40

Productivity
40.1. WHAT IS PRODUCTIVITY?

A farmer produces from one hectare of land 10 more bags of wheat during a
season, using improved farming technique and better quality seeds.
A tailor is able to make 10 shirts from 13 metres cloth, by changing his cutting method, in
place of the usual 1.5 metres per shirt he used to take previously.
A machinist is able to produce 30 jobs per day on two machines instead of 20 jobs per
day, by attending to one machine only.
A machine tool produces 100 jobs per working day instead of 80 jobs through the use of
improved cutting tools.
One common thing that we find in all these situations given above, is the increase in
output.
The farmer is able to produce more from the same piece of land without bringing in any
additional input. He has only changed his farming technique and used a better quality of seeds. Thus
we may say that without any change in input the output from the land has increased. In engineering we
call the ratio, as output input
as efficiency.

In production system we may call this ratio as the production efficiency or

productivity. So, when this ratio increases, there is an increase in productivity.
Therefore, productivity is an efficiency of the production system which is expressed by the
ratio between output and input. When the tailor is able to reduce the length of cloth used per shirt by
adopting an improved cutting technique, the input (cloth) per shirt reduces while the output (shirts)
remains constant. Thus, there is an increase in productivity, in the utilization of the material (cloth).
The machinist was producing 20 jobs per day, while he was working on one machine. It
was quite likely that he might have been idle for some time while the machine was on automatic feed. By
working on two machines he produces 30 jobs, per day. If we consider the utilization of his working time, we
may say that the productivity of the machinist has increased.
Similarly, the productivity of a machine tool increases by using improved cutting
tool and also by using improved method of working.
Definitions of productivity
Productivity is a measure of how much input is required to produce a given output i.e. the
ratio output
input
is called productivity.
 Productivity of a production system is analogous to the efficiency of a machine.
Productivity can also be defined as human efforts to produce more and more
with less and less inputs of resources as a result of which the benefits of production are distributed
among maximum number of people.
European productivity council defines "productivity is an attitude of mind. It
is a mentality of rogress, of the constant improvement of that which exists. It is the certainty of beings able to
do better than esterday and continuously. It is constant adaptation of the economic and social life to
changing conditions. is the continual effort to apply new techniques and methods. It is the faith in
human progress".
-

According to Peter Drucker, "Productivity means a balance between all factors of production that
ill give the maximum output with the smallest effort".
-

ILO defines total productivity as the ratio of aggregate output to aggregate input. Partial
productivity
PRODUCTIVITY
751

is the ratio of the aggregate output to any

single input. The definition applies for an
enterprise, an industry or an economy as a
whole. Examples of partial productivity are
labour productivity, capital productivity.
-

- Productivity implies development of an attitude of mind

and constant urge to find better, cheaper, casier,
quicker and
safer means of doing a job, manufacturing a product
and providing services.
When we consider an industry as a whole,
the productivity can be expressed in terms of
the ratio between the value of the goods and services
produced to the value of the resources utilized for this
produc-
tion.

are:

Thus, productivity =
Value of goods and services
produced
Value of resources utilized for this
production
So, productivity refers to efficient utilization of the resources. The
resources utilized for production
Land and Building. Land is a convenient location on which the
buildings and other facilities necessary for the operation of manufacture are erected.
Materials. Materials that can be converted into products to
be sold. They include fuel, chemicals for use in the process of
manufacture, packing and other indirect materials etc.
Machines. Plant, equipment and tools necessary to carry out
operations of manufacture and the trans- port of materials, heating, ventilating
and power plant; office equipment and furniture.
Manpower. Men and women to perform the manufacturing
operations; to plan and control, to do clerical work; to design and to research; to buy
and sell.
The use of all these resources combined together determines the
productivity of the enterprises. Since, higher productivity means more output
from the same resources, it also means lower money costs and higher net money
returns per unit of output.
40.2. PRODUCTIVITY AND PRODUCTION

The concept of productivity and production are totally different. Production refers
to absolute output while productivity is a relative term wherein output is always
expressed in terms of input. The production may rise without the corresponding rise in
the productivity and vice versa. If the input remains the same and the production of output
increases there is a rise in productivity.
 If the output rises in greater proportion than the increase in input, there is still a
proportionate rise in the level of productivity. But if the output rises at slower rate than the
input there will be fall in productivity even though there is an increase in production on the whole.
Production, therefore, means the output in terms of money whereas productivity
is the efficiency of production system.
40.3. MEASUREMENT OF PRODUCTIVITY

