A work sampling study was conducted to determine the proportion of the time a wo

Question

A work sampling study was conducted to determine the proportion of the time a worker is idle. The following information was gathered on a random basis Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Number of Times Worker Idle 12 17 6 16 Total Number of Observations 46 59 40 50 a. Based on these preliminary results, what percent of the time is the worker working? The worker is working 73.85 % of the time. (Enter your response rounded to two decimal places.) b. If idle time is judged to be excessive, what additional categories might you add to a follow-up work sampling study to identify the root causes? (Mark all that apply.) A. Quality assurance B. Equipment failures C. Number of workers D. Waiting for instructions

Explanation / Answer

Solution:

(a) The percent of the time a worker is working is calculated as;

Time a worker is working = (Total number of observations — Number of times worker idle) / Total number of observations x 100

Time a worker is working = [(46 - 12) + (59 - 17) + (40 - 6) + (50 -16)] / (46 + 59 + 40 + 50) x 100

Time a worker is working = [(34 + 42 + 34 + 34) / 195] x 100

Time a worker is working = (144 / 195) x 100

Time a worker is working = 73.85% of the time

(b) Answer: Option (B) - Equipment failures and Option (D) - Waiting for instructions

Explanation: If idle time is found to be excessive or more than the allowed levels, the root cause of the worker idleness can be found out by studying additional categories such as “Equipment failures” and “Waiting for instructions”. Are the workers sitting idle because of any equipment failures at the workplace? Or are they idle because they are waiting for instructions from their supervisors. Studying these factors will help in identifying the root cause.

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