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Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing vocabulary · Work Study and Time Measurement

Work study

Meaning in industrial engineering & manufacturing, with examples

nounCommon term

In industrial engineering & manufacturing, work study means: The systematic study of how work is done, using method study and work measurement, to find better methods and set fair time standards.

In Turkish: iş etüdü

How it is used

A classic industrial engineering term, used in courses and in plants with a work study or IE department. It has two parts: method study (how the job should be done) and work measurement (how long it should take). Its roots go back to Taylor and the Gilbreths.

Example sentences

  1. A work study of the loading area showed that drivers spent 30% of their time waiting.

  2. Before we buy another machine, let's do a proper work study of the current method.

Common collocations

  • carry out a work study
  • work study engineer
  • method study
  • work measurement
  • time studyA 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.
  • motion studyThe detailed study of the body movements a worker uses to do a task, in order to remove unnecessary movements and find an easier, faster method.
  • 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.
  • work samplingA work measurement method that uses many random, short observations to estimate what share of time people or machines spend on different activities.

More terms: Work Study and Time Measurement

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