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The major goal of work sampling is to determine how long, or how much of the
work day, is spent on specific types of work.
Work sampling may identify the fact that certain operators spend a large
portion of their time waiting for work, or performing paperwork tasks, or even
performing activities that are not included in their job descriptions.
One of the basic foundations of statistical sampling theory is the concept that
the larger the sample size, the results will be more accurate.
sure that the results accurately summarize the work performed. There are
statistical formulas to help determine how many observations should be made.
CONDUCTING A STUDY
It is recommended that a uniform procedure should be
must be established. Starting and stopping points for the study must
be defined as well.
After the work elements are defined, the number of observations for
the desired accuracy at the desired confidence level must be
determined. If a reasonable guess cannot be made, then a trial study
of perhaps 20 to 40 observations should be made to get an estimate.
tossing a coin.
The law of probability says that we are likely to have 50 heads and 50 tails
in every 100 tosses of the coin. The greater the number of tosses, the more
chance we have of arriving at a ratio of 50 heads to 50 tails.
The size of the sample is therefore important, and we can express our
then record the number of times we have heads and the number of times
we have tails for each toss of these five coins. Let us then repeat this
operation 100 times.
To make things easier, it is more convenient to speak of a 95 per cent confidence level than of a
95.45 per cent confidence level.
In this case we can say that if we take a large sample at random we can be confident that in 95 per
cent of the cases our observations will fall within 1.96 p
Let us assume that some 100 observations were carried out as a preliminary study
and at random, and that these showed the machine to be idle in 25 per cent of
the cases (p = 25) and to be working 75 per cent of the time (q = 75).
We thus have approximate values for p and q; in order now to determine the
value of n.
Let us choose a confidence level of 95 per cent with a 10 per cent margin of error
(that is, we are confident that in 95 per cent of the cases our estimates will be
10 per cent of the real value).
Nomogram
method
An easier way to
determine sample
size is to read off
the number of
observations
needed directly
from a nomogram
such as the one
reproduced
in figure 91.
closing our eyes and placing a pencil point somewhere on the table. Let us assume
that in this case we pick, by simple chance, the number 11 which is in the second
block, fourth column, fourth row (table 12).
We now choose any number between 1 and 10. Assume that we choose the
number 2; we now go down the column picking out every second reading and
noting it down, as shown below (if we had chosen the number 3, we should pick
out every third figure, and so on).
11 38 45 87 68 20 11 26 49 05
Looking at these numbers, we find that we have to discard 87, 68 and 49 because they are
too high (since we have only 48 ten-minute periods, any number above 48 has to be
discarded).
Similarly, the second 11 will also have to be discarded since it is a number that has already
been picked out. We therefore have to continue with our readings to replace the four
numbers we have discarded. Using the same method, that is choosing every second number
after the last one (05), we now have 14 15 47 22
These four numbers are within the desired range and have not appeared before. Our final
selection may now be arranged numerically and the times of observation throughout the
eight-hour day worked out. Thus our smallest number (05) represents the fifth ten-minute
period after the work began at 7 a.m. Thus our first observation will be at 7.50 a.m., and so
on (table 13).
We can, however, extend this simple model to try to find out the cause of the stoppage
of the machine:
sampling study.
selecting the job to be studied and determining the objectives of
the study;
making a preliminary observation to determine the approximate
measurement techniques
Usually not practical to study a single subject
Work sampling provides less detailed information about work
elements than DTS or PMTS
Since work sampling deals with multiple subjects, individual
differences will be missed
Workers may be suspicious because they do not understand the
statistical basis of work sampling