The basic objectives behind productivity measurement

are :
(a) to study performance of a system
overtime.
(b) to have relative comparison of different systems for a given level;
and
(c) to compare the actual productivity of the system with its planned
productivity.
The measurement of productivity creates a problem in the following
circumstances. When the produc- tion system produces different types of output, it is necessary to
have a common unit of measurement to arrive at the aggregate output. Similarly, whenever
different kinds of input like capital and labour are to be added to arrive at an aggregate input
figure, a common unit of measurement is needed for these inputs.
Even for the partial productivity measures involving only one kind of input,
problem exists in terms of aggregating over different kinds of the same input. For example,
labour as an input may have different categories like skilled, semiskilled, unskilled, that need to
be aggregated.
The most common way is to express both outputs and the inputs in
monetary terms.
If the outputs and inputs for the period for which productivity is measured,
are expressed in rupees, then under certain restrictive assumptions, we can write :
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i.e.
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND PRODUCTION MANAGEME

Aggregate output = Gross sales = G (say);

and
Aggregate input = Cost
C (say)
G
Thus, total productivity T;
=C
From the broad definition of profit, we have

i.e.
Profit PG-C
P
=

=-1

or
။
+
...

...(

Productivity T = 1+
C
which implies that zero profit will give a productivity of 1, while a loss wi
give a value less than one. The profit to cost ratio thus determines the increase in
productivity.
Total productivity can also be measured as follows:
Let X;
Y
= number of units of product i produced during the period.
= the basic period price for product i (in rupees)
Then for each product output = X,Y,. The aggregate output
Z (say) = Z = EX, Y, (in rupees).
Similarly, aggregate input is arrived in monetary terms by converting each of the
 input resources separately from physical units to rupee value. As explained earlier, the input resources
in a productive system can be classified under the broad heads of material, man, machine, capital and land.
Material Input (M):
Let M1 = quantity of material i used during the period for producing the products.
C1 = cost per unit of raw material i in the base year
then,
Material Input, M = EM,C,
Labour Input (L):
l
Let = number of man hours put M by labour category i during the period under
consideration, and h1 = hourly wage rate; then
L=
ΣΙΛ
Capital and-Land Input (K):
The capital input can be divided into two parts; the fixed assets, like machineries and
equipments, and the current assets which include cash, inventory etc.
Let D, = Depreciation (in rupees) for the fixed asset
i
i

1= Cost of capital in base period (percentage)

A = Total working capital in the period (in rupees)
R = Rental or equivalent of the value of land in base period (in rupees)
Then, capital and land input
= K = ΣD; + AL + R
Aggregate Output
Total productivity
=

Aggregate Input
Z
Ex¡ Yi
=
=

M+L+ K EM¡C; + El;h; + ED; + AI + R

4. PRODUCTIVITY INDEX (KINDS OF PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT)
1. Material Productivity. There are many industries in which the cost of raw
material represents 60% or re of the cost of finished product. Many industries have to import a very
large proportion of their basic raw
T
PRODUCTIVITY
753
materials and pay for them in scarce foreign
currencies. Under either of these conditions the
productivity of materials becomes a key factor in economic
production or operation.
Material productivity
=
Number of units
produced
Cost of material

Raw material productivity can be

increased by:
1. Proper choice of
design.
2. Proper training and motivating of workers by way of
better handling of materials and reduction of
rejection.
3. Better material planning and control; use of jigs and
fixtures.
4. Waste reduction, scrap control.
5. Proper care of materials in
storage.
6. Recycling and reuse of
materials.
7. Searching alternative cheaper materials
etc.

Labour Productivity
Aggregate
Output
Amount of Labour
Where output can be measured in total quantity produced and labour can
be measured in total man hours required to produce that output. Output and labour
can also be measured in terms of their value in money units.

