Reduction of Labor Turnover Impact through Dynamic Work Allocation and Active Operator Replacement Policies

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This project will investigate different work allocation strategies in conjunction with operator replacement policies that appear to be more suitable for high labor turnover environments. The idea is to find work allocation methods that give less workload to new operators and automatically increase this load as they gain experience. In particular, the reduction of the effects of labor turnover on productivity when hybrid assembly methods based on bucket brigade and work sharing are used will be will be researched. This investigation will be performed by constructing the appropriate analytical and simulation models of different production lines and work allocation and operator replacement strategies. An important characteristic of the research is the close collaboration that will be maintained with industry. In order to develop and test the models, the investigators will gather information and validate the research results in the facilities of the industrial partner. High labor turnover, frequently cited as a major contributor to lagging productivity and competitiveness of the U.S. industry, represents enormous costs that impact the competitiveness of a manufacturing firm. The costs more frequently associated with labor turnover include those associated with recruiting and training the new employees. However, there are other costs, such as production losses caused by the variability introduced by the new operators into the assembly line, that are frequently ignored. These production losses are the result of the learning process that the new employees go through and that the current assembly lines are not designed to accommodate. While the usual approach to deal with high labor turnover focus on reducing it by using long-term strategies such as better recruiting and giving incentives to employees to stay with the company, this research project seeks engineering solutions to mitigate its negative effects. This is particularly important for the period in which the benefits of the implementation of long-term policies are not felt yet.