Productivity Improvement - Principles - Sumanth - 1984

David J Sumanth in his book Productivity Engineering and Management, published by McGraw Hill in 1984 listed the following principles in the chapter Productivity Improvement Concepts.

1. Microprocessor Principle
Whenever and wherever possible, design products and processes with microprocessor control.

2. Global-Market Principle
Design and manufacture products for global markets.

3. Learning Curve Principle
Wherever possible, plan productivity levels and product costs on a learning curve.

4.Secrecy Principle
Productivity improvement strategies that are novel when compared to the competitors must be kept secret.

5. Product-Mix Principle
Develop a product mix that consistently shows the largest gains in total market productivity and market share.

6. Emulation Principle
Take the best of at least three competitors' technologies in product design, development and production

7. Productivity Gain-Sharing Principle
Always, share the gains in productivity improvements with everydone directly or indirectly responsible for it, particularly employees and customers.

8. Leading Competitor Principle
Be the leading competitor for as many products/services as possible.

9. Harmony Principle
Seek harmony in human relations at all levels of management from the topmost executive down to the production/opertions level employee.

10. International Outlook Principle
Keep an international perspective in management activities related to planning, research and development, marketing, operations/production,and technology transfer.

11. Cooperative Research Principle
Work closely with universities and generic research establishments to bring in ideas for productivity improvement.

12. Productivity Process Principle
Productivity improvement must be an ongoing, day-to-day process and not a one-time program or project

Method Study - Industrial Engineer - Management

Industrial engineer is a manager of method study. He has to enlist the participation of the operator, supervisor, process planner, tool designer and designer. He may also invite his colleagues in IE department to join his team of method study. To manager this team in completing the method study successfully, he needs technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills.

http://knol.google.com/k/method-study#

System Efficiency Engineering of Industrial Engineering

System efficiency engineering is one of the two prime or core components of industrial engineering.

IE curriculums have number of subjects that discuss system efficiency. They are outlined in a knol.

System Efficiency Engineering - Methods, Subjects, Techniques, and Tools

http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao-k-v-s-s/system-efficiency-engineering-methods/2utb2lsm2k7a/2311#

Productivity Measurement is Becoming Complex

The simple definition of productivity is that it is the ratio of output to input.The concept is simple, yet there were difficulties in measurement. Historically, the variety of input has given measurement difficulties. Today, even the output side is giving measurment difficulty. The production has to meet customer needs, quality expecations and time of delivery and productivity measurement is expected to meet those dimensions also.

The chapter "THE CONCEPT AND IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCTIVITY" written by Kenneth E. Smith, H. B. Maynard and Company, Inc. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in Maynard's Handbook of Industrial Engineering 5th Edition deals with the complexities of the issue. I wrote a small review of it on google knol platform.

http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao-k-v-s-s/review-of-the-concept-and-importance-of/2utb2lsm2k7a/2297#

Total Productivity Management

Total productivity management (TP management) provides a system for coordinating all the various improvement activities occurring in a company so that they contribute to top management’s goals for the entire company. Starting with a corporate vision and broad goals, these activities are developed into supporting objectives, or targets, throughout the organization. The targets are specifically and quantitatively defined.

Productivity is an area that is of prime focus of industrial engineers. Total productivity management is an enterprise level initiative in which industrial engineers need to take initiative and take up leadership position.

Saito and Yokota authored a chapter on TP management in Maynard's handbook of industrial engineering. I wrote a small review on the chapter on google's knol.

http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao-k-v-s-s/review-of-total-productivity-management/2utb2lsm2k7a/2298#

What is Industrial Engineering?

What is industrial engineering?

Industrial Engineering is Human Effort Engineering and System Efficiency Engineering.

Human effort engineering is designing human effort required in production of goods and services as well as in distributing them. In human effort engineering the human factor is to be integrated with machines and materials involved in producing goods and services. The human effort has to be productive, comfortable, safe and health for the operator and the organization.

System efficiency engineering is evaluating the production, distribution and administrative systems for efficiency and improving them where needed. System levels studies deal with integration of resources as well as with utilization of single resource.

http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao-k-v-s-s/-/2utb2lsm2k7a/2289#

Introduction to Industrial Engineering - Course Page of NITIE

I prepared a course page for introduction to IE.

http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao-k-v-s-s/introduction-to-industrial-engineering/2utb2lsm2k7a/2105#

The course page has articles on various topics of IE. The contents are covered are

Contents
Definition
Component Areas of IE: Human Effort engineering, System Efficiency Engineering and Systems Engineering
Pioneering Efforts of Taylor, Gilbreth and Emerson
Human Effort Engineering: Motion Study, Task Analysis
Time Study
Ergonomics: The Applied Science for Human Effort Engineering
Work Measurement, PMTS, MTM
System Efficiency Engineering: Method Study, Work Study, Methods Design
Value Engineering
10.SQC and Quality Management

11.Operations Research and Quantitative Techniques

12. Plant Layout

13. Developments in IE in Japan

14. Systems Engineering: Systems Design and Industrial Engineering

15. Systems Improvement

16. Systems Installation

17. Productivity, Safety, Comfort, and Operator Health Management

18. Organization of IE departments

19. Current Research in IE