How much time does it take to make a pair of shoes? How long does it take to put a dozen candies in a dainty little box? It could be hours or it could be minutes. As insignificant as these might seem to you, these figures play an important part in your business. The time within which your products roll out of your production line and are put on the “shelves” in-store or online influences your efficiency and profitability. The results of a time and motion study will help you streamline your business processes so that more products are brought out and made available for your customers to buy. Of course, the other part of the equation would be to have an effective sales and marketing strategy to get these products off your shelves and into your customers’ hands.
These studies are usually done by industrial engineers, process management analysts, and business organization professionals. There are consultants who provide such services to help businessmen identify areas in their operations where processes can be improved. The changes that can be implemented could involve process improvements and manpower rationalization. As these consultants are not employed in your company, any bias or affiliations with particular departments or employees are taken out of the picture. The analysis are more objective and are therefore more reliable. For a better appreciation of what the business processes are, these consultants conduct interviews and require documentation from the employees of each process area or department.
Even if these studies are supposed to be conducted objectively, not all employees take them with open arms. Some of these studies are met with apprehension and even resistance especially since these studies are often associated with reorganizations and retrenchments. Your employees’ support and cooperation are necessary for these studies to succeed. They need to be able to give the right information so that the analysts can evaluate the business processes properly and give more accurate recommendations. Preparing your employees and making them understand what the study is for is an integral part of successful time and motion studies. Your assurance that the study will benefit everyone will help you get your employees’ buy-in.
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