Manpower Efficiency Research Articles

Matrix Structure and Manpower Development: A Paradigm Shift

The paper examine matrix structure and manpower development;a paradigm shift. The aim of this research is to determine the extent to which matrix structure improves an organisational manpower effectiveness as well as to ascertain how matrix structure increase organisational manpower efficiency. The content analysis methodology was used in this study. The data and information used in this study are from the existing literature and previous studies. The secondary data sources include textbooks, journal articles, reports and internet. Research question raised in this paper was explored by the concept of matrix structure. The findings of the research reveal that team motivation, problem solving, skills and knowledge acquired on the job enhance manpower effectiveness while the managerial skills required in the matrix structure centred on positive on the positive achievement of the firm and individual employee. The study recommends that careful attention should be paid to the creation of matrix structure in terms of coordination, communication and control.

Toyota's production efficiency improvement management: best practice for productivity evaluation and operation improvement

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to introduce an enterprise's productivity management named “Production efficiency improvement - PEFF”. This study shows the way of developing the management system to keep their shop floor “flexible to change” and “continuously controlling and improving” from the different levels and in various factories.Design/methodology/approachThis study refers to Toyota's PEFF management system in the context of productivity enhancement through detailed management processes including yearly management, monthly management, daily management and its application in a case study from another sector as a model case of PEFF expansion. The methodology of this study is to introduce a method for production efficiency analysis, measure and select standard time through PEFF calculation.FindingsToyota's PEFF management can be extremely effective at developing management's ability to conduct day-to-day shop-floor management, know-how sharing and how Toyota applies PEFF to develop the world-standard on manpower efficiency for their factories. Besides, this study shows the applicable of PEFF improvement has successfully conducted in other manufacturers in a flexible way to achieve the improvement targets.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study will aid the managers in production lines to find the method of calculating and evaluating production efficiency through Toyota's management techniques such as PEFF, YIP, WVACT and standard time. However, the approach for this paper was from a synchronized system as Toyota is limited to generalized to small and medium-sized enterprises.Originality/valueThis paper is introducing the original Toyota's management technique to sustainable enhance their manpower performance and efficiency and answer the question of why TPS still exists in the age of digital management. PEFF management serves as an example of a value management process to help manufacturers to set guidelines to improve their productivity.

The Purpose of Time-Motion Studies (TMSs) in Healthcare: A Literature Review

By utilizing time study methodologies, one can ascertain how long it takes a skilled person to complete a task with a specific level of quality. Time study aids in the selection of different job execution options as well asin the determination of the workforce required for a certain task, and thus assist in increasing manpower efficiency. It also aids in the acquisition of plants and machinery. By elaborating on the definition of "time-motion studies" (TMSs) as it is used in the biomedical literature and presenting justification based on full knowledge of that definition,this work aims to contribute to the standardization of TMSs. In TMSs, which is a type of quantitative data gathering, an outside observer records the motions and time necessary to complete an activity, together with an analysis aimed at increasing productivity.This papersuggests that, according to the researchers, the term is used to designate a range of investigations, the gathering and/or analysis of the length of one or more occurrences. A detailed analysis of all the available literature is done in this paper to get knowledge about TMS and its use in healthcare. Also, a comprehensive overview ofmany methodologies applied in works that are classed or referred to as TMSs is provided in this paper. Time motion investigations were first introduced in industrial engineering at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then, they have been extensively employed by biological researchers, and because there is currently interest in parts of clinical workflow, they have attracted attention. However, combining the findings from different studies has proven challenging because there is a lot of variation in how techniques are used and reported. Although efforts have been made to uniformly publish these data and outcomes, there is still confusion about what TMSs are. A shared understanding of time and motion (TAM) research, as well as a proper acknowledgment of the various approaches it comprises, is a critical step toward standardization and validation. In this review paper literature analysis is done to discover what is known as TMSs to achieve the mentioned purpose.

A Systematic Implementation of Telemedicine in Singapore's COVID-19 Community Recovery Facilities.

