SHIPYARD PRODUCTIVITY

This proposal offers an innovative methodology to measure and improve shipyard productivity. The methodology creates a cooperative reporting environment in which labor and management seek to accomplish identical performance goals. Measures distinguish between two kinds of labor lost due to reasons beyond labor control. Lost time includes suchurs activities as waiting for materials or equipment, crew reassignment or rework due to design changes. Counts of work actually accomplished divided by the hours actually worked at that task provide a "true" unit rate that accurately measures labor performance for each task. Measures of lost time hours, categorized by reason, provide a prioritized list of problems requiring management action. Regular identification of the best unit rates and recognition for crews that set new performance records generates positive feedback to both labor and management. The ratio of the best rate to the average rate serves as an indicator of management performance. Projecting the hours required to complete the remaining work quantifies the potential worth of pursuing alternative productivity gains. The methodology is simple to apply, requires minimum extra time or paperwork, allows crews to measure and report their own productivity, and costs little to implement.