Time Rate

the time allotted for producing one unit of output or for completing a predetermined amount of work by a single worker or by a group of workers, appropriately skilled, under specified organizational and technical conditions. Time rates are calculated in man-hours or in man-minutes. The time rate of work done by a single worker is stated in hours and minutes and corresponds to the complete duration of the work or to the time spent in producing a single article. A technically derived time rate is derived by determining the time required to complete a task under specified organizational and technical conditions, assuming optimum utilization of working time and equipment.

Time rates are applied as a labor rate in every type of production. In the USSR they are used in solving a wide variety of production, technological, and economic problems; these include assigning production workers, determining how many workers are required to fulfill a given production program, and projecting the throughput of shop equipment. Time rates also form the basis on which other planning problems related to wages and production costs are solved. Time rates are in inverse proportion to output rates.

The time rate is made up of piece time, that is, time expended per unit of work, and of set-up and wind-up time, that is, time spent both in preparing and concluding an operation. The time rate is calculated using the formula

T_r = T_p + (T_{S, W}/n)

where T_r represents the time rate, T_p piece time, T_{S, W} set-up and wind-up time, and n the number of articles in the lot. Piece time includes time required for actual production, for servicing the workplace, and for rest and personal needs.