This finding
means that this is the period required to provide a unit of the manicure
service, considering the skills, efforts, conditions, and consistencies of the
operator, the physical environment, the materials, and equipment analyzed. This
work presents a study of motion and time in the most performed service in a
small beauty salon in the city of Mossoró/RN, in Brazil.
Keywords: time study, movements, service sector, beauty salon, production
1. INTRODUCTION
Developing
studies on service delivery has been one of the challenges for researchers in
this area. According to
Corrêa and Gianese (2012), the management of operations has undergone profound
changes in recent years due to the new standards of competition in the world
market. For Lovelock, Wirtz and Hemzo (2011) services are economic activities
offered by one party to another, often considering performance based on a
period to bring about desired outcomes on the users themselves, objects or
other goods for which buyers are responsible. In this same context, Fitzsimmons
and Fitzsimmons (2010) add that many definitions of services found, but all consider the intangibility and
the simultaneous consumption, to different degrees, as characteristics of the
services.
Miao
et al. (2012) use Servqual to analyze mainly, the Technical Quality, Company
Image and functional quality of services provided, serving as a link between
customer participation and customer value, thus, from the use of Servqual is
possible to evaluate the gaps between the expectation and the reality of the
service provided, from a customer perspective. Talluri, Kim, and Schoenherr
(2013) also highlight the use of Servqual as one of the prerogatives for
evaluating the relationship between efficient operation and Service Quality.
The annual growth of services
according to the quarterly national of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and
Statistics (IBGE) shows that the service sector (which encompasses commerce)
from 2003 to 2013 went from 64.7% to 69, 4%) of the added value of the GDP.
Since 2004, services have been gaining ground in GDP. In particular, trade
shows a significant expansion, from (10.6%) in 2003 to (12.7%) the value added
of the GDP in 2013. The importance of this activity in our society can be
demonstrated both by the position occupies the economy as regards the
contribution of the Gross Domestic Product and the generation of jobs, as well
as the analysis of the trends and transformations that the world economy is
experiencing (CORRÊA; GIANESE, 2012).
In this paper, we will show that in
Brazil, services are responsible for 60% of the generation of wealth in the
national economy. And this is associated with factors such as: (i) a desire for
a better quality of life and more leisure time; (ii) urbanization, making
specific services necessary (such as security); (iii) demographic changes that
increase the number of children and / or elders, who consume a greater variety
of services; (iv) socioeconomic changes such as increased participation of
women in paid work and pressures on personal time; (v) increasing consumer
sophistication, leading to broader service needs; (vi) technological changes
(such as the advancement of computers and telecommunications) that have
improved the quality of services, or even created entirely new services.
Given the above, within the
classified category of other services, an area that encompasses all service
sectors that do not fit into the different classifications. And in the type of
services whose nature deals with tangible actions and directed to the body of
the people have the service of personal care, developed in service factories
more known explicitly as beauty salons. The Brazilian beauty market is the fourth largest in
the world in this sector, after the United States, Japan, and China. This
economic sector in Brazil represents 1.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in
2015. Moreover, this productive activity maintained a relevant growth despite
the economic downturn of the country. Personal cares and beauty are cultural
characteristics of Brazilians, this factor corroborates to the sustainable
growth of this economic area (WEINSWIG 2016).
According to Brazilian
Service to Support Micro and Small Enterprises (2016), the beauty salon business offers services aimed at
hair aesthetics, hygiene, aesthetics and beautification of the hands and feet,
hair removal, aesthetics of eyebrows and eyelashes, facial makeup, and other
aesthetic services facial and body. It is a business that requires high-level
professional performance and in tune with the trends defined by world standards
since the ease of communication has definitively broken local barriers.
Therefore, technical or higher-level vocational courses emerge every day,
creating new standards of performance and specializing the services
Thus,
in the segment of services offered by beauty salons, due to the increase in the
sophistication of consumers, the diversity of the activities provided and the
intense competition, there is a need to establish a lasting relationship with
the client (NORONHA; OLIVEIRA; LEITE, 2006). So that to make customers loyal to
the company, to avoid migrating to the competitor in search of better
conditions of service, price, and quality of service, it is essential that the
experience of the professional that will provide the service linked to its
maximum degree of productivity.
