PFD allowance in work systems is the adjustment done to the normal time to obtain the

standard time Standard time is the synchronization of clocks within a geographical region to a single time standard, rather than a local mean time standard. Generally, standard time agrees with the local mean time at some meridian that passes through the r ...

for the purpose of recovering the lost time due to personal needs,

fatigue Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a signs and symptoms, symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated wit ...

, and unavoidable delays. By providing a small increase to the normal time in each cycle, a worker can still be able to cover lost time and complete the work assigned to him or her.

Allowance technique

There are two types of interruption: (1) interruption related to work (2) interruption not related to work. For example, a machine breakdown, rest break to overcome fatigue, and receiving instruction from the manager are the interruption related to work, but personal needs,

lunch break A break at work (or work-break) is a period of time during a shift in which an employee is allowed to take time off from their job. It is a type of downtime. There are different types of breaks, and depending on the length and the employer's p ...

s, and personal

telephone call A telephone call, phone call, voice call, or simply a call, is the effective use of a connection over a telephone network between the calling party and the called party. Telephone calls are the form of human communication that was first enabl ...

s are interruptions not related to work. However, the two types of interruption are both essential for the worker because it is almost impossible to work continually during a regular shift.

Personal needs, fatigue, and unavoidable delays allowance

The standard time is calculated by multiplying the normal time by 1 plus the PFD allowance:Niebel, B., Freivalds, A. (2008) ''Methods, Standards and Work design'', McGraw-Hill,

T_\text = T_n*(1 + A_\text)

T_\text=

standard time. *

T_n =

normal time. *

A_\text =

PFD allowance.

Personal needs

The personal needs allowance is the time that is associated with workers’ daily personal needs which include going to the restroom, phone calls, going to the

water fountain A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a Tap (valve), tap. The Drinking, drinker bends down to the ...

, and similar interruptions of a personal nature. However, it is categorized as 5%, but it also depends on the work environment, e.g. in terms of discomfort and temperature.

Fatigue

The fatigue allowance is intended to cover the time that the worker should be given to overcome fatigue due to work related stress and conditions. There are three factors that cause fatigue: (1) physical factors like standing and use of force, (2) mental and

cognitive Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

factors like mental strain and

eye strain Eye strain, also medically termed as asthenopia (), is a common eye condition characterized by nonspecific symptom, non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, pain in or around the eyes, blurred vision, headache, and occasional diplopia, double vis ...

, and (3) environmental and work factors like poor

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

, noise, and heat.

Unavoidable Delays

Unavoidable delays are categorized under unavoidable interruption that occurs at random times during the day in the

workplace A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of the ...

. They usually refer to work-related events like cleaning up at the end of the shift, and machine breakdowns or malfunctions. Unavoidable delays occur because of many

random In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of definite pattern or predictability in information. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. ...

events at work stations.

References

{{Reflist Industrial engineering