Reading reflection 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reading reflection 3 - Essay Example I agree with the author of the essay â€Å"Images of Women† in the sense that there truly are a number of reasons as to why these traditional roles for women continue to be perpetuated and exist today. Our culture and traditions as a people, which are documented in various ways such as the bible, have created and promoted the weaker sex version of women for as long as time has existed. For the strong willed and independent woman of today who sometimes have to deal with old school beliefs and traditionalists in the workplace, that has become a real challenge to overcome. I believe that the images of women as we see it today, can be directly connected to the modern feminist movement. Women as a gender have had decades of female empowerment stances to refer to and be influence by in their efforts to have themselves recognized as an equal to that of the male gender. The modern feminist keeps her femininity ate the forefront of her battle while also showing men that it is possible for a woman to have it all. The family, the career, the individual identity, and self-respect, are all elements that the previous promoters of the feminist movement have success fully managed to hand down to their counterparts from generation to generation, and generations to come. The agenda of woman's rights would not have been able to flourish without the support of the media, Bailey got that right. We all admit to and recognize the influence that various media have in our lives and point of view. Since the media has helped counter the effects of decades of female misconception by promoting them as equal to men in both ability and skill, men have come to learn to accept and respect women more as their equals rather than just being a gender in existence to serve their man, family, and society as members of a submissive gender. Struggling for the rights of a woman is directly related to the image that a woman carries of herself. But that image is oftentimes dictated by how society views them and their contributions on a larger scale. These days, women are at the forefront of most things related to our culture and traditions, so the mindset has changed in a significant way thus allowing for the emergence of a new image for women in the 21st century and beyond. Reflection on Kimmel's â€Å"Masculinity as Homophobia† When one hears the term â€Å"masculinity†, images of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Sylvester Stallone, the like come to mind. They are the images of masculinity is today's world. These are the men who are emulated and admired by their fellow men because of who they are and what they have become. With those images in mind, it becomes easier to understand why the term â€Å"homophobia† cannot be used in the same sentence as masculinity. Yet Kimmel effectively does so in his essay. Just like Kimmel, I too have a personal belief that homophobia came to exist because of the way society viewed women as the weaker sex during significant eras of our history as a people. Men are looked upon unkindly when they prove to be weak at a certain gender based undertaking, or if they fail to accomplish a task that their counterparts could have completed as well. Homophobia is not a word that should only be used to define fear of a man who is attracted to the same gender. After reading the essay of Kimmel, I have come to understand that

Summary What Leaders Really Do) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary What Leaders Really Do) - Assignment Example An organization cannot run in the expected manner if those working under the leader do not receive direction to follow. This direction is very essential in bringing about the desired changes, which is why leaders ought to be on their toes so that these goals can be attained; to help an organization be able to cope as they struggle through it. Leaders do not have to produce a detailed plan on what is to be done, setting direction is the main aspect they are supposed to deal with and leave the rest to the management. There is nothing fascinating about leadership, but the fact that they develop visions that make way for changes, and work towards achieving them. For these changes to get realized, it is necessary that leaders with outstanding competence are selected and exposed so that they can come out with strong leadership. It is however useless having strong leaders with management that is weak, as performance will still be low. An example of visionary leadership that is set to bring about changes in an organization is that American Express at the time it was receiving a lot of competition from other companies that came up with cards to compete with them. Competition is known to hinder growth of a company and being the visionary leader he was, he decided to come up with a scheme that would put the company at its feet again; which was through asking of fundamental questions on economics, market and competition so that he could develop a perfect understanding of the business. It is the above that a leader should do as his dedication made him save the company. In aligning of people, communication is very important, and it is best that leaders be good at it. These challenges are in trying to get people understand a new or alternative vision to be implemented as well as having the people one is dealing with believe the message being put across. Alignment leads to empowerment, which ends up reducing on

