Work Study in Forestry — Standard Time Table
This Forestry Commission paper is courtesy of Dave Stewart whose father George was a forester for many years in the Forestry Commission. The origin of the booklet was an international course on Work Study in Forestry held in Wymondham and Newton Rigg Colleges in 1971 and for which a series of papers were prepared. These papers were compiled into Bulletin 47 in 1973. Some of the individual papers are of a high historical interest and have been copied here this one covering the Standard Time Tables and their Uses which were very much the documents in use in the 1970s and later to calculate the Piece Work rates for a wide variety of jobs carried out by many Forestry Commission employees.
Tables of standard times were all statistically validated but where data was limited an output guide was often available. The standard tables for all the jobs were laid out in the following format:
1. Conditions
2. Job Specification
3. Tools and Equipment
4. Allowances
5. Method of selecting the standard time
6. Tables of standard times
7. Modifications and variations to the standard times
The follow on chapters describe each of the above in much more detail and also enlarge on the use of Output Guides.
From personal experience the output guide shown for planting had a major drawback in that there was no allowances built in for the varying toughness or fibrous nature of peat. If planting steps had to be cut in a tough fibrous peat the work and effort was significantly more than if working in a soft amorphous peat.
Any comments welcome.