The course provides fundamental methods and concepts for the analysis and design of integrated work and production systems. Topics include forms of enterprise, organizational structure and processes, work planning, rationalization, and quality management. Further areas of focus include the design of workplaces and working environments, time management, working time, occupational health and safety, labour law, as well as job evaluation, performance, and remuneration. In addition, students are introduced to methods of quotation planning, pricing, cost accounting, and investment appraisal. The aim is to enable students to systematically assess operational structures and processes, identify potential for improvement, and design efficient, safe, and human-centred work systems while taking technical, organizational, legal, and economic requirements into account.

Manufacturing companies must design work and production systems to be economically efficient, adaptable, safe, and human-centred at the same time. Technological change, volatile markets, rising costs, and regulatory requirements increase the complexity of operational decision-making. Engineers therefore require a sound understanding of organizational structures, principles of work system design, and economic evaluation methods. The course combines these perspectives and enables students to analyse operational processes, identify potential for rationalization, and evaluate improvement measures on a sound basis. The fundamentals covered are relevant both to the planning and operation of industrial systems and to advanced courses in production management and Industrial Engineering.

• Schedule: Summer semester
• Format: Lecture (2 contact hours/week) and exercise (2 contact hours/week), 4 contact hours/week in total, 150 hours of workload, 5 CP
• Assessment: 60-minute written examination in German