A|B|C|D|E|F|H|I|J|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W
A
Acceptable Productivity Level (APL) – The work pace established by management, or jointly by management and labor, at a level considered satisfactory; it is established at a given relationship to the motivated productivity level (MPL).
See Normal Performance and Motivated Productivity Level
Actual Time – The unadjusted time to accomplish a defined task or task element as obtained by a timing device.
Synonym: observed time.
Allowance – A time value or percentage of time by which the normal time is increased, or the amount of non-productive time applied to compensate for justifiable causes or policy requirements. The normal time plus allowances equal the standard time. Usually includes irregular elements, incentive opportunity on machine controlled time, minor unavoidable delays, rest time to overcome fatigue, and time for personal needs.
Allowed Time – A normal time value increased by an appropriate allowance(s).
See Standard Time
Analysis of Variance – A technique that subdivides the total variation of a set of data into meaningful component parts associated with specific sources of variation for the purpose of testing some hypotheses on the parameters of the model or estimating variance components.
ASQC Statistics Division. Glossary and Tables for Statistical Quality Control. 3rd ed. Milwaukee, Wis.: ASQC Quality Press, 1996.
Available Time – Total hours that assigned personnel are available to perform work.
Headquarters, Department of the Army. Manpower Staffing Standards System. (Army Regulation 570-5.) Washington, D.C: June 1989.
Avoidable Delay – A time delay not allowed in standard time calculations because it is unnecessary and is due to factors under worker control and responsibility.
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B
Base Period – The period of time established as the base from which to measure productivity changes in other periods of time.
Backlog – An accumulated workload volume, not yet processed. That portion of “work in progress” which is behind schedule or beyond the immediate capability of the processing organizations.
Ibid.
Breakpoint – (1) A point in a work cycle readily distinguished by sight and/ or sound which is selected as the boundary between two elements for time recording or element definition in motion study. (2) The value of workload (or person-hours) which separates differing levels of staffing requirements.
Ibid.
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C
Coefficient of Determination – A number between 0 and 1 that indicates the portion of the variation in the dependent (or response) variable is explained by the independent variable(s) in the regression model. A value of 0 indicates the model explains none of the variance in the dependent variable, while 1 means that all the variance has been explained.
See Regression Analysis and Regression Model
Wilkinson, Leland; Blank, Grant; and Gruber, Christian. Desktop Data Analysis with SYSTAT. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Correlation Coefficient – A number between -1 and 1 that indicates the degree of linear relationship between two sets of numbers. Correlations of -1 and +1 represent perfect liner agreement between two variables. A correlation of 0 implies no linear relationship at all.
ASQC Statistics Division. Glossary and Tables for Statistical Quality Control. 3rd ed. Milwaukee, Wis.: ASQC Quality Press, 1996.
Cycle – The complete sequence of activities, operations, and machine or process times required to complete one segment, unit, or batch of work.
See Motion Cycle and Work Cycle
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D
Day Work – Work for which pay is based on time worked as contrasted to pay based on performance.
Deferrable Work – Work required of the worker or group of workers that can be performed at a later time.
Synonym: transferable work.
Headquarters, Department of the Army. Manpower Staffing Standards System. (Army Regulation 570-5.) Washington, D.C: June 1989.
Delay – A pause or interruption in the scheduled work activity of the employee, machine, or product flow.
See Avoidable Delay and Unavoidable Delay
Synonyms: interruption, stoppage.
Delay Allowance – A time increment to allow for contingencies and minor delays beyond the control or responsibility of the worker; may be applied either as a percentage of normal time or as a discrete number of minutes per hour. Also referred to as “unavoidable delay allowance.”
Delay Time – A period during which an employee is idle due to breakdown of equipment, lack of tools or materials, or any other factor beyond control of the worker.
Did-take Time Standard – An established time standard based on historical data without the use of performance rating or benchmark references. A did-take standard is based on actual time taken to perform given tasks.
