Kosu is a unit of productivity measurement. It's a productivity indicator obtained by dividing the total worked time by the number of pieces produced or in simple terms time taken it takes to produce one unit of a product, or to complete a process.
More details about KOSU:
- Kosu is a means to learn about the real value / real cost of products in real time.
- KOSU is the unit of time spent for each product.
- All the direct costs (in terms of time spent) and additional hours are considered.
- Time is attributed to each product.
- KOSU is measured at a workshop level.
Why KOSU?
- Big advantage of Kosu, term Productivity is clear to everyone and can see as direct labor cost of products.
- It can be used as a performance indicator for cost reduction initiative.
- Top management can monitor and improve KOSU of different areas in manufacturing.
A Kosu Example:
Assume, A ball manufacturing factory, producing red and blue balls 100 balls each per shift. In factory there are two manufacturing area, 25 Peoples are assigned to produce red balls in their area and 30 peoples are assigned to produce blue balls in their area. Shift hours is considered as standard 8 hours.
Question is:
- How to calculate Kosu for blue balls production area?
- How to calculate overall productivity of entire factory?
Answer:
(Number of People X Hours Worked) / Number of blue balls made
(25 x 8) / 100 = 2
Lower the Kosu better the productivity.
The total overall productivity of the entire factory can also be measured. The calculation for the entire factory:
(55 x 8) / 200 = 2.2
KOSU usage and controls:
Kosu can be used through visual management in work area for best results a Cell (Cellular Manufacturing) or Production Line. Can be displayed either on Realtime bases on a LED display indicator or at end of shift on work area display boards. It can show employees their performance and can create some friendly competitive environment in the organization.
But remember before making comparison of Kosu as it can variate for different products or processes, as it always depends on what being produced and how it is being produced?
