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Part Two
Design
them. This means it is unlikely that it will be worth studying activities which, for example,
may soon be discontinued or are only performed occasionally. On the other hand, the types
of job which should be studied as a matter of priority are those which, for example, seem
to offer the greatest scope for improvement, or which are causing bottlenecks, delays or
problems in the operation.
Step 2 – Recording the present method
There are many different recording techniques used in method study. Most of them:
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record the sequence of activities in the job;
record the time interrelationship of the activities in the job; or
record the path of movement of some part of the job.
Perhaps the most commonly used recording technique in method study is process mapping,
which was discussed in Chapter 4. Note that we are here recording the present method of
doing the job. It may seem strange to devote so much time and effort to recording what
is currently happening when, after all, the objective of method study is to devise a better
method. The rationale for this is, first of all, that recording the present method can give a
far greater insight into the job itself, and this can lead to new ways of doing it. Second,
recording the present method is a good starting point from which to evaluate it critically
and therefore improve it. In this last point the assumption is that it is easier to improve the
method by starting from the current method and then criticizing it in detail than by starting
with a ‘blank sheet of paper’.
Step 3 – Examining the facts
This is probably the most important stage in method study and the idea here is to examine
the current method thoroughly and critically. This is often done by using the so-called
‘questioning technique’. This technique attempts to detect weaknesses in the rationale for
existing methods so that alternative methods can be developed (see Table S9.1). The approach
Table S9.1 The method study questioning technique
Broad question
The purpose of each activity (questions the fundamental need
for the element)
The place in which each element is done (may suggest a
combination of certain activities or operations)
The sequence in which the elements are done (may suggest
a change in the sequence of the activity)
The person who does the activity (may suggest a combination
and/or change in responsibility or sequence)
The means by which each activity is done (may suggest
new methods)
Detailed question
What is done?
Why is it done?
What else could be done?
What should be done?
Where is it done?
Why is it done there?
Where else could it be done?
Where should it be done?
When is it done?
Why is it done then?
When should it be done?
Who does it?
Why does that person do it?
Who else could do it?
Who should do it?
How is it done?
Why is it done in that way?
How else could it be done?
How should it be done?