Steps in Making Time Study:

Stop watch time is the basic technique for determining accurate time standards. They are
economical for repetitive type of work.
Steps in taking the time study are:
1. Select the work to be studied.
2. Obtain and record all the information available about the job, the operator and the working
conditions likely to affect the time study work.
3. Breakdown the operation into elements. An element is a distinct part of a specified activity
composed of one or more fundamental motions selected for convenience of observation and
timing.
4. Measure the time by means of a stop watch, taken by the operator to perform each element of
the operation. Either continuous method or snap back method of timing could be used.
5. At the same time, assess the operator’s effective speed of work relative to the observer's
concept of 'Normal" speed. This is called performance rating.
6. Adjust the observed time by rating factor to obtain normal time for each element
Normal time = (Observed time X rating)/100
7. Add the suitable allowances to compensate for fatigue, personal needs, contingencies, etc. to
give standard time for each element.
8. Compute allowed time for the entire job by adding elemental standard times considering
frequency of occurrence of each element.
9. Make a detailed job description describing the method for which the standard time is
established.
10. Test and review standards where necessary. The basic steps in time study are represented by
a block diagram in Fig.16.

Fig.16. Steps in time study

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1. Selecting Job for Time Study:
The reasons for which time study may be done:
(a) The job in question is new one or not previously carried out.
(b) Change in the method of existing time standard.
(c) Complaint received from workers or unions regarding the time standard.
(d) A particular operation becomes bottle-neck operation which holds up number of subsequent
activities.
(e) Change in the management policy regarding how time standards are used, i.e., General
purpose or wage incentive plans.

The general guidelines for selecting the job for time study:
(a) Bottle-neck operations.
(b) Repetitive jobs.
(c) 'Jobs using a greater deal of manual labour.
(d) Jobs with longer cycle time.
(e) Sections/departments frequently working overtime.

2. Obtaining and Recording Information:

During this, step, all the relevant and necessary information regarding the method, operator and
details of working conditions are recorded:
The method is to be standard and the time required to carry out the job as per the standard
method is to be timed. The selection of an operator refers to choosing an operator amongst many
operators doing the same job. He should be a representative worker with a normal pace neither
too fast nor too slow. So the details of the operator are essential to be recorded before starting
actual time study. Information to enable the identification details such as. Part number and name,
machine No. speed and feed, materials, operator details, etc. Working conditions under which an
operator carries out the job like temperature, dust, smoke, vibrations, noise, etc. Working
position such as standing, sitting, bending, etc., and weights handled, protective clothing, etc.

3. Breaking the Jobs into Elements:

Element is a distinct part of a specified job selected for convenience of observation,
measurement and analysis. Work cycle is a complete sequence of elements necessary to perform
a specified activity or job to yield one unit of production. It may also include the elements which
do not occur with every cycle.
Reasons for Breaking the Jobs into Elements:
1. To ensure that productive time is separated from unproductive activities (separating effective
time and ineffective time).
2. To permit the rate of performance to be assessed more accurately than would be possible if
the assessment were made over a complete cycle.
3. To enable different types of elements to be identified and distinguished so that each element
is given an appropriate treatment.
4. To ensure elements involving a high degree of fatigue to be isolated and to make the
allocation of fatigue allowances more accurately.
5. To enable the detailed work specification to be produced.
6. To enable machine elements to be distinguished from 'human' elements.

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7. To enable time standards to be checked or modified at later date, omissions and errors to be
rectified.
8. For accuracy of rating.
9. To enable time values for frequently recurring elements, such as the loading/unloading of
jobs into fixture, machine adjustment to be extracted and used in the compilation of standard
data.

