Proposal for Work Study 2.0: Accounting for Information Load

Workers at production sites bear two types of loads: physical loads and information loads. With the progress made in science and technology—particularly information technology—and the increased levels of automation of production equipment, the proportion of physical loads borne by workers has decreased. Traditional work study is based on the research conducted by Frederick W. Taylor. However, in this study, a method for conducting work study, called “Work Study 2.0”, is proposed, which considers the information of a production site. Work Study 2.0 incorporates information flow/field analyses based on traditional work study. Work operational complexity and cognitive complexity measurements are used to analyse and improve information elements in the production site to reduce the information processing load borne by the workers. Finally, a case study employing the proposed method is presented. The results indicate that the proposed method can further ease the labour of the workers in a lean production system. Overall, this study enriches the theoretical system of the work study and provides a new theoretical tool for lean improvement and visual management.Workers at production sites bear two types of loads: physical loads and information loads. With the progress made in science and technology—particularly information technology—and the increased levels of automation of production equipment, the proportion of physical loads borne by workers has decreased. Traditional work study is based on the research conducted by Frederick W. Taylor. However, in this study, a method for conducting work study, called “Work Study 2.0”, is proposed, which considers the information of a production site. Work Study 2.0 incorporates information flow/field analyses based on traditional work study. Work operational complexity and cognitive complexity measurements are used to analyse and improve information elements in the production site to reduce the information processing load borne by the workers. Finally, a case study employing the proposed method is presented. The results indicate that the proposed method can further ease the labour of the workers in a lean production system. Overall, this study enriches the theoretical system of the work study and provides a new theoretical tool for lean improvement and visual management.