Time plays an essential part in the days to day activities. With every target, may it be business-wise or political-wise, there has to be a deadline tab for every activity. These deadlines can either be by the end of the day, a week, a month or at times pointed within a specific time. Industrial Engineers and Work-study Officers usually use the Standard Time and Normal Time during Work Measurement.
While Standard Time and Normal Time have a significant role in every industrial wage calculation, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of what sets them apart.
Standard Time Vs. Normal Time
The difference between Standard Time and Normal Time lies with the fact that Normal Time refers to the Time when work must be done without delays. On the other hand, the Standard Time is the Time taken by workers to complete the task with a few unavoidable delays.
Every industry has to carry out work measurement processes. Work measurement is simply the process of calculating the overall Time taken by an individual while performing a job regarding the different performance levels.
Normal Time also referred to as base time or leveled Time, is just the Time taken by an experienced employee to complete a task within a normal pace. The standard Time, on the other hand, is Time taken by an employee to finish a task with 100% efficiency having unavoidable situations that lead to delays.
What is Standard Time?
Standard Time is a term that is often used within the industrial engineering for work management purposes. Standard Time involves the average labor working at a normal pace to complete a particular task through a prescribed method. For the person to recover from fatigue caused due to work, the standard Time includes the recommended allowances. It also features additional allowances that cover the contingent element never observed though it will happen.
There are different techniques used in determining standard Time. This includes:
- Tone Study.
- Work Sample.
- Standard Data System.
- Predetermined Motion Time System.
The formula used in calculating standard Time is:
Standard Time = Basic Time + Allowances
(OR)
Standard Time = (Observed Time * Performance Rating) (1+PFD allowance)
The observed Time refers to the Time taken by an employee to finish a task.
The performance rating is simply based on the experience of a worker. An experienced worker is assigned to calculate and observe it.
There is a fatigue time which can result in work delays. The PFD allowance is, therefore, the adjustment done to the normal Time so as to compensate for the lost time due to fatigue.
What is Normal Time?
Normal Time refers to the strictest schedule follower.
The formula used in normal time calculation is:
Normal Time = (Observed time X Performance Rating) /100
(OR)
Normal Time = (Standard TIME – Allowances)
With normal Time the allowances are devoid. This is because the allowances are only provided when there is an unavailable delay. However, these types of delays are not featured in the normal Time. The worker must therefore complete the task without any excuse or delays. Therefore the allowances are not necessary. With normal Time there are three types of allowances which include:
- Relaxation allowance
- Interference allowance and
- Contingency allowance
Relaxation allowance offers the employees an allowance so as to make the employee recover from fatigue. However, this doesn’t happen with Normal Time. The employee will only get an interference allowance when he has been made to work within poor environmental conditions. However, in normal times the employee will have to continue working irrespective of the environmental conditions.
On the other hand, the contingency allowance is offered when there is a delay caused by the breakage of working tools or power failure, which results in the work being halted. It can also involve other legitimate things which can cause the delay. With normal time, there is no possibility of portraying these delays.
Difference Between Standard Time and Normal Time
For a specific job, the following conclusion can be outlined:
- Normal Time is lower than the Standard Time.
- To set the Standard Time for a job, there has to be the inclusion of allowances to the Basic Time or Normal Time. This is, however, not necessary with Norma Time.
- The employees in Standard Time will undoubtedly get an extra payment. This is never the case with the Normal Time employees.
- Workers within the Standard Time get some time to relax while Normal Time workers have to work until the task is done.
- With Standard Time, the employees end up being physically and also emotionally intense after completing the work. However, an employee working with Normal Time will always be subjected to pressure and stress.
- Important to note is that standard Time is highly dependent on normal Time or the base time. Normal Time, on the other hand, is never reliant on a standard time.
- Standard Time features no time constraints when an employee is working. Normal Time, on the other hand, strictly follows and adheres to deadlines until the task is completed.
Conclusion
The calculation of Time involves lots of processes. The study is, however, carried out in lots of industries. Time study is therefore vital as it helps in industrial operations manual, mental and machining work determination. The study helps in determining the wages and also incentives to be given to employees.
Thus, the hours, as well as the pace of an employee, have a significant role in his salary. It also gives an insight for industrialists about the Time taken to complete the job. Therefore, the application of Standard Time and Normal Time are highly integrated within industrial performance.
With Standard Time, employees get to enjoy better allowances giving them the joy of being stress-free after the completion of the task. This is due to the fact that Standard tike Time is highly determined by Normal Time, allowances, and fatigue. Normal Time, on the other hand, features no allowances, and at the end of the task, the employee is highly subjected to lots of stress. Normal Time is determined by the observed Time and the rating factor.