Time Studies

Dr. Divya

Time study topics

What are they?

What can you accomplish with them?

What methods and equipment do you need?
What do data sheets (for recording times) look like?

How many observations do you need?

How do you calculate allowances and standard times (ST)?

Introduction
Work measurement is the application of techniques

designed to establish the time for a qualified worker to

carry out specified jobs at a defined level of performance.
We have seen how total time to manufacture a product is
increased by:
adding undesirable features to product,
bad operation of the processes, and
ineffective time added because of worker and management.
All this leads to decreased productivity.

Time Studies
Time studies are:
Observations of work and the time it takes to perform it.
Method of determining a fair days work.

Frederick Taylor popularized times studies in the late 1800s.

Founder of the modern time study.

Work is divided into elements which are timed.

Time Study Methods

Time studies can be conducted with simply, low-cost

equipment:

Stop watch (or other time recording devices: time study board,

computer, etc.)
Video and/or audio tape,
Time study forms, and other written notes,

Time study often combined with motion study (e.g.

additionally looks at how motions are made)

Early studies analyzed physical work, but many of the
principles/methods apply equally well to analysis of
cognitive work (e.g. using verbal protocol studies.)

Functions of Time Studies

Establish work standards: e.g. recommended times in which

tasks should be completed by qualified, trained operators,

without excessive fatigue,
Set expectations which are fair to both employee and company.
Identify sources of error, difficulties, sub-optimal aspects,
Improve existing processes, tools, or work environments,

Functions of Work Standards

Establish reasonable productivity targets for experienced

workers,
Provide productivity goals for training purposes,
Eliminate waste,
Make processes more consistent,
Reduce variability, improve quality.

Establishing Work Standards

Need to use work measurement procedures (e.g. time

studies) to set accurate work standards.

Data must be specific to a particular
process,

work environment,
tool set and
operator population

Estimates that are not based on data may not be sufficiently

accurate for setting standards which have a large impact on

company and employees.

Preparing for a Time Study

The steps in the process studied must already be standardized; e.g.

sequences have been determined.

Operator must be fully qualified, trained, and acquainted with
standardized process being studied.
Must inform supervisor, union steward, department head.
Make sure all materials are available for the process.

Time Study Procedure

Select operator(s)
Break task down into elements (before you start study)
Observe operators performing task: record time taken for

each element, over several cycles.

Assign appropriate allowances (e.g. allow time for necessary
but non-productive activities, such as rest, cleaning eyeglasses, etc.
Determine appropriate work standards.

Selecting an Operator
Get supervisor to help in identifying appropriate

operators,
Ideally, you want someone qualified, trained and very
familiar with process (may need to provide training
before study) if your goal is to set standards.
Prefer an average or slightly above average operator.
Sometimes you have no choice of operator only one
person is available who does the job.

Divide Task into Elements

Work Element: a group of motions that is relevant to the

experimenters study objectives.

(For cognitive work, divide verbal protocol into utterances
roughly equivalent to a single thought.)
Watch for several cycles (before study starts) to identify useful
work elements for the task.
Look for easily identifiable start and end signals, often auditory or
visual. Examples:
The clink of a part being set on the fixture,
Setting a cup on the counter in front of the customer,
The moment when a customers hand touches the credit card as the cashier

hands it back.

Divide task into elements (cont)

This is not so easy to do!
Preparatory observations: Devote a half hour or so to observation
of the task: start to identify relevant operations, and practice
recording them.
Data sheets: Create a spread sheet or recording scheme to help
you record elements quickly and easily.
Work element revisions: new elements may keep popping up over
several days! You may also find that two or more elements should
really be combined. Example: for cashiers, cleaning and
organizing, chatting with co-workers are just different ways of
waiting for customers.
Level of abstraction. The size of the divisions between elements
depend on what you need to do in the analysis.

Record Significant Information

Time Study Observation form

Also useful to record:

provides space for:

Study date

Observer Name
Operator Name
Department,
Study Start Time
Study End Time

Machines

Jigs, fixtures
Working conditions
Sketch of work area layout

Positioning Observer
Stand slightly behind operator, usually easier than sitting

easier to follow movements of operator or get out of way).