Thus, Labour Productivity

=
Total Revenue from Production
 Expenditure on Labour
The labour productivity can be increased by
:
(i) Selection of product design and process of manufacture so as to ensure most
economical use
labour.
(ii) Providing training to use best method of
production.
(iii) Constantly motivating workers by providing financial and non-financial
incentives.
(iv) Keeping high morale of employees.
(v) Improving working conditions in the
plant.
(vi) By providing opportunities for self-
development.
Turn over

Capital Productivity = Capital

employed
Capital productivity can be improved
by:
(i) Better utilization of capital resources like land, building,
machines.
(ii) Careful make or buy decision.
of

(iii) By using modern techniques of production, maintenance, flexible manufacturing

system, proper
plant layout etc.
Output
 Machine Productivity = Actual machine hours
utilized
Machine Productivity can be improved by
following:
(i) Preventive maintenance.
(ii) Use of proper speed, feed, depth of cut
etc.
(iii) Using method study techniques (using best
method).
(iv) Use of skilled, properly trained
workers.
(v) Line balancing etc.
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INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND PRODUCTION MA
General Measure of Productivity:
Aggregate Productivity
=

Output
Land + Labour + Material + Capital + Other
Inputs
40.5. IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCTIVITY
The concept of productivity is of great significance for undeveloped and developing
count the cases there are limited resources which should be used to get the
maximum output i.e. ther attempts to perform a job by cheaper, safer and quicker
ways. The aim should be optimum use of as to provide maximum satisfaction
with minimum efforts and expenditure. Productivity analysi ures indicate the
stages and situations where improvement in the working inputs is possible to i
output.

The productivity indicators can be used for different purposes, viz

comparison of perfor various organisations, to study performance of the
organisation overtime, to compare actual p with its planned productivity,
contribution of different input factors, bargaining with trade union
Productivity is a key to prosperity. Hence an autonomous organisation was established in
In as National Productivity Council (NPC). It was established in 1958 and has 5
regional productiv rates in the country managed by specialists for organising
productivity programmes. It has also 47 local councils at various industrial centres in
the country and they work as the spear head of t tivity movement.
 To increase productivity, NPC supplies publications, utilities, audio-visual media films,
exhibitions. In collaboration with local productivity councils and various institutions, it orga
conducts training programmes for various levels of management. It also provides assistance, g
industries in other activities and difficulties.
40.6. MEANS OF INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY
Every management tries to improve the productivity. The productivity can be improved
broa following two ways:
(1) Increasing the resources and thereby production.
(2) Effective utilisation of resources.
According to the first method if we increase the resources such as labour, machines, material
productivity may improve but there are limitations to increase the resources as it needs more capi ment.
Secondly, after increasing the resources above certain limit, it is possible that the production but in small
proportion as compared to increase in input and hence the productivity may decrease
Whereas second method requires very little capital investment to improve the productivity. In country
like ours, the second method is preferred due to limited capital. The various resource material
capital investment, labour, technological know-how, managerial skill, machines etc. Bette tion o
resources means reduction of scrap, and utilizing idle time of men, machines etc
Since, Productivity =
output input
As seen from the example discussed earlier, productivity can be increased in three ways: (1) By
increasing the output from the same input.
(2) By reducing the input for the same output.
(3) By a small increase in input, achieving a substantial increase in output.
Thus, the productivity of the enterprise will be increased when :
(1) The quality and quantity of output is increased by better management, by using best
method determined by method study, while the input remains the same.
(2) The input is reduced by avoiding waste in all forms.
(3) For better utilization of existing resources, a small increase is made in the inputs resulting i
increase in output. Attempts for improving the productivity of an industrial enterprise will have to be towards
these three areas.
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PRODUCTIVITY

Role of government, employers and workers for

productivity improvement:
739

To achieve the greatest increase in productivity, action must be taken by

 all sections of the community; government, employers and workers.
Government can create conditions favourable to raise
productivity in the following manner: (i) By having balanced
programme of economic development.
(ii) By taking steps necessary to
maintain employment.
(iii) By trying to make opportunities for employment for those
who are unemployed or under em- ployed, and for those who
have lost their jobs as a result of productivity improvement in
individual plants.
Management (Employer) can raise the
productivity by :
Balancing the use of one resource against another and by co-ordinating the
efforts of everyone in the organisation to achieve the best results.
(ii) Motivating workers through the introduction of
incentive schemes.
(iii) Maintaining good relations with the workers to
seek their co-operation.
(iv) Keeping equipment and machinery in good working condition and
planning the work to have
effective utilization of the available
resources.
Workers fear that raising productivity will lead to unemployment. Therefore, workers can
help to raise productivity only when they are assured of adequate assistance
in meeting their problems. Trade unions and workers representatives should
actively encourage the workers to extend their whole-hearted co-operation to
management in raising productivity for the benefit of the country as a whole.
40.7. IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY BY REDUCING WORK
CONTENT
Work content means the amount of work "contained in" a given product or process
measured in man- hour or machine-hour.
Total work content = Basic work content + Excess time.
The basic work content is the time the product would take to manufacture or the operation to
perform, if the design or specification was perfect, if the process or method of
manufacture or operation was perfectly carried out, and if there was no loss of working time
for any cause during the period of operation (other than the legitimate rest pauses permitted to
 the operative).