Introduction: This article describes the experience of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) implementing telemedicine consultations for COVID-19-positive patients recovering within community recovery facilities (CRFs) in a semi-inpatient setting. Materials and Methods: The SAF adopted a systematic approach to telemedicine implementation and scaling up, with Phase 1 being the deployment of medical teams operating on-site clinics daily at six CRFs and telemedicine only provided for after-hours medical consultations on an ad hoc basis. Subsequently in Phase 2, most clinical consultations in the CRFs were conducted virtually. Results: Phases 1 and 2 recorded 1,902 and 449 clinical consultations, respectively. The mean number of clinical encounters was 33 per 1,000 occupants per day in Phase 1, and 12 per 1,000 occupants per day in Phase 2 (p < 0.001). Acute respiratory illness (52.3% in Phase 1 and 46.7% in Phase 2) was the most common reason for consultations. With full telemedicine in Phase 2, there was reduction in the mean number of clinical encounters per 1,000 occupants per day (p = 0.001), lower man-hours in personal protective equipment (PPE) (p < 0.001), and rise in escalation of care (p < 0.001) but without adverse events reported. Conclusions: Telemedicine for patients was safe, improved medical manpower efficiency, and reduced man-hours in PPE. The increased escalation of care in Phase 2 due to the lack of physical examination capabilities was to be expected to ensure patients' safety. Overall, it is recommended that for stable and mild medical conditions, telemedicine is a viable, safe, and efficient health care delivery tool in crisis situations similar to COVID-19.

A hybrid systems approach to determine effective factors on the growth of marine industries in developing countries

Marine industries have always been provided power and development for countries both militarily and economically. Due to the lack of essential economic, industrial, and technological infrastructure in developing countries, the development of marine industries has been facing serious obstacles. As a developing country, Iran has been tackling similar barriers. This paper aims at developing a conceptual model, to examine this complex problem, using a systems approach by which subsystems and casual loop diagrams have been created. Afterward, DEMATEL technique has been used, revealing the most effective variables. The research can remarkably help practitioners in appropriate recognition and investigation of marine industry development challenges. The results show that 'domestic supply chain development', 'special rights and benefits for employees', 'increase in manpower efficiency', 'domestic demand absorption', 'low-interest loans with suitable guaranties', and 'effective and integrated management' are the key factors and main issues in marine industry progress in developing countries.

THE SELECTION OF PRODUCTIVITY KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR CAR MANUFACTURING COMPANIES USING INTEGRATED PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

The increase in car market 17% in 2020, and ASEAN Free Trade policy only 5% for imported products, cause tightened competition in the automotive market. Car manufacturing companies face problems in selecting their performance indicators related to competitive challenges. The purpose of this research is to develop productivity key performance indicators in car manufacturing that conform to stakeholder requirements as a strategy to win the market. The conditions are manifested in a mapping of manufacturing symbols using the Integrated Performance Measurement System (IPMS) method. That manufacturing productivity indicators will become the focus of the top management to be controlled. There are four stages to go through, starting with the identification of stakeholder requirement, which produces six criteria and 12 stakeholder requirements and mapped into 16 goals and 24 key performance indicator (KPI). The second stage is benchmarking, and preparation of KPI hierarchy and the third stage is the description of each KPI in the form of KPI specification table. The fourth stage is the weighting of the six main criteria that result in 3 priority criteria which must be reported monthly between the manufacturing division (painting), finance and administration. Those are employee safety, manufacturing process effectiveness (painting) and waste elimination activities. The priority is obtained based on questionnaires answered by ten stakeholders (experts) processed with Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach and has been tested consistency in the number 0.09. These three criteria are described in 15 KPIs: performance rate, availability rate, quality rate, trained operator ratio, training value ratio&gt; 80, delay ratio, attendance ratio, downtime losses, setup and adjustment losses, idle time, defect losses, yield losses, manpower efficiency, environmental impact and work accident ratio.

Operator assignment in a labor-intensive manufacturing cell considering inter-cell manpower transfer

This research deals with an operator assignment problem in which inter-cell manpower transfer is taken into consideration. A two phase methodology is proposed to minimize the total manpower required. In the first phase, integer programming is proposed to find the optimal configuration for allocation of tasks to workstations, and for each workstation one operator is assigned. The second phase uses mixed-integer programming to minimize the manpower required based on the results of the first phase. In addition, for the purpose of comparison, integer programming is also proposed for the situation where inter-cell manpower transfer is not allowed. A case study from a bicycle assembly company is introduced. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology can save manpower and improve manpower efficiency. Moreover, it also shows the promise of the method in solving practical applications.