See Normal Performance and Should-take Time Standard
Direct Labor – (1) Work which is readily chargeable to or identifiable with a specific product or service. (2) Work performed on a product or service that advances the product or service towards its completion or objectives.
Direct Labor Standard – A standard time set on a direct labor operation.
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E
Effectiveness – (1) The ratio of earned hours to actual hours spent on prescribed tasks. When earned hours equal actual hours, the effectiveness equals 100%. (2) The ratio of standard, estimated, or budgeted performance to actual performance expressed as a percentage. (3) The performance or output received from an approach or program. Ideally it is a quantitative measure which can be used to evaluate the level of performance in relation to some standard, set of criteria, or end objective. (4) The extent to which the objectives are met. The statement of objectives must be substantive and quantitative or else it is a statement whose accomplishment cannot be evaluated. In the private sector this is affected, independently of productivity, by competition, the price indexes, the state of the economy, the tax structure, and the state-of-the-art. In the public sector it is affected, again independent of productivity by, among other factors, public acceptance, public cooperation, competing objectives, legal restraints, resources mad available, and the state-of-the-art.
See Efficiency, Labor
Effort – Physical and mental exertion/ energy required to perform a given job or task. A criterion or job factor of a job evaluation plan.
Effort Rating – An estimate of observed performance, normally expressed as a percentage of “normal” performance.
See Performance Rating
Efficiency, Labor – (1) The ratio of standard performance time to actual performance time, usually expressed as a percentage. (2) The ratio of actual performance numbers (e.g., the number of pieces) to standard performance numbers, usually expressed as a percentage.
See Productivity
Element – A subdivision of the work cycle composed of one or a sequence of several basic motions and/ or machine or process activities which is distinct, describable, and measurable.
Ergonomics – The study of the design of work in relation to the physiological and psychological capabilities of people. One of several terms used to define similar fields of interest; others are human engineering, human factors, and human factors engineering. Ergonomics has been used predominantly outside of the United States. The aim of the discipline is the evaluation and design of facilities, environments, jobs, training methods, and equipment to match the capabilities of users and workers, and thereby to reduce the potential for fatigue, error, or unsafe acts.
Estimating – A determination of the standard time required for a given amount of work, based upon an estimate made by individuals technically and professionally competent to judge the time required.
Synonym: technical estimating.
Headquarters, Department of the Army. Manpower Staffing Standards System. (Army Regulation 570-5.) Washington, D.C: June 1989.
Extrapolation – To infer from values within an observed interval, or to project or extend beyond observed data.
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F
Fair Day’s Work – The amount of work which is expected daily from an employee. May be established solely by management or through mutual agreement. May or may not be established through the use of various measurement techniques.
See Normal Performance
Synonym: expected attainment.
Fatigue – A psychological and physiological process that reduces the performance capacity and motivation of a worker. The magnitude of the effect varies with the stress induced on the worker resulting from the nature of the work, the work environment, and the physical taxing of the worker.
Fatigue Allowance – Time included in the production standard to allow for rest to overcome the effects of fatigue; may be applied either as a percentage of normal time or as a discrete number of non-productive minutes per hour.
See Allowance and Standard Time
Foreign Element – An element with a random, usually unpredictable, frequency of occurrence, not part of a normal method, usually accounted for by eliminating the element or by predicting the occurrence frequency and allowing elemental time prorated into the operation time.
Frequency – (1) The number of times a specified value occurs within a sample of several measurements of the same dimension or characteristics on several similar items. (2) In work measurement, the number of times an element occurs during an operation cycle.
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H
Historical Data – Method used to determine work times from past history of actual performance on jobs completed.
Ostwald, Phillip F. “Product Cost Analysis and Estimating.” Handbook of Industrial Engineering. Ed. Gavriel Salvendy. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001.
Human Factors Engineering – A merging of the branches of engineering and the behavioral sciences which are concerned principally with the human component in the design and operation of human-machine systems. Based on a fundamental knowledge and study of human physical and mental abilities and emotional characteristics.
