Virginia College promotes a wide variety of executive training courses for firms
ID: 345515 • Letter: V
Question
Virginia College promotes a wide variety of executive training courses for firms in the Arlington, Virginia, region. Director Wendy Tate believes that individually typed letters add a personal touch to marketing. To prepare letters for mailing, she conducts a time study of her secretaries. On the basis of the observations shown in the following table, she wishes to develop a time standard for the whole job.
Performance
Observation (minutes per cycle)
Element
Rating
1
2
3
4
5
6
Typing letter
8080
%
2.62.6
3.63.6
2.82.8
2.12.1
2.52.5
3.33.3
Typing envelope
105105
%
0.80.8
0.90.9
0.70.7
0.90.9
3.13.1
*
0.60.6
Stuffing envelope
9090
%
0.30.3
0.50.5
1.81.8
*
0.20.2
0.60.6
0.50.5
Sealing, sorting
120120
%
1.01.0
2.92.9
^
1.01.0
1.11.1
4.34.3
^
0.90.9
*Disregardlong dash—secretary stopped to answer the phone
^ Disregardlong dash—interruption by supervisor
The college uses a total allowance factor of 12%. Tate decides to delete all unusual observations from the time study. The standard time for this process = ___ minutes (round your response to two decimal places).
Performance
Observation (minutes per cycle)
Element
Rating
1
2
3
4
5
6
Typing letter
8080
%
2.62.6
3.63.6
2.82.8
2.12.1
2.52.5
3.33.3
Typing envelope
105105
%
0.80.8
0.90.9
0.70.7
0.90.9
3.13.1
*
0.60.6
Stuffing envelope
9090
%
0.30.3
0.50.5
1.81.8
*
0.20.2
0.60.6
0.50.5
Sealing, sorting
120120
%
1.01.0
2.92.9
^
1.01.0
1.11.1
4.34.3
^
0.90.9
Explanation / Answer
To be calculated:
Standard time for the process (in minutes)
Given values:
Performance ratings of four elements
Observations in minutes per cycle
Allowance factor = 12% = 0.12
Solution:
Standard time is calculated as;
Standard time = Normal time / (1 - Allowance factor)
and,
Normal time = Average observed time x Performance rating
Element-1: Typing letter
Performance rating = 80% = 0.80
Average observed time = (2.62 + 3.63 + 2.82 + 2.12 + 2.52 + 3.33) / 6 = 17.04 / 6 = 2.84
Normal time = 2.84 x 0.80 = 2.27
Element-2: Typing envelope
Performance rating = 105% = 1.05
Average observed time = (0.80 + 0.90 + 0.70 + 0.90 + 3.13 + 0.60) / 6 = 7.03 / 6 = 1.17
Normal time = 1.17 x 1.05 = 1.23
Element-3: Stuffing envelope
Performance rating = 90% = 0.90
Average observed time = (0.30 + 0.50 + 1.81 + 0.20 + 0.60 + 0.50) / 6 = 3.91 / 6 = 0.65
Normal time = 0.65 x 0.90 = 0.59
Element-4: Sealing, Sorting
Performance rating = 120% = 1.20
Average observed time = (1.01 + 2.92 + 1.01 + 1.11 + 4.34 + 0.90) / 6 = 11.29 / 6 = 1.88
Normal time = 1.88 x 1.20 = 2.26
Total Normal time = Sum of Normal time of all elements
Total Normal time = 2.27 + 1.23 + 0.59 + 2.26
Total Normal time = 6.35 minutes
Now, Standard time can be calculated as;
Standard time = Normal time / (1 - Allowance factor)
Standard time = 6.35 / (1 - 0.12) = 6.35 / 0.88 = 7.22
The Standard time for the process = 7.22 minutes
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