Time study isn’t just a technical skill—it’s a discipline rooted in accuracy, repeatability, and fairness. It provides the baseline for labor standards, cost analysis, and productivity benchmarks. But its effectiveness relies on how rigorously it follows key standards. Without proper methods in place, your study results may vary wildly depending on who performs them or when they’re done. Inconsistent data can lead to everything from worker distrust to flawed staffing models.

This blog walks through the five foundational standards every time study analyst should know. Whether you’re a seasoned engineer or just starting in continuous improvement, mastering these will help you build time studies that are defensible, credible, and useful for real operational decisions.

1. Stopwatch Timing Standard: Building Your Foundation on Accurate Observation

At the heart of every time study is the stopwatch. Whether you’re using a physical timer or a digital tool, how you capture and record time makes or breaks the entire process. Stopwatch timing is the most direct method for capturing task duration—but to be effective, it must be structured and repeatable.

• Task element breakdown is critical. Tasks must be divided into clearly defined steps, or “elements,” each with a distinct start and end point. For example, “Pick up the part” is a clearer and more measurable action than “prepare the next item.”
• Choose your timing technique wisely. Most analysts use either continuous timing, where the stopwatch runs for the full task and timestamps are recorded per element, or snapback timing, where the stopwatch resets after each element. Each has advantages: continuous timing helps with detailed comparisons, while snapback simplifies time-per-element recording.
• Run multiple cycles for accuracy. A single observation isn’t enough. Aim for at least 10–15 cycles under normal working conditions to identify outliers and establish an accurate average.

When done properly, stopwatch studies give you raw data that truly reflects how work is being performed. But raw time isn’t the whole story—that’s where performance rating comes in.

2. Performance Rating Standard: Adjusting for Speed and Skill

Not all workers move at the same pace—and not all observed times reflect a fair expectation. That’s why analysts use performance rating to normalize the observed time to a standard pace. This ensures that your labor standard is based on what a well-trained, motivated worker would do under typical conditions.

• Normal time = Observed time × Performance rating. If a worker completes a task in 60 seconds, but you assess their pace at 120% of normal, the normal time is 60 × 100 / 120 = 50 seconds.
• Use rating systems to maintain objectivity. Frameworks like the Westinghouse system help you assess multiple aspects—effort, skill, conditions, and consistency. The goal isn’t to penalize fast workers or protect slow ones, but to set fair, repeatable benchmarks.
• Subjectivity is the biggest risk. Rating requires skill and calibration. Without proper training, different analysts may assign vastly different ratings to the same worker. Use video comparisons or have senior analysts calibrate ratings to reduce variance.

Getting performance rating right is crucial. If the rating is off, your standard time will be inaccurate—even if your stopwatch data is perfect.

3. Allowance Standard: Accounting for Human Factors

No one works at full productivity for every minute of their shift. People need breaks, machines need minor adjustments, and fatigue accumulates. Time study standards account for this through allowances, which are percentages added to the normal time to create the final standard time.

There are three main types of allowances:

• Standard Time = Normal Time × (1 + Allowance%) - For example, if your normal time is 100 seconds and total allowances are 12%, the standard time is 112 seconds.
• Allowance values should be based on real data. You can use industry norms, internal studies, or ergonomic evaluations. But be transparent—unjustified or outdated allowances can erode trust with workers or unions.

Allowances are what make time studies realistic and humane. Without them, you may end up with labor standards that look efficient on paper—but fail in real-world execution.

4. Standard Data and PMTS: Scaling Time Study Across Operations

As valuable as stopwatch timing is, it isn’t scalable across hundreds of tasks or multiple plants. That’s where Predetermined Motion Time Systems (PMTS) and standard data libraries come in. These systems assign time values to basic human motions like reach, grasp, move, and position.

• Use standard data for repetitive or well-defined tasks. If a task involves actions that occur frequently—like assembling components or packaging—you can use PMTS to calculate time without needing live observations.
• Popular systems include:
  • MTM (Methods-Time Measurement): Very detailed, suited for hand-intensive work.
  • MODAPTS: More streamlined, used in textiles, furniture, food industries.
  • MOST (Maynard Operation Sequence Technique): Best for high-volume, medium-detail work.

Confused between MTM vs. MODAPTS and not able to find which Motion-Time Standard Is Right for Your Factory, refer to our detailed blog. 

• Standard data systems increase consistency and save time. They also allow you to simulate new processes during planning phases, before anything is built or observed.

But these systems aren’t plug-and-play. You need training to apply them properly, and you should validate your assumptions with real-world feedback. PMTS should complement stopwatch studies—not completely replace them.

5. Documentation and Auditability: Making Your Work Defensible

Time studies often feed into wage rates, line staffing, bonus calculations, or continuous improvement projects. If a labor union rep, line supervisor, or finance manager questions your numbers, you need more than a spreadsheet—you need evidence.

• Every time study should include:
  • Clearly defined task elements
  • Raw timing data per cycle
  • The performance rating used and rationale
  • Allowance breakdown and justification
  • Final standard time calculations
  • Date, location, analyst name, and version of standard used
• Good documentation protects everyone. It shows that you applied a fair, consistent process. It also enables future analysts to update or expand the study without starting from scratch.
• Digital tools can make this easy. Apps like Standard Work Pro streamline every step of the time study process—from observation to documentation to team-wide standardization. 

Instead of juggling spreadsheets, paper notes, and emails, analysts can record element times directly into the system, apply performance ratings, assign allowances, and instantly calculate standard times—all within one centralized platform. More importantly, every time study is stored with full traceability: when it was done, by whom, under what conditions, and what standards were applied.

Conclusion

A time study is only as strong as the standards behind it. When you apply the five foundational standards—accurate stopwatch timing, objective performance rating, realistic allowances, reliable standard data systems, and comprehensive documentation—you create labor standards that are defensible, fair, and actionable. These are the time studies that operations teams trust, that finance teams use to plan headcount, and that frontline workers respect.

But in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing factory environments, applying these standards manually can be difficult, time-consuming, and prone to error. That’s where tools like Standard Work Pro make all the difference. With built-in templates, digital documentation, and collaborative workflows, it helps analysts stay aligned with best practices—without slowing down.

Ready to build bulletproof time studies? Book a demo and see how Standard Work Pro can help you digitize, document, and scale your standard work—request a free demo today.