Since
according to Juran and Gryna (1993) the fulfillment of deadlines and shorter
time in the execution of the service are competitive factors. In this
perspective, Pollack (2008) brings an analysis of beauty salon services
together with other two types of services (banking and telephone). And in this
evaluation of the relationship between satisfaction and quality, the author
identified as critical attributes those who have a relatively more significant
influence in the perceived quality and present a linear relationship with
pleasure and concludes that waiting time is one of the critical factors.
In
this perspective, it is relevant to bring to light studies that seek to
optimize both the waiting time and the time of execution of the services
offered by a beauty salon. In this way, a tool that can be used to deal with
this problem linked to Method Engineering, which according to Souto (2004)
consists of the technique that is directly concerned with the implementation of
methods and the workload analysis, with the work income and to suppress any
unnecessary operation of a task.
Includes
in this context the study of movements and times, according to Barnes (1977) is
the organized study of work processes that aims to develop the system and the
preferred method, usually the one of lower cost; standardize this system and
method; determine the time spent by a qualified, trained person working at an
average pace to perform a specific task or operation and guide the training of
the operator in the preferred method. All of which is primarily concerned with
determining the ideal or closest approach to be used in practice.
Thus,
in production systems, where the use of labor is abundant, and in the case, in
question, that deals with services available in a beauty salon. Whose use of
work is constant; it is essential to develop a study of designates as being the
maximum quantity of products and services that produced in a productive unit in
a given interval of time.
In
this sense, there is relevance to the science of production engineering, by
contributing to establish standards for production schedules, providing data
for the determination of standard time, as well as for the study of balance of
production structures. So, the implementation of methods and work engineering
becomes essential for an organization, since its techniques propose to identify
and suggest modifications to improve the current working method.
This
time, the present work aims to use the knowledge from the engineering of
methods, precisely, the studies motion and time and to associate such studies,
which were developed mainly within the manufacturing process, and bring to a
service delivery environment. With specific objectives, to elaborate a
flowchart of the manicure process, to find the standard time of the service
through the chronoanalysis of the stages of the task and to carry out the study
of the methods developed during the execution of the service in question.
2. STUDY OF TIMES AND MOVEMENTS
According
to Contador (2010), the first applications of the study of times date from the
nineteenth century, coming from the contributions of Frederick Taylor to
determine the time needed to perform the various types of work and projections
correctly to implement them. Thus, Tardin et al. (2013) add that the time study
eliminates any unnecessary elements and determines the best and most efficient
method to perform a task. In this sense, in the view of Slack, Chambers, and
Johnston (2009), the study of times, or measurement of work, is the application
of established techniques to determine the time necessary for a skilled and
specified worker to perform the task in a defined level of performance.
Therefore, this time called the standard operation time.
Given
the above, it is possible to deal with techniques for determining the standard
time, among which timing, according to Contador (2010) is one of the most usual
methods of observation. And for execution of the same it is necessary a
centesimal chronometer, clipboard, and sheet and for this author should follow
the steps listed below:
·
Obtain
information about the operation and operator under study;
·
Divide the
process into elements and record the complete description of the method;
·
Observe and record
the time spent by the operator;
·
Determine the
number of cycles to be timed;
·
Evaluate the pace of the operator;
·
Determine the normal time;
·
Determine the tolerances;
·
Determine the standard operation time.
For
Barnes (1977, 284.p) the higher the number of timed cycles the more
representative the results obtained for the study activity, so the number of
observations (cycles) will depend on the precision desired for that element of
study. According to Moreira (2009) as a rule, the number of cycles can be adjusted
by the analyst's common sense, until feels confident in the results found or by
statistical means. Barnes (1977) claims that is necessary to realize the
calculation by equation (1), in which N’ is the number of observations
required to predict the true time with relative error of ±5% and 95% confidence, in which the X is the chronometer reading
and N, the number of observations from the preliminary study.
(1)
Barnes
(1977) explains the evaluate the pace of the operator as the process during
which the time-study analyst compares the rhythm of the observing operator to
his concept of normal rhythm. According
to the above-mentioned author, it is a four-factor system for estimating
operator efficiency and was developed at
Westinghouse in 1927.
