Legal Office Procedure

Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 1 of 13

WORK SIMPLIFICATION AND MEASUREMENT

STANDARDS

Welcome Notes:

WELCOME BSOA STUDENTS!

I. INTRODUCTION

This module covers the topic on work simplification and measurement standards, these are powerful
tool to increase operational efficiency, improve staff productivity, reduce cycle or delivery times and improve
customer satisfaction.

II. OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

 Define Work Simplification;

 Components of Work Simplication;
 Steps in Work Measurement;
 Methods of Work Measurement;
 Discuss Work Standard
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 2 of 13

III. PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY

Before you proceed to the main lesson, challenge yourself first with this
activity.

INSTRUCTION: WORDSCAPES. Form a word using the Jumbled letters in the circle below. Use the dashes
as the clue for each word.

I I M
C
S P N LO
A
I T F I

1. __ __ __ 4. __ __ __ __
2. __ __ __ 5. __ __ __ __ __
3. __ __ __ __ 6. __ __ __ __ __

Answer: tap, pac, clan, camp, tails, limit

AMAZING!!!
You may now proceed to the main lesson.

Based on the preliminary activity, what did you notice about it?

CONGRATULATION!
You may now proceed to the lesson
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 3 of 13

IV. LESSON PROPER

4.1. WORK SIMPLIFICATION

The industrial revolution in the eighteenth century had brought great change in industrialization
process. There were vast changes in economy, thinking etc. The new scientific management stressed on
rational decision rather than intuitive decisions. Scientific management is a philosophy of management or an
approach to problems, replacing the traditional, conventional or old methods to new method based on
analysis and experimentation. It was F.W.Taylor who advocated the principles of scientific management to
manage men and machineries. While developing his theory Taylor pointed out that the management has to
take more responsibility for planning and supervision and create new rules, formulate to help the workers to
do their work at lower cost to the employer and higher returns to labor.

Many of the conflicts between management and workers can be resolved by matching 'fair wages
for fair work”. There are many methods for doing a job. But one method would be simple and most profitable.
It is the work of the manager to determine the easiest and less time consuming way of doing the work.

In order to decide what is fair work all work must be standardized. The process of standardizing the
work is done with the help of time and motion study. Everything relating to a job (i.e.) equipment, material,
qualification, eligibility etc. must be brought under control to analyze the job. Motion study relates to the study
of various activities, carried out to complete the job. Each activity will take time for completion. Time study
relates to how long a work assignment would take.

Time and motion study helps to find simple, easy and date way of doing work. This focuses our
attention on certain aspect of job. There is no one way to do a job. There is always a scope for improving the
methods. It is an ongoing process.

4.2. COMPONENTS OF WORK SIMPLIFICATION

Work simplification covers two aspects.

1. Process analysis
2. Work study (motion) and time study

Process Analysis

It is subdividing the process of manufacturing operation into basic elements and material
movements. The Analyst (appointed for that purpose) will study the operations, and movements. He would
suggest improvements based on his observation, to simplify the work.
Innovative management is always in search of improvement in work performance and in evolving
better system. Under competitive conditions, management is interested in discovering more effective and
cheaper ways to perform work. Hence, process analysis provides a foundation on which the motion and time
study are carried out. Without analysis of the process activities, no study relating to a work is possible.
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 4 of 13

Work study eliminates unnecessary pain causing movements. It reduces human efforts. A worker can do
more work without working harder. Work study also known as work design, time and motion study or methods
analysis or work simplification etc. is concerned with three areas.

1. How the employee is performing his work and how he is executing his job (motion study).
2. The time needed to perform the job (time study).
3. The speed with which he works (time study).
.
Motion study or methods study is responsible for work improvement. Time study measures work for
efficient production scheduling, wage determination etc.

Work Study

It covers both motion and time study. It provides analytical and inquisitive approach to the use of
manpower and equipment to improve the existing methods by eliminating waste. F.W. Taylor named his
technique as time study, which he used as a tool for work measurement and for determining time standards.
Gilberth called it as motion study.

Objectives of work study

 To find out the most effective use of equipment, material and plant.
 To find out the most effective use of human efforts.
 To evaluate work performance,

Uses of work study

 It is a study to discover the best method of increasing productivity.

