Work Measurement

Work measurement attempts to determine the standard time, defined as the time required for a normal worker with normal skill and effort, to perform a task over an extended period with allowances made for breaks, personal time, fatigue, and working conditions.

The knowledge of the standard time allows production planners to have the information needed to:

1.    Schedule the amount of labour needed to complete a job
2.    Determine any amount of additional facilities needed to reduce non productive time.

3.    Calculate the amount of labour per unit of product to determine pricing and other decisions.
4.    Evaluate proposed work improvements by comparing before and after standard times.


Several methods are used to establish work standards.

(a)    Estimates based on historical data
(b)    Stopwatch time studies
(c)    Predetermined time-and-motion study
(d)    Work sampling