IE 366, Work Systems Engineering

Winter Term 2009

| General | Outcomes | Format | Coursework | Grading | Disabilities | Honesty | Schedule | Resources |

General Information

OSU Catalog Description

Principles and techniques of work measurement, methods engineering, workplace design, work sampling, and predetermined time systems. Basic human factors engineering and ergonomics principles applied to workplace design. The work systems engineering process. 4 credits.

Required Text

Konz, Stephan and Steven Johnson (2008). Work Design: Occupational Ergonomics, 7^th edition. Scottsdale: Holcomb Hathaway.

Course Learning Outcomes

Students completing this course should be able to do the following.

1. State Human Factors/Ergonomic principles that influence the performance and safety of work systems (workers, equipment, and work processes).

2. Apply HF/E guidelines and use standard HF/E tools (e.g., RULA, NIOSH Lift Equation) in the design of work systems.

3. Model work systems using standard techniques, such as flow diagrams, process charts, operation charts, activity charts, block diagrams, and process maps, for purposes of work system documentation, analysis, and design.

4. Apply a structured engineering process (analysis/requirements development, design, implementation, operation, evaluation, project management) to work system development.

5. Apply engineering management principles and tools (e.g., Gantt charts, CPM) to the planning and management of work systems engineering projects.

6. Determine the time required to do a job using standard data, occurrence sampling, time study, and predetermined time systems.

7. Recognize and constructively address ethical, social, and environmental issues that arise in a work systems engineering project.

8. Demonstrate writing skills pertinent to Work Systems Engineering.

9. Demonstrate the ability to coordinate and organize team activities and contribute to engineering analysis, design, and documentation activities in a team setting.

Course Format

Readings

Reading assignments will be made for most lecture and lab meetings. Most will be from the text; a few will be from outside sources. See the schedule for reading assignments. Students must complete each reading before coming to the class meeting for which that reading is assigned.

Lectures

Lectures will supplement the readings with additional material, discussion, and in-class exercises. Students must attend lectures regularly and will be expected to participate actively in class discussions. To facilitate the latter, the instructor will call on students in class to answer questions and contribute to the class in other ways. Lecture slides will be posted to the IE 366 website after the lectures.

Work Systems Engineering Project

Students will work in teams assigned by the instructor on a term-long project to engineer a work system, including a work station and work processes. A systematic engineering analysis and design process will be used for this, tailored to the specific needs of the case. Much of the course and coursework will be built around this project.

Laboratories

Most laboratories will focus on the work systems engineering project. The first part of each such lab period will be devoted to learning the methods to be used in the next phase of work and during the remainder of the lab period teams will start applying those methods to their own project. Generally, the work product(s) of that phase of the project will be turned in with a progress report at the beginning of the next lab period. The remaining lab periods will be devoted to additional work design topics. Work from those labs will be turned in the day of the lab.

Coursework

The following table summarizes the coursework, with the possible points for grading purposes. These coursework elements are described in the paragraphs below and their due dates are given in the schedule.

Project Progress Reports

Each team will prepare a series of progress reports for the Work Systems Engineering Project. Each progress report will consist of the work product(s) completed by the team and a one-half to one-page cover memo written by one of the team members. The author of the memo should draft it, receive comments from other members, and then revise it before submission. The memo writing assignment will rotate around the team so that each team member writes at least two memos during the term.

Work Systems Engineering Project Final Report

At the end of the term, each team will submit a final report consisting of the following.

A cover page bearing

• the title “IE 366 Work Systems Engineering Project”,

• the name of the work system engineered for the project,

• the names of all team members, and

• the date of submission.

A project summary, three to five pages long, exclusive of figures and written procedures (see below). The summary should be written as to the manager of the work system engineered for the project and should contain the following:

• Introduction – a description of the organization and the workstation that was engineered and a statement of the problem that motivated the project.

• Objectives – the objectives for the project.

• Method – a description of the process of the project, summarized in language the intended reader can understand, with references to the appendices for details.

• Recommended Design – a presentation of the final design, including a clearly labeled design drawing and brief descriptions of each significant element of the design: what it is and what it accomplishes. If new procedures are a significant contribution to the project, at least one written procedure should be included here.

• Discussion – any issues related to the design and its implementation, such as recommendations for partial implementation or phased implementation, if full implementation is not immediately possible.

All team members should contribute about equally to writing the summary.

The following Appendices.

• Final System Analysis, developed from the initial versions of these work products submitted earlier as part of a progress report.

• Final IDEF0 Model, developed from the initial versions of these work products submitted earlier as part of progress reports.

• Final Task Analysis and FMEA, developed from the initial version of this work product submitted earlier as part of a progress report.

• Final Work System Requirements, developed from the Work System Requirements V1 and V2 work products submitted earlier as part of progress reports.

• Basic Design Specifications, a clean copy (i.e., without grader’s marks) of the work product submitted earlier as part of a progress report.

• Design Evaluation, a copy of the evaluation team’s evaluation of the design team’s specifications, along with a list of changes made by the design team in response to that evaluation.

• Final Detailed Design Specifications, based on the work product submitted as part of a progress report and incorporating any changes made subsequent to that version.

