– User Manual

1. About the application

Normar4Mobile is a tool for work studies following the REFA methodology. It combines three methods, switched with the MMA, LTTS and Z2 buttons in the top bar:

• MMA (multi-moment analysis) – estimate activity shares from instantaneous observations on rounds.
• LTTS (continuous time study) – log a sequence of events over a longer period; the time between two events belongs to the second one.
• Z2 (time study by sections) – time repeating work sections cycle by cycle and track the statistical accuracy ε.

When it is enabled for your company, a fourth module is available, KIM – workload assessment (chapter 8), which is not a REFA time-study method.

All data is stored on the device and reconciled with the server when you press Synchronize, so you can also work offline.

2. Signing in

1. On startup, pick your user (the tile with your name).
2. Enter your PIN (4–6 digits) – tap the on-screen pad or simply use the physical keyboard; Enter confirms, ⌫ deletes, Esc returns to the user selection.
3. The first sign-in on a new device requires a server connection: press Other sign-in, enter your username and password, and choose a new PIN. After that you can sign in offline for 30 days.

3. Basic navigation and the user menu

• Top left are the MMA · LTTS · Z2 buttons – each opens the list of analyses for its method.
• Top right are the clock and your initial with your name. Clicking it opens a menu with:
  • Language – Slovenian, Croatian, English or German; the switch applies immediately and is remembered for your user.
  • Categories – editing the shared REFA categories (chapter 4).
  • Synchronize – manual reconciliation with the server; next to the button you see the time of the last successful sync or any conflicts. If the same analysis was meanwhile also changed in the office, a merge window appears: you can merge the changes or skip the decision – nothing is lost or overwritten without confirmation.
  • Sign out – back to the sign-in screen (e.g. to switch users).

4. Categories (M / B / A / V / custom)

Categories are a shared code list for all three methods. REFA distinguishes four classification dimensions: M (man), B (means of production), A (work object), V (auxiliaries), and you can additionally maintain a Custom dimension.

1. Select the dimension at the top.
2. Add a new value below: type a code (e.g. MH) and a name, then press Add or Enter.
3. Rename or delete an existing value with the buttons in its row.

5. MMA – multi-moment analysis

5.1 Preparation

1. On the home page, type a name and press + New analysis.
2. In the Settings tab add observation posts (where you observe) and activities (what you record). Activities can be classified into the M/B/A/V categories.
3. Optionally compose rounds (guided tours): a sequence of posts that the application follows automatically while recording.
4. Set the confidence level and the target accuracy ±% – from these the application continuously computes how many more observations you need.

5.2 Recording

At each post of the round simply tap the activity the worker is performing at that instant – that is one observation. On a guided tour, auto-advance moves you to the next post after each observation. The Undo button cancels the last observation.

5.3 Results

For every activity the table shows the number of observations, the share %, the achieved accuracy ±% and N required – how many more observations are needed for the target accuracy. The OK? column marks activities that already meet the target. Results can be filtered by observation post or viewed by category.

6. LTTS – long term time study

6.1 The idea of the method

In LTTS you log events (what has just finished). The time between two consecutive events is attributed to the second one: when an activity ends, you log it – and the interval since the previous event is its duration. The first event of every system is START (t₀) and carries no time.

6.2 Systems, global and local events

• A system is one recording lane (e.g. one worker or one machine). You add, rename and delete them in the Systems tab.
• Every system has a Per system / Global choice: where new event types typed during recording are stored. Per system means the event and its category classification apply to this system only; Global means shared use – a classification change is reflected in all systems.
• The Events section shows the global list and the per-system local lists, with usage counts. Here you rename events (everywhere they are used) or delete them – log entries remain, they only lose their classification.

6.3 Recording

1. Press Start recording – this writes START (t₀).
2. Log an event in one of two ways:
   • tap a button in the quick-button palette, or
   • type its name into the recording row and press Enter – a new name automatically creates a new event.
3. The smart predictor pre-fills the input with the most likely next event – just press Enter.
4. Clicking the time of the newest row updates it to “now”.