Try not to distract or interfere with operator.
Avoid distracting conversation that may upset routines.

Divide Task into Elements

Smallest unit that can be accurately timed is about 0.04

minutes (approx 2 to 3 sec).

Breakpoints: use sound and sight both to identify breakpoints
between elements, (e.g. sound of a part clinking in finished
bin, sound of a latch clicking shut, etc.)

Example
Caribou coffee study: Corporate Goals
Stated goals: To streamline operations so that employees

will have more time to interact with the customers.

Additional benefits: customers will be happier if they do
not have to wait as long.

Example
Caribou coffee study: Analysts Goals
To understand how long each activity took,
To identify what typical processes were,
To streamline processes, where possible,
To set work performance standards, and customer

expectations,
How long should customers expect to wait for a cup of coffee?
How should performance of stores be assessed?

What performance goals should trainees aim for?

Identifying work elements

It can take several hours or days of observation to identify all

work elements and to come up with a consistent naming.

New elements may keep appearing, over time,

Two methods for recording element

times
Snapback method: after recording the end of an

operations, snapback or reset the stopwatch to zero.

Advantages: dont need to compute element duration,

dont need to record delays or foreign elements.

Disadvantages: may loose some time during snapback
Continuous method: Start timer at zero at start of all

observations, let it run continuously. Record elapsed

time at element breakpoints.

Advantages: all time is recorded, operators and unions like that,

makes method easy to sell,

Disadvantages: may take more computational effort

Data recording sheets

You may need to devise data recording sheets that fit the

study goals, the task and the type of data.

You may use the example data recording sheets in the
book, but they are not meant to fit all situations,
Examples:
Recording a fixed sequence of operations.
Recording a variable sequence of operations,
Recording arrival and wait times in a line,

Recording a
fixed sequence
of operations
Repeated cycles of
the sequence

Foreign Elements

Examples of Data Recording Sheets:

for recording operations that happen in an unpredictable order:
custom assembly of one-off products

Time and Motion Study. Site 2: Regular Machine

Barista: employee observations

Page

Friday, mo/day/year

2.35

3.56

4.31

5:04

5:23

5:42

Op

Wash

Fill

Steam

Wait

Pour C

Check M

5:55

6:14

6:21

7:55

Op

Pour M

Finish

Place

Super.

T
Op

Examples of data recording sheets:

for sampling length of time customers wait in a line
Time and Motion Study. Site 3: Drive Thru

page ________

Coffee Order Line: customer observations

Date ____, 20__

Entry clock
time (in min
and
second)
when car
enters line
or turns
away

Short description
(color, type:
sedan, station
wagon, SUV,
pick-up, etc.)

"X" if car
turns
away
from line
or exits
line
prematur
ely

No# already
in first
part of
line.

Order Clock
Time (in min
and
seconds)
when car
stops at
order kiosk.

Other types of data

Chanhassen: Customer Arrival Rates

50
39

38

40

39

32

30

28

27

23

20

20
10

Tim e

0:
30
-1
10

9:
30

-9

:5
9

:2
9
-9
9:
00

8:
30

-8

:5
9

:2
9
-8
8:
00

7:
30

-7

:5
9

:2
9
-7
7:
00

-6

:5
9

6:
30

Number# Entering Cashier Line

Ave. for 1/30/06 and 1/31/06, 6:30 - 10:30 AM

How many cycles should be observed?

There are several ways of estimating the number of cycles that
should be observed in order to obtain accurate standard:
The statistical method.
The General Electric (G.E.) method,

The Statistical Method

Estimate numbers of observations required

The Statistical Method

Estimate numbers of observations required

Procedure: it takes two steps to calculate sample size:

1.

Pilot study: Take small set of observations or use historical data to

estimate the parameters:

2.

Mean OT: xp (mean operation time observed in the pilot study), use xp as
an estimate of x for the full scale study
Sample standard deviation, s.

Full scale study. Use these parameters to calculate sample size of a

larger study.

Example
Estimation of number of Observations

Example (continued)
Estimation of number of Observations
1.