Military leavers and private industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Military leavers and private industries - Essay Example It is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to plan and execute activities/tasks that meet or exceed customer/stakeholder needs and expectations from a project. There are two types of project management - strategic and tactical. Tactical project management, which involves planning, organizing and managing a single project within an organization, while strategic project management, usually a management function, kicks in when several projects are being run at once, and involves prioritizing current and forthcoming projects to meet with larger business objectives. The objective of project management methodology is to provide common standards to ensure that information technology projects are conducted in a disciplined, well-managed, and consistent manner. The ultimate goals of this methodology are to promote the delivery of quality products that result in projects which are completed on time and within budget. Competency is the ability to perform activities within a work function to a predetermined standard. Project management competency includes interrelated behaviors, knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required to perform as a project manager in the particular organizational environment. Project Proposal is a part of project management. ... 4. Preliminary return-on-investment and internal rate of return documents. The theme of this topic is about project management, actually about project proposal on theme: How military leavers (officers) with their advantages and disadvantages can be a benefit for the private industries. Project proposal describes an idea in details, this document includes the outcomes, major risks and an estimate and time required. Such project defines objectives, scope, resources of the idea. It also provides a broad overview of a proposed initiative, including how the manager can manage and deliver the results from the initiative, and a mechanism to facilitate formalized agreement to continue to a clearly set out "next step". So, the Project Proposal is about the problems of military leavers (officers) after their serving in the army. And the problem of this project is about military's leavers' adaptation to the business activity. This project needs approach system in its methodology, this system can define every step to develop the project's ideas from its definition to the final results. The scope and limitations' details of the project: there are financial boundaries, law boundaries and social ones. There are some resources this project will take: 1) time: the size of the proposed idea is not big, about two - three years; 2) money and likes, there are enough military associations having benefits programs for their members, state Departments of Commerce Health and Education, Small Business Administrations, and companies which have been owned by former military leavers, so they can sponsor such projects. The time line for the project completion: there are a few stages in the project: Literature review completed, 4/20/05 Data collection starts, 4/22/05 Data collection

Media analyse-- Diffrent childhoods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Media analyse-- Diffrent childhoods - Essay Example According to UNICEF, nearly 1 billion children are underprivileged of one or more services indispensable to survival and advancement or development. One billion below 5s in developing parts of world are underweight with comparison to their age. Virtually 101 million children do not go to primary school, with additional girls as compared to boys missing out. Close to 2.5 billion populace and children lack access to enhanced sanitation. In addition, virtually 22 million children and infants are not well protected from diseases and illness by routine immunization. Another critical concern emanates from the worrying trend that virtually 7.6 million children globally died before their 5th birthday. In the year 2010-while also noting that virtually 4 million newborns and infants worldwide are typically dying in the first month of existence-2 million children well under 15 are currently living with HIV and finally nearly 500,000 women die annually from causes connected to childbirth and pre gnancy (THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN, 134). On the figure 2, however, reveals constructions of cheerful faces of children probably from developed countries which could be a symbol for a better life. The exposure of the picture reveals a great deal of information regarding the historical basing of the children. They children appear not to be worried as compared to the other children in the figure 1 picture thus showing they have been safeguarded against all odds. Consistent with CRAE a body which protects the human rights of various children by actively lobbying government and others people who hold power. The body does this by typically bringing or supporting check cases and by using local and international human rights bodies or mechanisms children protection is highly important. The body recognizes and provides legal information; increase awareness of children’s basic human rights, and assume research about children’s admittance to their rights

Home Health Agency Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Home Health Agency - Assignment Example ly literate, and meet several other training requirements such as satisfactorily completing the health and safety component of the training course titled â€Å"Direct Support Persons Core Training Program† or its equivalent. As such training for authorization to provide direct care services is mandatory. The curriculum may vary from state to state however each regulatory agency approves a certain curricula for their direct care trainees to undergo. One of the approved curriculum for training direct caretakers includes â€Å"Providing Residential Services in Community Settings: A Training Guide† (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, 2015). The curriculum covers a wide range of topics that needs to be included in the training including best practices for the practitioners. Further for medication administration, the direct caretakers are trained under standardized medication curriculum by a nurse trainer. The nurse trainers supervise the direct caretaker trainees and evaluate their progress. Trainees who need to be authorized for medication administration also need to pass certain examination that evaluates their knowledge and competency of the various drugs that need to be administered. The test could be written or oral examination to test the competency of the direct care staff to ensure that they are qualified to provide the service. After the direct care staff is evaluated, they may be evaluated again in order to ensure compliance. The frequency of being re-evaluated depends upon the nurse trainer. Further if the direct care staff fails to meet the required competency level, then they may be retrained in order to ensure their competency is enough to authorize them for administering medication. Therefore, direct care staff members must undergo training under an approved curriculum in order to be eligible for providing their services at a residence or to administer medication to the patients. The curriculum involves best practices and covers different

