1st Edition

Lean Human Performance Improvement

By Jerry L. Harbour Copyright 2015
    240 Pages 70 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    240 Pages
    by Productivity Press

    As companies continue their efforts to improve work performance, they must ensure that their ongoing Lean activities include a healthy appreciation for, and recognition of, human performance. Ignoring the human component of work performance can be a recipe for unnecessary waste, inefficiency, and decreased productivity. Lean Human Performance Improvement presents a broad overview of human performance in the workplace. The author discusses his findings from a broad spectrum of human performance-related fields and diverse industrial sectors (gained by working in the field for over 30 years).

    Organized in three sections, this book covers understanding human performance, analyzing and improving work productivity, and analyzing and improving quality and safety. The author first develops a fundamental and basic understanding of human performance, then couples that understanding with learning how to analyze and improve human-related work productivity and quality and safety. He also discusses how knowledge and skills transfer from one work setting to another.

    Intended for Lean Six Sigma team members and human performance improvement practitioners, the book contains multiple examples from diverse work settings to explain key points. It also includes several major case studies. The goal of all examples and case studies is to develop a generic understanding that, in turn, can be successfully applied to any work setting.

    A Work System Perspective: People, Tools, and Tasks
    Human Work Performance
    Book Overview

    UNDERSTANDING HUMAN PERFORMANCE

    A Macro Model: Nature, Nurture, and Operational Setting
    The Model
    Nature/Nurture
    Immediate Task Setting
    Performance Outcome

    A Micro Model: Perception, Cognition, and Action
    The PCA Cycle
    Skill
    PCA Biology and Psychology
    Sensing
    Processing
    Neural Signaling
    Moving
    PCA Cycle Analysis
    Response Time
    The Swing of a Bat

    Human Error (Or Is It Really?)
    An Early Experience
    Differing Views
    Work System Context
    MS Herald of Free Enterprise
    Human Error
    Error-Producing Conditions

    ANALYZING AND IMPROVING HUMAN-RELATED WORK PRODUCTIVITY

    Human Motion Analysis
    Task Analysis
    Motion Analysis
    Process Task Analysis
    Micromotion Hand Analysis
    Type 1 Motions
    Type 2 Motions
    Type 3 Motions
    Application

    Human Productivity Improvement
    Minimize Feet-Related Transport Empty Steps
    Shorten Transport Distances
    Avoid Avoidable Delays
    Eliminate Search and Select Therbligs
    Optimize Reach
    Eliminate Unscheduled Fatigue-Caused Rest

    ANALYZING AND IMPROVING HUMAN-RELATED QUALITY AND SAFETY

    Human Error Analysis
    Methodology
    Case Study
    General Background Information
    Event Chronology
    Compounding Factors
    F-15 Pilot Analysis
    Further PCA Cycle Inquiries

    Human Quality and Safety Improvement
    Enhance Perception
    Provide Good Reminders
    Reduce Human Error Consequences

    And That’s It!

    Glossary
    References
    Index
    About the Author

    Biography

    Jerry L. Harbour