Taif University College of Engineering

WORK STUDY
8053203-3

Lecture Notes
Draft

Industrial Engineering Program

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 WORK STUDY
Course ID 8053203-3

Lecture [ No: 11]

Predetermined time standards

(PTS)

also referred to as predetermined motion time systems (PMTS)

OR synthetic time standards

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 Techniques/Methods/Types of
work measurements
As noted: Various techniques of work measurement are:

1. Time study (stop watch technique),

2. Synthesis,
3. Work sampling,
4. Predetermined motion and time study,
5. Analytical estimating.

Predetermined time standards (PTS), also referred to as predetermined

motion time systems (PMTS) OR synthetic time standards, are
advanced techniques which aim at defining the time needed for the
performance of various operations by derivation from pre-set standards of
time for various motions, and NOT by direct observation and measurement

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 PTS Definition
It is a work measurement technique whereby times established for
basic human motions (classified according to the nature of the motion and
the conditions under which it is made) are used to build up the time for a
job at a defined level of performance .
An alternative to direct time study that does not require performance rating.
PMTS is a database of basic motion elements (therbligs) and their associated
normal time values, together with procedures for applying the data to analyze
manual tasks and establish standard times for the tasks
Basic motions elements include:
position

The time required to perform these basic motions usually depends on certain work
variables (reach and distance; move and weight of object; etc.).

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Advantages of PTS systems
With PTS systems one time is indicated for a given motion, irrespective of where such
a motion is performed.
It is possible to define the standard time for a given operation even before production
begins.
They also make it possible, even before starting the operation, to draw-up an estimate
of the cost of production, and this could obviously be valuable for estimating and
tendering purposes or for budgeting.

PTS systems are not too difficult to apply.

PTS systems can be less time-consuming than other techniques evolved for
determining standard time.
PMTS are particularly useful, for very short, repetitive time cycles such as assembly
work in the electronics industry.

A lot of Criticisms of PTS systems has come in light.

At present, over 200 such systems exist. This has led to complaints from
management, trade unions and work study specialists.
Furthermore, any PTS system is rather complicated. It is not easy to learn and
needs a good deal of practice before being able to apply it correctly.
Finally, PTS systems cannot cope readily with movements made under abnormal 5
conditions
 Procedure Deriving standard time from PTS

The application of PTS in determining standard time involves following steps:

The operation/job is broken down into elements.
For each element basic motions are noted
For each basic motion, time values are taken from the standard
tables (e.g. from MTM Tables).
All the time values are added to get the BASIC TIME/NORMAL
TIME for the operation/job.
Finally, allowances are added to this basic time to get the standard
time.

By examining the given operation and identifying the basic

motions (of which it is composed), & by referring to the PTS
tables ( PTS Tables indicate normal/ basic times for each
type of motion performed under given circumstances), 1-6
 Popular Predetermined Motion Time Systems

Methods -Time Measurement(MTM)

Work-Factor
Predetermined Time Standards Systems Meyers
Maynard Operation Sequence Technique (MOST)
TIME UNITS IN PTS SYSTEMS
No two PTS systems have the same set of time values.

Main PTS time data are :

1.WORK FACTOR system, having time unit as MINUTES,

2.MTM system having time unit as TMU (Time Measurement Unit)

1 TMU= 0.00001 HOUR or 1 hr = 100,000 TMU
(i.e. one hundred- thousandth of an hour or 0.0006 minute).
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 Methods Time Measurement (MTM)
MTM is a procedure which analyzes any manual operation or method into the basic
motions required to perform it, and assigns to each motion a predetermined time
standard which is determined by the nature of the motion and the conditions under
which it is made. MTM is a family of products available through the MTM
Association (www.mtm.org) and the original MTM is now called MTM-1.
MTM gives values for the fundamental motions of:
reach, move, turn, grasp, position, disengage, and release.

The position of MTM motion elements in our work hierarchy.

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 Methods Time Measurement (MTM)
Most predetermined motion time systems use time measurement units (TMU) instead of
seconds for measuring time. These smaller units allow for more accurate calculations
without the use of decimals.

