This document provides an overview of various methods engineering tools and techniques for analyzing and improving processes, including Pareto analysis, fishbone diagrams, Gantt charts, PERT charting, job/worksite analysis guides, operation process charts, flow process charts, worker and machine process charts, and gang process charts. It describes the purpose and components of each technique.

2. A good methods engineering program will
follow an orderly process, starting from
the selection of the project and ending
the implementation of the project.
The first, and perhaps most crucial, step –
whether designing a new work center or
improving an existing operation – is the
identification of the problem in a clear and
logical form.

3.  Pareto Analysis
 Fish Diagram
 Gantt Chart
 PERT Charting
 Job/Worksite Analysis Guide

4.  Developed by the economist Vilfredo Pareto
to explain the concentration of wealth.
 Items of interest are identified and measured
on a common scale and are then ordered in
descending order, as a cumulative
distribution.

6.  Also known as cause-and-effect diagrams.
 Developed by Ishikawa in the early 1950’s while
working on a quality control project for
Kawasaki Steel Company.
 The method consists of defining an occurrence
of a typically undesirable event or problem,
that is, the effect, as the “fish head” and the
identifying contributing factors, that is the
causes, as “fish bones”.

8.  Emerged during the 1940’s in response to the
need to manage complex defense projects and
systems better.
 Simply shows the anticipated completion times
for various project activities as bars plotted
against time on the horizontal axis.

9.  Stands for Program Evaluation and Review
Technique. Also referred to as network
diagram or critical path.
 Is a planning and control tool that graphically
portrays the optimum way to attain some
predetermined objective, generally in terms of
time.
 Is used to improve scheduling through cost
reduction or customer satisfaction.

10.  Identifies problems within a particular area,
department, or worksite.
 Before collecting quantitative data, the
analysts first walks through the area and
observes the worker, the task, the workplace,
and the surrounding working environment.
 In addition, the analyst identifies any
administrative factors that may affect
worker’s behavior or performance.

11.  Operation Process Chart
 Flow Process Chart
 Flow Diagram
 Worker and Machine Process Chart
 Gang Process Chart

12.  Shows the chronological sequence of all operations,
inspections, time allowances, and materials used in a
manufacturing or business process, from the arrival of
raw materials to the packaging of finished product.
 Two symbols are used in constructing the operation
process chart: a small circle, usually 3/8 inch in
diameter, which denotes an operation; and a small
square, usually 3/8 inch on a side, which denotes an
inspection.
 Vertical lines indicate the general flow of the process
as work is accomplished, while horizontal lines feeding
into the vertical flow lines indicate material, either
purchased or worked on during the process.

13.  The operation process chart is also an aid in
promoting and explaining a proposed method.
This important tools:
 1. Identifies all operations, inspections,
materials, moves, storages, and delays involved
in making a part or completing a process.
 2. Shows all events in correct sequence.
 3. Clearly shows the relationship between parts
and fabrication complexity.
 4. Distinguishes between produced and
purchased parts.

14.  5. Provides information on the number of
employees utilized and the time required to
perform each operation and inspection.

15.  It is used primarily for each component of an
assembly or a system to effect the maximum
savings in manufacturing or in the procedures
applicable to a particular component or sequence of
work.
 The flow process chart is especially valuable in
recording nonproduction hidden costs, such as
distances traveled, delays and temporary storages.
 Flow process charts need several symbols in
addition to the operation and inspection symbols
used in operation process charts.

16.  Two types of flowcharts are currently in
general use:
 1. Product chart provides the details of the
events involving a product or a material
 2. Operative flowchart details how a person
performs an operational sequence.

17.  Show a pictorial plan of the flow of work.
 The direction of flow is indicated by placing
small arrows periodically along the flow lines.
 The flow diagram is a helpful supplement to the
flow process chart because it indicates
backtracking and possible traffic congestion
areas, and it facilities developing an ideal plant
layout.

18.  Is used to study, analyze, and improve one
workstation at a time.
 The chart shows the exact time relationship
between the working cycle time of the person
and the operating cycle of the machine.

19. TO BE CONTINUED
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