In order to meet the standard time and consequently
the operator's pace, the Westinghouse System was used, in which the four factors are: (a) ability: which is the competence to follow a
method, (b) effort: which is associated with a constant rhythm during an
operation, (c) conditions: related to the environment, machines, tools, and
others , and (d) consistency of the movements, to estimate the efficiency of
the work, according to the performance estimation of the Table 1:
Table
1: Performance estimation table
|
Ability |
Effort |
||||
|
0.15 |
A1 |
Super-skilled |
0.13 |
A1 |
Excessive |
|
0.13 |
A2 |
|
0.12 |
A2 |
|
|
0.11 |
B1 |
Excellent |
0.10 |
B1 |
Excellent |
|
0.08 |
B2 |
|
0.08 |
B2 |
|
|
0.06 |
C1 |
Good |
0.05 |
C1 |
Good |
|
0.03 |
C2 |
|
0.02 |
C2 |
|
|
0.000 |
D |
Middle |
0.00 |
D |
Middle |
|
-0.05 |
E1 |
Regular |
-0.04 |
E1 |
Regular |
|
-0.10 |
E2 |
|
-0.08 |
E2 |
|
|
-0.16 |
F1 |
Low |
-0.12 |
F1 |
Low |
|
-0.22 |
F2 |
|
-0.17 |
F2 |
|
|
Conditions |
Consistency |
||||
|
0.06 |
A |
Ideal |
0.04 |
A |
Perfect |
|
0.04 |
B |
Excellent |
0.03 |
B |
Excellent |
|
0.02 |
C |
Goof |
0.01 |
C |
Good |
|
0.00 |
D |
Middle |
0.00 |
D |
Middle |
|
-0.03 |
E |
Regular |
-0.02 |
E |
Regular |
|
-0.07 |
F |
Low |
-0.04 |
F |
Low |
Source:
Adapted Barnes (1977)
Considering
this, Souto (2004) determines the operator's pace per hour in the Equation 2:
(2)
According
to Barnes (1977), normal time is the time that a qualified and trained operator
takes to complete a duty cycle working at a normal pace. To calculate the
normal time, Equation 3 is used,
in which ST is the selected time and P is the operator's pace (speed of the
operation).
(3)
The
tolerance (Equation 3) is a prediction of work slack for the workers rest and
meeting their personal needs (BARNES, 1977; MARTINS; LAUGENI, 2005). There is
an estimate for light work, with a workload of 8 hours per day, the average worker
will have 10 to 24 minutes per day for personal time. For heavy work and
occurring under unfavorable conditions, such as in hot and humid atmosphere,
the average worker will have a longer tolerance time, which may be longer than
24 minutes (BARNES, 1977).
The
standard time (Equation 4) is the duration of all elements of the operation and
must include the time for all necessary tolerances (BARNES, 1977).
(4)
Consider
in equation:
·
ST = Standard Time;
·
NT = Normal Time;
·
Tol = Tolerance.
Anis
(2010) explains that as a result of the chronoanalysis the standard time is
searched and Souto (2004) describes that this standard time can be used for
several purposes, such as scheduling and planning work, determining costs
standard, estimate the cost of a product before beginning manufacturing,
establish bases for wage incentive plans, and control the cost of labor.
However, Toledo Júnior (2004) elucidates that the standard time viewed in an
individualized way has little or no value since it is only a mechanical act.
While
Taylor was primarily concerned with the study of the times, one of his
disciples, Frank B. Gilbreth (1868-1924), expanded his time studies to what he
called the study of movements. Helped by his wife, the psychologist Lilian M.
Gilbreth, they were complemented to perfect their work on the study of motion
(VIEIRA, et al. 2015).
According
to the authors cited, the Gilbreth couple encouraged the study of
micromovements, identifying that any task in industrial production can be
divided into primary movements, among them: searching, picking, picking up,
transporting empty, transporting full, prepositioning, positioning, unite,
separate, use, drop load, inspect, hold, wait, stand and plan.
According
to Felippe, et al. (2012), Gilbreth subdivided Taylor's elements into basic
movements that he called therbligs (set of basic moves necessary for the worker
to perform operations on manual tasks). And in this same reasoning, Borba et
al. (2008) explain that these therbligs were used to establish the standard
time of operation as Taylor did with its elements.
