The Activity Sampling Technique

Activity sampling is a technique whereby a number of successive observations are made over a period of time of one or a group of workers, machines or proccesses.
Each observation records what is happening at that instant, with a rating if necessary and the percentage of observations recorded for a particular activity or delay is a measure of the percentage of time during which that activity occurs.

The activity sampling technique was devised for the purpose of getting information on the time spent by groups of workers or machines on various activities or delays. For this purpose the sample can be very useful, and in many cases it has been found most valuable as a method of reconnaissance prior to the use of more detailed work study techniques. Among the many applications of activity sampling are numbered the investigating work necessary in:

1. Improving the arrangement of duties and general organisation of work.
2. Indicating the directions in which improvements in methods and equipment should be sought, and assessing the vaue of the proposed changes.
3. Assessing the value of introducing group incentive schemes.
4. Assessing labour requirements to machine utilisation.
5. Examining the causes of unsatisfactory performance/efficiency figures or machine utilisation figures.

The activity sampling technique is conducted over a representative period of work by taking samples of activity of the operators and machines to be included and then analysed using statistical tolerance procedures.