Time Keeping and Time Booking

Time Keeping and Time Booking

Time Keeping: 

This department is concerned with maintenance of attendance time and job time of workers. Attendance time is recorded for wage calculation and job time or time booking is considered for computing time spent for each department, job, Operation and Process for calculating labour cost department wise, job wise and of each process and operation.

Essentials of a good Time-keeping System

1. Good time keeping system prevents ‘proxy’ for one another among workers

2. Time-keeping has to be done for even piece workers to maintain uniformity, regularity and continuous flow of production.

3. Both the arrival and exit of workers is to be recorded so that total time spent by workers is available for wage calculations.

4. Mechanised methods of time keeping are to be used to avoid disputes.

5. Late arrival time and early departure time are to be recorded to maintain discipline.

6. The time recording should be simple, quick and smooth.

7. Time recording is to be supervised by a responsible officer to eliminate irregularities.

Methods of time keeping

1. Time Recording Clocks or Clock Cards:This is mechanized method of time recording. Each worker punches the card given to him when he comes in and goes out. The time and date is automatically recorded in the card. Each week a new card is prepared and given to the worker so that weekly calculation of wages will be possible.

2. Disc Method: This is one of the older methods of recording time. A disc, which bears the identification number of each worker, is given to each one. When the worker comes in, he picks up his disc from the tray kept near the gate of the factory and drops in the box or hooks it on a board against his number. Same procedure is followed at the time of leaving the factory. The box is removed at starting time, and the time keeper becomes aware of late arrivals by requiring the workers concerned to report him before starting. The time keeper will record in an Attendance Register any late arrivals and workers leaving early. He will also enter about the absentees in the register on daily basis.

3. Attendance Records: This is the simplest and the oldest method of marking attendance of workers. In this method, every worker signs in an attendance register against his name. Leaves taken by workers as well as late reporting is marked on the attendance register itself.

Time Booking: Time spent by the worker on different jobs and works is called time booking. This is the productive time of workers.

Objectives:

The following are the objectives of time booking:

1. It ensures that the time paid for, as per time keeping is properly utilized on jobs and orders.

2. It enables the cost department to ascertain the labour cost of each job or work order.

3. It helps in allocation and apportionment of wages among different departments where labour hour rate method is used as basis.

4. It helps to calculate idle time.

5. It is helpful when incentive schemes are in operation in the factory by revealing the time spent by the workers on different jobs.

6. Time booking also helps in measuring the efficiency of workers by comparing standard time for the jobs with actual time.

Time Booking Methods: The following methods are used for time booking.

1. Daily Time Sheet: In this method, each worker records the time spent by him on the work during the day, for which a sheet is provided to each worker. The time is recorded daily and hence accuracy is maintained.

2. Weekly Time Sheets: The only difference between the daily time sheet and weekly time sheet is that these time sheets are maintained on weekly basis. This means that each worker prepares these sheets weekly rather than daily.

3. Job Ticket: Job tickets are given to all workers where time for commencing the job is recorded as well as the time when the job is completed. The job tickets are given for each job and the recording of the time as mentioned above helps to ascertain the time taken for each job.

4. Labor Cost Card: This card is meant for a job, which involves several operations or stages of completion. Instead of giving one card to each worker, only one card is passed on to all workers and time taken on the job is recorded by each one of them. This card shows the aggregate labor cost of the job or the product.

5. Time and Job Card: This card is a combined record, which shows both, the time taken for completion of the job as well as the attendance time. Therefore there is no need to keep separate record of both, time taken and attendance time. 

SHARE THIS