The six lines of attack
At this stage, now that the major influences at work have been very broadly examined, it is possible to formulate positive lines of action. These can be summarized under six headings which have come to be known as ‘the six lines of attack’ to improve productive efficiency, and since they were first enunciated by ICI they have proved their value on the national scale as well as on the basis of the individual firm-
1)
Improve basic process by research and development (Long term –Will require capital)
2) Provide more , and improved , physical means of producing
3) Simplify and improve the product and reduce the verity (Intermediate-
May require capital)
4) Improve methods of operations
5) Improve organization , planning and control (Short term- Will require little or no capital)
6) Increase manpower effectiveness at all levels
Improve basic processes by research and development Provide more, and improved, physical means of producing :
There is an essential difference between the first two lines of attack and the others. These two will require considerable capital expenditure and are necessarily long-term projects.
They entail investment in highly trained technical staff and in buildings, plant and equipment, as well they demand all those facilities which go with technical and engineering research and development especially as applied to the creation of new products and the design of new plants. Work study is now making a significant contribution here; a modern trend is for all technical staff to be given appreciation in the principles and to have all trained work study specialist in development and design teams
Simplify and improve the product and reduce the Variety
The third line of attack may be considered an intermediate term policy which may or may not require the expenditure of capital, to improve technical efficiency or make other changes, but the significance of expenditure will depend on the particular circumstances of each case.
In most cases, however, a grade deal of negotiation and co-operation will be required, and the planned changes will take time. There are great economic benefits to be gained from standardization and the range of products to a reasonable minimum. In all these work study techniques have their part to play, in simplifying the problem and in assess in the economics of various alternatives.
The remaining three lines of attack described bellow represent the short-term campaign which is essentially concentrated in the operational field where work study can be widely and immediately applied. Little or no capital expenditure is required,. But again progress can be handicapped unless there is an appreciation of the potentialities of work study and the trained staff to put these potentialities to work. Either from a national or individual point of view it is important to remember that it is from the savings resulting from these lines of attack that the capital becomes available for the long-term measures mentioned above.
Improve methods of operation
By an analytical and intensive study of the details of operation of existing plant, many firms, great and small, have found unexpected and still growing fields for improvement. The general approach and the techniques of work study are essential to success in such an approach provided they are adequately integrated with technical consideration.
Improve organization, planning and control
To suggest improvements in planning and organization sounds obvious and elementary and there are few readers of this note could not claim to be able to do somebody else’s job better. The work study attitude of mind turns this critical attitude towards ones own organization. Who would claim his job could not be better planned? How many fully realize that manpower is the most valuable of all our resource and that the cost of human effort is increasing relatively faster than any other? The fundamental facts revealed by work study have been proved beyond a doubt to be a far better basis for executive judgment then inspiration or misguided experience.
Increase manpower effectiveness at all levels
This last line of attack should be considered in the broadest possible terms and should include everybody from the most exalted executive to the most recently joined apprentice. As Sir Ewart Smith once put it.
Whatever thinking may have been in the past, we have found the impact of work study traveling steadily away from the shop floor to the board room. We now regard it as symbolizing the analytical and progressive attitude of mind which is mainly concerned with making management manage better, rather than getting the work man to work harder.
In each of the forgoing fields, then, work study has obvious applications:
In regard to the last three factors referred to, work study can play a major role. For some years now It has been widely recognized that work study applied to an existing plant and to proposals for Its modernization or extension can reduce the amount of capital required, or perhaps even postpone the necessity for such expenditure, and because shout- term movement are always desirable , and are normally within the scope of all sizes and types of organization, work study has come in to favor particularly as an attractive and useful means of improving productivity during and between changes of more far reaching nature.
