Work Measurement

Standard Time

The time a qualified, trained worker should take to complete a task at a normal pace, including allowances.

Standard time is the benchmark time for a task: the observed time, adjusted by a performance rating to a normal pace, plus allowances for fatigue, personal needs, and unavoidable delays. It is the output of a formal time study.

Standard times underpin capacity planning, labor costing, scheduling, line balancing, and incentive systems. They can be derived by stopwatch study, predetermined motion-time systems (e.g., MTM), or work sampling.

Go Deeper
Time Studies guide→Labor Productivity Calculator→
Related Terms
Time Study
Direct observation and timing of a task, broken into elements, to establish a standard time.
Work Sampling
A statistical technique that uses many random observations to estimate the proportion of time spent on each activity.
Learning Curve
The predictable reduction in labor hours per unit as cumulative production volume increases.
Line Balancing
Distributing work evenly across stations so each cycle time is at or below takt, minimizing idle time and bottlenecks.
Capacity Planning
Determining the production capacity an operation needs to meet changing demand across short, medium, and long horizons.

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