Organizational Outputs Essay Example for Free

Organizational Outputs Essay In reviewing the article in reference to the Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model. Another quote from the article, struck me very strongly in regards to the observed organization; The bigger the gap between the formal and informal systems within the organization, the less effective the organization is. This is from the Weisbords Six Box Model and this aspect is quite apparent in the organization observed. A negative output is one of the things that should be avoided, especially regarding consumers. An agreed statistic within many business marketing modules that a dissatisfied consumer will often tell more people than a satisfied consumer. A frustrating fact, however true. Outputs are those products which are dispensed from the organization. These can include product, as already mentioned, the way consumers are treated is another factor. Outputs also include, how the organization interacts with the environment. Technically an output is any factor that the organization puts out whether through marketing, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Consumer Satisfaction There is an old saying, You cant please people all of the time. In an organization where the internal culture is to never say no. Because, we have also heard the saying, The customer is always right. An automatic conflict is built between consumer and employee. Someone, is usually wrong. And if a person is doing their job as required under organizational policy, the possibility of pleasing all of the people all of the time becomes quite low. However, in an organization pleasing every person is a near impossibility. In fact, I believe, it was Menecke who said, I dont know the sure way to success. I do know the sure way to failure, trying to please everyone all the time. Certainly a risk every organization takes is how to tell the consumer, no, while keeping that person as a consumer. Somewhat of a conundrum, as no one likes to hear the word no. This is where the earlier quote from Weisfords Six Box Model caught my particular attention. Faulty policy or the failure of an organization to uphold its own policy, creates extreme difficulties for personnel. In the organization observed, a policy would be set forth, such as a limit to the type or number of courses a student could take in an eight week period. Personnel, following policy and even double checking policy with the Director would refuse the student as directed under policy. The stated policy would then be, completely undermined if the student decided to complain. In most cases, if not all, the student was allowed the exception to having policy overturned. When a situation such as this occurs on a recurring basis, morale is severely weakened. Personnel are not trusted to do their jobs with integrity. As well as the fact, that when policy is regularly undermined, what then becomes the point of attempting to enforce any type of policy. Worse, the employee begins to give up altogether in performing their tasks with any independence. As the result is and has been personnel are wrong and can be completely overridden. The result is an organization without compass. And ultimately, in this organizational situation, it is the consumers that are hurt the worst. Personnel become surly and unwilling to help. After all, how can personnel be perceived as being helpful when every decision, no matter how small can be overturned? The situation becomes unbearable, and any attempt at creating consumer loyalty is lost. Policy should serve as that mechanism to provide the means toward providing consumer needs. When that attempt to follow policy is constantly undermined, the result, undoubtedly is weak, powerless leadership and an unwilling personnel to follow any policy that is developed. Personnel should be one of the most enthusiastic ambassadors to the community when representing the organization. The odd thing about serving the organization in this way, is that a certain pride should be taken in the work one does. A continuous undermining of the personnels ability to do the job one has been hired to accomplish. This type of output creates a hostile atmosphere, distrust is built and maintained through this constant turmoil between management, personnel and consumers. Summary Only one type of output has been mentioned in this report. The reason being that personnel are crucial to the way consumers and the public perceive the function ability of an organization. A dissatisfied representative or employee becomes complacent and extremely unwilling to attempt new devices for serving the consumer. Much less becoming innovative in the process. Frustrating employees to the point of powerlessness, is not a recommended means toward the success of an organization. Another reason, I believe in the importance of personnel and their ability is that most organizations neglect the fact that a sound, successful organization is built on the competence of employees. Yet, this seems to have become the accepted methodology among many organizations, especially older organizations. A basic principle is that personnel are the most valuable investment an organization can make. Personnel, especially those in the front line are those that have the ability to positively affect a second most important resource, consumers.