Experimental evaluation of a novel robotic hospital bed mover with omni-directional mobility

Bed pushing during patient transfer is one of the most physically demanding and yet common tasks in the hospital setting. Powered bed movers have been increasingly introduced to hospitals to reduce physiological strains on the users. This study introduces and quantifies the manpower efficiency and health benefits of a novel robotic-assisted omni-directional hospital bed transporter (SESTO Bed Mover) in comparison with a conventional manual transport stretcher (Stryker Trauma Stretcher 1037) and a powered transport stretcher (HOSPIMEK HMPT 740), which has a fifth powered wheel providing power assistance only in the forward direction. A total of 14 subjects were recruited (7 porters and 7 students) and were tasked to complete a course within a controlled lab environment. It is concluded that the robotic bed mover is able to halve the required manpower to push hospital beds as compared to conventional bed pushing without any additional physiological strain, potentially improving efficiency by two-fold. Electromyography (EMG) patterns showed that users relied on the shoulder and back muscles in a fashion similar to conventional pushing, further confirming the intuitive drive of the robotic bed mover. Overall, the robotic bed mover shows reduced physical demands, less manpower required for patient transport and reduced back muscle activities, which strongly suggest health benefits for workers in the hospital.

Investigating the Relationship between the Leadership Strategy Aspects and Productivity

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the leadership strategy aspects and the manpower productivity among the Sports and Youth Organization’s employers of Hamedan Province. In this research, all of the managers and employers of the Sports and Youth Organization’s employers of Hamedan Province are considered as the statistical population among which 29 of managers and 103 of managers and employers were selected as the statistical sample. For sample selection the random sampling was used. The research methodology is descriptive-survey. The instrument of the study was a researcher-made questionnaire which its first part composed of 16 questions relevant to the leadership strategy and was answered only by managers and the second part composed of 29 questions of fivechoice-Likert scale for manpower productivity and answered by managers and employers. Data analysis was done using SPSS 19.00 software. For data description the descriptive statistics, frequency tables, percentages and bar diagrams, and for deductive statistics at end Spearman’s correlational coefficient and Kolmogorov-Smirnov’ test were used. Regarding the results of the study, it is concluded that there is a relationship between the absolute leadership strategy and manpower efficiency, and there is an inverse relationship between benevolent absolute leadership and manpower efficiency. There is a relationship between the absolute leadership strategy and manpower efficiency, and also between the democratic leadership strategy and manpower efficiency.

Recent innovative measures across different functions in the Indian hospitality industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide exploratory insights on recent innovative measures taken across different functions in the Indian hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on data from senior management of a newly developed Pullman Hotel, part of the group of Accor Hotels located in Aero City, Delhi. The study data was collected using structured interviews. Findings The study explores the various innovative measures adopted in marketing, human resource management and information technology to leverage operations, improve manpower efficiency and maximizing service effectiveness while keeping costs low for long-term sustainability. The study also gives some useful insights on other functions that need to be addressed such as food and beverage, operations, security, guest relations and finance. Research limitations/implications The study is exploratory in nature though the findings will be of interest to existing and newly opened hotels and to policy makers who need to know about the innovation trends in the hospitality industry. Originality/value This study reveals some of the recent innovative measures adopted by the Indian hospitality industry.

Continuum of Care Services for Maternal and Child Health using mobile technology - a health system strengthening strategy in low and middle income countries.