Types of elements:
1. A repetitive element is an element which occurs in every work cycle of the job.
Examples: Picking up part for assembly, element of locating a work piece in a holding
device.
2. An occasional element is one that neither does nor occurs in every work cycle of the job or
which may occur at regular intervals.
Examples: tool changing after sometime, adjusting tension or machine setting, instruction
from supervisor. Occasional element is useful work to be included in standard time.
3. A constant element is an element for which the basic time remains constant whenever it is
performed.
Examples: Switch on machine, measure diameter, inserts cutting tools.
4. A variable element is an element for which the basic time varies in relation to some basic
characteristics of the product, equipment or process.
Examples: Dimensions, weight, quality, etc.
5. A manual element is an element performed by a worker.
6. A machine element is an element automatically performed by a power driven machine.
Examples: Press working parts, annealing tubes.
7. Governing element is an element occupying a longer time than that of any other element
which is being performed concurrently
Example: Gauge dimensions while turning diameter (turning diameter will be a governing
element).
8. A foreign element is one that is observed during study but do not form part of the given
activity of the cycle.
Example: dropping work on the floor, operator talking to his colleague.

Guidelines for Breaking Jobs into Elements:

1. Elements should be easily identified.
2. Each element should have a definite beginning and end.
3. Manual elements should be separated from variable elements.
4. Occasional elements should be timed separately.
5. Elements should be as short as can be conveniently timed by a trained observer.
6. Elements should be chosen so that they represent naturally unified and recognizably district
segments of the operation.

Example of standardized element breakdown

DRILLING WITH TWIST DRILL IN BENCH TYPE MACHINE

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How Many Cycles to be Timed?
1. The number of cycles through which any particular job should be observed varies directly as
the amount of variations in the times of the elements of the job.
2. The number of cycles to be observed will depend on the degree of accuracy desired. This in
turn will depend on the length of run of the job and the number of people engaged on it.
3. The study should be continued through a sufficient number of cycles to ensure that
occasional elements such as handling boxes of finished parts, periodical cleaning of
machines, etc., can be observed several times.
4. Where more than one operator is engaged on the same job it is preferable to take a short
study on each of several operators rather than timing too long on a single operator.
The number of observations at 95% confidence level and accuracy of +/- 5 per cent is given by
the statistical formula,

where n' = number of preliminary readings, ∑x = sum of preliminary set of observations

n = sample size (number of observations)
(Measure) Duration of Each Element:
When elements have been selected, the next step is starting the timing of operations. There are
two principal methods of timing with the stop watch:
(a) Cumulative timing and (b) Fly back timing.

(a) Cumulative timing:

In cumulative, the watch runs continuously throughout the study. It is started at the beginning of
the first element of the first cycle to be timed and is not stopped until the whole study is
completed. At the end of each element the watch reading is recorded and individual element
times are obtained by successive subtractions after the study is completed.

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(b) Fly back timing:
In fly back timing, the hands of the stop watch are returned to zero at the end of each element
and allowed to start immediately; the time for each element is obtained directly.

Extend Observed Time into Normal Time:

The representative time established from the observation data is the time which an operator has
taken while working at-a certain pace. The observed time is converted into basic or normal time
by multiplying it by rating factor.
Normal time = (Observed time x performance rating (%))/100

Determine relaxation and other allowances:

Normal times of elements added together give normal time for the operation. But this will not be
equal to standard time as the operators cannot work continuously. Some additional time is added
to normal time to arrive at the standard time. The additional time is needed to:
(i) To provide the operator to attend to his personal needs (relaxation allowances).
(ii) Interference allowances.
(iii) Contingency allowance.
(iv) Policy allowance.
Calculate Standard Time for the Job:
The various allowances are added to the normal time as applicable to get the standard time. Thus
basic constituents of standard time are:
1. Elemental (observed time):
2. Performance rating to compensate for difference in pace of working.
3. Relaxation allowance.
4. Interference and contingency allowance.
5. Policy allowance.

TIME STUDY EQUIPMENTS:

Basic time study equipment required to make the time study are: (1) Time study board, (2) Stop
watch, and (3) Time study forms.

Time study board: Time study board (shown in fig.18.) is simply a flat board, usually of
plywood or of any suitable plastic sheet and it should have fittings to hold a stop watch and time
study forms. The use of board provides support and resting face while writing observations on
the shop-floor and makes the hands free to write and operate stop watch.