Effect of Working Practices on Efficiency and Productivity

Effect of Working Practices on Efficiency and Productivity Abstract Aim The aim of this project is to identify why current working practices and procedures are affecting workshop efficiency (class contact time) and productivity (hands on time) during the daily running of an educational motor vehicle workshop. Objective The main objective of the report will be to make recommendations on work area design and workshop layout and the proposal of new working practices and procedures to help improve the efficiency and productivity within the motor vehicle workshop. Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Background Clydebank College first opened as a technical college in 1965 its aim was to support the training needs of apprentices in the local manufacturing companies and the shipyards. The economic activity in the area has changed over the years so the courses offered by the college have had to change to meet the local employment needs. The original college was in a severe state of disrepair and as a result of this Clydebank College opened a brand new  £34 million campus at Queens Quay on the riverside at Clydebank in the summer of 2007. The college delivers education and training from its main campus in Clydebank, and from community outreach centres in Dumbarton and Faifley. Most of the colleges learners come from areas of high unemployment, where there is a low participation in further education and a lower proportion of school leavers than average progress into higher education. 2.1 Existing Laboratory The motor vehicle workshop at Clydebank College is a single room, open plan, workshop approximately 25 x 20 metres (500m ²) in size. The workshop was designed to accommodate up to 6 classes of approximately 12 students and one lecturer per class. 2.1.1 Workshop Layout The laboratory has work bays laid out for 23 motor vehicles it also has to hold motorcycles, quads, buggies and associated workshop tools and equipment. There are workbenches and lockers situated at various points around the workshop, two communal sinks are plumbed in at one end and a moveable rolling road is installed in the corner of the workshop, cleaning equipment and large workshop tools are also stored in the main workshop area, all these facilities are shared between all motor vehicle classes. Open plan design allows a work area to be easily changed into a different workspace with limited costs should the need arise. The workspace is more adaptable and with no internal walls etc. the initial build costs are much lower. This open plan design of the motor vehicle workshop is a new concept for the college and most of the policies and procedures that are in place have been brought over from the old campus, whilst some of these policies and procedures do work there have been a number of issues develop over the last year as a result of this change in workshop design. 2.2 Automotive Curriculum The motor vehicle courses offered at Clydebank College are as follows: * City Guilds 3901 * City Guilds 4101 (Level 1,2 3) * HNC/D Automotive engineering 2.2.1 City Guilds 3901 Aimed at students with no previous qualification or knowledge of the subject area it is suitable for the 14+ age range. This qualification is ideal for secondary school students or as a pre-entry level to the modern apprenticeship program it focuses mainly on developing students practical skills with some oral questioning to test underpinning knowledge. 2.2.2 City Guilds 4101 Level 1, 2 3 and the modern apprenticeship program is an introduction to the maintenance, repair and diagnosis of automotive vehicles it has routes for tyre fitting, general fitting, light vehicle, heavy vehicle and motorcycle maintenance. The starting point for students with no prior experience of the subject area is Level 1 this level is suitable for 14+ year olds. Level 2 recognises that the learner will now be in a position to carry out routine tasks with a lower level of supervision and Level 3 focuses on developing students diagnostic techniques. 2.2.3 Higher National Certificate/Diploma HNC/D automotive engineering is delivered over 2.5 days per week for 2 years it focuses mainly on the theoretical side of automotive engineering but also has practically assessed diagnostic units. 2.3 Staffing The delivery of the motor vehicle curriculum is carried out by 13 members of staff in total. The motor vehicle section consists of a curriculum leader and assistant curriculum leader, 7 full time lecturers, two part time lecturers, a store person and two technicians. 2.3.1 Course equipment requirements The motor vehicle courses delivered at Clydebank College require various workshop equipments to facilitate the completion of practical assessments. See appendix A for a list of the equipment holding for the motor vehicle workshop. The majority of the workshop tools and equipment are centralised within the motor vehicle store and as such are not part of the problem that this report is trying to address. The equipment that is stored within the main workshop area is only to be considered during this report. 2.3.2 Health Safety Health and safety policies and procedures will not be analysed during this report, any issues found in this area will be passed onto the college HS officer for further investigation. 2.4 Literature Review The Design Council (About: Workplace Design, no date) have identified that there are a number of key challenges faced in developing a more innovative workplace strategy through a change in workplace design. The credibility of new ideas is usually always questioned because most people dont like change, especially people that have been in an organisation for many years. People in this situation have become comfortable with what they know and usually have a mentality of â€Å"what works now will always work† or â€Å"whats the point† or â€Å"if it aint broke dont fix it†. Most people have little idea that the working environment affects our attitudes and performance, (Strange and Banning, ) pointed out that â€Å"although features of the physical environment lend themselves theoretically to all possibilities, the layout, location and arrangement of space and facilities render some behaviours much more likely, and thus more probable than others.