Method for forecasting the time standard of multi-characteristic item

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method for determining the time standard of items based on several characters, where part of them is quantitative and some of them are qualitative (dichotomic). The method of determining the time standard of an item is based on Multiple Linear Regression where the dependent variable is the time standard for the production of a lot size of item and the characters of the item are the independent or regressor variables. In this paper we introduce the method for determining the time standard of an item, the way for measuring the qualitative independent variable. The method is illustrated on a case study in an Israeli plant in its research department of materials and processes. In this department a great variety of items were produced, each item has different characters.