Stop watch: Stop is the measuring instrument to observe the elemental timings and usually a
decimal watch is used. A decimal minute stop watch has two hands. The small hand represents
minutes on dial and completes one revolution in 30 minutes. The large hand represents centi
minutes (1/100th minute) and completes one revolution in one minute and each division on large
dial represents 0.0 1 minute.

Two commonly used types of stop watches are:

Cumulative stop watch: The watch is started by pressing the winding knob located on the head
of the watch and is stopped by pressing the winding knob. Pressing winding knob third time

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snaps the hands back to zero. Once started it will run until required number of cycles have been
timed.

Fly back stop watch: This is most commonly used watch. In this type of watch the movement is
started and stopped by a slide (A) at the side of the winding knob (B). Pressure on the top of the
winding knob causes both the hands to fly back to zero without stopping the mechanism from
which point they move forward immediately. This type of watch is used for either fly back or
cumulative timing method. The stop watch is shown in Fig.17.
Electronic timers are most widely used timing devices for time study. The electronic timer which
performs the same function as the stop watch is sometimes referred to as electronic stop watch.
Electronic data collectors and computers and motion picture camera (with constant speed motor
drive) are also used for the purpose.

Fig.17.Decimal minute stop watch

Time study forms: Time study forms are usually printed forms of standard size. The use of
standard forms is desirable as the constant informations, such as part number and part name,
operation description, observers name and other description are pre-printed on the top of the
form which eliminates the possibility of any details being missed. As the size of the forms are
standardised they can be easily filed for future referencing.

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 Fig.18.Time study board
PERFORMANCE RATING:
Performance rating is the process of adjusting the actual pace of working of an operator by
comparing it with the mental picture of pace of an operator working at normal speed.
Performance rating = Observed time × 100
Normal time
In other words, rating is a levelling factor to convert observed timings into normal timings

The various methods of performance rating are:

(1) Speed rating, (2) Westing house system of rating, (3) Synthetic rating, and (4) Objective
rating.

ALLOWANCES:
It is impossible to work throughout the day even though the most practicable, effective method
has been developed. Even under the best working method situation, the job will still demand the
expenditure of human effort and some allowance must therefore be made for recovery from
fatigue and for relaxation. Allowances must also be made to enable the worker to attend to his
personal needs. The allowances are categorised as: (1) Relaxation allowance, (2) Interference
allowance, and (3) Contingency allowance.

Relaxation Allowance:
Relaxation allowances are calculated so as to allow the worker to recover from fatigue.
Relaxation allowance is an addition to the basic time intended to provide the worker with the
opportunity to recover from the physiological and psychological effects of carrying out specified
work under specified conditions and to allow attention to personal needs. The amount of
allowance will depend on nature of the job. Relaxation allowances are of two types-fixed
allowances and variable allowances.
Fixed allowances constitute:
(a) Personal needs allowance. It is intended to compensate the operator for the time necessary
to leave, the workplace to attend to personal needs like drinking water, smoking, washing hands.
Women require longer personal allowance than men. A fair personal allowance is 5% for men
and 7% for women.
(b) Allowances for basic fatigue. This allowance is given to compensate for energy expended
during working. A common figure considered as allowance is 4% of the basic time.
Variable Allowance:

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Variable allowance is allowed to an operator who is working under poor environmental
conditions that cannot be improved, added stress and strain in performing the job. The variable
fatigue allowance is added to the fixed allowance to an operator who is engaged on medium and
heavy work and working under abnormal conditions. The amount of variable fatigue allowance
varies from organisation to organisation.
Interference Allowance:
It is an allowance of time included into the work content of the job to compensate the operator
for the unavoidable loss of production due to simultaneous stoppage of two or more machines
being operated by him. This allowance is applicable for machine or process controlled jobs.
Interference allowance varies in proportion to number of machines assigned to the operator. The
interference of the machine increases the work content.
Contingency Allowance:
A contingency allowance is a small allowance of time which may be included in a standard time
to meet legitimate and expected items of work or delays, the precise measurement of which is
uneconomical because of their in frequent or irregular occurrence. This allowance provides for
small unavoidable delays as well as for occasional minor, extra work.
Some of the examples calling for contingency allowance are:
 Tool breakage involving removal of tool from the holder and all other activities to insert
new tool into the tool holder.
 Power failures of small duration.
 Obtaining the necessary tools and gauges from central tool store. Contingency allowance
should not exceed 5%.

