adminThis has to be a two part discourse, for we cannot do justice to the subject matter in just one offing.
I consider the discipline of Work Study as endangered, on account of it not being part of our school or tertiary education curriculum, let alone usage.
As a concerned citizen, I will always challenge curriculum development in our nation. Education must talk to the needs of industry and commerce, in a more meaningful way — it can never be premised around ivory tower type mentality, I argue.
However, today’s article looks at the fundamentals of our production systems, as a nation. This Work Study of yours columnist, how did it all begin?
I have always enjoyed the art of looking at things differently — on a good day I am not the type that will go with the majority for the sake of it. If things can be looked at differently with better outcomes, so be it.
There lies the heart and soul of Work Study — do not be satisfied with what your eye sees (for those of us who are married, you know which area is an exception, of course!). We always need to have a conceptual boundary in everything we do, I say.
I did a certificate course in Work Study in the late 90s with the Institute of Management Services (UK). The course comprised the following subjects; Time and
Motion Study practical, Work Measurement, Methods and Systems Improvement and Organisational Effectiveness.
Let me brag a little about this qualification of mine, for I know there are very few of us in the country. Not even the Institute itself gave me a chance when I initially made inquires, as they said that no one had ever attempted the course by distance education, studying alone.
I had to rope in one of the finest engineers I have ever met, the late Alderman E Hoyle, one time Mayor of the City of Kings and Queens, for the Time and Motion Study practical, in which I scored a distinction.
I recall having to buy a priced Seiko stopwatch, which was, however, stolen by a thief who probably wanted to do a time and motion study of himself, with the sole aim of improving his stealing time!
Work Study as a discipline is wholesome, akin to the egg, in the poultry world!
That an egg is wholesome can only be discovered when one looks at this wonderful product of mother and father chicken closely — the shape, size, the packaging, what is contained inside, how the contents can be accessed, the nutritional value of the contents, etc. I did not mean to unduly stimulate your appetite, dear reader — I was simply giving an example of a system that is wholesome!
Back to how I got to be involved in this noble field of Work Study. Agriculture as a discipline, will always stir you into wanting to do things differently.
Look at what the current agricultural season has done to us, for example. One definitely cannot use the same mindset that they used this year, come the next farming season — we just have to try out new permutations and combinations, I say.
Shakespeare (one of the finest authors), says in Macbeth “here is a farmer who hanged himself in the expectation of plenty”. Work Study mitigates against the temptation to hang one self — it offers solutions!
Work Study is as philosophical as it is practical. Where we used to feed from the student companion, today’s professionals feed from diaries (for motivational anecdotes) — the effect can never be the same, I say.
I came across this one the other day — “work smarter not harder”! My oh my I thought to myself, the average professional will not know that this wise saying is premised on Work Study — they say little knowledge is dangerous!
Taking it a step further, you see a worker taking forty minutes to mend a tyre, a daughter taking an hour to prepare a standard meal, a worker taking the whole day to service a simple positive displacement pump, a cop taking forever to give you a speeding
ticket, and you wonder who will bear the costs of this inefficiency in our systems?
It is us as a nation, I can assure you! There is a standard time for all the above mentioned activities, and many more, for heaven’s sake.
Sometimes you provoke thought before delving into real issues — let us now turn to what Work Study aims to achieve.
I alluded earlier to the subjects make-up for the certificate programme in Work Study — Time and Motion Study, Work Measurement, Methods and Systems Improvement and Organisational Effectiveness.
This article is not meant to take you through the course proper but to make you appreciate what you can do applying the principles and practices of work study — nightmares are turned into enjoyable experiences. This week I will deal with just two examples by way of introduction — the rest will be in the next article.
Systems improvement — Imagine yourself having to drive for the first time say, in central Jo’burg, dear reader — a total nightmare, I tell you. I recall one time travelling for the first time with two work colleagues who always bragged about having driven in the City of Kings — there was pandemonium on the first day as it took us three hours to complete a journey of thirty minutes.
How did you establish the times, columnist? The three hours I know because we were looking at the watch and we got to the seminar exactly three hours late.
The 30 minutes — we used the same lodge but then we had the GPS (Global Positioning System) gadget, the second time around — where it was about; turn right, turn left, you have got to your destination, can’t you see! Totally amazing, this gadget is a product of Work Study, I say.
Finally, a reader asks — how long should it take to process a speeding ticket. I shall respond just because you insist, dear reader.
Using Work Study Principles and Practices, it should not take more than 10 minutes.
Compare and contrast with what happens on the ground. Fortunately for me, it has been a while since I last was issued with one. However, I am willing to do a
Time and Motion study on a victim, for free.
Take home this week? The era of doing things the same way we did them in the past is but gone.
We become irrelevant if we maintain this mindset. I phoned a publisher the other day and they told me that their publishing schedule is fully booked for the next three years.
The sad implication is that their books will be outdated by the time they are published, a situation hardly desirable.
There has to be a change in mindset. Adopt principles and practices of Work Study, I say and you will not have to brag about undesirables.
I rest my Work Study inspired case, dear reader — meet you as we explore part two of the same topic.
l Send comments and views to e-mail address hecandbe@ gmail.com or sms 0777556081.
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