• Final Task Procedures, based on the work product submitted as part of a progress report and incorporating any changes made subsequent to that version.

If the project was completed for a sponsor, a copy of the Final Report must be submitted to the sponsor and the team must show evidence of that to the instructor. Such evidence could include

• an e-mail, sent to the sponsor and cc-ed to the instructor, with the report as an attachment;

• a copy of an e-mail to the team from the sponsor acknowledging receipt of the report; or

• an e-mail or phone call from the sponsor to the instructor acknowledging receipt of the report.

Project Peer Review

At the end of the term, every member of every project team will report to the instructor the contribution of each team member to the project. If there are significantly different proportions within a team, the instructor will pro-rate project points across the team in an effort to give credit fairly. Every member of every team should therefore strive from the beginning of the term to do his/her fair share of the work, to cooperate with the other members of the team, and to do his/her best to make the team successful. Note that effort is not measured only in hours invested, but also in the quantity and quality of work completed.

Work System Issue Paper

Each student will identify and take a position on a contemporary issue relating to work, then write a short paper explaining and defending that position. Details for this assignment will be provided by the instructor.

Other Laboratory Work

For the labs not directly related to the work systems engineering project, each student will complete a brief laboratory report summarizing data collection and analysis. Details will be given in class.

Examinations

The midterm examination will cover all material from the beginning of the term through the class period (lecture or lab) immediately preceding the midterm examination. The final examination will be over all material covered after the midterm and through the last class period. Both examinations will be closed book, but three sheets of notes (8½” x 11” paper, both sides) may be used for the midterm, four sheets for the final.

Examples of Coursework for Accreditation Review

Engineering instructors at Oregon State University routinely retain copies of graded student work for inspection by reviewers from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). ABET reviewers use these examples to assess the content and quality of instruction not to evaluate individual students. However, any student strongly objecting to his/her coursework being used for this purpose should contact the instructor.

Grading

Grading Criteria

Reports, papers, other laboratory work, and examinations will be graded on content criteria. All reports and essays will be graded on content criteria and writing criteria. Content criteria include

• completeness – the extent to which the work addresses all of the requirements for the coursework – and

• technical accuracy – the extent to which the work uses a correct method or approach, uses it correctly, and arrives at a correct result.

Writing criteria include

• factual accuracy – the extent to which the written material is factually correct;

• logic – the extent to which conclusions drawn in the written material follow logically from the premises;

• organization – the extent to which the written material follows a rational, understandable order;

• clarity – the extent to which the writing makes the content understandable to a reader;

• style – the appropriateness of the writing style to a technical audience;

• wording – the appropriateness of word choice to the context;

• grammar – the extent to which the writing conforms to accepted rules of English grammar;

• spelling – the extent to which words are spelled correctly;

• punctuation – the extent to which punctuation conforms to accepted rules; and

• formatting – the extent to which document formatting (headings and subheadings, text font, face, indentation, bullets and numbering, page breaks, etc.) are used to enhance organization and clarity.

Late Work

Coursework that is

Grading Scale

Points will be assigned to coursework as shown above and each student's final course grade will be based on the percentage of maximum possible points earned, according to the following table.

Failure to turn in the Project Peer Review will result in a penalty of one +/- step (e.g., B drops to B-).

Questions about Grading

Any questions or concerns about the grading of specific work must be brought to the attention of the Instructor within one week of when the graded work is returned.

Students with Disabilities

Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Students with accommodations approved through SSD are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through SSD should contact SSD immediately at 737-4098.

Academic Honesty

The following is adapted from the OSU Student Conduct Regulations website. For further information, please refer to http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/regs.htm.

Academic dishonesty is defined as an intentional act of deception in which a student seeks to claim credit for the work or effort of another person or uses unauthorized materials or fabricated information in any academic work. It includes

• "cheating" (intentional use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information, or study aid),

• "fabrication" (intentional falsification or invention of any information),

• "assisting in dishonesty" (intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another commit an act of dishonesty),

• "tampering" (altering or interfering with evaluation instruments and documents), and

• "plagiarism" (intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another person as one's own).

Any acts of academic dishonesty in this course will be handled initially by the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering department. Any such matters not quickly resolved will also be referred to the Student Conduct Coordinator for action under Oregon Revised Statute 351.070.

Schedule

See the IE 366 Schedule page. Lecture slides will be made available under Resources, below, soon after the lectures.

Resources

This section will provide links to course resources, as they become available.

• Slides

• Handouts

• Other Resources and Readings

  • Flow Process Chart

  • PRIS Preliminary System Analysis. May be used as template for projects. Use Visio, OO Impress, or MS PowerPoint to draw the diagrams.

    • OpenOffice

    • MS Word

  • HMSEM Workbook

    • Empty

      • OpenOffice

      • MS Excel

    • With PRIS Preliminary System Analysis Data

      • OpenOffice

      • MS Excel

    • With PRIS Task Analysis and FMEA Data

      • OpenOffice

      • MS Excel

  • The “How To's” of “How To's”

  • SolidWorks model of PRIS Workstation (Zip file)

  • (others to appear)

| General | Outcomes | Format | Coursework | Grading | Disabilities | Honesty | Schedule | Resources |

This page was updated 12 Feb 09.