time study
Workplace motion measurement
Time study is the systematic observation and measurement of how long tasks take to complete, used to establish standard work times and improve efficiency.
Industrial engineers conduct time studies to set production quotas, identify bottlenecks, and calculate labor costs: The time study showed each assembly took four minutes.
The practice emerged from early twentieth-century scientific management.
- TaylorismSystematic workflow optimization theory
- stopwatchInterval timing device
- clockDevice displaying time
- efficiencyProductive without waste
- standardizationImplementing uniform technical specifications
industrial engineering · value stream mapping · timekeeping · log · productivity · chart · assembly line · production line · management consulting · factory floor · shop floor · journal · pacesetter · clipboard · white coat · record · piece rate · quota
- work methodsworkflow, delegation, prioritizing, standardizing, streamlining
- Process Toolsflowchart, checklist, control chart, histogram, check sheet
- work efficiencylabor standards, work standards, production standards, micromotion, allowances
- efficiencyoptimization, efficient, streamlining, effective, optimize
- lean manufacturingTPS, kaizen, kanban, value stream mapping, JIT