Full scale study: how many observations of an element do you need to take in a larger
time study, in order be 95% confident that your measurement of x is within k = 5% of
the true value?
k = 5% (acceptable error)
= 1 confidence level = 1 - .95 = .05
From pilot study we estimated: xp = xi = 0.30, s =0.09
Now you need to look up t. You can look up t if you know and the degrees of
freedom (d.o.f):
d.o.f. = np - 1 = 25 1 = 24

n=

t s
kx

2.064 x 0.09 2 = 153.3 observations

0.05 x 0.30

(round up to integer)

The t-distribution
Alpha,

Degrees of
freedom,
d.o.f.

d.o.f = 24

t = 2.064

The General Electric (G.E.) Method

Assumes more error in smaller measurements not much attention
to typical variability in the operation itself)

Using the data

from our in-class pilot study

Task: collating & stapling 3 sheets of paper

Operations:

Assemble sheets 1, 2, 3
2. Hand-off/Align/Staple
Can you the data from our in-class pilot study to estimate no#
observations needed to insure that we are:
1.

95% confident ( = 0.05) that our answer is within:

10% error (k=.10)

Time Study Data Sheet

Process: Collating and Stapling

Day: Wed. November 17, 2010

Start time: 11:14 AM

Location: Room 108, Mechanical Engineering Bldg., Minneapolis, MN

cycle

Operation 1

Operation 2

Average

5.0

4.0

StDev

0.7

1.2

Calculate n, sample size needed for

operation 1
xp = 5.0
s = 0.71
k = 0.10 (10% error); Let alpha = 0.05
n=
t s 2 =
? *0.71 2
k xp
.10 * 5.0
What value should we use for t?

Calculate n, sample size needed for

operation 1
xp = 5.0
s = 0.71
k = 0.10 (10% error); Let alpha = 0.05
n = t s 2 = 2.776 * 0.71 2 = 15.4 obs.
k xp
0.10 * 5.0
What if we decrease k to 5% ?

Calculate n, sample size needed for

operation 1
xp = 5.0
s = 0.71
k = 0.05 (5% error)
n = t s 2 = 2.776 * 0.71
k xp
0.05 * 5.0

= 62.7 obs.

The no# of observations greatly increases!

Foreign Elements
A foreign element is one that does not explicitly belong

in the sequence
Typically one subtracts them from observations (when
possible) to get a more true time.
Examples:

Worker has to adjust glasses,

Must speak to supervisor,
Rest break, lunch break,
Equipment search: must find new wrench.

Foreign Elements
Some foreign elements can be eliminated,
But others cannot or should not be:
Foreign elements can an idea of how much extra time (e.g.

allowances) is reasonable to allow in an operation.

Allowances
Allowances refers to extra time allowed, beyond completion

of the task itself

Some allowances are necessary for health and long term
efficiency (like rest breaks),
Others are pragmatically necessary, (like time for picking up
dropped tools or consulting with supervisor)
The allowances are categorized as:
Relaxation allowance
Interference allowance
Contingency allowance

Computing Standard Times

A standard time is a combination of:
The time it takes to complete a task
Allowances.

This approach recognizes that it is not possible to work at top

efficiency all day, all the time.

Methods for computing standard times

Method 1: Add in allowances: compute required rest.

ST = NT + NT x allowance
= NT (1 + allowance)
Method 2: Compute allowances as a % of task time.

ST = NT / (1 allowance)

ST = Standard Time: the time in which you expect workers to complete an operation
NT = Normal Time: time required to complete an operation for a given operator
OT = Mean Observed Time to complete an operation (from time study).
For an experienced operator who works at a 100% rate (R), OT = NT, and
NT = OT x R/100 where R = the performance rating of the operator.

Example: Method 1
Suppose that your time study shows that it takes 3.5

minutes on average to complete a task. Rule of thumb

for manual tasks: 15% allowances.
ST = NT + (NT * allowance)
= 3.5 min + (3.5 min * .15)
= 3.5 min + 0.525 min
= 4.03 minutes.

Experienced operators will be expected to complete the

task in this time.