Gist of Work Simplification

Work Simplification activity is  dedicated to making our work and life
simpler , more enjoyable and thus more effective both inside and outside the
workplace  . We strive to make  concerted efforts to make work enjoyable
,simple ,effective ,  creative and integrated .

Work simplification aims at making the work simple . It is done by looking
at each aspect of work , individual , organization and  the society in which
the organization operates , all in an integrated way  . The overall work and
its relevance in terms of changes in business environment , business climate
and business development is analyzed . Superfluous work , duplication and
unnecessary replication is taken rid of . The individual job is redesigned
to be more meaningful , more enjoyable and simpler . A natural outcome is
great improvement in the bottom line .
 

Gist of Work Simplification

Work Simplification activity is  dedicated to making our work and life
simpler , more enjoyable and thus more effective both inside and outside the
workplace  . We strive to make  concerted efforts to make work enjoyable
,simple ,effective ,  creative and integrated .

Work simplification aims at making the work simple . It is done by looking
at each aspect of work , individual , organization and  the society in which
the organization operates , all in an integrated way  . The overall work and
its relevance in terms of changes in business environment , business climate
and business development is analyzed . Superfluous work , duplication and
unnecessary replication is taken rid of . The individual job is redesigned
to be more meaningful , more enjoyable and simpler . A natural outcome is
great improvement in the bottom line .

Socks

Socks are clothing accessories I use everyday . My children like to play
with my socks - as a result my socks are all over the house. In addition ,
when we wash clothes , socks are usually the last items on the clothes
line -
so they are hung in any small space that can be found . They hie well when
clothes are taken down .

You guessed it - one of the biggest  problems I faced was finding a *pair*
of socks . Socks , socks all over but not a pair to pick .

The solution was easy to come through . I bought several pairs of socks -
exactly alike - colour , design and size .

Now when I need socks I need to look for  *two* socks and not a pair . !

Foot Note : Talk about making life complicated. My wife has just bought a
couple of pairs of socks with a toe . That way you can wear a bathroom
slipper even when wearing socks. That means the left sock cannot work in
the right leg !
 

Principles of Work Simplification 1. What is the Work ?
 

Whenever you are doing any task ask ,  what is the real goal to be
accomplished with the task , what is this task leading to ? Follow the chain
of jobs till the logical conclusion at both ends - start to finish . Then
see if the chain itself is serving any productive purpose . If not discard
the whole chain . If you come to the conclusion that the job is necessary ,
try to look for ways to delegate it or simplify it .

Successful simplification will mean
        Less time taken to accomplish the total task
        Less resources employed to accomplish the task
        Less supplies space needed to accomplish the task
 

For example :

I am polishing my shoes .

Why am I polishing my shoes ?
        So that they look nice and shine .
        the leather is taken care of .

Is it necessary to wear polished shoes in the company ?

Yes . Because everyone wears formal dress in the company and if I did not
wear polished shoes I will be the odd man out which I do not want to be .
 Good enough . Whatever the reason , so far as you are clear about it ,
suffices . )

So now we have decided that the job is necessary . Is there any way to
simplify the job ?

Let us see the supplies we are using at the moment .

Shoe brush 1 - to clean the shoes
Shoe Brush 2 - to polish brown shoes
Shoe Brush 3 - to polish black shoes
Cloth to rub the shine
Wax Polish - Brown
Wax Polish - Black

The process is  clean the shoes with shoe brush 1 . Apply polish to the shoe
by brush 2 or 3 whichever appropriate , brush the shoe , rub cloth to obtain
shine and out you go .
 

Now try using neutral liquid polish .

Supplies  necessary

Shoe brush 1 - to clean the shoes
Neutral Liquid polish bottle with brush attached
Cloth to rub the shine
 

The process is  clean the shoes with shoe brush 1 , Apply polish to the shoe
by the liquid shoe polish bottle and *if necessary *  use  rub cloth to
obtain shine and out you go .
 

You can generalize this example and apply it to variety of day to day tasks
.

Please feel free to let me know your comments .
 
 

Inertia

In many areas of work , simple inertia carries us forward . Inertia is
defined as the property of matter by which it remains in a state of rest or
if it is in motion , continues moving in a straight line , unless acted upon
by an external force .

In simple words we keep doing many things simply because we have been doing
the same . Their need has long vanished and as of date do not serve any
useful purpose , but yet we keep carrying these out.

A retired government officer sited an example from his childhood . He grew
up in a village and had to walk to nearby village for school. The distance
between two villages was very small - and two villages were separated by a
small stream. Their grandmother had warned sternly " When you go to school
, lift your 'lenga' up . ( Lenga - a loose trouserlike garment used by
village folk ) The idea was that while walking through the stream in ankle
deep water clothes will not get wet . As the officer recalls " The warning
was so much itched in out psyche , that we would lift up our clothes even
during summertime when the stream used to be dry . "

He further added " Recently I went back to the village which now is a town
and across the stream is a concrete road . yet when I walked on the road ,
my reflex action was to lift up my trouser . "

Our work ethic goes that deep into our psyche. it is itched and engraved and
when we want to simplify work we have to take a close look at all the
practices which may have become out of date .

Can each one of us share an example of an outdated practice from our day to
day work or work at office ?

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