CHAPTER 5 TIME

STUDY

BS INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
 OBJECTIVES

After this chapter, students can be able to :

 Define Work measurement techniques
 Perform their own time study
 Derive standard considering tolerances and allowance
• THE WORK OF TAYLOR Frederick W. Taylor is generally conceded to be the
founder of modern time study in this country.

Four principles of scientific Management

 Science, not rule of thumb.

 Harmony, not discord.
 Cooperation, not individualism
 Development of each and every person to his/her greatest efficiency
 BACKGROUND

Systematic process of developing the efficient work center

is the establishment of time standards
• In past years, analysts relied more heavily on estimates
as a means of establishing standards.
• However, experience has shown that no individual can
establish consistent and fair standards simply by looking
at a job and judging the amount of time required to
complete it.
• Time STANDARDS can be determined by
 using estimates
 historical records
 work measurement procedures.
 WORK MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

• Four basic work measurement techniques:

1. Direct time study
2. Predetermined motion time systems (PMTS)
3. Standard data systems
4. Work sampling
 A FAIR DAY’S WORK
• The fundamental principle industry : an employee is entitled to a fair day’s
pay in return for which the company is entitled to a fair day’s work.
• A fair day’s work can be defined
– as the amount of work that can be produced by a qualified
employee working at a standard pace and effectively utilizing her or
his time where work is not restricted by process limitations.
 TIME STUDY REQUIREMENTS

• Certain fundamental requirements must be realized

before the time study is made.
–Whether the standard is required on a new job or on an
old job in which the method or part of the method has
been altered,
–The operator should be thoroughly acquainted with the
new technique before the operation is studied.
–Method must be standardized for the job before the
study begins.
TIME STUDY CONSISTS OF
1. ANALYSTS
2. DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR/AREA SUPERVISOR / TRAINOR
3. OPERATOR
- Each parties take appropriate steps necessary to allow smooth &
coordinated time study.
- ANALYSTS should tell the department supervisor
- The SUPERVISOR should check the method to make sure that feeds,
speeds, cutting tools, lubricants, and so forth conform to standard practice,
as established by the methods department. Also the supervisor should
investigate the amount of material available so that no shortages take place
during the study.
- The TRAINOR OR union steward should then make sure that only trained,
competent operators are selected, should explain why the study is being
made, and should answer any pertinent questions raised by the operator
- The OPERATOR should verify that she or he is performing the correct
method and should become acquainted with all details of that operation.
- He should also work at a steady, normal pace while the study is being
made and should introduce as few foreign elements and extra movements
as possible.
 TIME STUDY EQUIPMENTS
1. STOP WATCH

The decimal minute watch

 has 100 divisions on its face Electronic Stop watch
 each division is equal to 0.01 min;  provide resolution to 0.001 s and an
 a complete sweep of the long hand accuracy of +- .002 percent.
requires 1 min.  It weighs about 4 oz and are about 4x2x1
 The small dial on the watch face has 30 in (see Figure 10.2).
divisions, each of which is equal to 1 min.  It permits timing any number of individual
Therefore, for every full revolution of the elements, while also counting the total
sweep hand, the small hand moves one elapsed time. Thus, they provide both
division, or 1 min. continuous and snapback timing (button
How to use? C), with none of the disadvantages of
- Move the side slide toward the crown. mechanical watches.
Depressing the crown moves both the sweep How to use?
hand and the small hand back to zero. To operate the watch, press the top button
Releasing the crown puts the watch back into (button A). Each time the top button is
operation, unless the side slide is moved pressed, a numerical readout is presented.
away from the crown. Moving the side slide Pressing the memory button (button B)
away from the crown stops the watch. causes previous readouts to be retrieved.
2. VIDEO CAMCODERS
• ideal for recording operators’ methods and elapsed time.

• By taking pictures of the operation and then studying them

one frame at a time, analysts can record exact details of the
method used and can then assign normal time values.