Thus,
for Vieira, et al. (2015), the use of schematic resources in the study of
methods has provided an efficient survey of the process analysis to achieve
improvements. In this same context, Santos, Barreto, and Menezes (1998) point
out that these schemes allow the correction of errors when detected and
designate patterns to be recognized more easily.
Among
the various schematic features present in the methods engineering studies, the
flowchart or flowchart of the process are a technique to register a process in
a compressed way, to obtain possible its better understanding and improvement
(BARNES, 1977).
In this way, the
Process Flow Chart, more commonly called a flowchart, records exclusively fixed
and constant sequences of a work and its purpose is to represent the production
process through the series of transformation, examination, manipulation,
movement, and storage activities by which pass the production item flows or the
sequence of actions, waits and movements inherent provision of specific
service. Therefore, the symbology used in the graphic
representation is shown in the Table 2:
Table 2:
Symbology of the flow chart of processes used for industrial processes
|
Symbol |
Description |
Example |
|
|
Operation: Occurs when modifying an object in any of its physical or chemical
characteristics |
Hammer a nail, put a screw, rivet, bend, type, fill out a form, write,
mix, connect and operate a machine, etc. |
|
|
Transport: Occurs when an object or raw material is transferred from one place to another. |
Carry manually or with a cart, using a conveyor, carry the load of a
truck, carry a document from one sector to another, etc. |
|
|
Wait or Delay: Occurs when an object or raw material remains to wait for processing
or forwarding. |
Wait for transportation, inventories in process awaiting material or
processing, papers waiting for a signature, etc. |
|
|
Inspection: Occurs when an object or raw material is examined for its identification, quantity or condition of
quality. |
Measure product dimensions, check screwdriver pressure or torque,
check the quantity of material, check load, etc. |
|
|
Storage: Occurs when
an object or raw material is kept in a
specific protected area in the form of stock. |
Maintain raw material in the warehouse, finished product in stock,
archived documents, computer files, etc. |
Source: Peinado e Graeml (2007).
The process flowchart is a method
used to register a process in detail, seeking to make possible its better
understanding and subsequent improvement. In
this sense, this technique is a visual resource where the company's management
uses to analyze productive systems, seeking to identify opportunities to
improve the efficiency of processes since such improvements can be found with a
detailed study of this graph, that it is common to conclude that certain
operations may be eliminated, reduced or combined, contributing to the
production of a better product or service at a lower cost (BARNES, 1977;
PEINADO; GRAEML, 2007).
3. METHODOLOGY
This
research is characterized, as to its nature, as being applied, since it aims to
generate knowledge, for practical application, directed to the solution of
problems related to the provision of the service performed by the manicure. The
choice of this service was due to the fact that, among the various services
provided in the beauty salon, the manicure service is considered the most
frequent service (30%).
The
methodological course in this work is detailed through data collection and
analysis. The quantitative approach is emphasized in
the measures related to the times involved in executing the task execution;
while the qualitative approach is used in the observations
made about the methods and tools used. Regarding the objectives, it is noticed
that in the visits made to the company for knowledge of its facilities and data
collection, the research characterizes itself as being descriptive.
However,
in the conversations with employees to better understand the process in
question and through literature review, the research has an exploratory
character. Regarding the technical procedures, it is considered a case study,
since it consists of an in-depth study of the provision of the service in
question, so that its ample and detailed knowledge is allowed.
The
research was developed in four stages. The first step was to review the
literature on the study of times and movements for a better understanding of
the theme. The second stage included the data collection, which was carried out
in loco during a week, according to the schedules previously scheduled by the
clients. Data collection involved the use of the following instruments: chronometer (to
measure the activity time); check sheet (to record collected data); camera and
camcorder (to record images and videos of task execution and environment). At
this stage it was possible to know the functioning of the salon, its
facilities, observe the whole process involving the manicure service. During the
observation periods, there were no interventions in the process by the
researcher, since the objective of the observation was only to know and
register the stages of execution of the tasks.
The
third step consisted in the data analysis, which involved the construction of
the flow chart, as well as the determination of the standard time through the
chronoanalysis. The chronoanalysis comprised in division the process into
elements, observe and record the time spent by the manicure, determine the
number of cycles to be timed, evaluation the rhythm of the manicure and
determine the normal time, as well as the tolerances and the standard time of
the operation. In the fourth step it was possible to point out improvement
suggestions to optimize both the standard time and the developed method.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This
section is divided into: (1) flowchart of the manicure service process, which
begins with the client's arrival at the beauty salon and ends with the
application of spray for rapid enamel drying and (2) chronoanalysis and
suggestion of improvements for a better provision of the service.