time.
Thus basic work content is the irreducible minimum time theoretically required to produce
one unit of

The excess time = Time due to defects in design or specification of the product + time due to
inefficient methods of manufacture or operation.
In addition to excess time in actual practice interruptions occur, causing the worker or machine or
both to remain idle. This is called as ineffective time. Thus, ineffective time is the time for which the worker or
machine or both remain idle due to the shortcomings of the management or the worker. Therefore,
these features (Excess time + Ineffective time) that cause unnecessary work can be considered
as reasons of low productivity and elimination of these will result in improvement of industrial
productivity.
The following table shows the elements of excess work contents, ineffective time and the
techniques to eliminate them for improving productivity.
Causes for low productivity
Excess time

A. Work content added due to defects in

design
or specifications of product
1. Bad design of product.

2. Lack of standardization : prevents use of

high-
production process.
Technique to eliminate the
causes.

1. Product development and value

analysis
reduces excess work content due to
design defects.
2. Specialization and standardization
enable
high-production process to be
used.
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INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND PRODUCTION MANAGE
 3. Incorrect quality standards (cause
unnecessary
work).
4. Design demands removal of excess material.
B. Work content added by inefficient methods
of manufacture or operation
5. Wrong machine used.
3.
Market, consumer and product research e correct quality standards.
4. Product development and value analysi reduce
work content due to excess mate

5.
Process planning ensures selection of co
machines.
6. Process not operated correctly or in bad
conditions.
6.
7. Use of wrong tools.
Process planning and research ensures co operation of processes.
7.
Process planning and method study
ensu correct selection of tools.
8. Improper or bad layout causing wasted
movements.
8.
Method study reduces work content due t
layout.
9.
Method study and operator training redu
work content due to bad working metho
9. Operatives bad working methods.

C. Ineffective time due to short comings of

the management.
10. Excessive product variety (adds idle time due
to short runs).
11. Lack of standardization (adds idle time due to
short runs),
12. Design changes (adds ineffective time due to
stoppage and rework).
13. Bad planning of work and orders adds idle lime
of men and machines.

14. Lack of raw materials due to poor inventory control adds

idle time of men and machines. 15. Plant breakdowns (cause
 stoppage/interruptions
in production).
16. Plant in bad condition adds ineffective time
due to scrap and rework.
17. Bad/poor working conditions add ineffective
time through forcing workers to rest.
10. Marketing and specialization reduce idle
due to product variety.
11. Application of standardization reduces i
time due to short runs.
12. Product development reduces ineffective
due to changes in design.
13. Production planning and production con
based on work measurement reduces idle due to bad planning.
14. Proper inventory control ensures smooth
of materials and avoids stoppages. 15.
Preventive
maintenance reduces breakdow
machines.

16. Maintenance reduces ineffective time du

plant in bad condition.
17. Improved working conditions enable wor
to work steadily without causing undue
fatigue.
18. Frequent accidents add ineffective time through 18. Safety programmes/measures redu
stoppages and absence.
D. Ineffective time within the control of worker 19.
Absence, lateness and idleness adds
ineffective time.

20. Careless workmanship increases scrap and

rework.

21. Accidents due to careless worker.

frequency of accidents.

19. Sound personnel policy and incentives rec

ineffective time due to absence etc.
20. Personnel policy and operation train
reduces scrap and rework.
21. Safety training, safety programme red
frequency of accidents.

