Work Sampling

- MEGHANT NICHANT
Industrial Engineer - IE
• A technique that discovers the proportions
of total time that various activities
contribute to the job by taking a relatively
large # of observations at random
intervals
• Used to determine: production standards,
machine and personnel utilization, and job
allowances. Typically faster and cheaper
than other techniques
 Theory
• Probability based on the binomial distribution
(p + q)n = 1
• Mean = np, Variance = npq
• As n becomes large, the binomial distribution
approaches the normal distribution
• This proportion has distribution of Mean = p,
Variance = pq/n
 Theory
• There are many sources of tabulated data for
determining the # of samples required at
various confidence levels and accuracy’s.
• Formula for calculation purposes simplifies
to: n = Z2(1-P)(P)/(L2)
 Example of Sample Size
Calculation
• A work sampling study requires 95-percent
confidence with five-percent accuracy. How
many observations are required if the machine
down time is eight percent?
– n = (1.960)2*(1-0.08)*0.08/(0.05)2
– n = 225,76 observations
 Sample Size Table

Z=1.96 accuracy at 95% confidence interval,

L 0.01 0.05 0.1

N 5644 225.76 56.44
 Randomized Time of Observation
1st day
1 2 3 4 5
1 30 170 230 20 30
2 150 220 250 170 80
3 160 280 270 260 240
4 190 350 280 270 260
5 220 360 290 300 290
6 230 390 350 330 310
7 360 430 480 410 390
8 480 500 530 420 460
9 570 560 580 540 480

Data are taken from Random Table(Methods Standards and

Work Design(by Benjamin Niebel and A. Freivalds))
2nd day
1 2 3 4 5
1 70 60 100 20 50
2 90 100 120 40 70
3 130 160 230 60 90
4 180 350 310 250 210
5 200 370 320 320 250
6 220 380 340 330 270
7 240 440 390 340 280
8 290 460 520 370 350
9 570 530 520 380 470
3rd day
1 2 3 4 5
1 150 20 40 50 50
2 220 30 50 80 90
3 230 60 100 90 220
4 280 100 150 170 280
5 360 130 160 240 310
6 390 210 200 250 340
7 410 300 220 450 360
8 420 330 240 470 440
9 520 560 320 480 450
4th day
1 2 3 4 5
1 80 40 30 70 50
2 90 90 50 150 60
3 160 90 90 270 90
4 220 130 130 270 110
5 330 180 180 280 120
6 440 210 260 300 150
7 460 290 410 310 220
8 540 380 430 380 440
9 560 520 580 490 470
5th day
1 2 3 4 5
7 20 150 60 80 60
5 40 210 140 100 170
1 100 270 180 130 210
2 280 370 210 130 220
9 280 410 230 150 230
8 310 460 420 230 410
3 340 470 450 340 430
4 360 540 500 430 500
6 470 570 530 570 540
1st day’s Work Sampling Summary Sheet

Classrooms

Posting
Garden

Offices
Stairs
Floor

Total
Labs
WC
idle

Worker1 5 1 2 1 9
Worker2 6 1 1 1 9
Worker3 5 3 1 9
Worker4 7 1 1 9
Worker5 4 1 4 9
WORKERS DAILY NUTRITION

W3 CONSUMED AV. APPR. CALORIES

CUBE SUGAR 10*2 12*20

NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS 2glass/week 41
SNACKS 1 pad 150
BREAKFAST .75bread,cheese,olives,jam,sometimes egg 650
LUNCH french fries,rice,soup,salad, 880
sometimes chicken,1 bread
(2 dishes of which is cooked)
DINNER 1 bread,omlette or menemen 750
Total 2126

W4 CONSUMED AV. APPR. CALORIES

CUBE SUGAR 9*2 18*12

NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS 1glass/week 20
SNACKS 1pad,1 dessert/week 180
BREAKFAST 1 bread,cheese,olives,jam,sometimes egg 775
LUNCH french fries,rice,soup,salad, 880
sometimes chicken,1 bread
(2 dishes of which is cooked)
DINNER soup,salad,0.5 bread 530
Total 2601

W5(postman) CONSUMED AV. APPR. CALORIES

CUBE SUGAR - -
NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS - -
SNACKS - -
BREAKFAST He doesn't have breakfast for years -
LUNCH he eats from cafeteria 850
DINNER chicken,fish,beans,rice 350
(small amounts) Total 1200
WORKERS' ENERGY CONSUMPTION
(KCAL/MINUTE)

