Production scheduling. Manpower allocation. Budgeting All of these business functions were consuming more time because the manufacturing operation had to rely on standards that were several years old. These standards did not reflect the product and process changes that had taken place over the years. Valuable managerial resources were being expended to adjust and modify the results of business systems that used inaccurate data. Important decisions were being made with less-than-best information.

An IET engineer immersed himself in the facility’s sterile manufacturing operations. Before conducting any time studies, it was essential to understand the process intricacies and establish rapport with the operators. IET developed an intimate understanding of each process step from preparation through batch manufacturing to packaging before conducting stop watch time studies. By noting and recording times for detailed work element steps, non-essential activities and interruptions were excluded from the results. In addition, this technique allowed engineers to estimate accurately the effect of future process or method changes on the product standards. Approximately 200 products were updated with engineered standards. Armed with new, accurate standards, manufacturing managers decided with confidence that one production shift could be eliminated.