Unit 2 - Industrial Engineering & Ergonomics - WWW - Rgpvnotes.in
Unit 2 - Industrial Engineering & Ergonomics - WWW - Rgpvnotes.in
Unit 2 - Industrial Engineering & Ergonomics - WWW - Rgpvnotes.in
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Subject Name: Industrial Engineering & Ergonomics
Subject Code: ME-504
Semester: 5th
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Notes on Work Study & Ergonomics: Unit II (Work Measurement)
Introduction
Work measurement refer to the estimation of standard time, that is the time allowed for completing
one piece of job using the given method. This is the time taken by an average experienced worker for
the job with provisions for delays beyond the workers control.
There are several techniques used for estimation of standard time in industry. These include time
study, work sampling, standard data, and predetermined time systems.
Definition:
Time study is a technique to estimate the time to be allowed to a qualified and well-trained worker
working at a normal pace to complete a specified task.
This technique is based on measuring the work content of the task when performed by the prescribed
method, with the allowance for fatigue and for personal and unavoidable delays.
Objectives and Applications:
Standard times for different operations in industry are useful for several applications like-
• Estimating material machinery and equipment requirements.
• Estimating the production cost per unit as an input to
Preparation of budgets
Determination of selling price
Make or buy decision
• Estimating manpower requirements.
• Estimating delivery schedules and planning the work
• Balancing the work of operators working in a group.
• Estimating performance of workers and use as basis for incentive payment to those direct and
in director labor who show greater productivity.
Time Study is the most versatile and the most widely used.
Time Study Equipment
The following equipment is needed for time study work.
Timing device
Time study observation sheet
Time study observation board
Other equipment
Timing Device
The stop watch and the electronic timer are the most widely used timing devices used for time
study. The two perform the same function with the difference that electronics timer can measure
time to the second or third decimal of a second and can keep a large volume of time data in
memory.
Time Study Observation Sheet
It is a printed form with space provided for nothing down the necessary information about the
operation being studied like name of operation, drawing number, name of the operator, name of
time study person, and the date and place of study. Space are provided in the form for writing
detailed description of the process (element-wise), recording stop-watch readings for each element
of the process, performance rating(s) of the operator, and computation.
Time Study Board
It is a light -weight board used for holding the observation sheet and stopwatch in position. It is of
size slightly larger than that of observation sheet used. Generally, the watch is mounted at the
center of the top edge near the upper right-hand corner of the board. The board has a clamp to
hold the observation sheet. During the time study, the board is held against the body and the
upper left arm by the time study person in such a way that the watch could be operated by the
thumb/index finger of the left hand. Watch readings are recorded on the observation sheet by the
right hand.
Other Equipment
This includes pencil, eraser and device like tachometer for checking the speed (rpm), etc.
Step 9: Determine allowances for various delays from the company's policy book or by conducting an
independent study.
Step 10: Determine standard time by adding allowances to the normal time of operation.
Standard time = Normal time + allowances
Performance Rating
During the time study, time study engineer carefully observes the performance of the operator. This
performance seldom conforms to the exact definition of normal or standard. Therefore, it becomes
necessary to apply some 'adjustment' to the mean observed time to arrive at the time that the normal
operator would have needed to do that job when working at an average pace. This 'adjustment' is
called Performance Rating.
Determination of performance rating is an important step in the work measurement procedures. It is
based entirely on the experience, training, and judgment of the work-study engineer. It is the step
most subjective and therefore is subject to criticism.
It is the procedure in which the time study engineer compares the performance of operator(s) under
observation to the Normal Performance and determines a factor called Rating Factor.
System of Rating
There are several systems of rating, the performance of operator on the job. These are
1. Pace Rating
2. Westinghouse System of Rating
3. Objective Rating
4. Synthetic Rating
Pace Rating
Under this system, performance is evaluated by considering the rate of accomplishment of the work
per unit time. The study person measures the effectiveness of the operator against the concept of
normal performance and then assigns a percentage to indicate the ratio of the observed performance
to normal or standard performance.
In this method, which is also called the speed rating method, the time study person judges the
operators speed of movements, i.e. the rate at which he is applying himself, or in other words "how
fast" the operator the motions involved.
Westinghouse System of Rating
This method considers four factors in evaluating the performance of the operator: Skill, effort,
conditions and Consistency.
Skill may be defined as proficiency at following a given method. It is demonstrated by co ordination of
mind and hands. A person's skill in given operation increases with his experience on the job, because
increased familiarity with work bring speed, smoothness of motions and freedom from hesitations.
The Westinghouse system lists six classes of skill as poor fair, average, good, excellent in a Table1. The
time study person evaluates the skill displayed by the operator and puts it in one of the six classes. As
equipment % value of each class of skill is provided in the table, the rating is translated into its
equivalent percentage value, which ranges from +15 % (for super skill) to -22 % (for poor skill).
In a similar fashion, the ratings for effort, conditions, and consistency are given using Table2 for each of the
factors. By algebraically combining the ratings with respect to each of the four factors, the final performance-
rating factor is estimated.
Objective Rating
In this system, speed of movements and job difficulty are rated separately and the two estimates are combined
into a single value. Rating of speed or pace is done as described earlier, and the rating of job difficulty is done by
selecting adjustment factors corresponding to characteristics of operation with respect to (i) amount of body
used, (ii) foot pedals, (iii) bimanual ness, (iv) eye-hand co ordination, (v) handling requirements and (vi) weight
handled or resistance encountered Mundel and Danner have given Table3 of % values (adjustment factor) for
the effects of various difficulties in the operation performed.
For an operation under study, the numerical value for each of the six factors is assigned, and the algebraic sum
of the numerical values called job difficulty adjustment factor is estimated.
The rating factor R can be expressed as
R=PxD
Where : P = Pace rating factor
Synthetic Rating
This method of rating has two main advantages over other methods that (i) it does not rely on the judgment of
the time study person and (ii) it gives consistent results.
The time study is made as usual. Some manually controlled elements of the work cycle are selected. Using a
PMT system (Pre-determined motion time system), the times for these elements are determined. The times of
these elements are the performance factor is determined for each of the selected elements.
Performance or Rating Factor, R = P / A
Where, P = Predetermined motion time of the element, A = Average actual Observed time of the
element.
The overall rating factor is the mean of rating factors determined for the selected elements, which is applied
uniformly to all the manually controlled elements of the work cycle.
Example
A work cycle has been divided into 8 elements and time study has been conducted. The average observed times
for the elements are as:
Element No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Element Type M M P M M M M M
Average actual time (minutes) 0.14 0.16 0.3 0.52 0.26 0.45 0.34 0.15
Element No. 2 5 8
PMT System times(mins) 0.145 0.255 0.14
Element No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Element Type M M P M M M M M
Average actual time(min) 0.14 0.16 0.3 0.52 0.26 0.45 0.34 0.15
PMT system time(min) 0.145 0.255 0.14
Performance Rating
95 95 100 95 95 95 95 95
Factor
Delay Allowance
This time allowance is given to an operator for the numerous interruptions that he experiences every
day during the course of his work. These interruptions include interruptions from the supervisor,
inspector, planners, expediters, fellow workers, production personnel and others. This allowance also
Special Allowance
These allowances are given under certain special circumstances. Some of allowances and the
conditions under which they are given are:
Small Lot Allowance: This allowance is given when the actual production period is too short to allow
the worker to come out of the initial learning period. When an operator completes several small-lot
jobs on different setups during the day, an allowance as high as 15 percent may be given to allow the
operator to make normal earnings.
Training Allowance: This allowance is provided when work is done by trainee to allow him to make
reasonable earnings. It may be a sliding allowance, which progressively decreases to zero over certain
length of time. If the effect of learning on the job is known, the rate of decrease of the training
allowance can be set accordingly.
Rework Allowance: This allowance is provided on certain operation when it is known that some
present of parts made are spoiled due to factors beyond the operator's control. The time in which
these spoiled parts may be reworked is converted into allowance.
Different organizations have decided upon the amount of allowances to be given to different operators
by taking help from the specialists / consultants in the field and through negotiations between the
management and the trade unions. ILO has given its recommendations about the magnitude of various
allowances.
Example:
In making a time study of a laboratory technician performing an analysis of processed food in a canning
factory, the following times were noted for a particular operation.
Run 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Operation time(sec.) 21 21 16 19 20 16 20 19 19 20 40 19
Run 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Operation time(sec.) 21 18 23 19 15 18 18 19 21 20 20 19
If the technician's performance has been rated at 120 percent, and the company policy for allowance
(personal, fatigue, etc.) stipulates 13 percent,
(i) Determine the normal time.
(ii)Determine the standard time.
Watch readings falling 50 % above and 25 % below the average may be considered as abnormal.
Ans :
Work Sampling
Work Sampling (also sometimes called ratio delay study) is a technique of getting facts about utilization
of machines or human beings through a large number of instantaneous observations taken at
random time intervals. The ratio of observations of a given activity to the total observations
approximates the percentage of time that the process is in that state of activity. For example, if 500
instantaneous observations taken at random intervals over a few weeks show that a lathe operator
was doing productive work in 365 observations and in the remaining 135 observations he was found
'idle' for miscellaneous reasons, then it can be taken that the operator remains idle (135/500) x 100
= 27 % 0f the time. Obviously, the accuracy of the result depends on the number of observations.
However, in most applications there is usually a limit beyond which greater accuracy of data is not
economically worthwhile.
Use of Work Sampling for Standard Time Determination
Work sampling can be very useful for establishing time standards on both direct and indirect labor
jobs. The procedure for conducting work sampling study for determining standard time of a job can
be described step-wise.
Sampling Procedure:
Step 1. Define the problem. (i) Describe the job for which the standard time is to be determined. (ii)
Unambiguously State and discriminate between the two classes of activities of operator on the job:
what are the activities of job with which if operator is found engaged would entitle him to be in
'working" state. This would imply that when operator will be found engaged in any activity other
than those would entitle him to be in "Not Working" state.
Step 2. Design the Sampling plan. (i) Estimate satisfactory number of observations to be made. (ii)
Decide on the period of study, e.g. two days, one week, etc. (iii) Prepare detailed plan for taking the
observations. This will include observation schedule, exact method of observing, design of
observation sheet route to be followed, the particular person to be observed at the observation
time, etc.
Step 3. Contact the person concerned and take them in confidence regarding conduct of the study.
Step 4. Collect the data at the pre-decided random times.
We will now briefly discuss some important issues involved in the procedure.
Number of Observations
As we know, results of study based on larger number of observations are more accurate, but taking
more and more observation consumes time and thus is costly. A cost-benefit trade-off has thus to
be struck. In practice, the following methods are used for estimation of the number of observation
to be made.
(i) Based on judgment. The study person can decide the necessary number of observations based on
his judgment. The correctness of the number may be in doubt but estimate is often quick and
adequate in many cases.
(ii) Using cumulative plot of results. As the study progresses the results of the proportion of time
devotedto the given activity, i.e. Pi from the cumulative number of observations are plotted at the
end of each shift or day. A typical plot is shown in Figure4. Since the accuracy of the result improves
with increasing number of observation, the study can be continued until the cumulative Pi appears
to stabilize and collection of further data seems to have negligible effect on the value of Pi.
(iii) Use of statistics. In this method, by considering the important of the decision to be based on the
results of study, a maximum tolerable sampling error in terms of confidence level and desired
accuracy in the results is specified. A pilot study is then made in which a few observations are taken
to obtain a preliminary estimate of Pi. The numbers of observations N necessary are then calculated
using the following expression
The number of observations estimated from the above relation using a value of Pi obtained from a
preliminary study would be only a first estimate. In actual practice, as the work sampling study
proceeds, say at the end of each day, a new calculation should be made by using increasingly reliable
value of Pi obtained from the cumulative number of observations made.
Determination of Observation Schedule
The number of instantaneous observations to be made each day mainly depends upon nature of
operation. For example, for non-repetitive operations or for operations in which some elements occur
in frequently, it is advisable to take observations more frequently so that the chance of obtaining all
the facts improves. It also depends on the availability of time with the person making the study. In
general, about 50 observations per day is a good figure. The exact (random) schedule of the
observations is prepared by using random number table or any other technique.
Design of Observation Sheet
A sample observation sheet for recording the data with respect to whether at the pre-decided time,
the worker on job is in 'working' state or 'non-working' state is shown in figure5. It contains the
relevant information about the job, the operators on job, etc. At the end of each day, calculation can
be done on the percent of time workers on the job (on an average) spend on activities, which are
considered as part of the work method.
Standard Time Determination
In this method of work measurement, the observed time for a given job is estimated as the working
time divided by the number of units produced during that time.
The normal time (NT) is found by multiplying the observed time by the average performing index
(rating factor).
Example
A work sampling study was made of a cargo loading operation for the purpose of developing its
standard time. The study was conducted for duration of minutes during which 3000, 1500
instantaneous observations were made at random intervals. The results of study indicated that the
worker on the job was working 80 percent of the time and loaded 360 pieces of cargo during the study
period. The work analyst rated the performance at 90 %. If the management wishes to permit a 13 %
allowance for fatigue, delays and personal time, what is the standard time of this operation?
Ans:
Here, Total period = 1500 minutes
Working fraction = 80 percent
Average rating = 90 percent
Number of units loaded = 360
Allowances = 13 %
Disadvantage
1. Work sampling is not economical for the study of a single operator or operation or machine.
Also, work-sampling study may be uneconomical for studying operators or machines located
over wide areas.
2. Work sampling study does not provide elemental time data.
3. The operator may change his work pattern when he sees the observer. For instance, he may try
to look productive and make the results of study erroneous.
4. No record is usually made of the method being used by the operator Therefore a new study has
to be made when a method change occurs in any element of operation.
5. Compared to stop watch time study, the statistical approach of work sampling study is difficult
to understand by workers.
(iii) Estimation of manpower, equipment and space requirements prior to setting up the facilities and
start of production.
(iv) Developing tentative work layouts for assembly line prior to their working.
(v) Checking direct time study results.
A number of PMTS are in use, some of which have been developed by individual organizations for their
own use, while other organizations have publicized for universal applications.
The following are commonly used PMT systems
Work factor (1938)
Method Time Measurement (1948)
Basic Motion Time (1951)
Dimension Motion Time (1954)
Limitations
There are two main limitations to the use of PMT system for establishing time standards.
These are:
(i) its application to only manual contents of job and
(ii) the need of trained personnel.
Although PMT system eliminates the use of rating, quite a bit of judgment is still necessarily exercised
at different stages.
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