40.8. PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT PROCEDURE

 (1) Improving the existing method of plant operation. The use of systematic procedure is
recommen to improve the productivity. Method study and work measurement may be used to
improve the exis method to select a process, machines, tools etc.
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PRODUCTIVITY
757

The first step is to gather all information about the

process and present this in a form suitable for
study. Information gathered may include all
operations, facilities, transportation facilities used,
distances moved, all inspections, inspection time,
storage facilities and time spent in storage, all
drawing and design specifica-
tions. This information may be presented in the form of flow
process chart.
The usual technique is the critical examination which consists of
asking questions on every activity shown on the flow process chart and then find
out the best possible answer.
Typical questions asked may
be :
(i) Is the operation
necessary?
(ii) Are too close tolerances really necessary? (iii)
Can a more economical material be used?
(iv) Can a better equipment or machine tool be used?
The answers to these questions may result in the elimination or
combination of some of the elements of operation; improvement in the
plant layout; rearranging the operations in an efficient way, proper
selection of machines and tools; reduction of scrap and improvement in
quality of the products manufactured.
(2) Purpose of operation. Before accepting any operation as
 absolutely necessary, the analyist should determine the purpose of the
operation. So, it may be found that some operations are unnecessary.
Sometimes an unnecessary operation will develop because of:
(i) Improper performance of previous operation, a second operation
must be do. to touch up or make
acceptable the work done by the first
operation.
(ii) For greater sales appeal. The study of the flow process chart will result in
the elimination of some unnecessary operation, combination of some of the element
operations or rearranging the opera- tions in a best possible sequence which will
reduce the time required to perform the work cycle. (3) Design of Part. The product
designs are not permanent, they can be changed, improvement is possible. To
improve the design the production engineer should keep in mind the following
points that may be helpful in reducing the cost of design under study.
(i) Reduce number of parts, thus simplifying the
design.
(ii) Reduce the number of operations and length of travel in the manufacturing by
joining parts better
and making the machining and assembly easier.
(iii) Utilize a better and economical material.
(iv) Rely for accuracy upon key operations.
(v) Install efficient system of quality control.
(vi) Standardize the materials, processes, tools used and the sequence of
operations etc.
(4) Tolerance and specifications. Functional designers have a tendency to specify closer
tolerance
than necessary while developing the products for the following
reasons:
(i) Lack of appreciation for the increased cost because of rigid specifications and close
tolerances. (ii) Lack of knowledge of the production processes.
(iii) Considering the tendency of shop personnel to loose up the
tolerances.
(iv) Lack of information about process
capability.
Enforcing tolerances that are too tight tends to increase cost of production, for the following
reasons: (i) To meet tight tolerances costly precision machines, costly tools, jigs,
fixtures, special materials,
costly processes; skilled, trained and experienced operators may be
needed.
(ii) The operator has to pay more attention and the rate of production may also be reduced.
(iii) The cost of inspection, testing and analysis will increase.
 (iv) Because of tight inspection standards the cost of spoilage, rework is also
increased, since the
number of rejections will be more.
On the other hand if the tolerances are too liberal, the value of the product decreases. If is
difficult to achieve interchangeability of manufacture. Therefore, instead of having tight
tolerances which are loosely enforced, design realistic tolerances and create controls
needed to enforce them strictly. The designers may
758
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
consult the production engineers and cost analysis group for setting realistic tolerances.
The design should be optimum based on type of customers in the market.
(5) Effective utilization of materials. There are many industries in which the cost of
material is a big percentage of the cost of the finished product. Many industries have to
import a very large proportion of their basic raw materials and pay for them in scarce
foreign currencies. Under either of these conditions higher productivity can be achieved
through proper use of materials and reduction of scrap.
The material to be used is actually specified by the designer but the production
engineer should try to find out alternative economical materials which will not affect the
proper functioning of the product.
The following considerations will serve as a guide for selection and effective utilization of the
material. At the design stage:
(i) By ensuring that the product can be manufactured with the least possible use of
materials, espe-
cially when they are scarce or costly.
(ii) By ensuring that plant and equipment selected is the most economical possible in
terms of materials
consumed in its operation (e.g. fuel) for a given level of
performance.
At the process or operation stage:
(iii) Finding less expensive alternative material.
(iv) Using right process and by ensuring that it is operated correctly.
(v) Using material more economically by proper inventory control.
(vi) Training the workers properly and motivating them so that they will not turn out faulty
work which
has to be rejected, leading to loss of material.
(vii) Searching for the possible use of
scrap material.
(viii) By using suitable material handling system to prevent the damage of material.
(ix) By using suitable storage facilities at all stages.
(x) Reducing scrap by installing inspection stations at the required stages of
production. (xi) By proper packing to avoid damage in transit to the customer.
 (xii) Using standard material in standard sizes.
(6) Process of manufacture. There are many manufacturing processes, moreover, a part or
component can be manufactured by two or more processes. The process selected must be an
economical balance of material manpower, product design, tooling and equipment, plant space and
other factors influencing cost and practi- cability. The break even analysis discussed earlier may be used
for selection of the economical process for given volume of production. In order to reduce the cost
considerably, proper speeds and feeds should be used, the grinding of cutting tool should be proper to
enhance the rate of production and reduce the number of regrindings. Cutting tools should be
properly mounted and right lubricant should be used. Proper maintenance will ensure that plant and
machinery is operating properly and will prolong its life, so reducing capital expenditure.
(7) Set up and tools. The amount of special tooling (such as jigs and fixtures) that proves
advantageous depends upon :
(1) The quantity to be produced.
(2) The chance for repeated orders.
(3) The amount of labour involved.
(4) Delivery requirements.
(5) Amount of capital requirements.
The economic advantage of lower labour costs is the controlling factor in the determination of the
tooling. Other considerations such as improved interchangeability, increased accuracy, reduction of
labour trouble, increased rate of production are dominant reasons for use of jigs and fixtures.
Set up times depends on tooling considerations since it determines the set up time and
tear down time. When the ratio of set up time to production run time is high, then the methods
engineer should develop possibilities for set up and tool improvement.
PRODUCTIVITY

