Z94.17 - Work Design and Measurement

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EARNED HOURS. The time in standard hours credited to a worker or a group of workers as a result of their completion of a given task or group of tasks; usually calculated by summing the multiplication of applicable standard times and the completed work units.

EFFECTIVENESS. (1) The ratio of earned hours to actual hours spent on prescribed tasks. When earned hours equal actual hours, the effectiveness equals 100%. (2) The ratio of standard, estimated, or budgeted performance to actual performance expressed as a percentage. (3) The performance or output received from an approach or program. Ideally it is a quantitative measure which can be used to evaluate the level of performance in relation to some standard, set of criteria, or end objective. (See EFFICIENCY, LABOR.) (4) The extent to which the objectives are met. The statement of objectives must be substantive and quantitative or else it is a statement whose accomplishment cannot be evaluated. In the private sector this is affected, independently of productivity, by the competition, the price indexes, the state of the economy, the tax structure, and the state-of-the-art. In the public sector it is affected, again independent of productivity by, among other factors, public acceptance, public cooperation, competing objectives, legal restraints, resources made available, and the state-of-the-art.

EFFICIENCY, LABOR. (1) The ratio of standard performance time to actual performance time, usually expressed as a percentage. (2) The ratio of actual performance numbers (e.g., the number of pieces) to standard performance numbers, usually expressed as a percentage. (See PRODUCTIVITY.)

EFFORT CONTROLLED CYCLE. (See MANUALLY-CONTROLLED WORK.)

EFFORT, PHYSICAL. The amount of muscle work performed on a job, often referred to as the physical work load. It is often defined by the number of objects handled per shift, their weight, the distance they are transported, and how long the task is performed.

EFFORT RATING. (See PERFORMANCE RATING.)

ELAPSED TIME. (1) The actual time taken by a worker or machine to complete a task, an operation, or an element of an operation. (2) The total time interval from the beginning to the end of a time study. (See ACTUAL TIME.)

ELEMENT. A subdivision of the work cycle composed of one or a sequence of several basic motions and/or machine or process activities which is distinct, describable, and measurable. (See MANUAL

ELEMENT, MACHINE-CONTROLLED TIME.)

ELEMENTAL MOTION. Individual manual motions or simple motion combinations used to describe the sensory-motor activity in an operation. Generally refers to the more basic and elementary therbligs. An attempt often is made to define these precisely with associated time values. Typical elemental motions are: reach, move, assemble, pre-position, turn.

ELEMENTAL STANDARD DATA. (1) Standard data. (2) A time value of an individual element in a standard data system.

ELEMENT BREAKDOWN. (1) The separation of a work cycle into two or more elements. (2) A listing of work elements with individual descriptions and/or calculations for each.

ELEMENT TIME. The time to perform a given element. May refer to the observed (raw), average, selected, normal, or standard time.

ENDPOINT. (See BREAKPOINT.)

ENGINEERED PERFORMANCE STANDARD. (See STANDARD TIME.)

ENGINEERED STANDARD. (See STANDARD TIME.)

ENGINEERED TIME STANDARD. (See STANDARD TIME.)

ERGONOMETRICS. (See ERGONOMICS, WORK MEASUREMENT.)

ERGONOMICS. The study of the design of work in relation to the physiological and psychological capabilities of people. One of several terms used to define similar fields of interest; others are human engineering, human factors, and human factors engineering. Ergonomics has been used predominantly outside of the U.S.A. The aim of the discipline is the evaluation and design of facilities, environments, jobs, training methods, and equipment to match the capabilities of users and workers, and thereby to reduce the potential for fatigue, error, or unsafe acts. (See WORK DESIGN, METHODS ENGINEERING, MOTION ANALYSIS, MOTION ECONOMY.)

ESTIMATED TIME. An element or operation time that has been predicted on the basis of such information as may be available without detailed study.

EXCESS WORK ALLOWANCE. An allowance to compensate for work required to be performed on an operation or job in addition to that specified in the standard method. Sometimes applied as a separate grant of time or as a grant of money in a piece-work system. (See ALLOWANCE.)

EXPECTED ATTAINMENT. (See FAIR DAY’S WORK.)

EXPECTED WORK PACE. (1) The work pace necessary for an operator to maintain in order to achieve a specified level of earnings under an incentive system. (2) The work pace required to meet non-incentive production standards.

EXTERNAL ELEMENT. (See EXTERNAL WORK.)

EXTERNAL TIME (JUST-IN-TIME). When setting up machines, an event that can take place before the end of the previous run of parts or after the new run has started; external time does not add time to the setup.

EXTERNAL WORK. Any element of an operation which must be performed by the operator while the machine or process is not in operation and which results in a loss of potential machine or process operating time. The term “external" implies that the element occurs outside the machine or process cycle.

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