Critical Component The work force – the people who perform the tasks to accomplish the end result – is the critical component. Perform is the operative word here as in ‘performance’. A well designed process optimizes the ‘performance’ of the workforce to accomplish the end result in a manner that is safe AND provides a quality outcome. Workforce Characteristics Workforce characteristics include worker age. gender, stature, morphology, hand dominance, training and experience along with others that may be unique to the situation. From a designer's standpoint, essentially you are Identifying and/or Determining the workforce specifications or characteristics. Identifying If you are designing for an existing workforce you need to first identify the demographics of that group. For example if the current workforce is comprised primarily of shorter stature females (average height: 5' 0") the design specifications will be dramatically different than the specifications for a workforce of primarily taller stature males (average height: 6' 0"). Or you may realize you have a diverse workforce in terms of demographics. In the same way you need to Identify hand dominance, the current level of workforce training, experience and any other characteristics. In any event you identify workforce characteristics and subsequently design to meet the workforces' needs. Determining Perhaps you are designing without a specific workforce in mind, you first need to determine the set of workforce characteristics for whom you are designing. For example in terms of workstation height, reach, clearance, etc. a typical convention is to design for the 5th percentile female (5' 0" – depending on the data base) to a 95th percentile male (6' 2" – depending on the data base.) You will also need to determine the level of training and experience the workforce will require to successfully complete the job tasks. For example, is this a basic entry level position requiring minimal training/experience or is this a complex process with high level training and experience needed? In any event you determine the set of workforce characteristics needed to successfully accomplish the end result. Identifying and Determining Many times, more than likely you will combine the Identifying and Determining steps. You are designing for an existing workforce but recognize the workforce characteristics can and will change. Final Product The level of detail of the final product will vary based on the scope of the project. For example, you may have a small defined group you are working with and a simple observation of the group will provide you with the information you need. Or you may be designing a process that will introduced around the world; in this case you will probably need to conduct a detailed and comprehensive analysis. Information may be obtained from Human Resources. |