† â€Å"Educational institutes should learn to understand that spatial arrangements can support retention and improve student performances; they must also understand that good space is not a luxury but a key determinant of good learning environments.† (Oblinger, 2006) Any proposals to change the spatial arrangements within an organisation should firstly be discussed with the current employees. Management should seriously consider ideas from staff on workplace remodelling before imposing their decisions upon the workforce, it must be remembered that its the employees that have to work in the environment being changed every day of the week. It would also be wise to ask for employees to be involved at various stages of the process to assist in making the changes work. Keeping the facility or equipment in an operational condition can be difficult in a training facility due to an educational establishments varied hours and rates of occupancy. These can impact on the facilities operations and maintenance schedules. A proactive facility management program should be employed to anticipate facility problems rather than reacting to them when they occur (WBDG, 2009). This will ensure optimal long and short term use of the facility and if integrated early enough in the design process can improve productivity and reduce operating costs (Manuele, Christensen, 1999). Maintaining a training facility and its equipment in a clean and tidy condition will promote good engineering hygiene practises in its students. (Strange and Banning) highlighted ways in which the physical appearance of a campus convey a non verbal message, they cited research that links the physical appearance of a space to the motivation and task performance of those working in that space. The (Whole Building Design Guide, 2009) point out that training facilities, courses and timetables vary frequently and that instructors have different and evolving training methods. Flexibility, therefore, should be a huge consideration of any proposed spatial design change and is critical to the continuing success of an enduring training facility. (WBDG, 2009) also recommend strategies to assist in achieving an improved training facility such as clustering instructional areas around shared support and resource spaces and the use of an appropriate combination of stand alone moveable partitions between classrooms and shared spaces. Partitions that can be adjusted in height are a good idea to ensure some visual contact can be kept with the rest of the activities going on around, but a degree of privacy is maintained (Evans and Lovell, 1979). Research into partitioning in the nursery school suggests that young children prefer social contexts rather than the privacy of small activity spaces but as they get older it found they retain this preference but also realise that they need more peace and quiet to think!! It is also important to realise that partitioning can aid the control of the children where their own ability to control themselves is limited; as with younger children or children with learning difficulties. Workspaces should be arranged in line with the educational goals of the training facility but should also ensure a moderate openness but with acoustical privacy; allowing students to hear their instructors clearly but with a low ambient background noise and few distractions. This would be achieved with some form of room partitioning. (Hudson Valley Community College, 2009) agreed that their proposed new automotive training facility would have mini-labs with lab space for three cars as well as two vehicle lifts and an area with work benches and tool storage areas. This facility design, they believe, would improve the educational environment and enhance the students workforce readiness by working in a space that is similar to the space they will experience in the workplace. (Klatte and others, 1997) also emphasized that a standardised, ergonomically designed workspace as the basis for an improvement in working and (Govindaraju, 2001) stated that ergonomic considerations improve human performance. Kletz (1991) wrote that it is difficult for engineers to change human nature and, therefore, instead of trying to persuade people not to make mistakes, we should accept people as we find them and try to remove opportunities for error by changing the work situation, that is, equipment design or the method of working. Like many other organisations, Cisco concluded that their workplace environment was at odds with the way they worked. They believed a flexible, collaborative workspace would improve employee satisfaction and increase productivity. Some solutions that were introduced were unassigned workspaces, small individual workstations, highly mobile furnishings and space dividers and lockers for personal items. (Cisco-Connected workspace enhances work experience) Changes to spatial layouts can be costly, complex and highly disruptive when changing the physical layout or the fabric of the building. This level of cost is not relevant to all organisations and all proposed changes and with some smart thinking design ideas to improve efficiency can be implemented with a prudent level of expenditure. Any changes made to a workplace should be measurable. Deciding on the evaluation criteria at an early stage will allow changes to be measured. Measurement criteria should be sensible and simple, such as staff absences, running costs, replacing damaged/lost equipment, the intensity of space occupancy or error reporting, staff and student morale. (Kuh et al,) discovered that the physical environment is an important characteristic of institutions that do exceptionally well in engaging with their students and that spatial arrangements support learner retention and are a key factor in a quality learning environment. If a superior quality product or result is wanted then it must be designed into new systems and processes (Deming, 1986). Process improvement is a never ending cycle that requires continuous efforts to bring new ideas to improve performance. Changes in customer