Time and Motion Study - Direct Time Study Procedure

Direct Time Study Procedure

Following is the procedure developed by Mikell Groover for a direct time study:

1. Define and document the standard method.
2. Divide the task into work elements.

   These first two steps are conducted prior to the actual timing. They familiarize the analyst with the task and allow the analyst to attempt to improve the work procedure before defining the standard time.

3. Time the work elements to obtain the observed time for the task.
4. Evaluate the worker’s pace relative to standard performance (performance rating), to determine the normal time.

   Note that steps 3 and 4 are accomplished simultaneously. During these steps, several different work cycles are timed, and each cycle performance is rated independently. Finally, the values collected at these steps are averaged to get the normalized time.

5. Apply an allowance to the normal time to compute the standard time. The allowance factors that are needed in the work are then added to compute the standard time for the task.