Idle Time
This article covers meaning & overview of Idle Time from operations perspective.
What is Idle Time?
Idle time refers to the waiting time, i.e., the time when machines or labour is not working. It is unproductive and leads to loss in business as the workers are paid for this time also. It is also called downtime as the work is stopped during this period due to reasons like
a) Fault in machines
b) Accident
c) Mismanagement
d) Job complete and next job not available Etc.
The last point is very common cause of idle time. This happens due to mismatch in synchronization of dependent processes. Suppose process B draws its inputs which are output of process A.
Until process A produces its output, process B is idle and the workers at the station are doing nothing productive. Similarly, if the rate of production of output of station A is less than the rate of processing by station B then there would be idle time at station B.
Hence, it is very important to manage time and processes to reduce idle time.
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