W3 (Heart beat:76)
Floor Cleaning Gardening At rest W.T: 9H 45 M
3.219 2.536 1.485
3.125 2.894 1.176
2.987 2.569 1.205
3.456 2.753 0.857
3.265 2.412 1.025
Mean 3.2104 2.6328 1.1496
St. Dev. 0.17362 0.1903069 0.23313

W4 (Heart Beat:72)
Floor Cleaning Gardening At rest W.T: 9H 45 M
3.012 2.154 0.658
2.609 2.423 0.517
3.751 2.036 0.576
2.501 1.956 0.682
2.982 2.125 0.542
Mean 2.971 2.1388 0.595
St. Dev. 0.490445 0.1769003 0.072097

W5 postman(Heart Beat:85) W.T: 9H

Posting Lab Res. At rest
5.156 4.856 2.502
5.002 4.256 2.402
4.98 4.987 2.308
5.236 5.123 2.568
5.128 5.236 2.654
Mean 5.1004 4.8916 2.4868
St. Dev. 0.107726 0.3829207 0.13596

WORKERS' OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

W3
15 minutes walking for bus stop to go to work 23.5
1-1.5 hours walking for spare times 141

W4
20 minutes walking for bus stop to go to work 26

W5
30 minutes pysical exercise before sleeping 46
1 hour working for extra time 92
WORKER 3 DAILY CALORY CONSUMPTION

9H 45M= 585 MINUTES MINUTES CAL.CONS TOTAL CAL.

%56 IDLE 327.6 1.1496 376.6

%33 FLOOR CLEANING 193.05 3.2104 619.8
%11 GARDENING 64.35 2.6328 169.42

1H 45M other activities 105 164.5

12.5 H at home 750 1.1496 862.2

TOTAL 2192.52

WORKER 4 DAILY CALORY CONSUMPTION

9H 45M= 585 MINUTES MINUTES CAL.CONS TOTAL CAL.

%78 IDLE 456.3 0.595 271.5

%11 FLOOR CLEANING 64.35 2.971 191.183
%11 GARDENING 64.35 2.1388 137.63

20 M other activities 20 26
13H 55M at home 835 0.595 496.825

TOTAL 1123.14

WORKER 5 DAILY CALORY CONSUMPTION

9H = 540 MINUTES MINUTES CAL.CONS TOTAL CAL.

%44 IDLE 237.6 2.4868 590.863

%45 POSTING 243 5.1004 1239
11% LAB RES. 59.4 4.8916 290.56

30 M exercise 30 46
1 H extra working 60 92
13.5 H at home 810 2.4868 2014.308

TOTAL 4272.73
 PRE-RESULTS

CALORY GAIN CALORI CONSUMPTION

W3 2126 2193

W4 2601 1123

W5 1200 4273
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

CHRISTINE AICKIN
`ERGONOMIC ASSESSMENT (Manual Handling)
OF CLEANING WORK`
 QUESTION 1

Cleaners sustain a high frequency of back, shoulder, neck, arm and

hand injuries. This was verified through a review of Workers'
Compensation statistics, consultation with cleaners and a review of
the literature. What are the factors that build the ‘risk’ for cleaners
and cleaning in ergonomic means?
• Postures required by tasks
• Duration and frequency of tasks
• Weights handled
• Equipment design
• Work organization issues
 QUESTION 2

Which suggestions can be made for improvement in the design of

‘cleaning’ work, workplace and equipment?

• Equipment design and equipment selection

– Review of equipment prior to purchase, usage of prototypes
• Job Design and Work Organisation
– Care should be taken that cardiovascular requirements of
cleaning work do not exceed the considered safety level of the
workforce.
– Cleaners should be involved in reviewing and planning the way
work is done using their knowledge of cleaning methods,
cleaning alms, productivity requirements and health and safety
effects
– Job rotation or job sharing should be practiced where jobs
which have been identified as difficult and are performed for
over half an hour
– Team work should be performed for heavy works
• Education and Trainig
– Cleaners should be trained in required job skills as well as team building,
problem solving, occupational health and safety
• Maintenance and replacement for powered and non-powered
equipment
• Improvement of the interface between schools and cleaners
– Condition of garbage bins
– Condition of classrooms
– Relationship between cleaners, students and management

• Long Term Improvements

– Design of the work place (school)

NOTE: Questions & answers are prepared according to Christine Aicki

Paper that has the topic `Ergonomic Assessment (Manual Handling)
Of Cleaning Work`
Questions & Comments

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