Fig.19. Various allowances to build standard time.

Policy Allowance:
Policy allowances are not the genuine part of the time study and should be used with utmost care
and only in clearly defined circumstances. The policy allowance as defined by ILO:
"A policy allowance is an increment, other than bonus increment, applied to a standard time (or
to some constituent part of it, e.g., work content) to provide a satisfactory level of earnings for a
specified level of performance under exceptional circumstances. Policy allowance is sometimes
made as imperfect functioning of a division or part of a plant”.

Computation of standard time:

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Standard time is the time allowed to an operator to carry out the specified task under specified
conditions and defined level of performance.

Fig.20. How the standard time for a simple manual job is made up.

Problem 1: The elemental times (in minutes) for 4 cycles of an operation using a stop watch are
presented below:

Calculate standard time for the operation if

(i) Elements 2 and 4 are machine elements
(ii) For other elements, the operator is rated at 110%
(iii) Total allowances are 15% of the normal time.
Solution: The normal times are shown in Table

Normal time for the cycle = 1.568 + 2.575 +3.658 + 1.175 + 0.555 = 9.53 1
Standard time = (9.53 1 + (0.15 x 9.53 1))

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= 10.484 minutes
Problem 2: The following data refers to the study conducted for an operation. Table shows
actual time for elements in minutes

Cycle 1 2 3 4 5

(i) Element 2 is a machine element.

(ii) Consider the observations as abnormal and delete the same if they are more than 2 % of
average time of that element.
(iii) Take performances rating as 120.
(iv) Take following allowances personal allowance 30 minutes in a shift of 8 hours. Fatigue
allowance-15%, contingency allowance-2%. Estimate the standard time of operation and
production per 8 hours shift.
Solution: On observation, for element no. 1, cycle no. 4, the cycle time is 5.4 min, which is more
than 25% of the average time for that element. The cycle time 5.4 is neglected.

Normal time for the cycle = Observed time/cycle X rating

= 13.005 x 1.2
= 15.606 min
Total Allowance = Fatigue allowance + contingency allowance
( :. Personal allowance per shift is given)
Standard time = 15.606 (1 + 0.15 + 0.02)
= 18.259 minutes

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Problem 3: The following table shows a time study data. The times shown are continuous watch
readings in minutes. Initial setting of stop watch is at 0.00.

Take relaxation allowance as 15% and find the standard time.

Solution: This is a cumulative timing method the cycle times are tabulated as shown in table.

Standard time = Normal time (1 + 0.15)

= (0.49 + 1.456 + 2.343) (1.15)
= 4.932 min.
Problem 4: The observed times and the performance ratings for the five elements are given.
Compute the standard time assuming rest and personal allowance as 15% and contingency
allowance as 2% of the basic time.
Element 1 2 3 4 5
Observed time (min) 0.2 0.08 0.50 0.12 0.10
Performance rating 85 80 90 85 80
Solution: The normal time is computed from the observed time as shown in the table below:

Normal time per piece = 0.866 min.

Rest and personal allowance = 0.15 x 0.866 = 0.1299

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Contingency allowance = 0.02 x 0.866 = 0.0173 min.
Standard time per piece = Normal time/piece + Rest and personal allowance + contingency
allowance
= 0.866 + 0.1299 + 0.0173= 1.0732 minutes.
Problem 5: A worker operating on a machine performs the following elements. The description
of element, their observed time and ratings are given. Compute the standard time for the
component.

Solution: The relaxation allowance is given separately for each element so the element wise
standard time is to be computed and then added together to get the standard time for the job.
The computation of standard time is shown the table:

Standard time for the job = 0.22 + 0.099 + 2.746 + 0.043 + 0.183
= 3.251 minutes

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