4.1.
Flow
chart of the process applied in the current method of the manicure service
provision
The
process flow graph is concerned with recording only fixed and constant
sequences of work. Its primary purpose is to represent the production process through
the series of transformation, examination, manipulation, movement and storage
activities through which production item flows. Therefore, the first phase of
the present work was done with the
elaboration of the flow diagram of the manicure service process and the same
was detailed with the symbols corresponding to each action of the process,
according shown to Table 3.
Table 3:
Flowchart of the analyzed operation
|
Stage N° |
Process Steps |
Action Performer |
Type of activity |
|
1 |
Beauty salon arrival |
Costumer |
|
|
2 |
Choose the color of the nail polish on the shelf |
Costumer |
|
|
3 |
Go to the armchair |
Costumer |
|
|
4 |
Accommodation in the
armchair |
Costumer |
|
|
5 |
Visual inspection of hands and nails |
Customer/Operator |
|
|
6 |
Check for nail polish |
Operator |
|
|
7 |
Yes: remove the nail polish |
Operator |
|
|
8 |
Do not: clean the nail |
Operator |
|
|
9 |
Get the scissors |
Operator |
|
|
10 |
Cut the nails |
Operator |
|
|
11 |
Store the scissors |
Operator |
|
|
12 |
Take the nail file |
Operator |
|
|
13 |
Sanding nails |
Operator |
|
|
14 |
Discard used
sandpaper |
Operator |
|
|
15 |
Surface clean nails and hands |
Operator |
|
|
16 |
Pass the cuticle
emollient |
Operator |
|
|
17 |
Diffuse moisturizing cream on hands |
Operator |
|
|
18 |
Coat every hand with a glove |
Operator |
|
|
19 |
Wait a moment for the emollient and the moisturizer to act. |
Operator |
|
|
20 |
Cut the tip of the glove finger |
Operator |
|
|
21 |
Pick up nail cutters |
Operator |
|
|
22 |
Position in right
hand |
Operator |
|
|
23 |
Support the client's finger in the proper position |
Operator |
|
|
24 |
Starts removing
cuticle process |
Operator |
|
|
25 |
Cleans nails and
hands |
Operator |
|
|
26 |
Wipe fingernails and
hands |
Operator |
|
|
27 |
Pass base coat on the nail |
Operator |
|
|
28 |
Continue painting the nails with the product chosen by the customer |
Operator |
|
|
29 |
Paint second coat of nail polish |
Operator |
|
|
30 |
Make the detail at the tip of the nail (frieze) |
Operator |
|
|
31 |
Get the toothpick |
Operator |
|
|
32 |
It involves the tip of the toothpick with cotton |
Operator |
|
|
33 |
Take the acetone
glass |
Operator |
|
|
34 |
Wet cotton from the tip of the toothpick |
Operator |
|
|
35 |
Store acetone |
Operator |
|
|
36 |
Cleans excess of nail polish |
Operator |
|
|
37 |
Discard the toothpick |
Operator |
|
|
38 |
Pick up nail polish fixation spray |
Operator |
|
|
39 |
Apply the spray |
Operator |
|
|
40 |
Repeat this process on all fingernails |
Operator |
|
Source: Prepared by the author with research data
4.2.
Chronoanalysis
The
application of the chronoanalysis initially consisted of the: (a) division of
the operation into elements and complete recording of the method; followed by
the (b) observation and recording of the time spent by the manicure; (c)
determination of the number of cycles to be timed and evaluation of the rhythm
of the manicure, were sufficient; (d) determination of the tolerances, and
finally the (e) determination of the standard time.