 It is a universal tool of work reorganization involving minimum capital investments.
 It is used to revel an organizational inefficiency due to job contents.
 To reduce waste of resources -- human, material, machinery, money etc.
 To help management in planning, controlling and motivating workers.
 To facilitate production planning by providing the means for setting standards of performance and to
evolve humanized man and machine combination.

(a) Motion Study

It is the study of movements of a machine or an operator in performing a job for the purpose of
eliminating useless motions and arranging the required useful motions. It is selection, invention and
substitution of effective motion for unproductive and wasteful motions. The latter work methods aim at
reducing fatigue. The motion study was profounded by Frank B. Gilberth and his wife Lillian Gilberth, both
contemporaries of Taylor.

Gilberth maintained that there is no one best way of performing an operation. He proved his theory
being a builder himself by simplifying the motions used in brick lying. He reduced the number of motions from
18 to 5 and increased the hourly numbers of bricks laid from 170 to 350, thereby increasing production 100%
over the previous system. He advocated rhythm in work with balanced movement of the body of workers at
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 5 of 13

job. He evolved seventeen basic elements in working on any job. They are named ‘therbligs' (with reverse
spelling). They are 1) Search, 2) Find, 3) Select 4) Grasp, 5) Position, 6) Assemble, 7) Use, 8) Dissemble, 9)
Inspect, 10) Transport (loaded), 11) Preposition, 12) Release, 13) Transport (empty), 14) Unavoidable
waiting, 15) Avoidable waiting, 16) Rest, 17) Plan (for network).

Purpose of motion study

1. Develop a normal and maximum working area.

2. Use least basic motions from the simplest to the most complex.
3. Eliminate delay,
4. Achieve rhythm.
5. Improve the work place.
6. Improve the working conditions.

As a result of motion study analysis the management can set the standard of how to do the job. This
forms the backbone of training programme for new workers. Gilberth also introduced micro motion study. In
that study, operations were recorded on a film along with time values ascertained with a clock called 'micro
chromo metre' set up within the focus of the camera. By this, he was able to analyze the minute sub-divisions
of manufacturing activity. With the help of both studies, braining program can be devised to increase the
speed of doing the work.

(b) Time Study

It is the art of systematically recording, analyzing and synthesizing the time required to perform a
motion or series of motion. It is determination of how much time an average employee would take to perform
a task.

A job is divided into series of elements and the timing of each element will be recorded. After sufficient
number of cycles have been timed from the time values recorded for each element, the mode value i.e. most
frequently appearing time value, will be selected. This is the normal time required by an average, qualified
and trained person working at a normal pace to perform a task.

The study is used to measure work for determining fair and fatigue and personal needs. On the basis
of this, we can establish just time standard. Allowances are made for normal interruptions, a standard time.

Office work is characterized with

1. more mental work which are hard to measure,

2. greater variability of work,
3. numerous small tasks not justifying standards and,
4. irregularity in work flow of office work.

But with the help of time and motion analysis, 3/4 of all office work is subject to measurement and
standardization. Time standards can be used in office administration for the following purpose.
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 6 of 13

1. Determining cost Time standards provide the basis for determining the cost of various work units.
Once a time standard has been established for an operation such as invoice processing, the
application of accounting data makes it possible to develop a cost for processing invoices. The
conversion of time standards into cost standards makes it possible to do more effective job of
budgetary; arranging for working capital needs etc.

2. Determining manpower The time standard provides the basis for determining how many people
would be required to staff the office during normal times or to employ temporary employees to cope
with more work load.

3. To provide a basis for incentive wages Time standards provide for payment to employees for the
number of units produced. The type of incentive plan used may vary from a straight price rate to
varied bonus plans in which earnings are expressed in terms of time saved. The employee earns in
proportion to productivity. The workers can evaluate their own progress.

4. To schedule and distribute the work load By knowing how much time is required to perform
various jobs, a supervisor can determine in advance the order of priority in which the tasks are to be
accomplished to meet the goal. He can allocate the work load to such number of persons; as
determined on the basis of time study. The work load can be evenly distributed to workers. Nobody
will be put to heavy work load or less work load.

