Standard minutes 

We need to know the value of an item to know whether we can afford it or not. So we use the currency of the country, eg the £, to determine the cost or value. That same currency is used for the value of a car as well as for a computer. The pound is the standard, the benchmark.

In the same way we need to know how long things take: travelling to work, cooking a meal. Every aspect has a time element. In business, time is a currency, a standard. You need to know how long things will take to enable you to plan, to budget, to manage.

How do we measure time?

The answer may seem obvious: in minutes, hours, days etc. However, when you want to establish work content, there needs to be a more structured and scientific approach to studying time because you also need to adjust for human fatigue and allow for rest periods.

Just as we use the same monetary standard, such as a £, to measure the value of goods and services so the unit of a ‘Standard Minute’ is used to measure the amount of time or ‘work content’ that any task requires.

Don’t think 60 seconds = 1 Standard Minute; it’s much more technical and involved to create a time standard because other factors are involved such as method and performance.

The Standard Minute is the same unit of measurement used to identify the time value of tasks in every business sector – admin, retail, finance, manufacturing, distribution, service, construction, transport.

To be able to better plan, monitor and therefore influence, compare and control every aspect of your business, you need to understand how long it should take to do something, what resources will be involved and how much it will cost. You need accurate and reliable information. You need time standards. You need Scott-Grant!

We can provide people to establish time standards for your business. Ask us for details.