Time Study & BasicMOST Analysis · IE 3123 · Fall 2025 · Solo
Setting a 121-second standard time for a manual task
A stopwatch time study and a BasicMOST predetermined-time analysis of a 6-element manual task, with performance ratings and allowances.
Time studyBasicMOSTPerformance ratingExcel
20
Cycles timed with a stopwatch
6
Task elements, each with defined end points
13%
Total allowances: 5% personal, 8% fatigue, 0% delay
121 s
Standard time for the task
Image to come Element breakdown table
The six elements of the task, each with a description and clear end points.
The problem
Set a fair standard time for a manual task. That meant accounting for how fast the operator actually worked and for the conditions she worked in, then adding allowances.
What I did
Broke the task into 6 elements, each with a description and clear end points.
Timed 20 cycles with a stopwatch.
Adjusted performance ratings for conditions, because low-contrast color markings and dim room lighting made two colors hard to tell apart, and for effort, because the operator kept trying to beat her own time.
Calculated normal time, then applied allowances: 5% personal, 8% fatigue for high concentration and monotonous, repetitive work done alone, and 0% delay since there was no machine time.
Built a BasicMOST analysis table in Excel.
Image to come Rating and allowance calculations
How observed time became normal time, and normal time became standard time.
Result
A standard time of 121 seconds, with 13% total allowances.
How the BasicMOST result compared with the stopwatch result, if you compared them.
Image to come BasicMOST sequence table
The BasicMOST analysis built in Excel.
What I learned
One or two sentences on what you took away from this project.
Let's talk
Looking for Summer 2027 internships and Spring 2027 co-ops, and open to relocating anywhere in the U.S. Email is the best way to reach me.