Definition
Form of work organisation in which the execution of tasks of a work system is carried out by one or more people at several simultaneously used operating resources or action points. Variants are e.g.:
- In case several identical operating means are used for the same assignment, a MWO with a regular, simultaneous sequence of operations is present. A distinction is to be made between:
- Interruption times do not occur with people and equipment.
- The person is active without interruption, while for this reason the use of the operating resources is subject to regular process-related interruptions.
- Due to the process, the person is inactive at regular intervals, while the operating equipment is used without interruption.
- If different assignments with a repetitive sequence of operations are processed on the same equipment (e.g. production of different turned parts on the same lathes), or the same work items are produced on different equipment with the same sequence of operations (e.g. production of parts on plastic presses with different process times, a MWO with a regular sequence of operations with different times is present.
- Multi-station work with an irregular simultaneous sequence of operations is present if the sequence and number of operations cannot be determined in advance and therefore there is no regular repetition of certain operations, but the execution of similar operations takes the same amount of time.
Multi-station work with irregular, uneven sequence of operations occurs when sequences of operations or the subtasks of similar sections of operations and thus their duration differ, e.g. when using uneven operating resources and different orders (Fig.).
Bettina Dirks
