Paul Wakeford

This page take you through working data in the modules of the system

Start Up

The control bar gives you complete access to the system:

Tap the image for a clearer view

Make a Job File in Study Process Book

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Select Study Process Book and you will get the following screen:

You are able to directly enter a job file into the table. Note tat the first element is zero. In Timedex it is good practice to include this element number. There is, besides the usual Windows menu items there is a Process Book specific item to edit lines.

Adding an Element

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The Code

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The Description

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You have up 28/30 characters to put in the description. In the study this is used in the element popup and should be recognisable for the engineer for the first characters. If the main point of the description is at the end and truncated out of view you have wasted your time and confused the engineer and risk ambiguous data.

When you leave the cell it defaults to mixed (proper) case.

The Rest

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You need to enter the next element here if it is to be linked. You cannot enter a "jump to" number until you have created the target element. The fixed column is for setting a fixed rating - here on element 2, the auto cycle is fixed at 100. There is a loop here on the example so, on the study, you could be rating the manual parts at 90, then the auto will default to 100 and then, on breakpoint back to 1 and it will default to the rating prior to the auto. There are several fixed options including, 60, 80 and 0.

The Menu

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You have a number of options here and they all pretty much speak for themselves.

Copying a row is useful for cloning an element to create a near copy ie:

• Lift forks to level 1
• Lift forks to level 2 etc...

The normal edit menu is for word processing type commands (cut/paste etc in your text fields).

Saving and Opening

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The File menu conforms to standard Windows conventions.

There is a print preview and print option. This gives a small neat printout for those who like to carry a note of the elements with them.

For the most part, you can scan through the element list during the study quicker than looking it up - particularly if the project manager has taken care with the job design.

Remember, not only can you create job files here, you can open files made in JobPad - useful for examining a method back in the office after looking at the job on the shop floor and entering it into JobPad.

Time Study Analysis

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After selecting Time Study Analysis and loading a study you'll get something like this screen. Note that it has alternate line "computer paper" switched on here. Tap the image for a clearer view.

The Header

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File and Edit Menus

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This is a normal Windows menu and has standard commands.

You can save the data "natively" so you can reload later (or stack it). Or the data can be exported directly to to csv for alternative analysis.

The edit menu carries the usual "word processing" commands expected in Windows.

Observation Edit Menu

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This is the main menu for the general study analysis editing - when you are using the system, there is help which you can invoke for most things.

Exclusions - there are a number of controls to enable you to exclude elements and also view and reinstate excluded elements. Excluded elements are invisible to the user and the results.

Block Editing - you can selectively or globally edit elements and categories.

Isolating parts of the study are a way of viewing just specific elements or categories.

"GoTo" observation number gives a precise target up and down the study.

View Menu

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Notes provides a means to home in and view and edit notes in the easiest way possible.

The Element List provides a schedule of every element that was seen during the study. It provides a quick way of getting different element details to swap into the study.

Show Results does exactly what it says. There is also a short cut for this on the button bar.

Time Study Statistics is the summary of time elapsed.

Element Statistics shows the standard deviations of selected elements.

Computer Paper Style on is a visual option.

Tools Menu

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Here you have access to Options, the process book (where you can view all the element described in the full job file as opposed to the Element List where only those seen are registered.

One of the ways to get access to the Study Stacker.

Splice lets you join the 2 parts of a "crashed" study. Not often needed but useful so you never lose data.

Combine Observations

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To enable you to pull together disparately placed but, the same element into a single time, you can use this.

It is another way of dealing with resumes that aren't picked up during the study.

Block Edits

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This allows you to correct or, add areas to the study.

The same is available for elements. Both functions are well described on their dialog boxes and there is also system help.

On the Table

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There are fast actions you can carry out on the table for edition.

Alter Element - if you right click on any observation you can select a quick copy (Ctrl+Alt+C) of the selected row. Move to another observation and right click and select Change Element - Paste (Ctr-Alt-V). So if you have to make some quick changes you can do this. You can also use the Element List (double click on any observation to call it up), select an element from it and return and select quick copy or press Ctr-Alt-V. This can be very quick.

You can also load the job file from the process book to look for elements that were not used in the study. In fact, you can copy elements into your study from any job file that exists in the process book.

Add a Resume - If you double click the Int column, you will drop an "R"in the selected cell - double clicking it clears it. This is useful for visually putting is the odd resume where you have perhaps missed it. Put in an R, run the resume from the Tools menu (you may have the function switched on in Options in order to do this).

Element Statistics

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Time Study Results

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You can load the results from the R button on the button bar or from the View menu.

Return by pressing the H button on the Results button bar.

You get at the result by clicking the "R" icon on the button bar or from the View menu. The result screen loads and you get an editable set of data. You can change RAs. CA, quantities and frequencies. In addition you can promote or demote with the +/- buttons below the table (by the CA).

You get at the line editing by right clicking the line and editing that line.

Saving your work:

• Save just the study record - save on the Study Records File Menu
• Save study record and the results - save on the Results File Menu

To give you maximum flexibility, consider a strategy of saving your work with structured names so that you can make comparisons of outcomes depending changing factor in the study such as excluding unneeded elements and various frequencies.

You can switch to and from viewing Results and Record making changes (ie exclusions) in the record and getting an updated result. Remember you cannot delete an element and an audit could reveal inappropriately excluded observation - care and responsibility has to be exercised here.

Below is the editing dialog for the results - to get this, place the cursor on the line you want to edit and right click. Do your edits and press OK. to close.

The Time Study Stacker allows you to take processed data (not virgin studies from the Pocket PC) and build up stacks of studies that give you, well, stacked data.

Tap the image below to get a larger view.

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To get started with a new stack you have to add your first study. Select "Add Study to Stack", select a study and it will be loaded as the first one. It will be registered into the stack as Number 1 in the small table at the top right of the screen.

Continue to add studies until you have all you need. I haven't found a limit yet but there must be one somewhere - I guess on your computer resources of memory and so on. Remember that you are dealing with a single text file - not a database - that is a few months down the the line I am afraid. So save your stack both natively and as a csv if you want to move the data to another format for further analysis.

Couple of points - the stacks have to be named - the system always prefixes them with "Stack - ". Also you can only use processed data - not virgin data.

Of course you can save your stack on Monday, call it up on Tuesday and add Tuesdays studies ad infinitum. There will be a statistical test here soon.

Stacker Results

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Once you have your stack you can get your results. This works in exactly the same way as the studies result option.

This really useful if several members of a team have to study a single target to get an aggregate result - this just makes it easy.

I have added Sampling Analysis so that there is somewhere for the Activity data from the PPC to go. The module works in the same way as the Time Study side in that you can load and look at your data but the only editing, at the moment you can do is add notes.

Note that the activity data files are suffixed "acs" and prefixed "AS - " and you should have previously moved them from the Pocket PC Activity|Activity Data folder to the Studywork|Samples folder.

Once you have annotated the data you save it as a comma separated value file and continue your work in another program such as Access.

Since, to the best of my knowledge, many people preferred this way of working I feel that it is better to provide the tools to sample this way than wait a few weeks to get the whole lot going - certainly now that the Time Study side has become ready for general use.

Activity Sampling Process Book

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You can create your sample job file here easily - you are able to create a list of activities, people and categories (or areas). This is then saved as a text file with the extension "acd" and moved into the pocket PC's Activity|Activity Descriptions folder.

It works in exactly the same way as the Study Process Book save that you have three tables to enter (above) rather that just the one in studies.