4.2.1. Division
of operation in elements
The
process of service delivery chosen to perform the time study was divided into
five elements to obtain a better description of the method. In this way, the
items distributed as follows:
· 1st element: consists of the
client's entrance into the physical environment and its orientation and
accommodation to the specific place where it will receive the service and the
choice of the color of the nail polish to be used (Step 1 to step 4);
· 2nd element: it covers the
beginning of the process, goes from the visual inspection to an analysis of the
nail that will transform the interactions between the operator and the client
for making decisions regarding dimensions of the cut, sandpaper and the color
of the nail polish that will be used
(Step 5 to step 15);
· 3rd element: it includes the
preparation of the nail, hydration of the hands, removal of cuticles and
cleaning and preparation for painting (Step 16 to step 26);
· 4th element: it consists of
the steps of painting the nail, initially with a transparent base coat and then
the two layers with nail polish chosen at the time of entry (Step 27 to step
30);
· 5th element: refers to the
cleaning process, application of the fixing spray and final finishes (Step 31
to step 40);
After
the division of the operation completed
in elements pointing to its proper description, it was observed and recorded
the times spent in the development of each of these elements.
4.2.2. Observation
and registration of time by the operator
According to the division of the
stages and constitution of the elements that make up the provision of the
service, the complete description of the records of the times spent in each
element is presented in Table 4.
Table 4:
Records of the times spent in each element
|
Description of
Element |
Number of observations |
Aver.Time |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
||
|
1st element: client entry in the environment and choose the color of the nail
polish to be used. |
120 |
150 |
137 |
165 |
122 |
138.8 |
|
2nd element: process start (cut, sandpaper and nail polish color to be used) |
172 |
150 |
117 |
181 |
200 |
164.0 |
|
3rd element: it includes nail preparation, hydration of the hands, removal of the
cuticles and cleaning and preparation for painting. |
376 |
420 |
356 |
466 |
627 |
449.0 |
|
4th element: nail Painting Steps |
296 |
321 |
393 |
431 |
368 |
361.8 |
|
5th element: the cleaning process, application of the fixing spray and final
finishes. |
266 |
502 |
253 |
558 |
562 |
428.2 |
|
Total |
1230 |
1543 |
1256 |
1801 |
1879 |
|
|
Total Time |
1541.8 |
|||||
Source: Prepared by the author with research
data
The
time recording of each element was done using the timing technique, that
according to Table 4, 5 initial timings were performed for each element of the
operation, obtaining as average time for elements 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, that
correspond to 138.8 seconds, 164 seconds, 449 seconds, 361.8 seconds, 428.2
seconds respectively. The total time of operation was 1541.8 seconds.
The
timings were carried out for one week according to the schedules scheduled by
the clients. About this, Figueiredo, Oliveira
and Santos (2011) affirm that the use of this tool can determine the most
efficient and fast method to execute an operation, also having the possible
identification of failures and reduction of product costs, since it is known
that the second Juran and Gryna (1993) Compliance with deadlines and shorter
time in the execution of the service are competitive factors. Another
relevant factor is the question raised by the research by Ribeiro, Thisen, and
Tinoco (2013) that pointed out among the three primary attributes of the
perceived quality of the beauty salon service the commitment to the scheduled
time, which depends directly on time spent in the development stages of the
service.
4.2.3. Determination
of the number of cycles to be timed or sampling of work
Throughout
the one-week period, 5 (five) preliminary timings of the entire process were
chosen for to realize the time study. The total time of each of the 5 (five)
observations were used to calculate the number of cycles to be timed (Equation
1), corresponding to a confidence level of (95%) with a relative error of ± 5%.
The
Table 5 shows the total individual time of each of the 5 observations, which
are used to calculate the determination of the number of cycles to be timed.
Table 5: Total
individual time of each of the 5 observations
|
Observation |
Individual readings in seconds (X) |
Quadratic of individual readings (X2) |
|
1 |
1230 |
1521.900 |
|
2 |
1543 |
2380.849 |
|
3 |
1256 |
1577.536 |
|
4 |
1801 |
3243.601 |
|
5 |
1879 |
3530.641 |
|
|
Ʃx= 7709 |
Ʃx²= 11984527 |
Source:
Prepared by the author with research data
For
the calculation of the determination of the number of cycles to be timed, was
used the Equation 1, in which the result obtained was approximately 2
observations.
Given
the presented data, it is verified that
this result reached the specifications since the number of observations (5) was
more significant than the result of N’ and therefore it is valid and possible
to be used as "timed time" of the activity, with 95% accuracy.
