Production Labor Requirements in Southern Rice Mills

Excerpts from the report: An earlier study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that in many rice milling plants nearly 45 percent of costs of operation are for employees. Over half of these costs were paid as salaries and wages to production workers while the remainder went to other salaried employees, including clerical and executive personnel. Among the rice mills studied, labor costs per unit of output were highly variable, indicating a wide range in efficiency and utilization of labor. These findings suggested a need for information concerning labor requirements or standards for rice milling in order to utilize human resources more efficiently. The primary objective of this report is to develop labor standards for different phases of rice milling and handling. A comparison is made of labor requirements for different methods used by the rice milling industry in plant operations. Secondary objectives include (1) analysis of actual labor performance in relation to these standards and (2) determination of potential savings if human resources were to be utilized according to the standards established.