Macroergonomics

1
Macroergonomics

• The analysis, design, and evaluation of work
  systems.
• Concerned with the human-organization
  interface.
• Top-down approach concerned with
• Personnel subsystems
• Technology subsystems
• Organizational structure
• External environment
• Key issues of concern
• How do organizational constraints affect how
  people work with machines (i.e., human-machine
  systems)
• What factors come into play when people work
  together in groups?

2
Six Ergonomics Guidelines

1. Plan the work, then work the plan.
2. Reward results.
3. Optimize system availability.
4. Minimize idle capacity.
5. Use filler jobs or filler people.
6. Communicate information.

3
In-class assignment

• Assume you are planning to start a new fast-food
  business designed to be both customer-friendly
  AND worker-friendly. Your mission statement
  includes, among other things, a pledge to use the
  principles of macroergonomics as a guiding force
  for the business.
• Work in groups.
• Approach the problem from the perspective of
  specific guidelines outlined in chapter 8.
• As we discuss each guideline, you will be given a
  chance to work together to develop
  recommendations for the business.
• Your deliverables include a list of one or more
  ideas and suggestions.

4
G1. Plan the work, then work the plan

• Plan the Work
• List goals.
• Set goal priorities.
• Make a to do list.
• Set activity priorities.

• Work the Plan
• Start with As, not with Cs.
• Do it now.
• Cut big activities into bits.

5
G2. Reward results

• Get people to work hard and smart.
• Types of motivation
• Positive
• Internal (self-motivation)
• External
• Financial
• Nonfinancial
• Negative

6
G3. Optimize system availability

• Availability Uptime Total Time
• Strategies to improve availability
• Increase uptime.
• longer production runs
• increase reliability (MTBF)
• Decrease downtime.
• decrease voluntary downtime
• increase maintainability (MTR)
• Make loss of availability less costly.
• preventive maintenance
• partial function

7
G4. Minimize idle capacity

• Fixed Costs
• Annual cost of many machines and people varies
  little with output.
• Solutions
• Operate more hours/year.
• Use pools.
• Revise work schedules.
• Encourage off-peak use.
• Variable Costs
• Some team members are more expensive than others.
• In the U.S. the expensive part of the team is
  usually human labor.
• Solutions
• Duplicate components.
• Idle low-cost components (use double tooling).
• Do not use one on one.

8
G5. Use filler jobs or filler people

• Problem Match worker time to job requirements.
• Strategies
• Adjust the workload but keep the workforce
  constant.
• Break longer jobs into shorter jobs.
• Do short, low-priority jobs during idle time.
• Use scheduling to decrease idle time.
• Assign more work to subordinates than they have
  time to do.

9
Strategies (continued)

• Adjust the Workforce
• Use staggered work times.
• Use temporary workers.
• Use part-time workers.

10
G6. Communicate information

• Provide job instruction or training.
• Provide command and control short messages that
  trigger behavior patterns.