4.2.4. Evaluation
of the operator's pace and determination of normal
The
evaluation of the rhythm is one of the most individual phases of the study and
therefore is also more complicated since it depends very much on the analyst's
look because the analyst has to judge the speed of the operator while doing the
study and observations. In the determination of
the rhythm of the manicure, based on Table 1, was considered to be
super-skilled (A2 - increase of 13% in the rhythm) and presented a good effort
(C2 - increase of 2% in the rhythm). The condition of the work environment was
considered as being average (D - 0.00), a fact that did not generate increase
or decrease to the rhythm of the manicure, and the consistency of the movements
was considered regular (E - decrease of 2% to the rhythm). Thus, by means of
Equation 2, a rhythm of 113% was obtained.
After
determining the rhythm of the manicure and considering that the time selected
for operation is 1563.5 seconds, the determination of the normal time was made,
by means of Equation 3, obtaining a time of 1766.755 seconds or approximately
29 minutes and 27 seconds.
It
is important to point out that this value represents the time that a qualified
and trained operator, in this case, studied refers to the manicure, working
with regular rhythm, that would take to carry out a cycle of this operation,
that is to carry out all the steps of the processes (sanding, cutting,
trimming, enameling, etc.) that one has to perform the service of arranging the
fingernail. Therefore, it is
concluded that it does not deal with the standard time of this activity
since tolerances must still be supplemented.
Therefore, the next topic will address the determination of tolerances.
4.2.5. Determination
of tolerances and standard time
As
mentioned, regular time cannot be considered as standard time, because for an
operation there must be some tolerance, since in any activity there are
interruptions, either for rest or even to meet personal needs or waits. Thus,
through the on-site observations and perception of the answers obtained through
the semi-structured interviews with the person in charge of the operation
studied, the concessions of personal tolerance and fatigue were defined.
With
regard to personal tolerance, the worker attends to his special needs like, to
go to the bathroom and to drink water, sometimes during its operations. The
service is performed in a location with controlled ambient temperature,
although with little natural air circulation, which favors such tolerance.
However, as there is a pause between one service and another, this pause only
occurs in the latter case, in this sense, a percentage of 4% was assigned to their care.
In relation to the tolerance for
fatigue, to date, there is no satisfactory way to measure fatigue. In this way, the favorable conditions of tolerance for
fatigue, which are: the work done in a chair of dimensions disproportionate to
the body volume, were analyzed by means of the Visual Observations and
monitoring of the services and discussed with the one responsible for the
activity, there is a need of constant movements to pick up the tools and
utensils used during the service and notably the adaptation of the employee to
the place where the client is positioned, since usually, the client chooses to
execute two services simultaneously. Thus, a percentage of 16% was attributed to fatigue tolerances. Therefore,
the tolerance to operate the manicure service is 20%.
Starting of the value of the normal
time and the tolerance was calculated, by means of Equation 4, the standard
time of the operation (2120,106 seconds or alternatively, approximately 36
minutes). In this sense, it can be concluded that using the chronoanalysis
tool, the default time for the chosen operation is approximately 36 minutes,
what does it mean to say this is the period required to provide a unit of the
manicure service, taking into account the operator's ability, efforts,
conditions and consistency, physical environment, materials, and equipment
analyzed.
5. PRESENTATION OF ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR
IMPROVEMENT
Given
the context presented, it was observed
that in the case study, performed in the beauty salon in question, specifically
in the manicure services were discussed several difficulties faced by the
service provider in the development of their task. Most of the difficulties are directly related to the inherent
characteristics of the service performed, which the client interacts with the
production process, that is, the client's attributes interfere with the service
development, for example, the client's restlessness and nervousness in the
process of utilisation can cause unwanted cuts on the cuticles as well as
excess movements during the enameling step can generate imperfections in the
paint and lead to the repetition of the entire process generating lots of time
and material.
Another
factor perceived during the analysis is the need for site changes during the
execution of the task, which in turn generates a flow during service
development, which requires an adaptation of the operator without taking into
account the best posture to carry out the work. Thus, after the analysis of the
service delivery process and from the study of times and methods, some
proposals for improvement were made, aiming at increasing productivity and
optimizing the workforce. Here are the suggestions:
5.1.