BackgroundMobile phone technology is utilized for better delivery of health services worldwide. In low-and-middle income countries mobile phones are now ubiquitous. Thus leveraging mHealth applications in health sector is becoming popular rapidly in these countries. To assess the effectiveness of the Continuum of Care Services (CCS) mHealth platform in terms of strengthening the delivery of maternal and child health (MCH) services in a district in Bihar, a resource-poor state in India.MethodsThe CommCare mHealth platform was customized to CCS as one of the innovations under a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve the maternal and newborn health services in Bihar. The intervention was rolled out in one project district in Bihar, during July 2012. More than 550 frontline workers out of a total of 3000 including Accredited Social Health Activists, Anganwadi Workers, Auxilliary Nurse Midwives and Lady Health Supervisors were trained to use the mHealth platform. The service delivery components namely early registration of pregnant women, three antenatal visits, tetanus toxoid immunization of the mother, iron and folic acid tablet supply, institutional delivery, postnatal home visits and early initiation of breastfeeding were used as indicators for good quality services. The resultant coverage of these services in the implementation area was compared with rest of Bihar and previous year statistics of the same area. The time lag between delivery of a service and its record capture in the maternal and child tracking system (MCTS) database was computed in a random sample of 16,000 beneficiaries. The coverage of services among marginalized and non-marginalized castes was compared to indicate equity of service delivery. Health system strengthening was viewed from the angle of coverage, quality, equity and efficiency of services.ResultsThe implementation blocks had higher coverage of all the eight indicator services compared to rest of Bihar and the previous year. There was equity of services across castes for all the indicators. Timely capture of data was also ensured compared to paper-based reporting.ConclusionBy virtue of its impact on quality, efficiency and equity of service delivery, health care manpower efficiency and governance, the mHealth inclusion at service provision level can be one of the potential strategy to strengthen the health system.

Toward ideality: the synthesis of (+)-kalkitoxin and (+)-hydroxyphthioceranic acid by assembly-line synthesis.

The iterative homologation of boronic esters using chiral lithiated benzoate esters and chloromethyllithium has been applied to the highly efficient syntheses of two natural products, (+)-kalkitoxin and (+)-hydroxyphthioceranic acid. The chiral lithiated benzoate esters (>99% ee) were generated from the corresponding stannanes, which themselves were prepared by Hoppe-Beak deprotonation of ethyl 2,4,6-triisopropyl-benzoate with s-BuLi in the presence of (+)- or (-)-sparteine and trapping with Me3SnCl followed by recrystallization. In addition, it was found that purification between several homologations could be avoided, substantially increasing both chemical and manpower efficiency. In the case of (+)-kalkitoxin, six iterative homologations were conducted on commercially available p-MeOC6H4CH2Bpin to build up the core of the molecule before the C-B bond was converted into the desired C-N bond, without purification of intermediates. In the case of (+)-hydroxyphthioceranic acid, 16 iterative homologations were conducted on p-MeOC6H4Bpin with only four intermediate purifications before oxidation of the C-B bond to the desired alcohol. The stereocontrolled and efficient syntheses of these complex molecules highlight the power of iterative chemical synthesis using boronic esters.

Investigating the Relationship between the Leadership Strategy Aspects and Productivity

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the leadership strategy aspects and the manpower productivity among the Sports and Youth Organization’s employers of Hamedan Province. In this research, all of the managers and employers of the Sports and Youth Organization’s employers of Hamedan Province are considered as the statistical population among which 29 of managers and 103 of managers and employers were selected as the statistical sample. For sample selection the random sampling was used. The research methodology is descriptive-survey. The instrument of the study was a researcher-made questionnaire which its first part composed of 16 questions relevant to the leadership strategy and was answered only by managers and the second part composed of 29 questions of fivechoice-Likert scale for manpower productivity and answered by managers and employers. Data analysis was done using SPSS 19.00 software. For data description the descriptive statistics, frequency tables, percentages and bar diagrams, and for deductive statistics at end Spearman’s correlational coefficient and Kolmogorov-Smirnov’ test were used. Regarding the results of the study, it is concluded that there is a relationship between the absolute leadership strategy and manpower efficiency, and there is an inverse relationship between benevolent absolute leadership and manpower efficiency. There is a relationship between the absolute leadership strategy and manpower efficiency, and also between the democratic leadership strategy and manpower efficiency.

