Work Measurement / Time Study

Work measurement is concerned with the determination of the amount of time required

to perform a unit of work. Work measurement is very important for promoting productivity of an

organization. It enables management to compare alternate methods and also to do initial

staffing. Work measurement provides basis for proper planning.

Since it is concerned with the measurement of time it is also called ‘Time Study’. The

exact examination of time is very essential for correct pricing. To find the correct manufacturing

time for a product, time study is performed. To give competitive quotations, estimation of

accurate labour cost is very essential. It becomes a basis for wage and salary administration

and devising incentive schemes.

Work measurement has been defined by British Standard Institution as, “The application

of techniques designed to establish the time for a qualified worker to carry out a specified job at

a defined level of performance”. This time is called standard or allowed time. Time study may

also be defined as “the art of observing and recording the time required to do each detailed

element of an industrial operation”. (http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/engineering-

economics/work-measurement-definition-objectives-and-techniques/21707)

Techniques of Work Measurement

Work measurement is investigating and eliminating ineffective time. It not only reveals

the existence of ineffective time. But it can be used to set standard times for carrying out the

work so that ineffective time does not evolve later. It will be immediately found out by the

increased standard time. For the purpose of work measurement, work may be regarded as

repetitive work and non-repetitive work.

The principal techniques of work measurement are classified under the following heads:

1. Time Study

2. Work Sampling

3. Pre-determined Motion Time System

4. Analytical Estimating

(http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/engineering-economics/work-measurement-definition-

objectives-and-techniques/21707)

Out of all these, only the time study technique is widely used because others are complicated in

nature.

Time study as ‘a technique for determining as accurately as possible from a limited

number of observations, the time necessary to carry out a given activity at a defined standard of

performance’. For carrying out a time study, equipment’s such as stopwatch, study board,

pencils, slide rule, etc. are required.

(http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/organization/work-measurement-techniques-of-work-

measurement/45043)

Fundamental Procedure of Measurement

The following steps are necessary for carrying out a time study for the measurement of

work:
a. To collect and complete all available information about the job, which should also include the

surrounding conditions and also the attributes of the operators, which are likely to affect the

work.

b. To record the details of the methods and also to break down different operations into their

elements

c. To record the time taken by the operators to perform the operation (element-wise) measuring

preferably with a timing device such as a stopwatch

d. To assess the working speed of the operators by comparing the same with a predetermined

normal speed

e. To convert the observed time to normal time

f. To decide the rate of allowances that may be given over and above the normal time of the

operation

g. To determine the allowed time for operation

(http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/organization/work-measurement-techniques-of-work-

measurement/45043)