See Ergonomics
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I
Idle Time – Time during which a worker is not working.
See Avoidable Delay, Unavoidable Delay, and Waiting Time
Indirect Labor – Labor which does not directly add to the value of a product or service but which must be performed to support its manufacture or delivery. Generally is not readily identifiable with a specific product or service.
Indirect Labor Standard – (1) An established standard of time for labor performed while rendering services necessary to production, the cost of which cannot be assessed against any part, product, or group of parts or products accurately or without undue effort and expense. (2) A standard time for indirect labor.
Industrial Engineering – The design, improvement, and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment, and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, to specify, predict, and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems.
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J
Job – (1) The combination of tasks, duties, and responsibilities assigned to an employee and usually considered as a normal or regular assignment. (2) The contents of a work order.
Job Standard – Time required to accomplish or produce a particular end product or service, or a group of products or services.
See Standard Time
Headquarters, Department of the Army. Manpower Staffing Standards System. (Army Regulation 570-5.) Washington, D.C: June 1989.
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L
Linear Programming – The concept of expressing the interrelationship of activities of a system in terms of a set of linear constraints in nonnegative variables. A program (i.e., values of the variables) is selected which satisfies the constraints and optimizes a linear objective function in these variables.
Loose Standard – A standard time greater than that required by a qualified worker with normal (average?) skill and effort, following a prescribed method and utilizing allowances for delays, personal needs, and rest.
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M
Measured Day Work – Work performed for a set hourly nonincentive wage where performance is compared to established production standards.
Mental Work – Work done principally by the mind: logical decision-making, such as sorting, classifying, or inspecting (monitoring); recalling (memory); and, calculation, such as performing mathematical or verbal operations and inductive policy or hypothesis formulation. The complexity may vary from elementary mental reactions to highly involved judgments based on a large number of variable factors.
Method – (1) The procedure or sequence of motions by workers and/ or machines used to accomplish a given operation or work task. (2) The sequence of operations and/ or processes used to produce a given product or accomplish a given job. (3) A specific combination of layout and working conditions; materials, equipment, and tools; and, motion patterns involved in accomplishing a given operation or task.
Minimum Staffing – The smallest number of personnel necessary to insure uninterrupted services, comply with governing policies and regulations, or otherwise meet management’s stated objectives even though assigned personnel may not be continuously productive.
See Standby Time
Ibid.
Motion Cycle – The complete sequence of motions and activities required to do on unit of work or to perform an operation once.
See Cycle
Motivated Productivity Level (MPL) – The work pace of a motivated worker possessing sufficient skill to do the job, physically fit to do the job, after adjustment to it, and working at an incentive pace that can be maintained day after day without harmful effect on a safe job. MPL can be used as a base for measuring work performance by establishing normal performance at a specified work level from MPL.
See Normal Performance and Acceptable Productivity Level (APL)
Multilocation Standard – Standards that apply to more than one location and were developed from data collected at two or more locations.
Ibid.
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N
Nondeferrable Work – Work required of the worker or group of workers that must be done at a specific time or period of time.
Synonym: Nontransferable work.
Ibid.
Normal Pace – The manual pace required to produce normal performance.
See Normal Performance
Normal Performance – (1) The work output of a qualified employee considered acceptable in relation to standards and/ or pay levels, which results from agreement, with or without measurement, by management or between management and the workers or their representatives. (2) An acceptable amount of work produced by a qualified employee following a prescribed method under standard safe conditions with an effort that does not incur cumulative fatigue from day to day.
See Fair Day’s Work and Should-take Time Standard
Normal Time – Time required by a qualified worker to perform a task at a normal pace to complete an element, cycle, or operation using a prescribed method. Derived by adjusting actual time by performance rating.
See Actual Time and Normal Performance
Synonyms: base time, leveled time.
