30+ Ready-To-Use Daily Time Study Templates (Excel / Word)

Nowadays, leaders and managers are using a time study template to improve profit margins and create a more effective business. They use it to understand current performance and to get a framework for recording data. Also, this spreadsheet template can be easily developed by using spreadsheet software like Excel.

This tracking sheet shows managers the time that employees spend on tasks. After that, you can use this data to optimize performance and production and identify time management strategies and standard work times.

What is a time study template?

A time study template is basically a customizable document. You can customize this document for an individual study or the template itself according to your ongoing needs. The template is used by the leaders to keep a record of the amount of time spent on several tasks in a production workflow.

Generally, a time study is a structured process of observing and recording the time required for carrying out specified work from the qualified worker while working at a defined level of performance. The main purpose of time study is to establish a time for an experienced worker to perform specified work under the given conditions.

Furthermore, a time study is conducted to determine areas of inefficiency in workflows. With the help of time study, you can make efforts toward reducing those inefficiencies. Time study is all about gathering data. That’s why, the method use to record that data is critical.

The time study template contains the following details;

• The name of the area of interest like product packaging workflow
• The activities of individuals being tracked
• Start and finish time of the activities
• For each activity, time in minutes or seconds having multiple spaces to record various data points
• Totals
• Notes
• Names of any employees that are responsible for particular tasks

Why do you use a time study template?

A time study template saves time. For instance, if a production manager conducting a time study in order to improve workflow efficiencies and opportunities to save time. It doesn’t make much sense to spend half an hour setting up a worksheet to capture data every time a time study is necessary. Thus, by using a time study template, you just have to open up the document and save a new copy. You can keep the original intact for future use and record the activities you want to study.

Another benefit of the time study template is reducing human error. When you have a pre-designed time study template, there’s less chance to miss out on necessary information like the names of employees responsible for various tasks.

Different types of time study templates:

The most common used types of time study templates are;

Time and motion study template

While conducting a time study, some managers prefer to include a motion element, referred as a time and motion study. This study determines workers’ movements while accomplishing a job to determine areas where physical movements are inefficient or wasteful.

Such a type of time study template is built on a simple spreadsheet. It enables users to track start and end times for each activity. In the Description field, the users take any required notes.

Business time study template

The businesses that want to conduct time studies across multiple days, this time study template is great for them. This enables the managers to identify if employees are more efficient on specific days. After that, they analyze those results further to understand why.

Personal time study template

Time studies are most commonly used to determine business inefficiencies. But, they can also benefit personal life. You can use this document to understand how much time is spent on specific tasks. Then, while tracking, take notes in the right-hand column for any helpful thoughts or insights. After a few weeks, review the time study and check for areas where there are chances for more efficiencies.

What is the time study method?

In the world of commerce, before purchasing a product, customers compare its price to similar ones that come from other manufacturers. You should make an estimation of accurate labor costs first before you can provide competitive quotations. This is because it will impact the price of the product.

Prices that are too high can adversely affect your business as you won’t get a lot of orders. Therefore, for accurate pricing, you have to come up with a time estimation. Labor costs play an essential role in pricing. You must estimate the time as accurately as possible as labor costs depend on time estimation.

When your business has customers who order specific products and want those products delivered at a particular date. You as a business owner or manufacturer, can only do this in case you know how much time the product will take to prepare. You can perform a time study in order to determine the accurate manufacturing time for a product. The art of observing and recording the time required to perform every element of a particular industrial operation is referred as a time study. In such a case, the term “industrial operation” involves mental, machine process, and manual operations where;

• The time you and your workers have taken to think about various operations are included in the mental time.
• The time your machines take to perform their work are included in machine time process.
• In 3 types of operations, you divide manual time that are tool handling, machine handling, and material handling.

The methods of time study;

Analyzing a specific job done by an average worker is the main objective of conducting a time study. From this, in terms of effort and time, you can determine the most efficient method. By using the most effective method, time study measures the time required to complete a specific job or task. There are also processes such as methods engineering and methods analysis. For the purpose of making improvements, they involve systematic recording and comprehensive analysis.

Methods analysis mainly pays attention to the reduction of a specific job’s work content. While work measurement generally pays attention to any ineffective time that’s associated with the method and the development of time standards for a certain operation. These processes do the following;

• Improve procedures and processes
• The layout of an office, service area, or plan is improved
• The economy in terms of human effort and reducing not necessary fatigue.
• The use of machines, manpower, and materials is improved.
• To build a better working environment.

What makes an effective time study template?

Let us discuss some pointers that make an effective time study template;

Clarity and simplicity

An effective time study template is straightforward so that the users can seamlessly engage with it. If you include too much content in it, it can distract the users from detailed analysis.

Flexibility

It offers customization as every organization and individual has unique needs. It allows its users to include the elements that best fit their specific requirements.

Comprehensive fields

A good time study template should have fields for the following;

• Task names
• Start and end times
• Duration
• Any interruptions
• Pertinent notes for study analysis

Visual appeal

In order to help the team record data efficiently, they contain clean layouts that have a touch of aesthetic appeal. This reduces potential input errors and increases user engagement.

Integration capabilities

It should ensure a smooth flow of data and insights by integrating with other tools, platforms, or software.

How to create a time study template?

A time study is an organized process that by using a time device includes direct observation and measurement of work. Then, on time management sheets or time study templates, you would record your observations. While working at a specified performance level, its purpose is to build the time required for the completion of a task by a worker.

Before filling out a time budget template, this method follows the below-mentioned basic procedure of the systematic work;

• The work’s analysis into precise components that are easily measurable.
• The measurement of all the components.
• From the measured components, the synthesis to identify the time for the job to get completed.

You must first conduct an initial observation of the work when you perform a time study. This way, you can determine the components to record and the best length of measurement to use. After that, you would perform succeeding studies wherein by using a timing device, you would time each occurrence for each of the elements. At the same time, you will also evaluate the rate by which the workers work depend on a rating scale.

Facilitate the whole rating process is one of the main reasons for measuring the elements of work rather than the work in its entirety. However, the rate varies at which workers perform. If you select the elements carefully, then this component remains consistent throughout the short duration of observation. Later, for the element you have observed into an average time, you will use the results of your assessments to convert the time.

It will involve using specific control mechanisms if you perform a time study properly. This ensures that any timing errors you make are within acceptable limits. Nowadays, more people are using electronic devices rather than mechanical stopwatches to record time. By converting the observed times into average times, some of these devices also assist with the subsequent stages.

In the process, the observing number of working cycles will base on the variability in the work and the accuracy level you require. A time study is a sampling technique. In this technique, you would base the value of the time needed for the job on the observed times.

That’s why, the number of observations required under specific conditions, you may use statistical techniques to come up with an estimation of them. Over different conditions and if possible over a range of workers, there should be total number of observations made. You will add allowances to come up with a standard time when you have identified the average time for each of the elements.

Time study is very flexible as it can be used for a wide range of work done under several conditions. It requires special and specific conditions as it’s a technique that involves direct observation. But, this method can produce consistent results if implemented properly.

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