MTM studies provided the following kinds of information

Developing effective work methods prior to production

Improving existing methods to increase production and decrease labor cost per unit

Establishing time standards as basis for wages and incentive plans

Developing time formulas or standard data for future use

Guiding product design for most efficient manufacture

Developing effective tool designs for most efficient manufacture

Selecting effective equipment for most efficient manufacture

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 Different forms of PTS system
The International MTM Association Has Following International
MTM Systems:
Ist Level : MTM-1 System
(In Which Basic Motions Are:
Release, Reach, Grasp, Move, Position, Turn & Apply Pressure, Disengage, Eye
Travel Time & Eye Focus Time, Body Leg & Foot Motions, Simultaneous
Motions.)
2nd Level : MTM-2 System
(In Which RELAESE, GRASP & REACH Are Combined In GET
And Basic Motions, MOVE & POSITION Are Combined As
PUT)
3rd Level: MTM-3 System
(In Which GET And PUT Are Further Combined As HANDLE)
Higher Level: MTM-V Etc.
(In Which Further Combinations Give More Complex Elements)
Methods-Time Measurement (MTM)

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Work Systems and the Methods, Measurement, and Management of Work
by Mikell P. Groover, ISBN 0-13-140650-7.
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.
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 Example of PTS application
Standard Time can be determined for
Fitting a nut and washer on a stud
as is explained by the Table below.
For different elements, basic motions are identified and for these basic motions, time
values are read from the MTM tables as shown in the following Table:
 CONTD.
thus,
basic time ( or normal time) = 231 TMU

If total allowances to be provided are taken as 8% of the basic

time, then

Standard Time = Basic Time + Allowance(% of basic time)

= [231 + 0.08 x 231]
= 251.48 TMU

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 WORK FACTOR (WF)

Kinds of work factor system:

1) Detailed Work Factor
2) Simplified Work Factor
3) Abbreviated Work Factor
4) Ready Work Factor

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 WORK FACTOR (WF)
It was developed by Quick & Shea at Philadelphia in the year 1934.
(i) Work Factor system like MTM system, also relies on standard tabulated time
values
(ii) WF system is more accurate
(iii) It is simpler in application
(iv) In addition to other aspects, it takes into account the Mental Process Times also.

(v) It has its standards based on experienced skilled worker whereas M TM is

based on an average operator . Due to this reason this System gives a
smaller time as compared to MTM system.
(vi) In Work Factor system a work factor means an element of difficulty. If
operation A has 4 work factors &
operation B has 1 work factor, then, A is more difficult than B and takes
longer time.
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 PROCEDURE FOR ST:
1. Divide the job into elements .
2. Identify different human motions associated with each element.
3. Determine the number of work factors associated
with each human motion.
4. Find basic time values for each motion from the work factor tables .
5. Add all these time values.
6. Apply allowances to the basic time and thus
7. Determine the STANDARD TIME.

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Maynard Operation Sequence
Technique (MOST)
MOST is a product of H.B. Maynard and Company (an
educational and consulting firm), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(www.hbmaynard.com)

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 Maynard Operation Sequence Technique (MOST)
The Maynard Operation Sequence Technique (MOST) is a high-level
predetermined motion time system (PMTS) that is based on MTM.
MOST is a work measurement technique that concentrates on the movement of
objects. It is used to analyze work and to determine the normal time that it would
take to perform a particular process /operation.
The basic version of MOST which is now referred to as Basic MOST.

More specifically, MOST is used to:

1. Break down the operation/process into smaller steps/units
2. Analyze the motions in each step/unit by using a standard
MOST method sequence
3. Assign indices to the parameters constituting the method
sequence for each task
4. Sum up the indices to arrive at a time value for each step/unit
5. Sum up the time values for all the steps/units to arrive at the normal time required
to perform that operation/process

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 MOST in the Work Pyramid

The position of the Basic MOST activity sequence model in our work
hierarchy
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 Basic MOST
The focus of Basic MOST is on work activity involve the movement of objects. The
majority of industrial manual work does involve moving objects (e.g., parts, tools) from
one location to another in the workplace.