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O
Observation – (1) In time study, the act of noting and recording the elapsed time taken by a worker performing an operation or an element of an operation. (2) In motion study, the act of noting and recording the motions used by a worker to perform an operation or an element of an operation. (3) in Work sampling, the act of noting and recording what a worker is doing or what is happening in an operation at a specific instant.
Observed Time – See Actual Time
Objective Rating – A form of performance rating where all jobs are rated against a single standard base. Difficulty adjustment factors are added in terms of objectively describable features of the work.
See Performance Rating
Operator Productivity – The ratio of standard time or other performance standard to the actual time or other performance measure for the same task. When this ratio is equal to 1.00 (100%) the operator is meeting standard output.
See Performance Index
Synonym: operator performance.
Optimization – The analysis of a system to determine parameters that make it perform best in some sense, such as minimum cost.
Outlier – In a group of data, a value which is so far removed from the rest of the distribution that its presence cannot be reasonably explained by the random combination of chance causes.
Output – A measure of the value of completed work units, usually expressed as the employee-hours to complete the work units; may be expressed as the monetary value. The ratio of output to input is a measure of performance.
Overtime – Work performed in excess of basic workday or work-week, as defined by law, collective bargaining agreement, or company policy.
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P
Performance Index – The ratio of a performance standard established for a certain quantity of work to the performance actually achieved. When this ratio is equal to 1.00 (100%) the worker or group is meeting standard performance.
See Operator Productivity
Performance Rating – (1) A process whereby an analyst evaluates observed operator performance in terms of a concept of normal performance expressed as benchmarks using APL/MPL concepts. (2) The performance rating factor.
See Acceptable Productivity Level and Motivated Productivity Level
Synonyms: leveling, pace rating, effort rating, objective rating, normal performance.
Performance Rating Factor – The number (usually a percentage) representing the performance rating.
Person-hour – A unit of measure representing one person working for one hour. The combination of “n” people working for “h” hours produces n*h person-hours. Frequent qualifications to the definition include: (a) designation of work effort as normal effort, and (b) designation of time spent as actual hours. Also referred to as man-hour.
Person-minute – A unit for measuring work. It is equivalent to one person working at normal pace for one minute, two people working at normal pace for thirty seconds, or an equivalent combination of people working at normal pace for a period of time. Also referred to as man-minute.
Personal Allowance – An allowance to provide time for the personal needs of the worker during the workday; may be applied either as a percentage of normal time or as a discrete number of minutes per hour.
Synonym: personal time.
Predetermined Time System – An organized body of information, procedures, techniques, and motion times employed in the study and evaluation of manual work elements. The system is expressed in terms of the motions used, their general and specific nature, the conditions under which they occur, and their previously determined performance times.
Synonym: predetermined motion time system (PMTS).
Productivity – (1) The ratio of output to total inputs. (2) The ratio of actual production to standard production, applicable to either an individual worker or a group of workers.
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Q
Qualified Operator – A worker who, by virtue of training, skill, and experience, is able to perform a task within acceptable quality and time limits.
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R
Random Sample – A sample selected in such a way that each element of the population being sampled has an equal chance of being selected.
Regression Analysis – The process of estimating the parameters of a model by optimizing the value of an objective function, and then testing the resulting predictions for statistical significance against an appropriate null hypothesis.
See Regression Model
ASQC Statistics Division. Glossary and Tables for Statistical Quality Control. 3rd ed. Milwaukee, Wis.: ASQC Quality Press, 1996.
Regression Model – Explanatory model based on equation that expresses the fluctuation in the variable being forecasted (depended variable) in terms of fluctuations among one or more other variables (independent variable(s).
See Regression Analysis
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S
Select(ed) Time – The time which is chosen by simple observation or by statistical means as being representative of the actual time values (prior to applying a performance rating factor) obtained from the observation of an element or operation.
Self-logging – Method used to determine standard time based on self-reported time and work completed by a worker or group of workers doing the work.
Synonym: self-reporting.
