Off-Standard Conditions in Labour Analysis 6

[macvicar]

I'm currently in the process of benchmarking how various industries deal with &quot;off-standard&quot; conditions/circumstances with regards to standard time<br>development. The definition we use for &quot;off-standard&quot; is:<br><br>&quot;Circumstances affecting the time of performance of a particular operation that were not taken into account in establishing a production standard are know as Non or Off Standard conditions.&quot;<br><br>Examples of this are:&nbsp;&nbsp;A stripped fastener<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;An intermittent parts fit problem<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Slag in a weld nut<br><br>The majority of our off-standard issues arise on our Assembly lines and our position has always been for the operator to use the andon system to call their Team Leader for assistance. Should the condition last for an extended period of time, the supervisor is to make accommodations.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even though we don't award any PF & D allowances, we feel that since we only load the jobs to a maximum of 95%<br>of takt, provide 36 min. of paid breaks (over 8 hrs) and have an andon system for each operator to call for assistance, that off-standard conditions can be handled fairly without adding anything to the time standard.<br><br>What I'm looking for is how other companies deal with off-standard conditions. Do you have contractual language or company policy regarding this issue, do yoou add allowances to the time standards, use PF & D or do you handle it differently ?<br><br>I would appreciate any feedback on this matter. <br><br>Thank You

 

[BML]

The last company I worked for (electronics box build) did it this way:&nbsp;&nbsp;The standard time is set based on time study and methods analysis.&nbsp;&nbsp;This contains only &quot;value-added&quot; time, such as assembly, removing a part from packaging, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;Then we added a 15% inefficiency factor to handle variations in operator speed, material condition, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;That number could be compared to the &quot;true&quot; work time.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, we often compared to a &quot;normal&quot; 8- or 10- hour day, so we then added another 15% PF&D for lunch and breaks.&nbsp;&nbsp;This seemed to work fairly well (as long as we could keep the plant manager from quoting time-study rates to customers).<br><br>The only caution is to make sure you calculate efficiency correctly.&nbsp;&nbsp;I've seen a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that you just need to multiply by the inefficiency factor (1.00 min * 1.20 = 1.20 min).&nbsp;&nbsp;Unfortunately this will cause you to always underestimate the required time.&nbsp;&nbsp;The correct calculation should be (1.00 min / 0.80 = 1.25 min).&nbsp;&nbsp;It doesn't seem like a lot, but it will definitely add up over time, and could be as costly as several thousand dollars (or pounds or yen ....)

 

[joyfbulcock]

At my company, we measure all the off standard times, and compare the actual times with the standard and ask all the operators to account for differences, we can then use the 'losses' to draw up paretos and prioritise losses so that corrective actions that will hopefully eliminate the 'non-standard' problem happening again.<br>This is a long process to implement though, you need to understand all the non-standard losses and ensure your shift teams do too, to ensure losses are accounted for accurately...we therefore don't account for any 'inefficiencies' as we want shift patterns to work through lunches etc, they have to manage their teams so this can be done and therefore the lines are running at full rate, 24 hrs a day. (Chemical Industry)<br>So the language we use is 'loss accounting' and it is part of shift teams roles to do this every batch/shift.&nbsp;&nbsp;The results are analysed everyday and actions completed.&nbsp;&nbsp;The results are then compared with the long term OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) score to check improvement is being made.&nbsp;&nbsp;The benchmarks for this are&nbsp;&nbsp;85% OEE for World Class batch plants, and 95% OEE for World Class continuous plants.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

[Halbleib]

A quick question on the efficiency calculation......As an entry level Industrial Engineer, I've found myself setting time standards for a company that is being built from the ground up. A couple of questions I have for whomever (I figured this thread would be a good place to start) is 1) when calculating the elemental time for an operation including the performance rating, do you use the efficiency factor equation??? (i.e. elemental time = 10 seconds, performance rating 120% thus, 10/.80=12.5 seconds) OR do you use a more traditional approach???(i.e. elem time = 10 seconds, perf rating = 120% thus, 10 x 1.2 = 12 seconds)? and question 2) for P, F, and D, do you use the efficiency equation or the traditional one??

Its been 4 years since I'ev had the class in college. I'm patiently awaiting text on the subject but have several weeks left until it is expected to arrive. Currently, I am using the traditional equation for the performance rating end and the efficiency equation for P, F, and D. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated......

Thanks

Also, my company right now is beginning to set the format for dealing with off-standard times. Both suggestions above seem reasonable, anyone else have any input??

 

[GaryEvans]

As far as &quot;Off standard time,&quot; our contractual language deals with pay practices. Piecework employees are entitled to be paid piecework for an off standard rate. Typically these are for short duration such as 1 spindle out of 4 down, or missing employee in a crew.

However, sime most of our employees are &quot;measured dayworkers,&quot; we use off standard time as a measurement tool for OEE. We require all direct workers, to &quot;account for their day.&quot; They will list the reasons and the time associated with their inability to make/exceed standard. For example, a worker works 8 hrs and makes 600 pieces for the shift. His standard in 800 pieces for the shift which translates into 6 good standard hours of production. In addition to his production, he had to perform a setup for 1 hour and his machine was down for 1 hour. The OEE would be 75%. We would use this statistics to target improvements.

We have found, that it is not a good idea to incorporate allowances for off standard times. When this occurrs, it hides inefficiencies and pending equipment problems (Lack of PM activities, etc.)

Gary