Careful planning of routine tasks that you undertake at work will benefit both you and your employer.
You will benefit because well planned tasks progress smoothly, with fewer errors and less job related stress that you can experience when things go wrong. You’ll also get much more personal satisfaction and enjoyment from your work when you successfully complete well planned tasks.
Your employer benefits from task planning because production errors are minimised. Production mistakes can be the cause of reduced efficiency, lost profit and reduced customer confidence. When you consistently perform your tasks well, according to correct operating procedures, specifications, quality and safety requirements, you will help to make the business more efficient and profitable.
Don’t start a job unless you have prepared a plan to make sure all requirements are understood and implemented properly. Planning for a task will generally involve:
Task requirements could be presented in many different ways including:
Task related information could be divided into general task requirements and specific task requirements.
General task requirements relate to all similar tasks in the same way. For example, if your task is to join two mild steel components with a fillet weld using manual arc welding equipment, general task requirements would include standard procedures for operating the welding equipment and safety procedures that must be followed. Administrative procedures such as recording ‘time taken’ on a job card or time sheet could also be a general task requirement.
The information and skills you need to perform general task requirements are acquired through training. The task should only be undertaken if you have received proper training, particularly in occupational health and safety matters as well as safe operating procedures for tools, machines and equipment.
Specific task requirements are all the pieces of information that relate directly to your particular task. Some examples could be:
Businesses will vary in the way that task requirements are communicated to production workers.
In most workshops, specific task requirements can be identified on the job card which, together with a working drawing or simple sketch, provides much of the information required to complete the work.
The ability to identify tools and equipment required for the task comes from training and experience on the job, while other information such as quality standards may be contained in separate documentation.
Verbal instructions might be necessary when the supervisor, for example, feels that the job card or other documentation doesn’t provide enough detail.
Information about your task must be clearly understood before you commence. The job should not proceed unless you can meet all task requirements.
It is your responsibility to ask for clarification of any task requirements that you don’t fully understand.
It is the responsibility of the person giving you information to make sure that it is presented clearly and accurately so you can understand it easily. You will need to have good communication skills whenever you receive information or clarify task requirements. We’ll talk more about communication skills in the chapter titled Working With Others.
Before leaving this page, think of what you've just been reading, and test yourself with these questions.
[[ mr /f ][ Task requirements could be presented in which of the following ways? ][ materials lists ][ * sketches on a table napkin ][ verbal instructions from a supervisor ][ detailed working drawings ][ quality documentation ][ * the price to the customer ][ Sketches on a napkin won't be accurate enough, and customer costs won't be your concern. ]]
[[ mc /r /f ][ General task requirements relate to all similar tasks in the same way- true or false? ][ True ][ * False ][ This is what makes them general rather than specific. ]]
[[ mr /f ][ Which of the following task requirements are specific rather than general? ][ * workshop safety procedures ][ * equipment operating procedures ][ * job card completion ][ quality requirements for a job ][ equipment required ][ quantity to be produced ][ Quantity, quality and equipment required are all specific. ]]
[[ tr /f ][ Complete the statement "The ability to identify tools required to complete a task will come from ________ and experience." ][ training ][ Training ][ TRAINING ][ Training and experience will guide you in choosing the tools and equipment necessary to complete a task. ]]
[[ mc /f ][ Your supervisor has given you a task to perform, but you're not sure about some details. What should you do? ][ ask your supervisor for clarification ][ * re-read the job specification and work out what it means ][ * ask a colleague if they understand what the task specs mean ][ You should always refer back to the person who gave you the task - typically, your supervisor. ]]
[[ mc /r /f ][ If you don't understand what you've been asked to do, whose problem is it? ][ * yours ][ * your supervisors ][ both yours and your supervisors ][ Communication is a two-way process - if it breaks down, you both need to address the issue. ]]
It is often said in industry that ‘a big job is only the sum of a number of small jobs’. In other words, a complex task can be broken down into simple steps. Determining these steps and their production sequence is an important part of planning to undertake a routine task.
The sequence of steps required to complete a task may be:
Determining the sequence will depend on the level of training and experience you have had. For example, a trained operator who has performed similar tasks many times would normally know the best sequence to follow.
A less experienced operator may need to carefully examine the task requirements and write down a sequence of steps, asking for clarification or assistance where necessary.
Providing a job procedure which lists the steps required to complete the task is a production strategy often used to help inexperienced operators. The operator should carefully follow each step of the job procedure in the correct sequence.
However, in practice, it may sometimes be necessary to break steps of the job procedure down into a further sequence. For example, the first few steps of turning a particular product part on a metal lathe, could be as follows:
Each step in this procedure could be broken down into smaller steps.
For example, to centre the stock a drill chuck would need to be mounted in the tailstock, a centre drill fitted in the chuck, the tail stock locked in position, and so on.
When a job procedure is set out, the number of steps or amount of detail required will generally depend on the level of training or experience you have had. A more experienced operator might not need as many steps in a procedure as someone who has had less experience.
Quality standards such as the turning tolerances in the example above must always be included because, in the overall quality system, each operator is personally responsible for quality of the product.
When you have worked out the steps of a procedure or plan, you must check them against the task requirements, instructions and specifications to make sure that the sequence is logical and practical.
Before leaving this page, think of what you've just been reading, and test yourself with these questions.
[[ mr /r /f ][ What words are missing from the statement "A big ___ is only the sum of a ______ of small jobs (or _____)." ][ job ][ number ][ steps ][ * problem ][ lots ][ The missing words in order are job, number and steps. ]]
[[ mr /f ][ Planning a complex task could involve: ][ breaking it down into simpler steps ][ writing a job procedure ][ determining a production sequence ][ * working out who has to do what ][ * determining a budget ][ Budgeting and job division might be a concern for your supervisor, but probably not for you. ]]
Before your plan is put into effect in the workshop it should be given a final check to make sure that the task can be performed correctly.
The outcome should be successful completion of the job. When you review the plan, check your procedure against the required outcome to make sure the task will be carried out according to the instructions, specifications and other task requirements you have identified.
If there’s anything you’re not sure of, it would be a good idea to get a more experienced worker to go through the plan with you.
If the final check suggests that your plan might not allow you to successfully complete of the job, the plan should be modified.
You need a certain level of technical knowledge and skill to be able to work out a plan and then successfully complete the task. An understanding of workplace health and safety issues and a commitment to quality are also necessary when you are planning a task.
Efficient planning also depends to a large extent on your communication skills which are necessary to ensure information is received and given correctly. We’ll be talking about some of these topics in the next two chapters.
Before leaving this page, think of what you've just been reading, and test yourself with these questions.
[[ mc /r /f ][ If you know what you're doing, there's no need to double-check your job procedure against the task requirement. Yes or No? ][ * Yes ][ No ][ A good worker always checks before commencing irreversible work. ]]
[[ mr /f ][ You notice that other, more experienced workers in the workshop don't always stop and check things that you are always being asked to check. Why do you think this happens? ][ You are still in training! ][ * You're too young to know everything ][ Experienced workers can 'tell' when things are going right ][ * They want you to work more slowly ][ Checking is all part of your training - with experience, you too will be able to sense when things are right! ]]