Paul Wakeford

JobPad is a small utility that we developed to enable engineers to go out to the workplace, look at a process, use JobPad as a note pad to build up the elements of the process. The job file is saved and the engineer can start the study straight away - just like the "good old days" with a stopwatch.

We will use a really simple process to illustrate the use of this tool - shelf filling in a retail situation. Please note that any method shown here has no specific provenance in any company in the UK, EU or any other country.

This job file will then be used in a time study taken in Timedex

Elements are entered into the fields shown right.

• Element # - element number
• Long Description - main description shown on the handhelds element "pop up".
• Short - Short description, best described as Code.
• Next - next element in a repeating sequence.
• Fixed - fixed rating (ie 100 for auto cycle)

If you take the above as an example, when the detail is accepted and the Add button has been tapped, the fields cleared ready for the next element to be entered and the main element details (number and description) are placed in the element list in the bottom part of the screen.

You open and close the "keyboard" at will to aid in looking through the list.

Element Fields

Element Number

The element number in this free version of Timedex is numeric with fields available from 0 to 999. The next version will have an alphanumeric option. Good practice is to always have a zero (0) element. If you start a study with this it becomes your TEBS figure in the analysis. You can also use it as a "drop in" for elements not previously defined - make a note about it and define it later. For appearance sake, number padding has been used - you enter 4 and it becomes 004 in JobPad and the same happens in Timedex..

Good Practice. Stratify your numbering so that it is easier for the engineer (or you) to remember elements logically - ie number 27 might be pick to pallet and 127, pick to cage (so much better than 27 and 61 or other completely unconnected numbers). Have your faster elements numbered with single numbers. Accuracy is vital and if the engineer can't remember a poorly numbered element and enter it quickly you don't get accuracy - that is the project manager's responsibility.

Element Fields

Element Description

The description gives you as many characters as you like but only the first 25 or so can be seen on the Timedex job "pop-up". So take care to ensure that the description makes sense in the first couple of dozen letters. Avoid some thing like "Travel to shelves obtain brush" will end up with the completely meaningless "Travel to shelves obtain b..."; better is "Go to shelves-PU brush". It will all be visible on the handheld and it means the same. It will also enhance your accuracy as the engineer can read the description instead of being confused by officialese gobbledygook.

The field processes the characters in "Proper mixed case" with the leading character capitalised. Do not use commas in the description. Use ";" or ":" or "-" instead.

Element Fields

Short Description (or Code)

Probably best described as code and can be the precursor to a coding scheme in synthetic data. The short description allows for up to 9 characters (alphanumeric) and used on the study to provide a visual means to view back through the study. So it is a good idea for it to have as much information as you can get into the limit.

Good Practice. It may be that you can shorten the main description easily - in the one above "Pick up item" easily becomes "PU ITEM". However, you may need something like "Pick up large item place in ordered lines" against "Pick up small item place randomly".

An answer could be "PU LG ORD" as opposed to "PU SM RND". These are recognisable and will help in accuracy.

You are allowed 9 characters including spaces - there are no restrictions that we know of apart from commas. Commas must not be used.

Next

Next repeating Element

This field is to allow your job file to loop. If the element cycles repetitively, freeing the engineer from most (or even all) of the field entry will once again enhance your accuracy.

Do not enter a next number that does not exist. This will cause an error during the study and although easily dealt with, is an unnecessary imposition on the engineer. The equivalent function in the New TDX Analysis won't let this error occur. There is no similar error trap in JobPad/Timedex.

With JobPad open, select from the menu (along the bottom bar) File|New. This will open a new empty job file (you may get asked if you want to save but, in this instance we have nothing of value to save). At the start the cursor should be sitting in the Element Number field but, if it isn't tap it to make that field focussed and enter a single "0" (zero) - the system will pad it to "000" when you tap out of the field. Press Add and our zero element is entered to the list and the fields cleared.

Now continue to enter in the fields the following elements:

Some points about the above:

• Spares can be left to account for unexpected elements. Here they are shown added to specific parts of the job file. Otherwise, have no spares and just use "zero" and annotate the entry in the study.
• Different parts of the job have been stratified to numbering levels that are appropriate to their type - ie repetitive low, occasional, high.
• 99 seems to be a de facto standard for ineffective. Within your organisation you might like to consider static numbers for elements that always occur, whatever department, what ever site. An example is shrink wrapping; eg you always give it the number say, 503 your regular contractors will get used to this. A lot better than one site having it as 37 in one department and 54 in another - all on the same project - a recipe for inaccuracy if ever there was one.
• The fixed ratings are to taste and need. 100 is usually used to signify forms of ineffective or diverted time of one type or another. However, you can use 0 and this will multiply out to zero in your results.

The visual aspect of the menus and start buttons are all upside down.

Here we have selected the File menu and are about to select a New Job File.

Actually, in the situation above such a menu operation is not necessary as the screen is already blank and ready to go.

The job name, once saved and reloaded appears above the element list table. Here it is in brackets "[Untitled Job]".

Selecting a job file from those previously existing on the system.

You can use the search box to look for a file. Since you can have hundreds of job files on a PPC you may need this facility. Actually, you are best advised to manage your PPC files from your PC/Laptop.