It is necessary to:
(1) reduce set up time by better planning and production
control.
(2) design tooling to utilize the full capacity of the
machine.
(3) introduce more efficient
tooling.
759

(8) Working conditions. Working conditions means the condition of

the plant where the actual work is carried out. Working conditions should be
good, safe and comfortable. Experiments proved that plants providing good
 working conditions have more productivity. Ideal working conditions will
improve the safety record, reduce absenteeism and tiredness, raise employee
morale, help to motivate the workers to improve their efficiency and hence
enhance the productivity. Some common conditions for improving working
conditions are:

(a) Lighting. Good lighting is very much essential for health, safety and
efficiency of the worker. Good visibility of the equipment, the product and the data
involved in the work process is an essential factor in accelerating production,
reducing the number of defective products, reducing waste and preventing visual
fatigue and headaches amongst the workers. More over, both inadequate
visibility and glare are frequently a
cause of accidents.

Lighting should be adopted to the type of work, also the level of illumination should
be increased not only in relation to the degree of precision of the work but also in relation to
the worker's age, since older people require a higher level of illumination than young
persons. Lighting intensity at the work should be checked periodically and all lighting
surfaces should be kept clean. In general, the light should be uniformly diffused and
shadows that are too pronounced should be avoided. Natural lighting should be used
wherever possible, through windows which should have an area equal to at least one-sixth of the
floor area.
(b) Control of Temperature. If productivity is to be maintained, climatic conditions at
the workplace must not place an extra burden on the worker, this is also a factor in
safeguarding the worker's health and comfort. Too low temperature causes shivering, too
high temperature may cause headache, fatigue, with accompanying slow down in
production. Too high humidity (as in textile mill) causes uncomfort, fatigue, and drowsiness.
Excessive dry air can be a source of respiratory diseases, consequently, this should be
avoided in winter in overheated premises.
Hence, a temperature of 20° to 24°C may be maintained for human comfort round the
year with the relative humidity within a range of 40 to 70 percent.
(c) Provide adequate ventilation. It has been found that disagreeable fumes, gases, dust,
odour causes fatigue that taxes the physical efficiency of the worker and often creates a
mental tension; with accompany- ing reduction in quality and quantity of production.
Natural ventilation, obtained by opening windows or wall or roof air vents, can produce
significant air flows. Where natural ventilation is inadequate, artificial ventilation has to be used.
Wherever there are large emissions of gas, vapours, mists, fumes or dust, it is perferable to install
exhaust ventilation, which promotes the convection of heated air and avoids the dispersion of pollutants
into neighbouring premises.
(d) Control sound. Both loud and monotonous noises are conducive to worker's fatigue, it may
 also annoy the persons, interfere with communications and create difficulties in doing precision work.
Therefore, noise levels should be controlled to maintain good efficiency and morale of the workers.
The most effective method of noise control is to reduce the noise at source, for example,
replacing noisy machines or equipment by less noisy ones. The second method is to prevent or
reduce noise transmission by the installation of noise-absorbent barriers between the noise
source and the workers, or by isolating the noisy sections in separate premises or a
soundproof enclosure. Personal noise protection, may also be used which consists of ear-
plugs made from glass fibre or foam plastic.
(e) Promoté orderliness, cleanliness and good housekeeping. It has been investigated
that a large percentage of accidents are due to the poor housekeeping practices.
A good housekeeping programme
helps to:
(1) eliminate fire hazards.
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INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND PRODUCTION MANAGEME