• Analysts establish standards by projecting the film at the

same speed at which the pictures were taken and then
performance-rating the operators.
3. TIME STUDY BOARD
When the stopwatch is being used, analysts find it
convenient to have a suitable board to hold the time study
form and the stopwatch.
Time study board should be as follows :
1. Should be light, so as not to tire the arm during time study period
2. Strong and sufficiently hard to provide a suitable backing for the time study
form.
3. Suitable materials include 1⁄4-in plywood or smooth plastic.
4. The board should have both arm and body contacts, for comfortable fit and
ease of writing while it is being held.
For a right-handed observer, the watch should be mounted
in the upper right-hand corner of the board. A spring clip to
the left would hold the time study form.
Standing in the proper position, the time study analyst can
look over the top of the watch to the workstation and follow
the operator’s movements,.
4. TIME STUDY FORMS
• All the details of the study are recorded on a time study form.

• The form provides space to record all pertinent information

concerning the method being studied, tools utilized, and so on.

• The operation being studied is identified by such information

as the operator’s name and number, operation description and
number, machine name and number, special tools used and
their respective numbers, department where the operation is
performed, and prevailing working conditions.
• Providing too much information concerning the job being
studied is better than too little.
5. TIME STUDY SOFTWARE

• There are several software packages available for the time study analyst.

– TimStudy, by the Royal J. Dossett Corp., uses a custom-built Datawriter to collect the
data electronically and then upload them directly to a desktop PC for analysis.
– CITS/APR, by C-Four, uses more versatile handheld PCs to collect data, and allows for
much more detailed data analysis because a customized spreadsheet interface links directly
into Excel.
– Palm CITS by C-Four, QuickTimes™ by Applied Computer Services, Inc. and WorkStudy™
3.0 by Quetech, Ltd. A simple, user-friendly program for the Palm, QuickTS, has also been
supplied for users of this textbook

• Any of these software products will allow the analyst to eliminate much of the drudgery
of clerical transcription and to improve the accuracy of computations.
6. TRAINING EQUIPMENT
 A simple inexpensive piece of equipment that can assist in
the training of time study analysts is the metronome used
by music students.
 This device can be set to provide a predetermined number
of beats per minute, such as 104 beats per minute.
 TIME STUDY ELEMENTS
• CHOOSING THE OPERATOR -
–Time study begins with selecting the operator with the
assistance of the departmental or line supervisor.
–Qualified operator is one who is average or somewhat
above average in performance gives a more satisfactory
study than a low-skilled or highly superior operator.
–The average operator usually performs the work
consistently and systematically. That operator’s pace will
tend to be approximately in the standard range, thereby
making it easier for the time study analyst to apply a correct
performance factor.
 TIME STUDY ELEMENTS
• RECORDING SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION
– Analysts should record the machines, hand tools, jigs or
fixtures, working conditions, materials, operations, operator
name and clock number, department, study date, and
observer’s name.
–Space for such details is provided under Remarks on the time
study form.
–A sketch of the layout may also be helpful. The more pertinent
information is recorded, the more useful the time study
becomes over the years.
–It becomes a resource for establishing standard data and
developing formulas. It will also be useful for methods
improvement, operator evaluation, tool evaluation, and
machine performance evaluation.
POSITIONING THE OBSERVER

–The observer should stand, (not sit), a few feet to the

rear of the operator, so as not to distract or interfere with
the worker.

–Standing observers are better able to move around and

follow the movements of the operator’s hands as the
operator goes through the work cycle.

–During the course of the study, the observer should avoid

any conversation with the operator, as this could distract the
worker or upset the routines.
DIVIDING THE OPERATION INTO ELEMENTS

• For ease of measurement, the operation should be divided

into groups of motions known as elements. To divide the
operation into its individual elements, the analyst should
watch the operator for several cycles.
• However, if the cycle time is over 30 min, the analyst can
write the description of the elements while making the study.
• If possible, the analyst should determine the operational
elements before the start of the study.
• Elements should be broken down into divisions that are as
fine as possible and yet not so small that reading accuracy is
sacrificed.
DIVIDING THE OPERATION INTO ELEMENTS

• For example, the break points of elements can be associated with

such sounds as a finished piece hitting the container, a facing tool
biting into a casting, a drill breaking through the part being drilled, and
a pair of micrometers being laid on a bench.