5. Compare performance One of the basic performance indicators established by work measurement
is the utilization index. This index is determined by dividing the number of standard hours (no. of
units produced x time standard) produced in a work centre by the number of actual hours spent. If
the standard time is two hours and 150 units were produced by a work centre, 300 hours (standard)
are produced. The actual labor hours used is 275 and the utilization index is 101.8%. This indicates
that work centre is working efficiently. By comparing different work centers, the management can
find out the centre working efficiently. Centres with efficiency less than 100% index can be closed.
Even heterogeneous departments or centers can be compared

Procedure/steps in Time Study

1. Establishing the method, equipment working condition etc. under which the job is to be done.
2. Selecting the average workers who are to be studied as they perform the task by securing his
cooperation.
3. Breakdown of the job into elements suitable for the purpose of recording the time.
4. Recording time with the help of stopwatch.
5. Grading the study.
6. Applying relation time for fatigue, delay, and personal work.
7. Determining the time shared.

According to C.L. Littlefield and Frand M. Rachel, "Work measurement is a means of establishing an
equitable relationship between man and hours used and units of output produced. This relationship between
time and volume is normally expressed as a unit time standard; i.e., a specification of the time required by a
qualified worker to complete one unit of output".
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 7 of 13

Work measurement can be described as the programme of measuring the volume of completed work
and the amount of time taken to complete this work. In other words, time standards are established through
work measurement. Work measurement is a control tool. It will make possible the control of current work, the
provision of work force and equipment actually needed, the determination and evaluation of costs incurred,
evaluation of performance etc.

STEPS IN WORK MEASUREMENT

1. Defining measuring unit The unit in terms of which work is to be measured must be defined
adequately. The work unit would be different for different types of work. However, it would be
essential to have a unit which is easy to identify, count and understand

2. Determining tasks to be measured The tasks to be measured are determined and classified.
Before the measurement process is started, all elements or parts are also considered. It is usual for
the supervisor to approve the task description and their classifications.

3. Establishment of procedures for reporting It is necessary to establish procedures for reporting

whereby the necessary production counts (in terms of units), hours worked and other data are
collected and reported periodically. Generally this responsibility is entrusted to the supervisor of the
work centre.

4. Improving and standardizing work methods Time standard should be set only after methods of
work have been improved and standardized. This action ensures that the tasks to be measured are
performed in the most efficient possible way. Besides, it ensures that all the employees are
performing the work in the same way.

Methods of Work Measurement

There are different ways of measuring office work and different units may be used for this purpose.
They are:

1. By actual counting of the number of work units produced or operations performed.

2. By measurement according to some scale and
3. By measuring the average time required to perform a piece of work.

WORK STANDARD

According to Leffingwell and Robinson, Standard is the level of accomplishment which has been set
for attainment and by which the degree of accomplishment is measured". It is the quantity and quality of
output that are expected to be turned out by an employee.

There is no point in measuring the work of an employee unless it can be compared with some pre-
set standards to determine whether the work has been performed in the best possible manner.

The standard of performance, or standard task as F.W.Taylor must be such that it can be reasonably
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 8 of 13

performed within a given time by standard workman working with standardized tools and under normal
working conditions. The standard set up should be such that it can be understood easily by both management
and employees.

WORK MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

Time standards may be set through the use of several different techniques. The most widely used
approaches to measuring office operations are:

 Past records
 Time logs
 Work sampling
 Stopwatch time studies and
 Predetermined time systems.

1. Past records Under this method, records of past performance of various types of office activities are
studied to find out the best performance for each type of office work. Records are maintained for
individual or group performance for each type of repetitive work like typing, billing, filling, etc. From
these records, best performance for each type of work is ascertained and then the standard is set
on that basis.

2. Time logs Under this method, each employee maintains a record of the time spent by him in
performing each type of office work from which a standard time for each item of work is established.

3. Work sampling Under this method, random observations are made of the performance of different
employees relating to some selected operations and then conclusions are drawn regarding the time
standards. To set time standards under this method, trained analysts are employed to break down
the jobs to be studied into operations. The analyst then selects the operations to be studied and with
the help of mathematical formulae determines the number of observations to be made and the proper
sample size. He then prepares a time schedule for making the observations.

4. Stopwatch time studies Under this method, the main purpose of time study is to measure the
performance of an employee of average skill who is working with average effort under standardized
methods and conditions. Time study is also used for obtaining elemental time data on operations for
setting standard times for performance rating of similar operations.

