September 13, 2012 - J

[7:15 - I arrive, J is already in]
NOTE 2 : 7:40ish
8:06-8:13 ; wandering, with a pass-thru at 8:10
8:31-8:34 ; wandering
8:25-8:40 Note 1 @ 43%
(8:40-8:50 ; management - NOTE 3)
8:55-8:59 ; wandering
9:02-9:35 Note 1 @ 42%
[9:35-9:50 ; I go on break, so I am not in the department to observe]
9:51-9:56 Note 1 @ 80%
9:56-10:27 ; wandering - left building grounds in car at some point
10:29-10:54 Note 1 @ 59%
10:54-11:12 ; wandering
11:12-11:15 ; phone
11:15-11:31 Note 1 @ 21%
[11:32-11:58 ; lunch, I am not in the department to observe]
? -12:10 ; phone, yakking
12:13-12:18 ; wandering
12:18-12:34 Note 1 @ 57%
[12:34-12:40 ; bathroom, I am not in the department to observe]
12:41-1:03 Note 1 @ 79%
1:03-1:39 ; wandering - presumed was lunch - 11 pieces left to do
1:40-1:56 Note 1 @ 17%
1:56-2:02 ; wandering
[2:07-2:25 ; company meeting, I am not observing]
2:37-2:45 Note 1 @ 67%
2:45-3:06 ; wandering - 3 pieces left to do
2:55ish ; 2nd shift arrives
3:09-3:18 ; wandering
3:20 ; J finished the job. See NOTE 2
[3:29-3:31 ; getting water, I am not in the department to observe]
3:31-3:38 ; phone
3:44- ? ; wandering
[4:03 ; I go home]


NOTE 1: Of late, J has begun to... not work more, but goof off smarter. He alternates between working and not, so that it becomes difficult to track him unless you watch him at all times. He's not goofing off non-stop, but he's not really working, either. I've struggled with how to document this, and today I think I came up with a decent system: during a given time period, I look over at J at random and ask this question when I do - Is he working, yes or no? I can note this no more than once a minute, and at the end of a time period, I calculate the percentage of times I've seen him goofing off versus the whole number of observations within that time, which gives me a goof-off "rate". This eliminates (or at least lessens) the subjectivity of my previous estimates of the level of his malingering.

NOTE 2: J receives the one order he will manage to do today. 60 pieces, each of which should take 2 or 3 minutes each. J manages to do it in 7.5 minutes each. I personally could have had it done by between 10:00 and 11:00 at the latest. At the end of the day, J records in the log that he did 100 pieces (he counted the 40 that had already been done), which still shouldnt have taken him all day (4.5 minutes each).

NOTE 3: The plant manager came through the department at this time. He spent about 5 minutes watching J's machine.

If the terms used seem confusing, you might read this.