Explaining the CFU (Controlling-Factor-Unit)
As a unit of labor intensity, a Control-Factor Unit (CFU) is used to translate the number of cases handled in a given time period into an equivalent CFU value that represents the typical workload of an employee in that setting.
It’s a metric that takes into account both the breadth and depth of one’s professional activity. The Control Factor Index (CFI) is another name for Control-Factor units.
When Should You Use a Unit of Control-Factor?
Different types of cost comparisons, as well as comparisons across different occupations or groups within the same occupation, can all be done using Control-Factor units.
Before commencing work on a project, cost estimators may commonly employ Control-Factor Units to make preliminary calculations about how many CFUs will be needed to complete the various tasks involved.
The Control-Factor: How Does It Operate?
Simply multiplying the amount of minutes per hour spent on tasks with varying degrees of difficulty or expert judgment yields the Control-Factor. The formula for the Control Factor Index (CFI) is:
For various tasks, the Control Factor can be determined. The standard level of effort demanded of employees performing different tasks is reflected in the control factors. Time spent working is a control factor, not productivity.
Commonly employed control factors include:
75th percentile: routine office tasks such as data input and filing
Maintenance work that calls for minimal judgment or decision-making (Control Factor 1.00)
Factor of Control 1.25: Office Work that Requires Some Effort and Judgment
Care for stable patients by doctors and nurses
Management tasks constitute Control Factor 2.00.
Factor 3.5 – Controlling Activities Requiring Expertise and Judgment, Such as Counseling
Varieties of CFUs, or Controlled-Factor-Units
Standard RCF (Control Factor) Units
When outputs can’t be measured and time is the only observable input, the RCF is employed.
Before commencing a project, cost estimators will generally estimate the total number of Control-Factor Units (CFUs) needed as well as the number of CFUs required for each individual activity.
Units That Regulate Output
When outputs and/or throughput can be measured, the OCU is employed, and the Control-Factor is used to determine labor costs.
Motor Control Modules
Inserting a card into a machine to perform a transaction is an example of the kind of job that can be entirely standardized and requires little to no professional judgment, and thus is ideal for the MCU.
Resource Value Units (RVUs) and G-Factors are two more names for Machine Control Units (MCUs).
Advantages of Using a (Set of) Controls
When comparing how much time an employee spends on different tasks over the course of a set period of time, such an hour, control-factor units (CFUs) should be utilized.
Because the Control-Factor is standardized, CFUs allow for comparisons to be performed across varying degrees of effort involving various personnel or groups within a profession.
Its purpose is to quantify employees’ efforts so that managers may evaluate staffing needs and allocate resources accordingly.
Staff duties can be standardized using control-factor units to facilitate comparisons across individuals, time periods, and organizations.
Since the values of Control Factor units are consistent across different types of work, they can be used to detect and fix subpar performance.
Control-factor devices have their drawbacks.
There are two major problems with utilizing CFUs (control factor units).
Standardized methods fail to accurately capture the range of human performance.
Changes in labor costs, technological advancements, and the business’s methods of production could render the Control-Factor Units outdated.
A thorough examination by Human Resources and other relevant professional fields is required prior to the implementation of any Control-Factor Units or Control Factor Index.
You should think about adjusting your unit rate for that job if the Control-factor index is greater than 1.5.
When output can be assessed independently of inputs like time or effort, it is inappropriate to employ control factor units.
Conclusion
The effort put into various activities can be indexed using the Control Factor.
Its purpose is to quantify employees’ efforts so that managers may evaluate staffing needs and allocate resources accordingly.