Solutions Manual: Ch12-Intro Work Measure-s

Review Questions
12.1 What is the standard time for a task? Provide a definition.
Answer: The standard time for a task is the amount of time that should be required by an
average worker to process one work unit using the standard method and working at normal
pace.
12.2 What are some of the characteristics typical of industrial situations in which time standards
would be beneficial?
Answer: The text lists the following characteristics: (1) Low productivity. If the current
level of productivity is low, then there are significant opportunities for improvement. (2)
Repeat orders. Once the time standard is set during the first order, the same standard can be
used for successive orders. (3) Long production runs. If production of a given order takes a
significant amount of time, this reduces the frequency with which standards must be set.
(4) Repetitive work cycles. Work measurement can be justified more readily when the
work cycle is highly repetitive. (5) Short cycle times. Short work cycles require less time
to set standards.
12.3 What are the functions and applications of accurately established time standards in an
organization?
Answer: The text lists the following: (1) They define a “fair day’s work.” (2) They help to
determine manpower requirements and capacity limitations. (3) They provide an objective
way to compare alternative methods for accomplishing the same task. (4) They provide a
basis for wage incentives and for evaluating worker performance. (5) They provide time
data for production planning and scheduling, cost estimating, material requirements
planning, and other management functions that depend on accurate task time data.
12.4 Identify the three basic methods to determine time standards.
Answer: (1) Estimation, (2) historical records of previous production runs, and (3) work
measurement techniques (direct time study, predetermined motion time systems, work
sampling, and standard data systems).
12.5 What are the four basic work measurement techniques?
Answer: (1) Direct time study, (2) predetermined motion time systems, (3) standard data
systems, and (4) work sampling.
12.6 What is the difference between the normal time and the standard time for a task?
Answer: The difference between the normal time and the standard time is the allowance.
The standard time includes an allowance for personal time, fatigue, and delays (PFD),
while the normal time does not.
12.7 How does computerized work measurement reduce the time and effort of the time study
analyst?
Answer: The text lists the following: (1) automatically performing the routine
computations that previously had to be performed by the analyst, (2) facilitating the
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Solutions Manual: Ch12-Intro Work Measure-s

collection of data at the work site in direct time study and work sampling, (3) organizing
the files and databases of time standards, (4) retrieving data from databases in
predetermined motion time systems and standard data systems, and (5) assisting in the
preparation of the documentation required in work measurement (e.g., methods
descriptions, reports).
12.8 What are the prerequisites for valid time standards?
Answer: The prerequisites for valid time standards are that the following factors must be
defined for the task: (1) average worker, (2) standard performance, (3) standard method,
and (4) standard work unit before and after the process performed by the task.
12.9 Identify the two common benchmarks of standard performance that are often used.
Answer: (1) Walking at 3 miles per hour (4.82 km per hour) and (2) dealing four hands
from a 52 card deck in exactly 30 seconds.
12.10 What are the details that should be included when defining the standard method?
Answer: The text lists the following: (1) Procedure (actions and motions) used by the
worker. This is best described by listing the work elements that comprise the work cycle.
(2) Tools (hand tools and portable power tools), fixtures, and gages. (3) Equipment
(machinery, safety equipment) that are used in the task. (4) Workplace layout. (5) Irregular
work elements that are not performed every work cycle. (6) Working conditions such as the
surrounding temperature, noise level, and other conditions that might affect the work
environment. (7) Setup. What setup of the physical tools and equipment is required to
perform the task? How much time is allowed for the setup?
12.11 What is a PFD allowance in time standards?
Answer: The PFD allowance is additional time that is included in the standard time to
provide for the worker’s personal needs, fatigue, and unavoidable delays during the shift.
12.12 What are some of the reasons why workers experience lost time during a work shift?
Answer: Causes of work-related interruptions include: (1) machine breakdowns, (2)
waiting for materials, parts, or other items, (3) receiving instructions from foreman, (4)
talking to co-workers about job-related matters, (5) waiting at a tool crib, (6) rest breaks to
overcome, and (7) cleaning up at the end of the shift. Reasons for non-work related
interruptions include: (1) personal needs (e.g., rest room), (2) talking to co-workers about
matters unrelated to work, (3) lunch break, (4) smoke break, (5) beverage break, and (6)
telephone calls.
12.13 What is a contingency allowance?
Answer: A contingency allowance is intended to provide additional time in the standard to
address some kind of problem with the task or the production equipment or the like. For
example, the present batch of raw material (input work unit) is out-of-specification, and
additional work elements must be included in the task to correct the condition.
12.14 What is the difference between accuracy and precision in a measurement system?

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Solutions Manual: Ch12-Intro Work Measure-s

