Excess handlings accumulate to wasted hours. Excess handlings refers to handling an object a number of times when one single handling would have completed a task. A few seconds or even a portion of a second, when multiplied by a number of occasions, can amount to a significant number of hours over the course of a year.
This concept is not a new one. Almost a hundred years ago it led to Time Motion Studies. These evolved into MTM (Motion Time Measurement) standards where types of handlings and the distance between them were reduced to a set of tables used for planning tasks (mainly in a manufacturing setting). For many years the focus was on the activities of assembly line workers. Then, the concepts were included in the designs for numerically controlled machines and, eventually, robotics.
Office layouts and critical path charts for construction projects reflect the handling concepts. There are efficiency experts readily available to improve material handling in your shop or workplace.
We are recommending you acquaint yourself with some of the processes mentioned above. They will develop an awareness that will create a mindset for handling all your management tasks.
When you find yourself being inefficient in your handlings, it's important to avoid causing yourself undue stress. Stress tends to decrease energy. Rather, accept you were inefficient for that one occasion and that you are not going to be perfect at all times. This does not mean you excuse yourself from future transgressions. Instead, think of how you can improve your handling of that task next time.
There's a fable about the time when Frederick Taylor and Frank Gilbreth were introducing the concepts of Motion Study and Scientific Management into Henry Ford's production line. One day they observed a worker operating a machine simply by pulling on a lever. They reasoned they could double his output by moving a lever from another machine so he could operate it with his other hand. They noted this new body rhythm was consuming less of his energy.
The experiment was expanded to move another machine with a foot-operated lever into the worker's workspace. Now the worker was twisting and swinging like a jazz dancer. Soon after, Ford and his friends were coming down the assembly line to observe this new efficiency. On the way, Ford found a broom that had dropped into a grease pot. He picked up a rag and was rubbing the grease off the end of the handle when the worker spotted him.
The worker jumped back from his workstation yelling, "That's it! I'm quitting if you think I'm going to sweep the floor too!"
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