Where the process fails …. There, the business learns customer value

Subject area Human resource management. Study level/applicability Postgraduate and graduate management programs. Case overview Watson and Lilly (W&amp;L) Berhad is the subsidiary of Wanger Group of Company, established in 1822 by Wanger Watson Group, and engages with transportation and logistics, communication and media, and electricity storage activities. The company provides freight forwarding by air, sea, and land, warehousing and distribution, industrial logistics, and stevedoring and port services. The case is all about the issues related to operations and human resource management in W&amp;L Berhad, company in Malaysia. The company management observed that there has been an increasing trend on the number of mis-shipment. The investigation report was too worrisome to the Managing Director. The mis-shipment recorded in September 2011 was 5.91 per cent and by the end of first quarter in November 2012, the mis-shipment increased to 6.71 per cent. On the second quarter starting from December 2012, the mis-shipment continues to increase to 6.99 per cent and by February 2013, the mis-shipment was at 7.56 per cent. An independent consultancy was assigned to analyze the root causes of the issues. The agency found that the business having high operating cost due to operational inefficiency, documentation issues and human resource issues. The case study proposed several solutions to enhance the manpower efficiency, operational effectiveness, and achieving customer's satisfaction. Expected learning outcomes Learning the nature of business: to explain the nature of freight and forward business and the base of W&amp;L Berhad, Malaysia. Nature of business operation issues: the case can be used to examine the issues of business operations due to mis-shipment in freight and forward companies. Nature of manpower issues: the case can be used to examine the issues of manpower in correlation with a mis-shipment of freight and forward companies. Integrating business and operational issues with customer delight and business loss. Strategic intervention: instructor can explore varied strategic interventions that curb the operational and manpower issues that may lead to business growth and development in freight and forward companies, achieving customer's satisfaction. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

An Algorithm for Crew Route Scheduling Focusing on Manpower Efficiency

Ideally, railway crew planning rosters should draw as little as possible on available crew resources. Methods of crew route scheduling with the evaluation criterion of the total number of required days have been studied because it could not be determined the number of required crews out exactly at the time of setting it up. However this method for compiling crew route schedules has made roster scheduling more difficult. This paper therefore proposes a crew route scheduling method with the evaluation criterion of the estimated number of required crews and shows its effectiveness for this problem.

Improved operations through manpower management in the oil sector

The need for improved operations was never higher than today in the oil industry. The world's demand for energy, especially for oil and natural gas, is rising rapidly and for many years to come. In order to meet this rising demand and to keep price volatility to a minimum; oil companies worldwide are looking for ways to improve operations in order to achieve increased production with decreased costs. This paper describes data from Southern Area Oil Operations (SAOO); an organization within the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (ARAMCO), to show how manpower management can be used to achieve improved operations. For the years 1983 to 2004, manpower management in SAOO focused on addressing both the quantity and quality dimensions of manpower. First, the level of manpower gradually declined by 35% for both the Saudi Arab and Expatriate categories for the entire period. Expatriate labor is defined as labor in three main categories: US/Canadian, UK, and Asians and Other Arabs. Second, the level of training slowly increased to align manpower to better fit organizational functions and work responsibilities. Not only a number of new training and development programs were initiated but also the percentage of employees involved in such programs doubled from 4.5% in 1990 to 8.9% in 2004. Third, technology based initiatives such as the use of computers, Internet, and intranet were heavily introduced to employees in the last 10 yrs. Due to these three changes reduced costs and increased manpower efficiency were achieved. In the period 1983 to 2004 the total labor bill declined by 35% and Net Direct Expenditures NDE by 24% after adjusting for inflation and using 2004 dollars. Net Direct Expenditure NDE is defined by SAOO to be the summation of labor cost, material cost, invoices cost, and net service income. In addition two signs of improved efficiency of manpower were apparent in the same period. First, SAOO manpower, despite its smaller size, could actually sustain an increased workload without relying more on contractor services. There was more than a 100% increase in the number of wells requiring operational support within SAOO's territory increasing the index measuring the number of wells per employee from 0.37 in 1983 to 1.17 in 2004. The same period witnessed more than 200% increase in the number of service jobs completed within SAOO area increasing the index measuring the number of service jobs completed per employee from 4.14 completed jobs in 1983 to 14.33 completed jobs in 2004. Second, SAOO overall oil production increased by more than 100% for the period 1983 to 2004 despite the reduction in manpower. The index measuring the output–input ratio or average product of manpower steadily increased from 0.58 in 1983 to 1.85 MBCD (Thousand Barrells per Calendar Day) per employee in 2004. The combined effect of reduced costs and increased manpower efficiency resulted in improved operations in the period 1983 to 2004. Hence, the cost in cents per barrel produced dropped sharply by 64% (when cost was measured as NDE) and 39% (when only the cost of manpower is used).

