IE 486 Work Analysis

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IE 486 Work Analysis Design II

• Vincent G. Duffy, Ph.D.
• Associate Professor
• School of Industrial Engineering
• and Department of Agricultural Biological
  Engineering
• Purdue University
• Thursday, January 18, 2007
• Lecture 2- Macroergonomics

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IE 486 Administrative

• Wickens text on reserve electronic version (full
  version) of Freivalds text is also in library
  catalog
• Re CPS Clickers well use them in Feb.
• Today ch.19
• Next week ch.6 7 in Wickens
• Lab schedules revised show today
• Times include sections on Friday 830, 1030,
  130 and 330.

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Macroergonomics

• The chapter we will refer to is Ch. 19 in Wickens
  (titled Social Factors)
• The chapter is comprised of key elements among
  the social AND organizational factors
• Macroergonomics addresses the social and
  organizational aspects

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Social factors

• Ch.19 in Wickens
• impact of groups and teams on performance
• how technology supports groups and teams
• Why care about groups and teams in Work Analysis
  Design?
• Individuals vary with respect to performance and
  error
• So do teams
• Consider
• Performance, task/goals, people/team
  characteristics capabilities and limitations

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Social factors

• QOTD Q.1. Why care about groups and teams in Work
  Analysis Design?
• Individuals vary with respect to performance and
  error
• So do teams
• Besides system/technology characteristics
• Consider also
• Performance, task/goals, people/team
  characteristics capabilities and limitations

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Characteristics of teams

• All teams are groups, but not all groups are
  teams
• teams tend to have the following characteristics
• group perceived as a work unit by members
  non-members
• interdependence (reliance on one another) and
  shared outcome
• role differentiation
• interdependent relations with other groups

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Team performance

• In a complex, dynamic environment with safety
  considerations, communication and job performance
  typically decline
• Communication has a strong impact on performance
  (see also p.499 in 2nd ed.)

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Team training

• Emphasizes the acquisition of team skills
• Computers/specialized software can support
  communication and coordination
• see also groupware p.500 2nd ed.
• they can
• provide anonymity
• impose structure on the process
• provide workspace for ideas or writing
• reduce disapproval and counterproductive
  behavior such as minority exercising authority
  and control

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Decision and communication support systems

• Decision support can increase confidence in
  decisions
• Communication support can decrease domination of
  the group by a few
• however, communication support also can decrease
  overall cooperation and consensus building
• (see also refs. By Nunamaker, Az.State).
• Collocated teams outperform distributed teams
• reducing visual access significantly impacts
  group dynamics (p.604 1st ed.)

10
Difficulties in remote collaboration

• Whether advances in technology can overcome the
  disadvantages of distance collaboration is not
  clear. (p.503, 2nd ed.)

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Organizational factors

• Microergonomics - focus on individual workers
• Macro ergonomics - address performance and safety
  at the social and organizational levels
• rather than only the physical and cognitive
  levels.
• Why is it needed?
• In understanding accidents in high-hazard
  industries decisions must be understood in
  context p.503-504, 2nd ed.

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Organizational change - barriers

• Barriers
• Training may be costly
• stockholders would prefer pay dividends rather
  than reinvest in the company
• managers may lose power and authority
• many people naturally resist change
• reward structures typically dont support
  change
• employee participation (participatory ergonomics)
  can help to overcome these barriers (p.504)
• As is shown in recent literature on user access
  for all-Social and intranets organizational
  learning, more research is needed

13
Types of systems

• Described in relation to degree of complexity and
  coupling
• These are dimensions affecting performance and
  safety
• Degree of complexity and coupling has
  implications for the likelihood of catastrophic
  failure
• Highly complex, tightly coupled systems are
  vulnerable to catastrophic failure
• Work design specialists may study events leading
  to failures at Chernobyl, Three mile island,
  Challenger, now Katrina
• Considering the team/organizational aspects

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Types of systems

• Complexity refers to the number of feedback
  loops, interconnected subsystems and invisible
  unexpected interactions
• Nuclear power and petrochemical plants are
  complex behavior of one subsystem may affect
  many others, and these interactions can be
  perceived only indirectly
• Coupling refers to the degree that there is
  little slack and a tight connection between
  subsystems
• Tightly coupled system examples just-in-time
  supply chain a disruption in part system
  quickly affects other parts of the system

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Types of systems

• Combinations and System characteristics
• (See table 19.1 on p.493).
• Q.2 What are examples of each?
• High Complexity Low Coupling
• Low Complexity Low Coupling
• High Complexity High Coupling
• Low Complexity High Coupling

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Types of systems

• Combinations and System characteristics
• Q.2 What are examples of each?
• High Complexity Low Coupling
• Universities, Government
• Low Complexity Low Coupling
• Traditional manufacturing
• High Complexity High Coupling
• Nuclear power, Airplane, air travel
• Low Complexity High Coupling
• Marine transport, rail transport, JIT Supply
  chains