Compressed Work Weeks

Sunny

I have been trying to research the impact of compressed work weeks (four ten-hour day) on a manufacturing operation. Other than a few statements, most of the material I found pertained to office or retail operations. Does anyone out there know of a source for this information. We are trying to convince top management that the 4/10 plant operation is not a good idea (increased msd's, reduced efficiency) and I would like something solid to back it up.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. xpray

LFernandes

At the beginning of the summer we decided to put our direct labor manufacturing personnel on 4-10 hour days and everyone loved it (sorry). We also put our mechanics on a flexible day schedule so that the floor was covered during the whole 10 hours of operation. On Fridays, we were then able to schedule preventative maintenance without worrying that the machine had to be up and running. We are just now going back to a regular 8 hour day. Since it really worked out well for us, I would anticipate that we will do it again next year. The affected employees liked it because they had a three day weekend every week in the summer.

I know that this wasn't what you wanted to hear but it turned out to be a good thing.

jpepler

We did the same as "LFernandes" for the summer. Manufacturing personnel worked Monday - Thursday. 1st shift 6:00a - 4:00p; 2nd shift worked 4:00p. - 2:00a.
(Their normal hours were 7:00a. - 3:00p. and 3:00p. - 11:00p.)

We found efficiencies to be better during the summer hours and did not experience an increase in accidents/incidents.

The efficiencies were so much better that we approached the direct labor with the idea of extending the hours beyond the summer. They wanted no part of it. They stated it was nice to do for a little while during the nice weather, but it's not something they would want to have to do during the dead of winter.

Gillian

I think that you are going to find mostly anecedotal data, and that most are gong to be in favor of the 4-10 work week. From my consulting days, a manufacturing company client used a 4-10 in the summer regularly, and other times occasionally, and has been doing this for years.

Margaret Morford

We did it and our employees loved it. We saved money because we didn't have to start the machines one day a week. We also found it was a huge recruiting advantage in an area of low unemployment. We ran ads that were headed "Three Day Weekends" and got a huge response each time.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

Steve McElfresh

Sunny,

Experience among my clients, and what I remember of the research, is in line with the comments above -- i.e., the 4/10 schedule is often well-received and provides improved efficiencies.

HOWEVER, note that in some states (at least here in CA) there are laws that go beyond FLSA, and require overtime pay after 8 hours in a day. This cost can be avoided, but it requires a secret ballot and other measures you should examine closely before proceeding.

Regards,

Steve

Steve McElfresh, PhD
Principal
HR Futures

408.605.1870

Sunny

Thanks everyone for the input. It hurts to be wrong but I'm tough and can take it. x:-( I would like some research on long-term effects though. Most of the examples given were for limited time periods. I agree that the shorter work week is a good idea for the summer, particularly for ee's. We have had one of our mfg. units on 4-10's for a couple of years. This unit has the highest level of accidents, including carpal tunnel, of anywhere in the company. In addition, although attendance originally improved, it has now dropped back and is again the worst in the company. Somehow people don't get that they can and should use that Friday off for scheduling things like dentist's appointments or non-emergency doctor's visits.

Ruskanen

It sounds like a problem in the department. We too have 4 10 hour days and our employees love it. In our busy season we work the Fridays and they get a lot of overtime. They do get their appointments done on Fridays, and sometimes they even request to use paid time on Fridays that they don't work so they can have the extra money. We like it because if they use their time off when we aren't working, that means less absenteeism.

Have you examined the jobs in the department that are causing carpal tunnel? Could it be the nature of the work, or lack of training, and not the schedule that is actually causing the accidents and injuries?

LFernandes

With respect to Carpal Tunnel, that's a repetitive motion injury. You should do a job safety analysis to see if the jobs your employees are doing require repetitive wrist motions and working with the hands and fingers in unnatural and stressfull positions.

You should look into implementing proper ergonomics or alternative work methods, possibly cross train employees into other jobs or provide additional breaks in order to reduce the stress placed on the hands and wrists.

Its sounds to me like there is something more than the 10 hour days going on that needs to be looked into.

Do the analysis and talk to the employees, you may be surprised as to what you find.

Good luck!

ritaanz

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-17-02 AT 12:58PM (CST)[/font][p]Our manufacturing facility has been on a 4/10 for over a year. It was originaly started on a temporary basis for the summer but the employees liked it so much we made it permanent. If overtime is needed, we use Fridays. This still gives our people Saturday and Sunday for R&R. Occasionally, an employee may run into problems with children/school hours or carpools. We have made allowances to accommodate these type of problems i.e. come in one hour later, work one hour later. In one case, we had a team of employees (all work in the same dept. and same function) ask to be able to start one hour later and work one hour later permanently. The company approved the request and found it also improved the manufacturing flow. Also, with the 4/10, we have found efficiencies to be better, in some cases had to revise them to the new numbers.

Oh, I must add, our plant has worked 617 days without a lost time accident.

hrqueen

We tried a four day work week in the summer of 2001 and it did not work for us. We have a plant that is not air conditioned and in the summer the temperature gets to over 100 degrees. Even with fans, extra breaks on the excessively hot days, etc. our employees were exhausted. This year we offered four nine hour days and four hours on Friday. About half elected this schedule and the rest stayed on the regular 8 hour shift.

The book Human Resource Management devotes a little information to accident rates and work schedules. It points out that fatigue based accidents on physical factors rarely exists in today's industry, but accidents caused by boredome (doing the same tasks for a long period of time) is rather common.

Hope this helps.

Sunny

Thanks to everyone. I very much appreciate all the responses and will take another look at the entire subject. It may very well be that the heat of the AL summer in a non-air conditioned plant has been taking a toll. It's the middle of Sept. and still in the 80's and everyone is tired of the heat.

We have done job analysis, have engineered in some significant work cell changes and do use job rotation, but we may need to do more. I believe it's time to call the Corporate EH&S person back in.

We also have at least one CTS case that our doctor (and suspicious me)think may have been "caught." ((We are investigating.)

Thanks again.

LFernandes

Kudos to you and your employees for reaching 617 without a Lost time accident!!! That's something to be very proud of.

Don D

I would kill (almost) for a four day workweek. I cannot imagine perpetual 3-day weekends. People mention 4-10 hour days. That's a pretty short week. Exempts here work 5-11 hour days.

LFernandes

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-18-02 AT 09:11AM (CST)[/font][p]I agree, I kept trying to get the whole company on a 4 day work week, especially in the summer. Who knows, maybe since it worked out so well for our manufacturing folks this year, we'll all be able to enjoy a 4 day work week next summer. One can only hope........
xpray

ritaanz

Don: My day starts at 6:00 am. You would be amazed how much work you can get done between 6 and 9. No telephones, no interruptions, etc. Don't need to work 11 hours a day any more. ;;)