Methods engineering is a subspecialty of Industrial engineering

Industrial engineering

Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...

 concerned with human integration in industrial production processes.

Overview

Alternatively it can be described as the design of the productive process in which a person is involved. The task of the Methods engineer is to decide where humans will be utilized in the process of converting raw material

Raw material

A raw material or feedstock is the basic material from which a product is manufactured or made, frequently used with an extended meaning. For example, the term is used to denote material that came from nature and is in an unprocessed or minimally processed state. Latex, iron ore, logs, and crude...

s to finished products and how workers can most effectively perform their assigned tasks. The terms operation analysis, work design and simplification, and methods engineering and corporate re-engineering are frequently used interchangeably.

Lowering costs and increasing reliability and productivity are the objectives of methods engineering. These objectives are met in a five step sequence as follows: Project selection, data acquisition and presentation, data analysis, development of an ideal method based on the data analysis and, finally, presentation and implementation of the method.

Project selection

Methods engineers typically work on projects involving new product design, products with a high cost of production to profit ratio, and products associated with having poor quality issues. Different methods of project selection include the Pareto analysis

Pareto analysis

Pareto analysis is a statistical technique in decision making that is used for selection of a limited number of tasks that produce significant overall effect. It uses the Pareto principle – the idea that by doing 20% of work, 80% of the advantage of doing the entire job can be generated...

, fish diagrams, Gantt chart

Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project. Some Gantt charts...

s, PERT charts, and job/work site analysis guides.

Data acquisition and presentation

Data that needs to be collected are specification sheets for the product, design drawings, quantity and delivery requirements, and projections as to how the product will perform or has performed in the market. The Gang process chart can assist in the analysis of the man to machine interaction and it can aid in establishing the optimum number of workers and machines subject to the financial constraints of the operation. A flow diagram is frequently employed to represent the manufacturing process associated with the product.

Data analysis

Data analysis enables the methods engineer to make decisions about several things, including: purpose of the operation, part design characteristics, specifications and tolerances of parts, materials, manufacturing process design, setup and tooling, working conditions, material handling, plant layout, and workplace design. Knowing the specifics (who, what, when, where, why, and how) of product manufacturing assists in the development of an optimum manufacturing method.

Ideal method development

Equations of synchronous and random servicing as well as line balancing are used to determine the ideal worker to machine ratio for the process or product chosen. Synchronous servicing is defined as the process where a machine is assigned to more than one operator, and the assigned operators and machine are occupied during the whole operating cycle. Random servicing of a facility, as the name indicates, is defined as a servicing process with a random time of occurrence and need of servicing variables. Line balancing equations determine the ideal number of workers needed on a production line to enable it to work at capacity.

Presentation and methods implementation

The industrial process or operation can be optimized using a variety of available methods. Each method design has its advantages and disadvantages. The best overall method is chosen using selection criteria and concepts involving value engineering

Value engineering

Value engineering is a systematic method to improve the "value" of goods or products and services by using an examination of function. Value, as defined, is the ratio of function to cost. Value can therefore be increased by either improving the function or reducing the cost...

, cost-benefit analysis

Cost-benefit analysis

Cost–benefit analysis , sometimes called benefit–cost analysis , is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project for two purposes: to determine if it is a sound investment , to see how it compares with alternate projects...

, crossover charts, and economic analysis. The outcome of the selection process is then presented to the company for implementation at the plant. This last step involves "selling the idea" to the company brass, a skill the methods engineer must develop in addition to the normal engineering qualifications.