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Industrial engineering · work measurement
Standard Minute Value
RATING SCALE
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What this is for

A standard minute value is the time a job should take when done at a normal working pace, including the rest a person needs to keep that pace up all day. It is the number production planning, costing, and line balancing all rely on.

This dashboard takes you from a stopwatch at the machine to that figure, and then tracks how operators perform against it. You do not need prior training in work measurement — the study screen explains each step as you reach it.

How a study works
1
Break the job into elements
An element is a step with a clear start and end — load the part, clamp it, run the weld. Timing steps separately shows you where the time actually goes, and lets you rate each one on its own.
2
Time each element several times
Tap Record at the end of every cycle. One reading tells you nothing about a job that varies; ten gives you an average you can defend. The panel shows how many you need for the accuracy you asked for.
3
Rate the pace
A stopwatch measures the worker you watched, not a standard worker. Rating corrects for that: 100 is normal pace, above means they were working faster than normal, below means slower. Observed time multiplied by the rating gives basic time.
4
Add an allowance
Nobody works 480 minutes without pause. The allowance adds paid time for rest, personal needs, and conditions like heat or awkward posture. Basic time plus the allowance is the SMV.
5
Track against it
Once you have an SMV, a shift record of units produced tells you efficiency — how much of the paid time turned into output. Trends matter more than single shifts.
Where things live
Run a study The main screen. Study record, element table, stopwatch, readings, and the statistics that say whether the study is valid.
Calculate Single-element SMV from an observed time, the ILO allowance table with workstation presets, line efficiency, and production target.
Track Shift-by-shift efficiency per operator, with a trend and CSV export.
Reference Every formula explained with worked examples, practice problems, rating calibration exercises, and MOST.
Summary A one-page sheet of the current study — record, elements, allowance breakdown, SMV — for showing to someone else.
Terms you will see
Observed time The raw stopwatch reading, in minutes.
Rating Your judgement of pace against normal working pace. 100 is standard on the 100 scale, 75 on the 75 scale.
Basic time Observed time corrected for rating — the time at standard pace.
Allowance A percentage added to basic time for rest, personal needs and working conditions.
SMV Basic time plus allowance. The standard minute value.
CV% How much the readings vary. Above about 20% means the job is inconsistent and worth investigating before you standardise it.
Efficiency SMV times units produced, divided by the time paid for. 100% means output matched the standard.
MOST A method that builds the time from the movements involved instead of timing them, so there is nothing to rate. Under Reference.
Your data

Everything you enter is saved in this browser as you type, and is still there when you come back. Nothing is sent anywhere.

The header carries three controls: the rating scale your plant uses, EXAMPLE to load a complete worked study for reference, and CLEAR to wipe everything and start fresh. Study data and operator logs both export as CSV.
Study summary
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Product SMV
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No readings yet. Run a study to fill this sheet, or load the example from the header.
ELEMENTnMEANRATINGBASICSMV
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Product total {{ prodBtTxt }} {{ prodSmvTxt }}
Allowance applied
Constant (personal needs + basic fatigue) 9
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In use {{ tsATxt }}

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Study basis
Elements{{ elCount }}
Readings taken{{ sumReadings }}
Rating base{{ scaleTxt }}
Confidence / accuracy{{ sumConf }}
Standard output, 480 min{{ sumOutput }}
Study record
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Your first study — three steps
1 · Name what you are timing
One row per element — a step with a clear start and end, like "load panel into jig". Three to six is typical.
2 · Time it ten times
Start the stopwatch and tap Record at the end of each cycle. Ten readings is the usual minimum; the panel tells you when you have enough.
3 · Rate the pace you saw
Say how the operator's speed compared with a normal working pace. The anchors under the table explain the numbers, and Reference has practice.
Element breakdown
RATING BASE {{ scaleTxt }} · ALLOWANCE {{ allowTxt }}
ELEMENTnMEANRATINGBASICSMV
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Product total {{ prodBtTxt }} {{ prodSmvTxt }}

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SENT — OPEN THE CALCULATE TAB TO CONTINUE
Readings
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Snapback timing: Record writes the split since the last tap into the next free slot below and restarts the count.

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DISTRIBUTION {{ ch.scaleTxt }}
ENTER 2+ READINGS x̄ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
READING OUTLIER ±2 SD BAND MEAN
CONFIDENCE
ACCURACY
STUDY PROGRESS{{ opTxt }}
Statistics — {{ selName }}
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STUDY IS VALID — SUFFICIENT OBSERVATIONS
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Element basic time {{ selBT }}
Element SMV {{ selSMV }}
SMV calculator
MIN
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%

Set by the ILO table below — override here if your plant uses an agreed figure.