Mundel, Marvin E. and Danner, David L. Motion and Time Study, Improving Productivity. Ed. W. J. Fabrycky and J. H. Mize. 7th ed. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1994.
Should-take Time Standard – Normal performance usually involves setting work time standards through performance rating or predetermined time standards, creating time values that an average qualified worker “should take” to perform a task. “Did-take” standards are established based on historical data of actual time taken to perform given tasks without the use of performance rating or benchmark references.
See Did-take Time Standard and Normal Performance
Simultaneous Motions – Two or more elemental motions performed during the same time interval by different body members.
Situation Awareness (SA) – Situation awareness is the perception of the elements of the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future.
Endsley, M.R. (1988). Design and evaluation for situation awareness enhancement. In Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 32nd Annual Meeting, pp. 97. Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, CA.
Staffing Model – Mathematical equation which describes the relationship between independent variables, workload values, and work time or staffing requirements.
See Staffing Standard
Headquarters, Department of the Army. Manpower Staffing Standards System. (Army Regulation 570-5.) Washington, D.C: June 1989.
Staffing Requirements – Human resources needed to accomplish specified workloads of organizations.
Synonym: required staffing.
Staffing Standard – An expression of the quantitative and qualitative staffing requirements for the performance of a defined set of functionally homogeneous tasks at varying levels of workload or services provided. Generally stated as a mathematical model or in tabular format showing numbers and skills of people required for a range of incremental workload factor values that can be used to calculate the qualitative and quantitative number of personnel needed to perform a homogeneous function at varying levels of workload or services provides. A staffing standard is based on specific work units required within a specified period of time of trained, skilled, and experienced personnel working at a normal pace, plus allowances for personal, fatigue, and delay. Application of a staffing standard will yield the number of employee hours or employee years needed to perform the function and includes allowances for leave, holidays, training, and other administrative activities necessary to accomplish a function using standardized processes, methods, systems, and procedures.
See Staffing Model and Standard Application Requirements
Ibid.
United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration. Staffing Standards Program. (Order 1380.34A.) Washington, D.C.: November 1983.
Standard – (1) An established norm for the measure of quantity, weight, extent, value, quality, or time. (2) Standard time.
Standard Allowance – An allowance calculated, arbitrarily set, or negotiated to provide in advance for specified conditions.
See Allowance
Standards Application – A systematic determination of required staffing for activities by use of applicable standard times and/ or staffing standards.
Headquarters, Department of the Army. Manpower Staffing Standards System. (Army Regulation 570-5.) Washington, D.C: June 1989.
Standard Application Requirements – The number of employee hours or employee years needed to perform a homogeneous function based on the results of applying a staffing standard. The result includes allowances for leave, holidays, training, and other administrative activities necessary to accomplish a function using standardized processes, methods, systems, and procedures.
See Staffing Standard
Ibid.
Standard Data – A structured collection of normal time values for work elements codified in tabular or graphic form. The data are used as a basis for determining time standards on work similar to that from which the data were collected without making additional time studies.
Synonym: standard time data.
Standard Time – A unit time value for the accomplishment of a work task as determined by the proper application of appropriate work measurement techniques by qualified personnel. Generally established by applying appropriate allowances to normal time. Standard time and normal time are identical when non-productive tine is granted in lieu of allowances.
See Normal Performance
Synonyms: direct labor standard, engineered performance standard, engineered standard, output standard, and production standard, time standard.
Standby – A category of time in which the worker is not actively engaged in producing a unit of output but is available to take appropriate action when needed. Standby is recognized only when it is essential to the task and when no other work can be done during the standby period.
Standby Time – The time expended in standby status (e.g., the time spent by workers awaiting equipment, labor crews, or work assignment; or due to failure of utilities, inclement weather, and other similar occurrences).
Statistical Standard Time – A standard time developed from statistical analysis of past performance time data.
Synonym: historical time.
Stopwatch – A portable timing device that can be started or stopped at will by the user to register continuous and/ or elapsed time.