Basic MOST uses motion aggregates (collections of basic motion elements) that are
concerned with moving things. The motion aggregates are called activity sequence
models in Basic MOST.

There are three activity sequence models in Basic MOST, each of which consists of a
standard sequence of actions:
General move. This sequence model is used when an object is moved freely through
space from one location to the next (e.g., picking something up from the floor and
placing it on a table).
Controlled move. This sequence model is used when an object is moved while it
remains in contact with a surface (e.g., sliding the object along the surface) or the
object is attached to some other object during its movement (e.g., moving a lever on
a machine).
Tool use. This sequence model applies to the use of a hand tool (e.g., a hammer or
screwdriver).
The actions in an activity sequence model, called sequence model parameters in
Basic MOST, are similar to basic motion elements in MTM.
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STANDARD DATA

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 INTRODUCTION
Many operations in a given plant have several common elements. The element walking ,
for example, is a component of work in many jobs.
Diverse activities such as painting, handling or working on a site usually involve an
element of "walking". When such activities (like walking ) are timed, the same
common element is, in fact, timed again and again.

The job of a work study person would, there-fore, be made much easier if a set of data are
made available from which standard times could readily be derived for these
COMMON work-elements without necessarily going into the process of timing EACH
one of the common as well as the other elements.

If, for instance, a standard time could be derived for the particular element "walking" and
could be read directly from a table, this would not only reduce effort and cost but also
lead to greater consistency in time estimation.
One can, therefore, see that there is an advantage in building up a databank of normal
times for various elements which occur repeatedly at the workplace.
If such data existed for a wide range of elements and were reliable, there would be no
need to carry out a time study for a new job. Instead, by breaking down the job into
elements and referring to the data bank to drive the normal times for each element, one
could calculate the total time needed to perform this new job and determine its
standard time by adding the appropriate allowances in the usual manner. 28
 DEVELOPIMENT OF THE STANDARD DATA
Following STEPS are involved in developing standard data:

STEP-1: Decide on the coverage of the departments /work areas in the plant ( select those
where maximum number of common elements might be available)

STEP-2: Break the job into elements for identifying the common elements in the job.

STEP-3: Decide on type of reading,i.e. whether readings based on stop-watch time study
(macroscopic systems) are to be used, or PTS systems such as MTM (microscopic
systems) are to be employed.
[ If stop-watch time study is chosen, sufficient time must be allowed to collect the
readings necessary to produce statistically reliable data.]
Standard Data developed through Macroscopic system is called MACRO DATA and
Standard Data developed through Microscopic system, is called UNIVERSAL DATA.

STEP-4: Determine the factors that are likely to affect the time for each element, and
classify them into major and minor factors.

STEP-5: When using macroscopic systems, measure the time taken to perform the activity
from actual observations.
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 USES OF STANDARD DATA

Standard data is used for the following purposes:

(1) To estimate standard time for new jobs of repetitive or, non-repetitive nature,
quickly and economically,
(2) To estimate production times for pricing inquiries made by customers or for
quotation purposes,
(3) To use it in job design, process planning and scheduling,
(4) To measure productive labor for cost checks,
(5) For balancing production operations,
(6) To apply it as a realistic basis for incentive plans.

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 COMPUTERISED STANDARD DATA
A software package can be used for development of a computerized standard data. Such a
package would allow
the storage and manipulation of the time-based data.
There are a number of such systems available.
Some can be linked to the particular sets of data and others provide empty shells into
which the concerned company can input its data from whatever source it likes.

SOFTWARE PACKAGES
Several software packages exist for developing standard data, and for their use in deriving
standard times for various operations.
Examples are
CPD90 from Sweden,
TIMEBUILDER from Ireland,
MICROMATIC METHODS &
MEASUREMENT developed in USA,
TECHTIME developed in United Kingdom,&
MEZA and PLAZET packages from Germany.
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 THANK YOU

ANY
QUESTIONS?

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