TIME STUDY

TIME STUDY EQUIPMENT : MAKING

THE TIME STUDY

IENG 301
FUNDAMENTALS OF
WORK STUDY AND
ERGONOMICS

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TIME STUDY EQUIPMENT:
MAKING THE TIME STUDY
 Time study, predetermined time systems,
standard systems, standard data, and work
sampling are used for measuring work in
industry.

 Time study is the most versatile and the

most widely used.

 Time standards obtained from these data are

used as the basis for company-wide wage
incentives.
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Definition
 Time study is used to measure work.

 The result of time is the time that a person

suited to the job and fully trained in the
specified method will need to perform the job
if he or she works at a normal or standard
tempo.

 This time is called the standard time for the

operation.
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Uses for Time Study
Although time study originally had its greatest
application in connection with wage incentives, it and
the other methods of measuring can be used for many
other purposes including:

1. Determining schedules and planning work.

2. Determining standard costs and as an aid in preparing
budgets.
3. Estimate the cost of a product before manufacturing it.
Such information is of value in preparing bids and in
determining selling price.

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Uses for Time Study
4. Determining machine effectiveness, the
number of machines which one person can
operate, and as an aid in balancing assembly
lines and work done on a conveyor.
5. Determining time standards to be used as a
basis for the payment of a wage incentive to
direct labor and indirect labor.
6. Determining time standards to be used as a
basis for labor cost control.

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Time Study Equipment
 The equipment needed for time study work consists of a
timing device and an observation board.

 The devices most commonly used for measuring

work are:
1. Stop watch or electronic timer (i.e. decimal stop watch).
2. Motion picture camera (with constant-speed motor drive or
with a micro-chronometer in the picture to indicate time).
3. Electronic data collector and computer.

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Stop Watch or Electronic Timer

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Motion Picture Camera

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Electronic Data Collector

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Obervation Board

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Other Equipment
 A speed indicator, or tachometer, is needed
where machine-tool operations are studied.

 The analyst should check speeds and feeds in

making a time study, even though the machine
has a table attached which gives this
information for each setting of the speed and
feed-control levers.

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Making the Time Study
 The exact procedure used in making
time studies may vary somewhat,
depending upon the type of operation
being studied and the application that is
to be made of the data obtained.

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Making the Time Study
These eight steps, however, are usually
required:
1. Secure and record information about the
operation and operator being studied.
2. Divide the operation into elements and record a
complete description of the method.
3. Observe and record the time taken by the
operator.
4. Determine the number of cycles to be timed.
5. Rate the operator’s performance.
6. Check to make certain that a sufficient number of
cycles have been timed.
7. Determine the allowances.
8. Determine the time standard for the operation. 13
Request for a Time Study
 A Time study is not made unless an authorized person
requests it. Usually, it is the supervisor who requests
that a study be made, but the plant manager, chief
engineer, production control supervisor, cost accountant,
or other member of the organization may make such a
request.
 It is the supervisor’s responsibility to make certain that the
operation is running satisfactorily before requesting the study.
 The supervisor should also see that the operators have
thoroughly learned the job and they are following the
prescribed method.
 The supervisor should inform the operators in advance that a
Time study is to be made, stating the purpose of the

study. 14
Is the job ready for Time Study?
 The analyst should go over the job with the supervisor
of the department. As they discuss each element of the
operation, the analyst asks the questions:
1. Can the speed or feed of the machine be increased without
affecting optimum tool life or without adversely affecting
the quality of the product?
2. Can changes in tooling be made to reduce the cycle time?
3. Can materials be moved closer to the work area to reduce
handling time?
4. Is the equipment operating correctly, and is a quality
product being produced?
5. Is the operation being performed safely?

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Is the job ready for Time Study?
 Note: The time standard for a job will not be correct if:
 The method of doing the job has changed.
 The material does not meet specifications.
 The machine speed has changed.
 Other conditions of work are different from those that were
present when the Time study was originally made.

 The Time study analyst therefore, examines the

operation with the purpose of suggesting any
changes that he or she thinks should be affected
before the Time study is made.

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Is the job ready for Time Study?
 It is expected that the Time study analyst will be
trained in Motion study and will bring all possible
knowledge in this field to bear on the operation
about to be studied.

 Any suggested changes that the supervisor wishes to

adopt should be made before the study is started.

 The supervisor of course makes the decision as to the

way the job is to be done, but the analyst and the
supervisor should discuss each element of the
operation and should agree that the operation is ready
for a time study. 17
Making the Time Study
1. Recording information.
2. Dividing the operation into subdivisions or
elements.
3. Listing the elements in proper sequence.
4. Timing the elements with the stopwatch and
recording the readings.
5. Determine the number of cycles to be timed.
6. Noting and recording the operator’s tempo.
7. Making a sketch of the part and the work place.

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Reasons for Element Breakdown

1. One of the best ways to describe an operation is to

break it down into definite and measurable elements
and describe each of these separately. These elements
of the operation that occur regularly are usually listed
first, and then all other elements that are a necessary
part of the job are described. The beginning and end
points for each element may be specifically indicated.

2. Standard time values may be determined for the

elements of the job. This makes possible, to determine
the total standard time for an operation.

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Reasons for Element Breakdown

3. A Time study may show that excessive time is being

taken to perform certain element of the job or that too
little time is being spent on the element. Also the
analysis of an operation by elements may show slight
variations in method that could not be detected so
easily from an overall study.

4. An operator may not work at the same tempo

throughout the cycle. A Time study permits
separate performance ratings to be applied to
each element of the job.

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Rules for Dividing an
Operation into Elements
 All manual work may be divided into fundamental
hand motions or therbligs. These subdivisions are
short in duration to be timed with a stopwatch. A
number of them, therefore, must be grouped together
into elements of sufficient length.

 The following rules should be followed:

 The elements should be as short in duration as can be
accurately timed.
 Handling time should be separated from machine time.
 Constant elements should be separated from variable
elements.
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Taking and Recording Data
 The three most common methods of reading and
stopwatch are:
 Continuous timing
 The observer starrs the watch at the beginning of the first
element and permits it to run continuously during the period of
the study. The observer notes the reading of the watch at the end
of each element and records this reading on the observation
sheet.
 Repetitive timing
 The watch are snapped back to zero at the end of each
element.
 Accumulative timing
 Direct rading of the time for each element by the use of two stop
watches which are connected by a lever mechanism in such a
way that when the first watch is started, the second watch is
automatically stopped, and when the second watch is started the
first is stopped.
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Breakdown into Elements and
Cycle Time Calculation

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 Number of Cycles to be Timed

 If precision is 5%:
N’ = required number of
2
2 N = actual number of

N  X   X 

observations of the element
 40 2
observations of the element

N 


X 

X = each stop watch reading or
individual observation

 If precision is 10%:
2

 20 N  X 2   X


N   


 X 2

 26
Rating
 As the time study analyst records the data, the analyst
is also evaluating the operator’s speed in relation to
his opinion of normal speed for such an operation.

 Later, the rating factor will be applied to this

“representative time” to obtain the normal time for
the element.

 A common method is for the analyst to determine a

rating factor for the operation as a whole.

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Selecting the Operator to be Timed

 If more than one person is performing the same operation,

the Time study analyst, as a custom, times the operator
working at nearest to normal pace.

 Because a rating factor is used to evaluate the operator’s

speed, theoretically it makes no difference whether the
slowest or fastest operator is timed. However, it is
admittedly more difficult to rate correctly the performance
of a very slow operator.

 It is not desirable to time a beginner, because the method is

seldom the same as it will be when he/she has attained
greater proficiency through experience on the job.

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