Use
of the manicure kit:
This
kit is a set of materials prepared in advance and one in a single location to
avoid some movements during the process, which generate both physical
discomfort and time losses. ($ 0.4 cents), a portion of approximately 80 ml of
emollient moisturizer inserted without umbrella interior (0.8 cents), a mini
nail file ($ 0.8 cents) a wooden toothpick ($ 0.6 cents) cotton ($ 0.5 cents),
acetone ($ 0.10 cents), and a sterilized sterilizer for each kit. The set of
materials and equipment would have an average cost of US 0.50 cents if it were
set up by the operator itself during vacant hours and about $1.00 for
ready-made purchases. In this sense, an adoption of the practice responding by
decreasing ten steps of the process,
including seven movements and 3 actions
within the flowchart. Representing a gain in time and movements, in addition to
demonstrating indirectly to the company's customers regarding hygienic and
sanitary aspects.
5.2.
Ergonomic
adaptation of the service provider:
This
suggestion of better adapting the accommodations of the operator's work was
based on the principles of economy of motion cited by Barnes, of which there is
the guidance that when designing a work method in which the task must be
organized so that operator perform the task in the shortest possible time, with
greater ease and satisfaction; use the smallest number of body members and
perform as few movements as possible, as well as minimize the length of your
movements as well as energy and physiological strain wear.
These movement-saving principles were associated with the task during the
process of observation of the development of the same and are divided into three fields:
§ The
use of the human body - the anthropometric standards of the person in charge of
the task require that it has an Effort higher than usual to perform the
movements necessary to perform the task because the posture induces fatigue,
discomfort, and future correlated diseases. According to Barnes (1977), the
movements that are short, parabolic and simultaneous, run in opposite and
symmetrical directions and cause less operator energy expenditure, are long,
lateral, punctual, in the same direction and asymmetrical and require a
substantial and structure involvement bone of the spine and arms;
§ Workplace
layout - the seat used in operation has measures that are visibly inappropriate
for the anthropometric standard of the operator, and the area of a disposition
of the necessary material is also not located in an adequate way which
contributes to the exercise of harmful movements that contribute to fatigue
because they require more energy expenditure;
§ Design
of tools and equipment - this principle shows that hands must be relieved of
any work that can be performed more conveniently by another device, this time,
due to the characteristics of the service under analysis, it was not considered.
Therefore,
the present suggestion consists of the design and manufacture of an armchair in
the appropriate dimensions and furniture that has the possibility of locomotion
and presents a structure of arranging the materials and equipment to facilitate
the movements necessary to perform the service.
6. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
In
view of the above, the use of the tools of the time study (cronoanalysis) and
the study of methods (flowchart), which was originally developed for
application in manufacturing processes, was applied in a service delivery
process and allowed through Observations and analyzes perceive results that
enabled the achievement of the objectives proposed in this research. In this sense, this article sought to address the
study of times and methods in an essential process of a beauty salon, the
manicure service, which is usually performed by a professional qualified for
this purpose, who acts independently of the other processes, is usually
outsourced and receives fixed payments plus a commission for each service
performed.
From
this perspective, this study is relevant because has sought to optimize both
the waiting time and the time of execution of the manicure service offered by a
beauty salon, determining by means of a standard time, the need to have a
greater agility in the provision of this service.
So,
the Method Engineering that deals of registry, analysis and the aid in the
improvement of the processes, contributed by showing that your application can
facilitate the implementation of better
and easier methods to perform a task.
However, it is necessary to study all the details
related to the work, in the search for particular information about a certain
task in the process.
Therefore,
in this case, as the most requested service in the salon, particular attention
should be given to expanding the knowledge of the activity about times and
methods and to provide company managers with greater control of the time
elapsed in the provision of the service, which was a result obtained through
the meeting of the standard time, as well as in the monitoring of productivity.
The conclusion of the studies applied in the present research was to
contribute to a better management of the methods adopted to perform the task
and in turn to perceive the level of the degree of productivity operator.
It
was also possible to verify ways to optimize the operator satisfaction in the
task performance through Observations of the execution of the activity and the
proposal of improvement suggestions regarding the use of the kits and the
ergonomic adaptations. The present research has
contributed effects to add value to employee and employer and consequently to
influence the degree of profitability of the organization through the studies
of times and methods of execution of a service and to favor a positive
organizational climate by suggesting investments in improvements for employees,
while such improvements will be reverted to earnings for the company.
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