Work Design practice questions

Answer: A) Standard data (synthetic) standards

• ACorrect. They avoid timing each new job.
• BIncorrect. Those time the job directly.
• CIncorrect. That estimates time proportions.
• DIncorrect. Those model improvement with repetition.

Answer: D) 1.80 min

Normal time equals the observed time multiplied by the performance rating: 2.0 × 0.90 = 1.80 minutes.

• AIncorrect. This divides the observed time by the rating (2.0 ÷ 0.90). The rating should multiply the observed time.
• BIncorrect. This uses a 110% rating (2.0 × 1.10). It treats the operator as faster than normal, but the operator was rated slower than normal.
• CIncorrect. This leaves out the performance rating. The observed time only equals the normal time when the rating is 100%.
• DCorrect. Normal time = observed time × rating = 2.0 × 0.90 = 1.80 min. A rating below 100% means the operator worked slower than normal, so the normal time is shorter than the observed time.

Answer: A) A predetermined time standard system

• ACorrect. Times come from tables of basic motions.
• BIncorrect. It uses predetermined values.
• CIncorrect. It uses predetermined values.
• DIncorrect. It uses predetermined values.

Answer: A) 75%

Work sampling estimates the proportion of time spent on an activity as the observations of that activity divided by the total observations: 60/80 = 75%.

• ACorrect. In work sampling, the proportion is the number of observations of the activity divided by the total number of observations: 60 ÷ 80 = 0.75.
• BIncorrect. 20 ÷ 80 = 25% is the estimated idle proportion, not the working proportion.
• CIncorrect. This is the ratio of idle to working observations (20 ÷ 60). A proportion must use the total number of observations as the denominator.
• DIncorrect. This treats the count of working observations as a percentage without dividing by the 80 total observations.

Answer: D) Reduce exposure to repetitive strain

• AIncorrect. That isn't the goal.
• BIncorrect. That raises risk.
• CIncorrect. Training is still needed.
• DCorrect. Workers alternate muscle groups.

Answer: A) Skill, effort, conditions, and consistency

The Westinghouse leveling system rates skill, effort, conditions and consistency. The summed adjustments convert observed time to normal time, and allowances such as fatigue and delay are added afterward.

• ACorrect. The Westinghouse leveling system gives a plus or minus adjustment for each of skill, effort, conditions and consistency. The sum of these adjustments, plus 1, becomes the performance rating factor applied to observed time.
• BIncorrect. Fatigue and personal delay are allowances. They are added after the normal time is found, when the standard time is set. They are not performance rating factors.
• CIncorrect. Pace and job difficulty belong to objective (synthetic-difficulty) rating schemes, and method and tooling should be standardized before the study. None of these are the Westinghouse factors.
• DIncorrect. These sound like general employee-evaluation criteria. The Westinghouse system rates how the observed cycle was performed, not personnel records.

Answer: C) 3

• AIncorrect. Use (a + t)/(a + b).
• BIncorrect. Divide by the operator's time per machine.
• CCorrect. (a + t)/(a + b) = (1 + 5)/(1 + 1).
• DIncorrect. Recheck: 6/2.

Answer: B) 15%

• AIncorrect. It falls to 85%, a 15% reduction.
• BCorrect. Unit time falls to 85% of its previous value.
• CIncorrect. It's a 15% reduction.
• DIncorrect. Learning reduces time.

Answer: C) 16

• AIncorrect. Recheck: 3.92².
• BIncorrect. Square the ratio.
• CCorrect. n = [zs/(kx̄)]² = (0.392/0.1)² ≈ 15.4, rounded up.
• DIncorrect. Recheck the decimal place.

Answer: A) 120 units

• ACorrect. 60 min ÷ 0.5 min per unit.
• BIncorrect. Divide 60 by 0.5.
• CIncorrect. Divide 60 by 0.5.
• DIncorrect. Divide 60 by the standard time.