Question

An assembly operator walks five steps from her work bench to a small box of component parts on the floor and grabs a 1 lb. part from the box. The operator then returns to her work bench and places the part in a fixture, snapping it into place with light pressure. The operator then reaches to a tray on the work bench to grab a 6-inch bolt and places it into a threaded hole on the part in the fixture, using five finger turns to tighten it in the hole. The operator then reaches to a ratchet wrench on the bench, places the wrench on the bolt, uses six wrist cranks to fully tighten the bolt, and sets the wrench aside on the bench. The operator then unsnaps the assembled part from out of the fixture, pushes it three stages while taking three steps along a roller conveyor next to her bench to the next workstation, then returns to her work bench.
a. Provide the move sequence(s) and the normal time to perform this activity.
b. What is the standard time to perform the activity if the allowance factor is 10%?
c. How could the process be improved?

Answer 1

Answer:

a. Move sequence  = 5 steps to + 5 step back + 3 step + 3 steps back = 16 steps

(assuming each step and movement is one second) time to perform activity

16 steps * 1 second + one second for grabbing 1 lb + 1 second for placing +1 second for snapping with pressure + 1 second for grabbing on tray + 1 second for placing + 1 second for tightening + 1 second for reaching to ratchet + second for placing bolt + 1 sec for setting aside + 1 sec for unsnapping

perform time = 25 seconds therefore plus +- 30 seconds

b. standard time = normal time + (normal time *10%)

                           = 25 + (25*0.1)

                            = 27.5 seconds

c. The process could be improved by having all the materials close by to the work bench or could have a second person helping to fetch things so to minimize movements and save time.

Explanation: