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Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing vocabulary · Work Study and Time Measurement

Time study

Meaning in industrial engineering & manufacturing, with examples

nounCommon term

In industrial engineering & manufacturing, time study means: A work measurement method in which an analyst times a trained worker doing a task many times, usually with a stopwatch or video, to set a standard time.

In Turkish: zaman etüdü

How it is used

Engineers carry out a time study, break the job into elements, record observed times and then apply a performance rating and allowances. Workers should be told about the study in advance. The method is linked to Frederick Taylor.

Example sentences

  1. We did a time study on the new harness assembly: 20 cycles of eight elements each.

  2. The time study showed that element 5, fitting the clip, takes the longest.

Common collocations

  • carry out a time study
  • stopwatch time study
  • time study sheet
  • time study results
  • standard timeThe time a trained worker working at a normal pace needs to do a task, including allowances for rest, personal needs and small delays.
  • performance ratingIn time study, the analyst's judgment of how fast a worker is working compared with a normal pace, used to turn observed time into normal time.
  • allowanceExtra time added to the normal time of a task to cover rest, personal needs and unavoidable delays, usually given as a percentage.
  • work studyThe systematic study of how work is done, using method study and work measurement, to find better methods and set fair time standards.
  • cycle timeThe time it takes to complete one unit or one full round of a task at a machine or workstation, from start to finish.

More terms: Work Study and Time Measurement

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