How efficiently are things laid out in your workplace

Think about your workplace environment. Do you have all of the individual processes and associated material in one location? Is your packaging material next to your packing benches? Are your components near to the assembly benches? Is the assembly bench arranged to benefit the operator?

How efficiently are things laid out in your workplace?

One key element to an ergonomic system is organisation. If your workplace is not organised, processes can quickly become inefficient, production costs can increase and operators can become demoralised. Operator strain and absenteeism is one of the greatest drains on industry and company profits.

Not only do you need to know where things are so you can locate them when you need to, but you also need to know how often you need something so you can effectively organise workflow. The more often you use something the more accessible it should be. The goal is to save time and effort, reduce wastage and improve operator efficiency through statistics. Products and components used most often should be the most accessible. What is seldom used should not get in the way of what you need. That is where the rule of three comes in.

The Rule of Three

Identify the process or work zone you need to organise. Divide items or components into categories based of frequency of use: frequent, infrequently or occasional. Then ask yourself the question; have I used this item in the last three days, three weeks or three months? On an assembly workbench, the time categories might be seconds, minutes and hours.

For a frequently used item or component, locate it within easy reach of the operator. Immediate access is what you want. You do not want to have to move other items or interrupt the process to retrieve it.

If the item or component is accessed infrequently, locate or store these items in the intermittent space.

If the component has only been used occasionally, it can be stored or located away from the immediate work zone. If you have not used regularly, consider putting it in long-term storage. The extra effort needed to access the least used items is saved many times over by making the frequent tasks more efficient.

Maximus Handling Systems Limited can help you improve workplace efficiency. For more information on our ergonomically efficient workbenches, please visit our web site.