• Each element should be recorded in its proper sequence, including a

basic division of work terminated by a distinctive sound or motion

• For example, the element “up part to manual chuck and tighten”
would include the following basic divisions: reach for part, grasp
part, move part, position part, reach for chuck wrench, grasp
chuck wrench, move chuck wrench, position chuck wrench, turn
chuck wrench, and release chuck wrench.
Some additional suggestions may help in breaking elements down:
1. In general, keep manual and machine elements separate, since machine
times are less affected by ratings.
2. Likewise, separate constant elements (those elements for which the time
does not deviate within a specified range of work) from variable
elements (those elements for which the time does vary within a specified
range of work).
3. When an element is repeated, do not include a second description.
Instead, in the space provided for the element description, give the
identifying number that was used when the element first occurred.
 START OF STUDY

 At the start of the study, record the time of day (on a whole minute) from a
“master” clock while simultaneously starting the stopwatch. (It is assumed
that all data are recorded on the time study form.) This is the starting time.

 One of two techniques can be used for recording the elemental times
during the study.
 The continuous timing method, it allows the stopwatch to run for the
entire duration of the study. In this method, the analyst reads the watch
at the break point of each element, and the time is allowed to continue.

 In the snapback technique, after the watch is read at the break point
of each element, the watch time is returned to zero; as the next element
takes place, the time increments from zero.
• When recording the watch readings, note only the
necessary digits and omit the decimal point, thus giving
as much time as possible to observing the performance of
the operator.
• If using a decimal minute watch and if the break point of
the first element occurs at 0.08 min, record only the digit 8
in the W (watch time) column. Other example recordings
are shown in below table (Table 10.1).
 SNAPBACK METHOD
• The snapback method has both advantages and disadvantages compared to the
continuous technique. Some time study analysts use both methods, believing that
studies of predominantly long elements are more adapted to snapback readings,
while short-cycle studies are better suited to the continuous method.
Advantages
1. Elapsed element values are read directly in the snapback method, no clerical time is
needed to make successive subtractions, as for the continuous method.
2. The readout can be inserted directly in the OT (observed time) column.
3. Elements performed out of order by the operator can be readily recorded without special
notation. In addition, proponents of the snapback method state that delays are not
recorded.
4. Since elemental values can be compared from one cycle to the next, a decision could be
made as to the number of cycles to study.
Dis advantages
- it encourages the removal of individual elements from the operation. These cannot
be studied independently, because elemental times depend on the preceding and
succeeding elements. Consequently, omitting such factors as delays, foreign
elements, and transposed elements could allow erroneous values in the readings
accepted.
- Amount of time lost while snapping the hand back to zero.
 CONTINUOUS METHOD
• The continuous method of recording elemental values is superior to the
snapback method for several reasons. Advantages are as follows :
– The most significant is that the resulting study presents a complete record of the entire
observation period;
– The operator is able to see that no time has been left out of the study, and all delays
and foreign elements have been recorded.
– All facts are clearly presented, this technique of recording times is easier to explain
and sell.
– The continuous method is also better adapted to measuring and recording very short
elements.
Dis-advantages
- more clerical work is involved in calculating the study.
– Since the watch is read at the break point of each element while the hands of the
watch continue their movements, it is necessary to make successive subtractions of
the consecutive readings to determine the elapsed elemental times. For example, the
following readings might represent the break points of a 10-element study: 4, 14, 19,
121, 25, 52, 61, 76, 211, 16. The elemental values of this cycle would be 4, 10, 5, 102,
4, 27, 9, 15, 35, and 5.
• During a time study, the operator may encounter unavoidable delays, such
as an interruption by a clerk or supervisor, or tool breakage. The operator
may also intentionally cause a change in the order of work by going for a
drink of water or stopping to rest. Such interruptions are referred to as
foreign elements.