5. Predetermined time systems Under this method, predetermined times are rapidly becoming the
predominant technique used to set standard on office operations. Indeed, the high degree of
accuracy afforded by this approach and the general acceptance by employees account for its
increasing popularity and usage. The underlying assumptions of these systems are that all human
effort consists of certain basic body motions and that the times for performing these motions are
relatively constant, varying according to the conditions under which the motions are made and the
distance of movement. Stop watch studies and photographic micro motion studies are conducted to
make detailed analysis of the motions in order to determine the most efficient motions and develop
standard time for each motion.
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 9 of 13

We had just finished the discussion on Work Simplification and

Measurement Standards! Let’s move on to the next higher level of
activities or exercises that demonstrate your potential skills/knowledge
of what you have learned.

V. ANALYSIS, APPLICATION AND EXPLORATION

Name: ______________________________________________ Course & Section: _________________

How Much Did You Learn? Take this short survey to see how much you really know. Answer TRUE or
FALSE to each of the statements. Write legibly your answers to the space provided before each number.

_______1 The aim of time and motion study is to eliminate wasteful movements.

_______2. Time and motion study are useful for work measurement.

_______3. Stopwatch is used in time and motion study.

_______4. Work measurement is a means of establishing an equitable relationship between man hours
and production

_______5. Therblig is the author of time and motion study.

Finally, let us summarize the lesson of what we discussed today.

VI. GENERALIZATION
Discuss the advantages / utilities of time and motion study in relation to office
administration.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 10 of 13

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

KUDOS!
You have come to an end of Module 17.
OOPS! Don’t forget that you still have an assignment to do.
Here it is…

VII. ASSIGNMENT

Name: ______________________________________________Course & Section: _________________

Fill in the Blanks.

1. Time and motion study eliminates _________.

2. ______ is a process of analyzing the job to find the easiest and most economical
method of doing it.
3. Motion study is also known as __________.
4. Scientific management principles are advocated by _________.
5. Time study and motion study form the basis on which _____ tasks can be set.

Choices:

Standard, F.W. Taylor, Wasteful movements,

Motion study, Method study

After your long journey of reading and accomplishing the

module, let us now challenge your mind by answering the evaluation
part of this module.
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 11 of 13

VIII. EVALUATION

Name: ______________________________________________ Course & Section: _________________

Direction/Instruction:
Multiple Choice: Encircle the letter of the BEST answer.
(This evaluation will be submitted on ________________.)

1. It is the work of the manager to determine the ________ of doing of work.

a. Easiest and less time consuming
b. Loopholes
c. Budget
d. Number of hours

2. Work simplification covers:

a. Process analysis
b. Work study
c. Only letter A
d. Both A & B

3. _____ is the subdividing the process of manufacturing operation into basic elements and material
movements
a. Work study
b. Process analysis
c. Time study
d. Motion analysis

4. Work study is also known as:

a. Job description
b. Workloads
c. Work design
d. Time study

5. Method study is responsible for:

a. Work improvement
b. Work analysis
c. Work perforation
d. Work determination
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 12 of 13

6. The purpose of motion study is to:

a. Develop a normal and maximum working area
b. Eliminate delay
c. Improve working conditions
d. All of the above

7. ________ is the level of accomplishment which has been set for attainment and by which the
degree of accomplishment is measured.
a. Quota
b. Standards
c. Dispensation
d. Commission

8. A work measurement technique where a random observations are made of the performance of
different employees relating to some selected operations and then conclusions are drawn
regarding time standards.
a. Time logs
b. Stopwatch time studies
c. Work sampling
d. Predetermined time systems

9. Another work measurement technique where records of past performance are studied to find out
the best performance for each type of office work.
a. Past records
b. Work sampling
c. Time logs
d. Stopwatch time studies

10. When is the proper timing for the Time Standard to be set?
a. When the task to be measured have been determined and classified
b. When the hours worked and other data have already been collected & reported
c. After the methods of work have been improved and standardized already
d. None of the above
 Legal Office Procedure
Work Simplification and Measurement Standards Page 13 of 13

CONGRATULATIONS on reaching the end of this module!

You may now proceed to the next module.
Don’t forget to submit all the exercises, activities and portfolio
on ___________________.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

Prepared by:
Eugenio P. Bayani, Jr., LPT, MBA

Noted by: Joan O. Bayani, LPT, MBA

ASTP/ABM&BSOA STRAND HEAD