Stress – Stress has been defined as a cognitive state, (Cox, 1985) which reflects the person’s perception of an adaptation to the demands of their (work) environment. This approach emphasizes the person’s cognitive appraisal (Lazarus, 1966) of their situation, and treats the whole process of perceiving to and reacting to stressful situations within a problem solving context (Cox, 1987 & 1990).
Cox, T. (1985). The nature and measurement of stress. Ergonomics, 28, 1155-1163.
Lazarus, R.S. (1966). Psychological Stress and the Coping Process (New York: McGraw-Hill)
Cox, T. (1987). Stress, coping and problem solving. Work and Stress, 1, 5-14.
Cox, T. (1990). The recognition and measurement of stress: conceptual and methodological issues, Chapter in Evaluation of Work: A practical ergonomics methodology, Wilson, J.R., and Corlett, E.N. (Eds.) (1990), (New York: Taylor and Francis), pp. 628 – 647.
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T
Temporary Standard – An approximate standard time intended to apply for a limited time to account for some unusual job condition or while awaiting restudy of the task to which it applies.
Tight Standard – A standard time less than that required by a qualified worker with normal skill and effort following a prescribed method and including allowance for delays, personal needs, and rest.
Time Standard – See Standard Time
Time Study – A work measurement technique consisting of careful time measurement of the task with a time measuring instrument, adjusted for any observed variance from normal effort or pace and to allow adequate time for such items as foreign elements, unavoidable or machine delays, rest to overcome fatigue, and personal needs. Learning or progress effects may also be considered. If the task is of sufficient duration, it is normally broken down into short, relatively homogenous work elements, each of which is treated separately as well as in combination with the rest.
Travel Time – Time required to move material, equipment, personnel, or information from one work or storage area to another.
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U
Unavoidable Delay – A delay which is outside the control or responsibility of the worker.
Unavoidable Delay Allowance – An allowance intended to provide time for expected unavoidable delays in a task.
See Allowance and Unavoidable Delay
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V
Validation – Confirmation by examination and provision of objective evidence that the practical requirements for a specific intended use are fulfilled.
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W
Waiting Time – The time when an operator or a machine waits for service, parts, inspection, instructions, and for other causes.
Work Center – A group of personnel that use similar machines, processes, methods, and operations, to perform homogeneous type work usually located in a centralized area. The term is used to identify a relatively small activity within a broad functional segment. Personnel within a work center perform work that basically contributes to the same end product or result and their duties are similar or closely related.
Ibid.
Work Cycle – (1) A pattern or sequence of tasks, operations, and/ or processes. (2) A pattern of manual motions, elements, operations, and/ or activities that is repeated without significant variation each time a unit of work is completed.
See Motion Cycle
Work Measurement – A generic term used to refer to the determination or setting of a work time standard for the performance of standardized tasks using recognized industrial engineering techniques, such as time study, standard data, work sampling, or predetermined motion time systems (PMTSs).
Synonym: ergonometrics.
Work Sampling – An application of random sampling techniques to the study of work activities so that the proportions of time devoted to different elements of work can be estimated with a given degree of statistical validity.
Work Unit – An amount of work, or the results of an amount of work, that is convenient to treat as an integer (an each) when examining work from a quantitative point of view.
Workload – An expression of the amount of work, identified by the number of work units or volume of a workload factor, that an employee or a group of employees, has at hand at any given time or is responsible for performing during a specified period of time.
Ibid.
Workload Factor – (1) An index or unit of measure that is consistently expressive of, or relatable to, the staffing required to accomplish the quantitative and qualitative work assigned to an employee or a group of employees. (2) An end product (or combination of products) that represents the work done by an employee or a group of employees. It may be either something physically produced by the employee or a group of employees (i.e., a production-type workload factor) or something that is external to, but serviced by, the employee or a group of employees (i.e., a work generator-type workload factor).
Ibid.
Workplace Layout – The manner in which all of the items necessary to perform a work task, as specified by the standard.
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