Basic time {{ btTxt }}
SMV {{ smvTxt }}
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BASIC TIME ALLOWANCE
Line efficiency
0 25 50 75 100 EFFICIENCY
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Production target
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Units per shift
Allowance table — ILO

Pick the workstation that matches, then tune if you need to. Constant allowances are always 9%.

Personal needs 5
Basic fatigue 4
CONSTANT 9
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Variable fatigue {{ iloVar }}
Total allowance {{ iloTotal }}

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APPLIED — ALLOWANCE NOW {{ iloTotal }}
Operator performance
EFFICIENCY VS STANDARD, BY SHIFT
Latest
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Average
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Best
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Trend
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Shifts logged
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No shifts logged for this operator yet. Add one below.
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90% EXCELLENT 75% TARGET FLOOR SCALE 0–110%
Log a shift
Computed efficiency {{ lgEff }}

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SHIFT ADDED
Shift records — {{ trkName }}
DATEUNITSMINEFF

Nothing logged yet.
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Formula reference

Each formula with what it is for and a worked example using the dashboard's default figures.

Basic time STEP 1
BT = OT × (R ÷ base)

Corrects the stopwatch reading for how fast the worker was actually going. A rating above the base means they beat standard pace, so the basic time is longer than what you timed.

OT = observed time · R = rating · base = 100 or 75 depending on the scale in use
E.G. 2.500 × (110 ÷ 100) = 2.750 min
Standard minute value STEP 2
SMV = BT × (1 + A ÷ 100)

Adds the paid time a worker cannot spend producing — rest, personal needs, unavoidable delay — so the standard is achievable across a full shift rather than for one perfect cycle.

BT = basic time · A = allowance % from the ILO table
E.G. 2.750 × (1 + 15 ÷ 100) = 3.163 min
Product SMV MULTI-ELEMENT
SMV = Σ (x̄ᵢ × Rᵢ ÷ base) × (1 + A ÷ 100)

Each element is rated on its own — a worker can be fast at one and slow at another — then the basic times add up before the allowance is applied once to the whole product.

x̄ᵢ = element mean · Rᵢ = element rating
E.G. (2.608 + 1.220 + 4.591) × 1.15 = 9.682 min
Line efficiency KPI
E% = (SMV × U) ÷ (T × W) × 100

Compares the standard minutes the line earned against the minutes it was paid for. 100% means output matched exactly what the SMV says it should be; most lines run 75–85%.

U = units · T = shift time (min) · W = workers
E.G. (3.163 × 1500) ÷ (480 × 12) × 100 = 82.4%
Production target TARGET
Target = (T × W × E) ÷ SMV

Turns the SMV into a shift goal. Setting E below 100% builds in the efficiency the line realistically holds, so the target is one the operators can actually hit.

E = target efficiency as a decimal · T = shift time (min) · W = workers
E.G. (480 × 12 × 0.85) ÷ 3.163 = 1548 units
Required observations STUDY SIZE
n = (Z × s ÷ (e × x̄))²

Tells you when you have enough readings to stop timing. The more the readings scatter, the more of them you need before the mean can be trusted to the accuracy you claimed.

Z = 1.645 (90%) or 1.96 (95%) · s = std deviation · e = accuracy as a decimal · x̄ = mean
E.G. (1.645 × 0.121 ÷ (0.05 × 2.484))² = 3 readings
MOST standard time ALT METHOD
TMU = index total × 10

Builds the time from the movements themselves, so there is nothing to rate and no stopwatch needed. The result is already basic time at standard pace — add your allowance to reach an SMV.

1 TMU = 0.036 sec · index total = sum of the sequence values for the model in use
E.G. index 6 → 60 TMU × 0.036 = 2.16 sec
Practice problems

Tap “New problem” to begin. Problems rotate across SMV, efficiency, targets, MOST, and time study statistics.
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Rating calibration

Read the scenario and estimate the observer rating. Standard pace is {{ scaleTxt }} on the scale in use. Professional tolerance is ±5 points at base 100.

Tap “New scenario” to begin. Practise until you consistently rate within tolerance.

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Your rating
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Correct rating
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MOST — an alternative to timing

Builds the time from the movements themselves instead of a stopwatch, so there is nothing to rate. Useful when you cannot observe the job, or to check a study you have already run.

BasicMOST sequence models

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SEQUENCE
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Output
Total index{{ mIdx }}
TMU{{ mTMU }}
In minutes{{ mMin }}
Standard time {{ mSec }}
MOST output is basic time at standard pace — there is nothing to rate. Add your allowance in the calculator to reach an SMV.
Worked examples

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