needs, changes in technology and competitors speed up these efforts (Kumru, Kilicogullari, 2007). Chapter 3 Laboratory Issues The motor vehicle workshop is an extremely difficult area to manage in its current form mainly due to its size, number of staff, the quantity of equipment and the number of activities undertaken within. The assistant curriculum leader is responsible for managing the workshop in its entirety on a daily basis. The ACL must ensure that vehicles are not being damaged and that they are put back together fully following classroom activities; that shared resources are maintained in a serviceable condition and are returned to their correct locations. The ACL must also ensure that the workshop in general is kept in a clean and well maintained condition and is responsible for the health and safety of staff and students within. All these tasks must be done whilst still being committed to a full teaching timetable that very rarely takes place in the workshop. Workshop practical time is at a premium for students and is essential for completing a motor vehicle course successfully. Full time students would expect to receive 9 hours tuition per week in the classroom for technology theory and 9 hours per week tuition in the vehicle workshop on practical tasks and assessment. A typical schools class would normally spend approximately 80 hours per week in the workshop and is assessed on practical competencies only. Students whilst in the motor vehicle workshop can and do spend a lot of time collecting hand tools, finding equipment, finding serviceable equipment, waiting for shared resources to become available, travelling through other classes to find shared resources, rectifying unreported vehicle faults and a lot of time can be spend standing around or misbehaving whilst a lecturers time is spent elsewhere remedying one or more of the above. Student lab time is normally affected by one or more of the problems listed below. 3.1 Work areas There are no designated classroom areas within the workshop, bay allocation is on a first come first serve basis and lecturers must liaise with each other to obtain suitable class workspace. Lecturers can also find it difficult to keep track of their students in such a busy environment with no defined classroom areas, this can lead to health safety concerns and child protection issues given the number of students under the age of 16 years that attend classes within the motor vehicle engineering department. Workshop cleanliness and general housekeeping tends to suffer in or around the common areas currently there is no way of pinpointing who is responsible for the mess. 3.1.1 Mezzanine area The workshop mezzanine area is currently a disorganised storage point for most of the shared workshop equipment this equipment is getting damaged and is eating into valuable class space. Shelving has been ordered to alleviate some of the storage problems although there is no lifting facility to move objects to the upper level of the mezzanine. The mezzanine area is also used to store motorcycles, quads, off-road buggies etc for other specialist classes within the curriculum area, these assets act as a distraction to most students, and are sustaining damage when students ‘play on them. 3.2 Shared resources Most of the shared workshop equipment does not have designated storage points and are currently stored at random around the vehicle workshop; shared resources are not signed for and when finished with have no official storage area to be returned to; all this equipment is used on a first come first serve basis. Staff and students requiring the use shared workshop equipment usually have to travel through other classes to locate often causing a disturbance. When two or more classes within the workshop are using shared equipment such as jacks, axle stands or cleaning equipment there are not always enough units to go around this can leave some classes in a position were they must wait idly for this equipment to become available. Unproductive students can often misbehave or wander around the workshop through other classes causing a distraction trying to find equipment that is no longer being used or has not been returned to its original location. Shared resources also tend not to be reported by students when they become damaged or unserviceable because it is too much of a hassle and they have no responsibility for it. Presently there are four badly equipped tool chests for students and lecturers in the workshop to share. Tools regularly go missing from these toolboxes due to them being left lying around the various work areas or tools can become damaged without being replaced. Workshop vehicle keys are issued from the main storeroom to students as and when they are required; these keys can mistakenly get taken home and cars can get started unnecessarily, sometimes dangerously as most of the motor vehicle students are not competent enough technically or yet hold a valid driving licence. Damage to equipment, unproductive students, class disturbances, HS issues 3.3 Fault reporting Vehicle faults, damaged equipment and work requests to the technicians are passed through a paper based work request slip, only the technician and lecturer requesting the work know that the job exists, there is no way of informing other lecturers that a job on a vehicle has not been completed in time other than by word of mouth this can sometimes lead to a class having to put a vehicle back together before they start their own work or a class expecting to start work on a vehicle but find that the car has been broken and nobody knows about it. There is also no system to inform other lecturers that a vehicle has been set up for an assessment, again, other than by word of mouth. 3.3.1 Welfare Lockers are not issued permanently to motor vehicle students but are issued by lecturing staff at the start of each lesson and keys receipted at the end. There are not always enough lockers for students when the workshop is busy as presently locker keys are owned by lecturing staff and not shared, some lecturing staff have no access to lockers unless they are borrowed from colleagues. 