• Foreign elements can occur either at the break point or during the course
of an element. The majority of foreign elements, particularly those
controlled by the operator, occur at the termination of an element.
• Occasionally, a foreign element is of such short duration that it is
impossible to record the foreign element in the fashion outlined.
• Typical examples of this would be dropping a wrench on the floor and
quickly picking it up, wiping one’s brow with a handkerchief, or turning to
speak briefly to the supervisor.
• In such cases, where the foreign element may be 0.06 min or less, the
most satisfactory method of handling the interruption is to allow it to
accumulate in the element and immediately circle the reading, indicating
that a “wild” value has been encountered.
 CYLES IN TIME STUDY
• Determining how many cycles to study to arrive at an equitable
standard is a subject that has caused considerable discussion
among time study analysts as well as union representatives.
• General Electric Company has established Table 10.2 as an
approximate guide to the number of cycles to observe. A more
accurate number can be established by using statistical
methods.
• Since time study is a sampling procedure, the observations can
be assumed to be distributed normally about an unknown
population mean with an unknown variance.
RATING OPERATOR PERFORMANCE
• Since the actual time required to perform each element of the study depends to
a high degree on the skill and effort of the operator, it is necessary to adjust
upward the time of the good operator and downward the time of the poor
operator to a standard level.
• Therefore, before leaving the workstation, analysts should give a fair and
impartial performance rating to the study.
• On short-cycle, repetitive work, it is customary to apply one rating to the entire
study, or an average rating for each element .
• However, where the elements are long and entail diversified manual
movements, it is more practical to evaluate the performance of each element
as it occurs.
• In the performance rating system, the observer evaluates the operator’s
effectiveness in terms of a qualified operator performing the same element.
The rating value is expressed as a decimal or percentage.
• A qualified operator is defined as a thoroughly experienced operator working
under customary conditions at the workstation, at a pace neither too fast nor
too slow, but representative of a pace that can be maintained throughout the
day.
• The basic principle of performance rating is to adjust the mean observed
time (OT) for each element performed during the study to the normal
time (NT) that would be required by the qualified operator to perform the
same work:

• where R is the performance rating of the operator expressed as a

percentage, with 100 percent being standard performance by a qualified
operator.

• To do a fair job of rating, the time study analyst must be able to

disregard personalities and other varying factors and consider only the
amount of work being done per unit of time.( Professional/ Personal
treatment)
Example
• Assuming that the total observed time for an operation of assembling an electric
switch is 1.00 min. If the rating is 120%,
Find:
1. Normal time.
• If an allowance of 10% is allowed for the operation, determine the standard time.

Solution:
Obsessed time (or) selected time = 1.00 min
Rating = 120%
Allowance = 10%
 ADDING ALLOWANCES
• No operator can maintain a standard pace every minute of the working
day. Three classes of interruptions can take place, for which extra time
must be provided.
– The first is personal interruptions, such as trips to the restroom and drinking fountain;
– The second is fatigue, which can affect even the strongest individual on the lightest work.
– The third is unavoidable delays, such as tool breakage, supervisor interruptions, slight
tool trouble, and material variations, all of which require that some allowance be made.

• Since the time study is made over a relatively short period, and since
foreign elements should have been removed in determining the normal
time, an allowance must be added to the normal time to arrive at a fair
standard that can reasonably be achieved by an operator.

• The time required for a fully qualified, trained operator, working at a

standard pace and exerting average effort, to perform the operation is
termed the standard time (ST) for that operation.
• The allowance is typically given as a fraction of normal time
and is used as a multiplier equal to 1 + allowance:

• An alternative approach is to formulate the allowances as a

fraction of the total workday, since the actual production time
might not be known. In that case, the expression for standard
time is
• After the normal elemental times have been calculated, the analyst
should add the percentage allowance to each element to determine
the allowed or standard time.
• From below example
NT = 0.152
ALLOWANCE = 12 %

ST = NT x (1 + ALLOWANCE)
ST = 0.152 x (1 + 0.12)
ST = 0.152X(1.12)
ST = 0.1702
 CALCULATING THE STUDY
1. Synchronize at the master clock and record the starting
time.
2. Walk to the operation and start the study. The readout at
the snap is the time elapsed before the study.
3. Rate operator performance while the element is taking
place, and record either the single or the average rating.
4. Snap the watch at the start of the next element. For
continuous timing, enter the readout in the W column; for
snapback timing, enter the readout in the OT column, as
shown.
5. For a foreign element, indicate in the appropriate NT
column and record the times in the Foreign Element section.
6. Once all elements have been timed, snap the watch at the
master clock. Record the finishing time.