Answer: Accuracy is the degree to which the measured value agrees with the true value of
the quantity of interest. The measurement system is accurate if it is free of systematic
errors, which are positive or negative deviations from the true value that are consistent
from measurement to measurement. Measurement precision is the repeatability of the
measurement system. High precision means that the random errors in the measurement
procedure are small.
12.15 Why is accuracy an elusive quality in work measurement?
Answer: Because measurement is defined as a procedure in which an unknown quantity is
compared to a known standard. In work measurement, there is no way to make that
comparison because the closest that we can come to a known standard is in the minds of
the time study analysts. And that standard is not based on time; it is based on a definition
of performance (the organization’s definition of standard performance).
12.16 What is precision in work measurement?
Answer: Precision refers to the expected variability within a single time study or the time
standard resulting from that study.
12.17 What is consistency in work measurement?
Answer: The term consistency refers to the variations in standard time values between
different time study analysts who study the same task.
12.18 What is the application speed ratio in work measurement?
Answer: The application speed ratio is the ratio of the time required to determine a time
standard relative to the standard time itself. It is interpreted as a multiple of the standard
time value, e.g., it requires 100 min to set a 1 min standard time.
Problems
Determining Time Standards
12.1 The average observed time for a repetitive work cycle in a direct time study was 3.27 min.
The worker was performance rated by the analyst at 90%. The company uses a PFD
allowance factor of 13%. What is the standard time for this task?
Solution: Normal time Tn = 3.27(0.90) = 2.943 min
Standard time Tstd = 2.943(1 + 0.13) = 3.326 min
12.2 A time study analyst observed a repetitive work cycle performed by a worker and then
studied the task using a predetermined motion time system. During the observation, the
analyst made a record of the work elements. He also made a note of the worker’s
performance and rated it as 85%. Back in the office, the analyst listed the basic motion
elements for the task and retrieved from his computer the corresponding normal time
values. The sum of the normal times for the basic motion elements was 1.38 min. The
company uses a PFD allowance factor of 15%. Determine the standard time for the task.
Solution: Normal time Tn = 1.38 min

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Solutions Manual: Ch12-Intro Work Measure-s

The performance rating of 85% is a “red herring” in this problem because the basic motion
element times are already rated at 100%.
Standard time Tstd = 1.38(1 + 0.15) = 1.587 min
12.3 The ABC Company uses a standard data system to set time standards. One of the time
study analysts listed the three work elements for a new task to be performed in the shop
and then determined the normal time values to be 0.73 min, 2.56 min, and 1.01 min. The
company uses a PFD allowance factor of 16%. Determine the standard time for the task.
Solution: Normal time Tn = 0.73 + 2.56 + 1.01 = 4.30 min
Standard time Tstd = 4.30(1 + 0.16) = 4.988 min
Allowances
12.4 In the ABC machine shop, workers punch in at 8:00 a.m. and punch out at 4:30 p.m. The
labor-management agreement allows 30 min for lunch, which is not counted as part of the
8-hour shift. In determining the allowance for computing time standards, two 15 min breaks
are provided (personal time and fatigue), one in the morning and one in the afternoon; and 20
min have been negotiated as lost time due to supervisor interruptions and equipment
malfunctions. What PFD allowance factor should be added to the normalized time to account
for these losses in the computation of a standard time, so that if the worker works at standard
performance, he/she will produce exactly eight standard hours?
Solution: Allowance time for two 15-min breaks plus 20 min for lost time = 50 min
Allowance factor Apfd = 480/(480-50) – 1 = 1.116 – 1 = 0.116 = 11.6%
12.5 In the WS&FP plant, workers punch in at 8:00 a.m. and punch out at 5:00 p.m. The
labor-management agreement allows one hour for lunch, which is not counted as part of the
8-hour shift. In determining the allowance for computing time standards, two 12 min breaks
are included (personal time and fatigue), one in the morning and one in the afternoon; and 35
min are included as lost time due to interruptions and delays. What PFD allowance factor
should be added to the normalized time to account for these losses in the computation of a
standard time, so that if the worker works at standard performance, he/she will earn exactly
eight standard hours?
Solution: Allowance time for two 12-min breaks plus 35 min for lost time = 59 min
Allowance factor Apfd = 480/(480-59) – 1 = 1.140 – 1 = 0.140 = 14.0%
12.6 Determine the personal time, fatigue, and delay (PFD) allowance to be used for computing
time standards in the following situation. Second shift workers punch in at 3:30 p.m. and
punch out at 12:00 midnight. They are provided one-half hour for supper at 6:00 p.m., which
is not counted as part of the 8-hour shift. For purposes of determining the allowance, 30
minutes of break time (personal time and fatigue) are allowed each worker. In addition, the
plant allows 35 min for lost time due to unavoidable delays. What should the PFD allowance
factor be?
Solution: Allowance time for 30 min of break time plus 35 min for lost time = 65 min
Allowance factor Apfd = 480/(480-65) – 1 = 1.157 – 1 = 0.157 = 15.7%

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Solutions Manual: Ch12-Intro Work Measure-s

12.7 The work shift at the ABC Company runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. with a 45 min break
for lunch from 11:30 to 12:15 p.m. that does not count as part of the work shift (workers
are not paid for this time). The company provides two 12-min rest breaks during working
hours (paid time), one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The company also allows
25 min per day for personal needs (paid time). In addition, a work sampling study has
shown that on average, unavoidable delays in the plant result in 20 min lost time per
worker per day (paid time). Determine the PFD allowance factor for the following two
management policies on allowances: (a) the two 12-min breaks are both scheduled breaks
that all workers take at the same time and (b) the two 12-min breaks are included in the
allowance factor so that workers can take their breaks whenever they please.
Solution: (a) Allowance time consists of 25 min for personal time plus 20 min for delay
time = 45 min. The two 12-min rest breaks are not figured into the allowance factor, but
they do reduce the total work time during the shift. Total work time = 480 – 45 – 2(12) =
411 min. Thus,
Allowance factor Apd = 45/411 = 0.1095 = 10.95%
(b) Allowance time consists of two 12-min rest breaks plus 25 min for personal time plus
20 min for delay time = 69 min. Total work time = 480 – 45 – 2(12) = 411 min. Thus,
Allowance factor Apfd = 69/411 = 0.1679 = 16.79%

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