3.3.2 Learner Retention and Pass Rates The problems highlighted can and do affect the students learning experience they stretch workshop resources, reduce the students practical time on vehicles and impact on the lecturers contact time with the class, this will affect learner retention and ultimately student pass rates. Very little has been written on improving efficiency and productivity in an educational vehicle workshop. Work study Method study Motion study Motion economy Time study Work measurement Why are the indentified problems a problem? Poor citing of shared resources, inability to find equipment, lack of fault reporting, etc. all lead to a reduction in efficiency and productivity. What would stop the problems from being problems? Having lecturers take responsibility for areas of the workshop. Better citing of, and designated areas for, shared resources, more classroom resources or better citing of existing classroom equipment. An effective fault reporting mechanism put in place. Equipment in designated areas with workshop plan and equipment lists at each base to easily guide students to equipment location. How are we going to implement or manage the change? Break the workshop down into smaller workshop or classroom areas, equip each classroom individually and assign a lecturer or two to manage each classroom. Colour coded equipment within each classroom for ease of identification. What has happened as a result of the changes? All equipment within each classroom is sufficient to complete tasks within it. Equipment is placed back at its storage point at the end of each lesson. Faults are reported to lecturers as they happen and dealt with or serviceable classroom equipment is compromised. Chapter 4 Preferred Setup It has been proven since the opening of the new college that a workshop of this size cannot be managed effectively without a full time workshop manager in place. This appointment will never happen in an educational institution so other forms of managing the work space must be found. The workshop should be organised in such a way that it is self managing but it must also be able to be used as an efficient reporting mechanism for informing the assistant curriculum leader/curriculum leader of issues arising in the workshop to enable them to be acted upon. Individual members of staff should have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and be accountable for their own and their students actions. The preferred arrangement in any motor vehicle workshop should see that it is adequately equipped and that the equipment is suitably positioned in such a way that it provides an efficient means of working. Where similar workshop tasks are being performed the equipment and mechanisms for management should be identical so that all staff members are clear about what is expected and that there is no ambiguity or confusion when staff are timetabled to work in various areas of the workshop. When part time members of staff are employed there is only one system of work to learn, all advice or questions will be responded to with the same answer as each permanent member of staff will be working to the same set of procedures. 4.1 Proposed Changes to the Laboratory To rectify the problem of workspace allocation it is proposed that the interior of the workshop be split into 6 classroom areas excluding the mezzanine area. The six workshop areas should be timetabled individually from the college central timetabling system. Timetabling each area separately will prevent the workshop from becoming overloaded and will ensure that each class has a designated work area for the duration of their allocated slot. Splitting the laboratory from one large area into six smaller areas will ease the burden of its day to day management. One person will not be required to continually oversee the daily operation of the workshop instead they will only need to be reported to. Each individual lecturer within the department by being centrally allocated a work area will be required to take ownership for it and will therefore be accountable for all that goes on within that area. The six classroom areas should be partitioned by some form of barrier i.e. moveable boards or screens, the barriers will provide a clear indication of classroom boundaries and assist with identifying class areas of responsibility. The barriers will help prevent pupils from straying away from their work areas making it easier for lecturers to keep track of their students. The barriers should also assist in preventing students from disturbing other class lectures. Dividing classrooms within the workshop will assist in the control of school aged pupils; closer supervision is required for these class groups due to their maturity levels and inability to relate to health and safety requirements. Child protection concerns will also be easier to identify and manage. Human traffic, within the motor vehicle laboratory, would be easier to direct onto designated walkways away from the work areas and vehicles further reducing the risk of injury, class disturbance and damage to vehicles and equipment. Classroom barriers would also provide additional space for diagrams or posters and allow electronic lectures or demonstrations to be projected onto. 4.2 Classroom Work Areas Timetabling classes to work areas within the laboratory will introduce a fairer system of workspace allocation. It will ensure that lecturers and students always have a space to work in and vehicles to work on. This system will make lecturers accountable for the space in which they are working and encourage them to ensure students are completing tasks fully, that tools and equipment are always kept serviceable or reported when faults develop, it will ensure that tools and equipment are put away in there designated areas after each class and reduce equipment losses and it will also improve the general housekeeping of the workshop. Any issues arising in the workshop for a specific time period can be addressed by looking up the class and lecturer that were working in the area when the problems occurred. 