MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY,

TAXILA.

ROLE
OF
WORK
STUDY
An Introduction:
Time is important in work systems because of its
economic significance.

Most workers are paid for the time they are on the job.

For any organization to operate efficiently and effectively,
it is important to know how much time should be required
to accomplish a given amount of work.

The terms time study and work measurement are often
used interchangeably. Both are concerned with how much
time it should take to complete a unit of work.


Tenets
Eliminate idle time for workers and machines.
Streamline the flow of work through the firm.
Rearrange task sequences for more efficiency.
Reduce jobs to short-cycle , repetitive ones for higher
productivity and eventual replacement of humans
with machines.
Systematic reduction of skill requirements in each
job.



Work Measurement
Work measurement is the process of
establishing the time that a given task would
take when performed by a qualified worker
working at a defined level of performance.



Time Studies
1. Define the task to be studied
2. Divide the task into precise elements
3. Decide how many times to measure the task
4. Time and record element times and rating of
performance
5. Compute average observed time


Average
observed
time
Sum of the times recorded
to perform each element
Number of observations
=

6. Determine performance rating and calculate normal
time




7. Add the normal times for each element to develop
the total normal time for the task
8. Compute the standard time


Normal time = x
Average
observed
time
Performance
rating factor
Standard time =
Total normal time
1 - Allowance factor
Time standards and their determination
The standard time for a given task is the amount of
time that should be allowed for an average worker to
process one unit using the standard method and
working at a normal pace.

The standard time includes some additional time,
called the allowance, to provide for the workers
personal needs, fatigue, and unavoidable delays
during the shift.


Allowances in Time Standards
Allowances are used because there will be periods during the
regular work shift when the worker is not working.
The purpose of the allowance factor is to compensate for this
lost time by providing a small increment of allowance time
in each cycle. This way, even with the time losses, the
operator will still be able to complete a days work during the
hours of the shift.
Normal time is adjusted by an allowance factor A
pfd
to obtain
the standard time
Standard time: T
std
= T
n
/ (1 - A
pfd
) where pfd =
personal time, fatigue, and delays.

Performance Rating Factor
The Performance Rating Factor (PRF) is a
subjective estimate of a workers pace relative
to a normal work pace

Determining Labor Standards
from Time Studies
Observed
Time
Normal
Time
Standard
Time
Performance
Rating
Allowance
Fraction
Example 1
The average observed time for a repetitive work cycle in a
direct time study was 3.27 min. The workers performance
was rated by the analyst at 90%. The company uses a PFD
allowance factor of 13%. What is the standard time for this
task?

Solution :
Average Observed Time (To)= 3.27 min
Workers Rating Factor (PRF) = 0.90
PFD Allowance Factor (AF) = 0.13
Normal time (Tn ) = To X PRF = 3.27(0.90) = 2.943 min
Standard time (Tstd ) = Tn / (1- AF)
= 2.943 /(1 - 0.13) = 3.38 min

Example 2
Problem Statement:

Twenty workers who perform the identical job are
selected for this time study. Each worker will be timed
over five (5) cycles. Assume that the total observed time
will eventually equal 400 minutes.

Requirement:

Develop a time standard for a particular worker.

1. Compute the Observed Time
OT =
SUM OF ALL OBSERVED TIMES
NUMBER OF OBSERVED CYCLES
400 MINUTES
100 CYCLES
= 4 min
2. COMPUTE THE NORMAL TIME
NT = OT x PR
NT = ( 4) x ( .85 )
= 3.4 Min
3. COMPUTE THE STANDARD TIME
ST =
NT
1 - AF
ST =
3.4
1 - 0.13
=
3.4
.87
= 3.9 Mins