Today’s Agenda

1. Today’s Agenda • Opportunity/Problem Investigated • Overview of Recommendations • Overview of Analysis • Detailed Recommendations • Limitations

2. Opportunity/Problem Investigated • Demand levels for audio equipment currently exceed capacity • Final test and inspection station is bottleneck operation

3. Overview of Recommendations • Dedicate test and inspection employees • Do not cross-train them • Concentrates experience among smaller group of employees • 12% increase in capacity • Impact on workforce flexibility

4. Overview of Analysis • Inspection time data collected for 176,000 units • Data from 148 workers • Curves fit to each worker’s performance data • Simulation models developed to investigate a number of factors • Rate of worker learning, task-tenure times, amount of cross-training, and degree to which workers forget

5. Summary of Results • Average prior experience was 1,150 radios • Range was 0 to 13,000 radios • Needed to inspect 921 radios on average to reach half potential • Range was 2 to 15,000 radios • Significant relationships between variables

6. Results Related to Worker Cross-Training • Cross-training increases size of worker pool • This increases time between successive assignments to test and inspection station • Longer times between assignments result in more forgetting

7. Short-Term Recommendations • Assign workers with most previous experience to the inspection stations. • Identify ways to mange task assignments to the inspection station more effectively • Incentives, policies on bumping, working with union

8. Long-Term Recommendations • Pilot test video-based computer system • Create worker profiles based on the methodology used in this study • Assess the forgetting rate of new hires during the probationary period

9. Limitations/Assumptions • Employees work independently • Data used all came from same task • All workers were assumed to have an equal chance of being assigned to the test and inspection station