How would you do a time and motion study when you have little information about how long something would take to build?

How to Answer
Answer Example

Industrial engineers like to drill things down to the minutia so it can sometimes be a challenge when a client wants a quote based on data that is less-than-perfect. Such is life in the real world, though. In these cases, say to the interviewer that you have often made do with less than forthcoming data and say, 'I would take the information that we do have and do a mockup simulation that reenacts the actual build or process. If we didn't have enough information, I'd reach out for any missing information at this point. For example, maybe packaging wasn't described in enough detail on the drawing or communications. Next, I would do a time and motion study on the mockup, but the client would need to understand that another one would be conducted once there is a more realistic, real-life scenario. The client would also need to understand that once production starts on the item, more realistic studies would be used for the baseline and subsequent contract.'

"I would take the information that we do have and do a mockup simulation that reenacts the actual build or process. If we didn't have enough information, I'd reach out for any missing information at this point. For example, maybe packaging wasn't described in enough detail on the drawing or communications. Next, I would do a time and motion study on the mockup, but the client would need to understand that another one would be conducted once there is a more realistic, real-life scenario. The client would also need to understand that once production starts on the item, more realistic studies would be used for the baseline and subsequent contract."

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How to Answer: How would you do a time and motion study when you have little information about how long something would take to build?

Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Industrial Engineer job interview.

1. How would you do a time and motion study when you have little information about how long something would take to build?

How to Answer

Industrial engineers like to drill things down to the minutia so it can sometimes be a challenge when a client wants a quote based on data that is less-than-perfect. Such is life in the real world, though. In these cases, say to the interviewer that you have often made do with less than forthcoming data and say, 'I would take the information that we do have and do a mockup simulation that reenacts the actual build or process. If we didn't have enough information, I'd reach out for any missing information at this point. For example, maybe packaging wasn't described in enough detail on the drawing or communications. Next, I would do a time and motion study on the mockup, but the client would need to understand that another one would be conducted once there is a more realistic, real-life scenario. The client would also need to understand that once production starts on the item, more realistic studies would be used for the baseline and subsequent contract.'

Written by Holly Chavez on December 18th, 2020

Answer Example

"I would take the information that we do have and do a mockup simulation that reenacts the actual build or process. If we didn't have enough information, I'd reach out for any missing information at this point. For example, maybe packaging wasn't described in enough detail on the drawing or communications. Next, I would do a time and motion study on the mockup, but the client would need to understand that another one would be conducted once there is a more realistic, real-life scenario. The client would also need to understand that once production starts on the item, more realistic studies would be used for the baseline and subsequent contract."

Written by Holly Chavez on December 18th, 2020

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