4.3 Classroom Equipment It is recommended that each classroom area within the workshop is issued with a selection of regularly used tools and equipment. This will increase the time available to students for working on vehicles by reducing the time that they spend looking for this type of equipment in the workshop. It will also provide a means of conveniently being able to perform a daily stock check of equipment and will provide a mechanism for reporting on the condition of tools and equipment within each of the classes. Below is a recommended list of equipment that should be issued to each classroom area within the workshop: * A lecturers locker would enable the secure storage of student folders, lesson notes, specialist, valuable or loaned equipment, etc. * 12-16 lockers for students personal effects * 1x Workbench per vehicle bay * 1x black drip tray for oil per work bay * 2x 3 litre oil filling jugs * 1x green drip tray for coolant/water per bay * 1x vehicle jack per work bay * 4x axle stands per work bay * 1x wheel braces per work bay * 1x watering can per class * 1x wash bucket per bay * 1x dust pan and brush per bay * 2x mop and mop bucket per class * 1x Bench vice per work bay * 1x desk per classroom for diagnostic work; paperwork, laptop citing, projector etc. * 1x rubbish bin per class * 1x shelving unit to store tools and equipment * 1x fault report book 4.4 Technician work area As part of the workshops reorganisation and to assist the technicians with fault rectification and preparation work it is recommended that the motor vehicle technicians be given a vehicle bay as a designated work area; this work area should be situated in the corner of the workshop and allow for easy access into the technicians workroom. This designated bay will enable vehicles, which require work to be done, to be taken out of the class room area and worked on without disruption to students, lecturers and the technicians. This work bay should be screened off, preferably by welding screens, to prevent access by non authorised personnel, to reduce disturbances to both classes and technicians and to allow welding tasks etc. to be carried out at any time of the day. The technicians work bay should be equipped independently of the rest of the workshop with equipment such as: * 1x jack * 4x axle stands * 1x complete tool kit in roller cabinet * 1x complete set of air tools * 1x set of power tools (grinder, drill, etc) * MIG welder and associated equipment * Oxy-Acetylene welding equipment * 1x oil drip tray * 1x coolant drip tray * 1x metal bench with vice * 1x watering can * 1x rubbish bin * 1x soft brush and dust pan * 1x shelving unit to store tools and equipment 4.5 Identifying and Controlling Equipment To help identify and control tools and equipment within the six workshop areas it is recommended that each classroom is designated a colour. All equipment that is issued to and contained within each of the classroom areas should be painted the colour that has been designated to that classroom for ease of identification. All classroom equipment that is able to be shelved should be stored on a colour coded shelving unit. The shelving unit should be labelled with the equipment that is to be stored upon it and a laminated sheet attached as a guide for students as to where each item of equipment should be stored and its quantities. Colour coding will assist both staff and students with daily equipment checks, locating equipment and will improve the reporting of equipment faults or losses. Classroom equipment should only be used within its designated classroom area. Student locker keys should be stored in the main store room in a colour coded container. This will ensure that all lecturers have the ability to issue a locker to each student in their class wherever they are working in the workshop. Lecturers will collect keys from the main store at the start of the morning or afternoon period when work bays are identified and will be returned to the store complete at the end of each slot. Locker keys will be issued to students in exchange for a valid student ID card. Student ID cards will be returned to each student when lecturers are happy that all tools signed out have been returned to the main store and when the locker has been emptied and the key returned, this will accurately identify students that have not returned tools to the store or returned locker keys and will also ensure that student ID cards are brought to college. 4.6 Mezzanine Area The area below the mezzanine should be separated into designated work or storage areas to better utilise the workshop floor space. The individual work areas should be separated by a barrier or partition wall of some kind to act as a clear boundary to make work space housekeeping easier to manage and as somewhere to place posters/instructions/diagrams etc. Work areas should consist of a tyre fitting bay, a bench fitting area, a storage area for removed vehicle parts, a storage area for large shared resources and a recycling/waste area. The tyre fitting bay should contain the workshops tyre removal machine and wheel balancing equipment. Both these items should be secured to the floor to prevent them from moving or tipping whilst students work on them, the items should also be permanently wired into the workshop electrical supply to reduce the risk of electrocution from coming into contact with a 240v mains supply. This area should also be fitted with a dedicated tyre shelving unit to provide a storage solution for the tyre clutter that amasses regularly on the upper mezzanine area. Storing the tyres at ground level will eliminate the need to visit the upper mezzanine area, will allow the tyres to be better managed and reduce the risk of fire. A dedicated bench fitting area will provide students with a place to take components stripped from vehicles to be examined or worked on. It will provide lecturers with a suitable space to teach and develop students basic metal fitting skills prior to working on vehicles. The area should contain workbenches and vices for an entire class to work productively, a bench mounted grinder should be located in this area along with a floor mounted pillar drill and a floor mounted hydraulic press. The pillar drill and hydraulic press should be secured to the floor to prevent them from