Measurement Techniques

Performance Measurement Technique Overview	While there can be overlap in any organization the Logging, Sampling, Flow and Unit Count products are generally more applicable to services industries or support departments. These techniques can be readily applied on a project by project, as needed basis or they can be integrated into the standard job description of participants from many parts of an organization. Standards maintenance is usually already integrated into the job functions of specific individuals within a manufacturing organization e.g. industrial, process or manufacturing engineers and technicians.
Logging	Logging is an effective technique used to rapidly (i.e. potentially within a few hours) gather accurate unit counts, cycle times, unit cost of services and process specific productivity metrics. Logging involves the recording of the start and end points of contiguous activities. Since the events follow one another, it is usually only necessary to record one point - the start or the end. The occurrence of specific activities can be configured to prompt for additional drill down query information used in process analysis. The occurrence of specific activities can optionally be configured to prompt for additional ‘nested’ drill down query information on that activity for use in process analysis. Full provision is provided to account for the many interruptions that occur during the normal working day. Open items can also be easily tracked as many tasks may remain incomplete during the day pending further input from other sources.
Sampling	Sampling prompts users at random intervals, via a simple popup screen, to enter details of their activities at that moment. This approach relies on classic sampling theory that states that by deriving responses from a representative cross section of participants a certain number of times on a random basis, you can accurately project the behavior of the entire group. Each input may consist of multiple ‘nested’ drill down queries that are dependant upon a users responses. For example, if a user indicates they are dealing with customer inquiry in one input the next prompt may allow them to select from the known types of inquires that they receive. An excellent example of this approach is the question of "Who is going to win the election?". The group conducting the study does not ask everyone in the population who can vote, rather they question only a random sampling of the total population. From the responses of the sampled group they infer, with a certain statistical certainty, the likely behavior of the whole population. Exactly the same approach can be applied to any business process. Sampling studies usually conducted over a period of days with participants being prompted perhaps 3 times an hour to enter details of their activity. They are the ideal tool to accurately quantify work distribution, shared service costs, product profitability and global productivity metrics.
Flow	Flow is the recording of the movements of uniquely identified subjects through a process (e.g. patients visiting a clinic). As subjects pass predefined process points they are identified and their presence at that point is noted and time stamped into an inexpensive PDA device. Data from a process is collected at multiple points simultaneously. When the data is consolidated, a complete history of each subject’s movement through the process is created. Flow studies are the ideal tool to follow widely dispersed processes and processes where subjects may come into contact with many different service providers e.g. documents passing through and approval process, patients visiting an outpatient clinic etc. Simplicity is the key to flow studies. Participants can be trained in less than 2 minutes and it creates absolutely minimal disruption to their normal job functions e.g. nurses have incorporated flow studies into their busy days without any complaint. Flow studies rapidly identify in process time by provider, wait times, process bottlenecks, and performance metrics.
Unit Counts	Unit counts are ideal to rapidly determine and document the frequency of specific events in a process. This technique is a stand alone application to count and time stamp the occurrence of user defined events. As an example a national package delivery service must, by union contract, determine the mix of the types of product processed at multiple points in their distribution network. Manual tally sheets are replaced by a PDA based solution that enables them to count, time stamp and document the cycle times for each product simultaneously.
Standards Maintenance	This technique supports the development and maintenance of detailed labor standards and work instructions based upon data from multiple sources (e.g. predetermined time systems, standard data, estimates, logging, sampling and flow studies.) Additional supported features include complete customization to a clients specific needs, ISO control, embedded graphics, line balancing, costing and complimenting MRP/ERP applications. As stated in the introduction standards maintenance is usually integrated into the job functions of specific individuals within an organization - industrial, process or manufacturing engineers and technicians. To learn more about standards maintenance tools visit our manufacturing site - www.acsco.com.