(2) reduce accidents by providing clear passage ways for the movement of men and
materials. (3) improves employee morale.
(4) saves space which could be used for productive purposes.
Cleanliness helps to protect the workers against infection, accidents and occupational
diseases.
Arrange for disposal of irritating and harmful dusts, fumes, gases etc.
Residues which may be source of dangerous emissions of vapour, gases or dust (such as
toxic liquids, refractories, asbestos and l oxide) should be collected in a suitable way, dust
should be removed by vacuum cleaners or wet methods chemicals be neutralised or diluted.
(g) Provide necessary personnel protective equipment. For certain occupational
hazards, neither te nical prevention nor administrative arrangements can ensure an adequate
degree of protection. In such ca protective devices such as goggles, face shields, welding helmets,
apron, gloves, shoes, respiratory equipme car plugs etc. should be provided wherever necessary.
This may help to reduce the accidents, improve morale of the workers and thus raise productivity.
(9) Material Handling. Material handling increases the cost of the product, so it should
be minimi as far as possible. The production engineer should adopt the following objectives related to the
mate handling.
(1) As far as possible reduce material handling by using mechanical equipment and a
good pl layout.
(2) Reduce time spent in picking up and handling the materials by installing efficient
material handl system.
(3) Make better use of existing handling facilities by proper planning and scheduling. (4) Handle material
with great care to prevent its damage and reduce chances of accidents. (5) Maintain the material handling
 equipment by routine check ups and periodic maintenance. (10) Plant Layout. Plant layout should be
designed to introduce maximum economy during mach ing operation. The plant layout should be such that
the material flows smoothly from one operation to next without any delay. The machines and various
departments should be located such that there is no ba tracking, long moves and work stoppages because
of dealy in transporting the material from one operation another. Storage areas should be properly
arranged to minimize searching and handling. For better work efficiency service centres should be located
close to production centres. There should be enough space for worker to move and operate. Passageways
between working places, roads, tracks etc., must never be obstruct Material handling equipment must be properly
installed.
Motivation. Worker's motivation plays an important part in increasing the productivity. Worke
motivation has a great influence on what he does or what he does not do. Therefore, motivating work
towards the achievement of high productivity, is most important.
Worker's motivation is the result of his inner forces, such as:
(1) Social and physical conditions of his job.
(ii) Organisational attitude (human relations, industrial relations).
(iii) Unions influence on him.
(iv) His needs, standard of living etc.
Some of the forces may be positive which can result in motivation, improved performance and
increas productivity.
Most of the managements motivate the workers by providing them financial incentives and improv
working conditions:
On and off the job. It has been investigated that good physical working conditions and high
morale a essential for efficient working. Money is not only the factor to motivate the workers for higher
productivi It is a human problem, and therefore, it is essential that the management should make a humanistic
approa to motivate the workers. It is more related to the behaviour of the management. The worker should feel that
is an important identity of the organisation.
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40.9. "SIX LINES OF ATTACK" TO IMPROVE THE

PRODUCTIVITY
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Work-study plays a greater role to improve the productivity. Six lines of

attack to improve the produc- tivity can be stated as:
1. Improve the basic process by research and
development.
A{2. Provide more and improved physical
means to motivate the workers.
B{3. Simplify and improve the product and reduce the variety i.e. standardize
 the product.
4. Improve the methods of operation.
C 5. Improve organisation, production planning and
control.
6. Improve manpower efficiency at all
levels.
A. Sometimes, it is known as long term planning and it requires
capital for implementation.
B. It is known as effective planning and can be implemented
immediately. It may or may not need
capital investment.
C. This phase is known as short term planning and can be immediately
implemented. It may not need capital investment.
It is always recommended to get immediate results by implementing short term
planning. For short term planning, work study is the most popular technique and it can
help to solve all sorts of problems concerning productivity.
40.10. PRODUCTIVITY AND FATIGUE

