Jason Thistlethwaite
8 lines
871 B
Markdown
8 lines
871 B
Markdown
Buffer time is a variable amount of time a task is expected to take that accounts for occassional situations the operator must respond to.
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## How to identify and understand buffer time
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Imagine you ask somebody how long it takes them to take out the trash. They tell you it takes 5-10 minutes. You ask them why it takes 10 minutes sometimes instead of 5 minutes, and they tell you that sometimes the trash is overflowing and it has to be picked up before it can be thrown out.
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That's an example of buffer time: it's extra time around the basic task that's because of a variable in how the work is done.
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Here's another example: when a person needs to ask their supervisor a question sometimes it takes only a minute and other times it takes 15 minutes. The reason is because sometimes they don't know where the supervisor is, so they have to search for their supervisor. |