Lesson 10 · Production & IE
SMV — the standard minute value
7 min
In a real company
Industrial engineer (IE), work-study officer, production planner
SMV is the time a trained operator needs for an operation at a normal pace, including allowances. Line planning, CMT costing, targets and incentives all start from SMV.
Key ideas
- Time-study the operation several times and take the average observed time.
- Rate the operator's pace (100% = standard). Basic time = observed × rating.
- Add allowances for personal needs, fatigue and delays (PF&D, often 12–18%).
- Output per hour = 60 ÷ SMV × efficiency.
Formula
- Basic time
- = Observed time × Rating%
- SMV
- = Basic time × (1 + Allowance%)
- Output / hour
- = 60 ÷ SMV × Efficiency%
Worked example
Collar attach: average observed time 42 seconds, operator rated at 90%, allowances 15%, line efficiency 70%.
- 1Observed = 42 ÷ 60 = 0.70 min
- 2Basic = 0.70 × 0.90 = 0.63 min
- 3SMV = 0.63 × 1.15 = 0.7245 min
- 4Output = 60 ÷ 0.7245 × 0.70 = 58 pcs/hour
✅ SMV 0.72 min; about 58 collars per hour per operator.
Try it live in the calculatorCommon mistakes
- Timing a single cycle — always average several.
- Skipping the rating step.
- Forgetting allowances, which makes targets impossible.
Quick quiz
Answer 2 of 3 correctly to complete the lesson.
1. Observed 0.80 min, rating 100%, allowance 10%. SMV?
2. SMV 0.5 at 100% efficiency — output per hour?
3. PF&D allowance stands for…