It has been observed that the rate of production increases during the first few hours but,
thereafter, output starts falling and then goes on declining steadily till the day lasts, i.e. the
principles of diminishing return applies to human energy also. Reduced output represents
an over-manifestation of fatigue, which is caused by diminishing of working capacity
caused by length or intensity of some activities (prolonged, monotonous activities).
Hence, elimination of unnecessary fatigue or minimization of fatigue will help to improve
the industrial productivity.
Unnecessary fatigue is the decreased capacity for work, induced not only by the nature
of work but also by unfavourable working conditions and methods. Work study can help to
reduce this unnecessary fatigue to a large extent.
40.11. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRODUCTIVITY AND STANDARD OF LIVING

Standard of living means the degree of material well-being available to a person or class of
community which is necessary for sustaining and enjoying life. The standard of living of the
representative person or family in the different countries of the world varies greatly from
country to country and even, within each country, from community to community. Today,
inspite of the immense efforts in too many parts of the world the ordinary man is still hardly able to
satisfy his basic needs.
The basic needs that must be met in order to attain a minimum decent standard of living are food,
clothing, shelter, security and essential service. Food, clothing and shelter are generally things which
a man has to obtain for himself. In order to have them he must pay for them either in terms of money
or work. Security and essential service are generally matters for government and other public
authorities, the individual citizen' has to pay for them. So each man must earn enough to pay his
contribution to the common services as well as to support himself and his family. Whenever
 there is unemployment or under employment, efforts to increase employment are very important
and should go hand in hand with efforts to increase the productivity of those who are already
employed.
In order to increase standard of living it is therefore necessary to
have:
(1) More and cheaper food by increasing the productivity of
agriculture.
(2) More and cheaper clothing and shelter by increasing the productivity of an industry. (3)
More security and essential services by increasing overall productivity and earning
power. Therefore, it is clear that higher productivity can contribute to a higher standard of
living. If more is produced at the same cost, or the same amount is produced at less
cost, there is a gain to the community as a
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INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND PRODUCTION MANA

whole which can be used by members of the community to acquire more and better
goods and servic improve their standard of living.
The relationship between productivity and standard of living can be
represented diagrammat
follows:

Enhanced wages
↓
Employee training
↓
Better career prospectus

Better living standards

Higher productivity

Better utilisation of resources

Increased national wealth

Prosperity
 More industries

↓
More employment

Increased purchase power

40.12.THE BENEFITS OF INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY

(a) For management :
(1) To earn good profit because of reduction in costs.
(2) To sell more, to earn profit.
(3) To have better utilization of resources.
(4) To stand better in the market.
(5) Provide overall prosperity and reputation of the company.
(b) For workers:
(1) Higher wages.
(2) Better working conditions, improved morale.
(3) Higher standard of living.
(4) Job security and satisfaction.
(c) For consumers:
(1) Better quality goods at reduced prices which helps to raise their standard of living. (2) More
satisfaction.
(d) To Government :
(1) Higher profits earned by factories will bring more revenue to the government by
taxat
(2) Export trades may develop bringing more foreign exchange to the nation.
(3) It helps to increase the welfare of the nation and development of national economy. (4) It helps better
utilization of resources of the nation.
(5) It increases per capita income.
(6) Development of the nation.

QUESTIONS

1. Explain the meaning of productivity with suitable examples.

2. Differentiate between production and productivity.
3. Define productivity. How would you measure productivity? Explain.
4. Describe the various kinds of partial productivity
measurement.
5. Explain the importance of productivity.
6. Explain the concept of improving productivity by reducing work content.
7. Describe the various ways to improve productivity.

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PRODUCTIVITY

8. State the role of Govt., employer and workers for productivity

improvement.
Describe the effects of any four of the following on
productivity:
(a) Tolerance and specifications.
(b) Working conditions.
(c) Plant layout.
(d) Combined operations.
(e) Manufacturing
process.
Design of part.
10. Write short notes on:
 (a) Role of motivation in improving
productivity.
(b) Productivity and
fatigue.
(c) "Six lines of attack" to improve
productivity.
(d) Total productivity.
11. State the benefits of increasing productivity
to:
(a) Management.
(b) Workers.
(c) Society.
12. "Productivity is a means for increasing the welfare of the nation". Justify
the statement.
13. Explain how method study can lead to higher
productivity.
14. Explain the relationship between productivity and standard of
living.
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