TABLE OF CONTENTS Methods engineering is a systematic technique for the design and improvement of work methods. It provides a unified and thorough system for (a) analyzing the present work situation, identifying problems, bringing out improvement ideas, and selecting the best of those, and then (b) after implementation of improvements, standardizing the new methods, insuring their adoption, and measuring and evaluating their impact. Application of methods engineering has expanded to include indirect work, office work, and service work and the approach has shifted to the design of new work systems that did not previously exist. Likewise, the ultimate objectives for the application of methods engineering have broadened to include such objectives as balance between operator and work system from an ergonomic viewpoint and the adaptation of the work system to the environment from an ecological viewpoint.
Here, we introduce both the orthodox technique of methods engineering and its most recent refinement, the design approach, and discuss the future direction this technique is likely to take.
Methods engineering is a systematic technique for the design and improvement of work methods, for the introduction of those methods into the work place, and for ensuring their solid adoption. Methods engineering is one...