Are extended working days sustainable in radiotherapy?

A number of Radiotherapy Departments have extended the working day on linear accelerators, as a method of increasing treatment capacity. However, reports from the Royal College of Radiologists predict a rate of increase in requirements for radiotherapy, significantly in excess of the rate at which radiographers will become available to run the necessary equipment.Based on the premise that radiographers are the most difficult staff group to recruit, a number of different patterns of radiotherapy linear accelerator use has been investigated, with an aim of seeing which delivers the greatest return on radiographer time. The requirement for radiographers per linac-hour has been examined for a number of lengths of day and utilising various staffing assumptions.Given current patterns of work, the greatest manpower efficiency in use of trained radiographers is achieved if machines are run for a 7-h-day or for an 8-h-day if part-time radiographers are available. This working pattern relies on all ancillary tasks being removed from the treatment unit, many of which can be performed by other appropriately trained, non-radiographer, staff groups.With linac-hour demand projected to rise faster than the rate at which new trained radiographers become available, extended working days are not sustainable without significant change to current work patterns.

How many men do armed forces need? An international comparison

Armed forces are reducing their manpower in response to demands for “peace dividends”, but in deciding how each armed force should reduce manpower, what account is taken of manpower efficiency? This paper compares, for 15, mainly NATO nations, in 1993, the ratios of armed forces’ uniformed manpower to the manpower they are estimated to require in order to operate their front‐line equipment. Marked international differences in these ratios are evident, and as predicted, they are greater than the differences in the corresponding ratios between commercial organisations. The pattern of manpower reductions between 1989 and 1993 reflected, to some degree, the pattern of overmanning in 1989, relative to median “league” positions of armies, navies and air forces. The paper suggests that, with appropriate refinements, the benchmarking approach could be used in defence, as in other areas, to achieve significant resource savings.

An improved high efficiency 500 kilowatt short wave broadcast transmitter with novel features

Some of the changes in international broadcaster's HF (high-frequency) transmitter needs are addressed, along with some adaptations in HF transmitter design to reflect those needs. The authors identify three fundamental changes in the emphasis of international broadcast transmitter requirements: due to increasing energy costs, more emphasis has been placed on equipment power efficiency; due to increasing labor costs, more attention is being paid to automation and ease of maintenance, i.e. manpower efficiency; and, third, because of spectrum crowding, improved spectral occupancy has become a concern, particularly with respect to transmitted signal purity, and spectral-efficient modulation modes. Several developments designed to meet these needs of broadcasters are described. The issue of power efficiency has been met with improved transmitter RF and modulator circuits. RF efficiency has been improved in part by lowering losses in RF output coupling circuits. This improvement is afforded by better network design, and better automatic tuning, i.e. tuning for best efficiency. More efficient RF output tubes have also been developed.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Totally automated inductively coupled plasma spectrometer for routine water quality testing

A completely automated ICP-AES system is implemented by using a dedicated minicomputer. The minicomputer system provides ICP-AES spectrochemical data acquisition, processing and storage, control for an automatic sampler, real-time quality control, and automatic standardization. Checks made on the elemental spectrochemical data insure that all the results fall within the analytical range of the method. The automatic sampler is a modified commercially available sampler that permits computer control and continuously variable rinse und sample equilibration periods. Real-time quality control is based on results obtained for a check standard. analyzed periodically between unknown samples. Automatic standardization is implemented by using a computer-actuated stepper motor that drives a multi-position rotary valve. Rotating the valve to the desired port permits the chosen standard solution to be pumped to the nebulizer of the spectrometer. Experiments have shown that the automated ICP-AES system produces results similar in accuracy to the manually operated system in addition to providing improvements in manpower efficiency and sample throughput.