting expansion cabinets by optical fiber should be the last step to minimize the probability of hurting the frangible optical fiber during the installation procedure.  The final process chart (simplified version) is showed in the appendix 1.

Once the final process chart was decided, the technical support department organized project teams, distributed standard documents and arranged training to staffs.  To be time and cost effective, most training are on site training.  

The company soon benefited from the new job design.  The average time for on site installation of small projects with less than 100 extensions reduced from 10 days to 7 days.  That of projects with 100 to 500 extensions reduced 20%.  A project team is now able to execute several projects simultaneously by effective arrangement of the work in several sites and coordination with customers.  Furthermore, the highly standardized process makes it easy to hand over projects to other teams.  This situation often happens during peak period.  On the other hand, customers are quite satisfied with high efficiency of the installation work.  After the new job design was implemented, a survey showed that the customer satisfaction rate of Nortel’s technical service increased 12%.  

Reflection on the Comparison of Theory and Practice

In general, the job design process discussed above is similar to the theory of scientific management, having “select, record, examine, develop, and install” steps.  Despite so, there are three differences.

First, the “examine”, “develop”, and part of the “install” stage are combined into one step in the above case.  The technical support department checked and improved the installation process simultaneously, through critical examination questions, feedback of staffs, and trials of the new process.  In practice, it is always the case that the “examine” and “develop” steps are interrelated so that it is difficult to separate them.

Second, there is no “maintain” step in Nortel case.  After the new process was successfully launched, the technical support team seldom conducted regular checks.  In fact, any successful job design may lose its effectiveness if the internal and external environment is changed.  The regular monitoring the effectiveness of job designs after they have been installed helps managers to decide whether the method in service still fits the changing environment and to rethink and improve process on a continuous basis.  Although Nortel successfully designed the jobs for PABX projects, neglecting the “maintain” step is not a wise strategy.      

Third, since installation of PABX needs cooperation of customers and may face various technical troubles that are time-consuming to solve, it is difficult to predict the exact time for a project.  Therefore, the characteristics of PABX projects decide that the technical support department could not adopt the approaches of work measurement described in the textbooks.  The standard installation time is roughly estimated by previous experience and may be adjusted case by case according to specific technical requirements.

Conclusion

The theory of scientific management provides significant guides for job design.  The six steps of method study, SREDIM, compose a standard process for people to find out effective and efficient methods for completing tasks.  Qualified job designs should meet three requirements: technical feasibility, economic feasibility and behavioral feasibility.  In practice, while it is correct to follow the theory in designing jobs, flexibility is necessary as well.  Sometimes, changes of the operation procedure that are beneficial to one department may be negative to other departments.  For example, in the Nortel case, although pre-programming common data in factory reduced the time for on site installation, it increased the burden of manufacture department.  In this situation, cooperation and trade-off are indispensable.  The final solution should maximize the overall interest of an organization rather than that of a single department.  Like many other management issues, the best job design solution is the one that adapts to the specific circumstances of organizations.  

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Appendix 1

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References:

1. Ronnie McMillan, Tom Mullen (1999), Operations Management, The University of Strathclyde, GSB. P142
2. Slack, Nigel. (2001), Operations management, Financial Times Prentice Hall
3. Hill Terry, (2000), Operations management, Macmillan Business
4. Krajewski, Lee J, (1999), Operations management : strategy and analysis, Addison Wesley