At SRCN, we are frequently asked whether we conduct wrench-time or time-in-motion studies as part of our work management consulting. We do not, and that is by design, not an oversight.

Experience working across multiple asset-intensive industries has shown us that wrench-time metrics or time-in-motion studies do not deliver meaningful insight into value, reliability, or business performance. Instead, they conflate activity with outcomes. Wrench time is not a measure of value delivered. It is a measure of time accounted for, and that distinction matters.

Wrench time or even productive time tracks how people’s time is spent. It shows how much time they spent doing work that falls into specific categories. It does not show whether that effort reduced risk, improved reliability, or delivered business value.

Known Problems Don’t Require Stopwatch Studies

Most organisations already have a clear understanding ofwhere work execution breaks down.
Common issues include:

• Work is not ready when scheduled
• Breakdown in coordination across teams
• Materials and access arrivinglate
• Priorities shifting
  

These challenges are not hidden; they are visible symptoms of weak work management practices. No amount of time-in-motion observation will uncover something organisations don’t already know, yet many still default to activity measurement as a performance lever or a mechanism to justify action.

Why Wrench-Time Studies Can Be Counterproductive

In our experience, focusing on wrench time often results inunintended consequences:

• Workforce defensiveness - people feel observed, not supported
• Focus on utilisation over outcomes- busy does not equal valuable
• Improving isolated functions while undermining end-to-end system performance
• Time spent analysing symptoms rather than fixing root causes
  

These outcomes distract from what really matters: improving the system that enables effective work delivery.

What Really Drives Improvement

As experts in this field and as reflected in SRCN’s structured Work Management Framework, strengthening fundamentals delivers measurable value across efficiency, reliability, and risk reduction.

Key areas of focus include:

• Disciplined work prioritisation - ensuring the right work is being completed at any given time
• Clear work readiness standards - ensuring work is fully specified before scheduling
• Stable, disciplined scheduling control- ensuring consistent delivery of commitments
  

These elements form the basis of a robust work management approach, the same framework that underpins SRCN’s work management assessments and recommendations delivered to asset-intensive organisations.

A Better Leadership Question

Rather than asking: “How busy are our people?”

Leaders should be asking: “How effectively does our system deliver our desired outcomes?”

Busy workers with poor work readiness, unstable schedules, and poor coordination will always appear productive, but the organisation will not be safer, more reliable, or more resilient.

What’s Next

Over the coming weeks, we will share further insights on:

• Why wrench time is unpopular and what that tells you
• What it usually confirms and how to spot it without a study
• How to justify improvements using flow, readiness, and schedule stability metrics
  

Because, as we’ve seen time and again, strong performance doesn’t come from measuring harder. It comes from managing better.

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