You can repair the log at any time: click a cell (date, time, event, L, connected) and edit it. The time must stay between the neighbouring events, otherwise the change is rejected. Right-clicking a row opens a menu for inserting, copying, pasting, deleting and renaming/deleting the event type. The Columns button adds hidden columns (Exclusive, M, B, A, V, custom); the Bin keeps deleted entries, which you can restore. Every change supports Undo / Redo (↩ ↪). On a phone held upright the log is shown as cards (time, event, duration, delete); turn the phone to landscape for the full table with repairs.

6.4 All systems – parallel recording

If an analysis contains several systems, the All systems tab shows each one in its own pane – so you monitor several workplaces at once, as in the old NormarTAB. Each pane has its own input (Enter logs into that system), its own palette and its own log. Adjust pane widths by dragging the separators. Jump between systems with Shift+F1…F10 (in the app also Ctrl+1…9).

6.5 Results

Results apply to the selected system (selectors at the top). The By activity view shows the time, share, count and average for every event type; By category shows them by the M/B/A/V/custom dimensions. Apply L multiplies the times by the performance rating. Below the table is a chart (bars or pie), which the Copy image button puts on the clipboard – ready for a report.

Besides the tables there are two graphical views across all systems at once:

• Timeline – every system is one horizontal lane on a shared time axis; intervals are coloured by event or by the selected category (M/B/A/V/custom selectors). Disconnected intervals are pale.
• Gantt – rows are events (or categories) and columns are the systems side by side with an aligned time axis, so you instantly see when and where each activity occurs. Both charts can be copied with Copy image.

6.6 Import from legacy Normar and deleting an analysis

The LTTS home page has an Import from legacy Normar section: choose an XML file exported from the NormarTAB application and it transfers the systems, events and their classification into a new analysis. Delete an analysis you no longer need with the 🗑 button next to it – the application asks for confirmation first.

7. Z2 – time study by work sections

7.1 Preparing the sections

Add sections with the + row on the Recording tab; a double tap on a section opens editing (and deletion). The Sections tab holds the details: name, measuring point, default quantity and target interval ε. Sections can be classified into categories.

The study's influencing parameters (e.g. temperature, piece weight) are available when the tenant has the Planned times module switched on; without it there are no buttons, steppers or rows. You set them up on the Sections tab, in the Influencing parameters section above the section list: with Add parameter you enter a name, a unit and a default value. For a single section you can change the default in the Section default field of the section's edit form. If readings already carry values for a parameter, the application asks for confirmation before it is removed.

7.2 Recording

Press a section when it ends – the application records its time tᵢ and the performance rating L and moves on. The row at the top shows the running time F, the cycle counter and ε. Interruption records a disturbance (break, breakdown …) that does not count into the normal time. Export offers printing/PDF or Excel with the form and the data.

Next to the performance rating L there is a stepper (+/−) per parameter for entering the value at a reading. The switch also for the following readings is on by default, so the value carries forward to the next readings; with this reading only you record it for the current reading alone.

7.3 Results

For every section you get the number of measurements, the average L, the average tᵢ per unit, the normal time and the total time, together with the achieved accuracy ε. Clicking a row opens the spread of tᵢ. Charts and the unit selection (HM, seconds, minutes) are available here too, and results can be viewed by category.

8. KIM – workload assessment

The KIM module uses the key indicator methods to assess the physical workload of one operation or workplace. Six methods are available:

• Lifting, holding or carrying
• Pulling, pushing
• Repetitive manual handling
• Whole-body forces
• Awkward body postures
• Body movement

An assessment belongs to the company of the signed-in user and is synchronized like the other analyses. The module is available when it is enabled for your company; open it with the KIM button in the top bar.

The methods follow the key indicator methods of the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) and the Slovenian rule on safety and health in the manual handling of loads, Pravilnik o zagotavljanju varnosti in zdravja pri ročnem premeščanju bremen (Uradni list RS, št. 84/2023).

8.1 The list of assessments

1. Under New assessment type the name of the operation and press Create or Enter – the new assessment opens at once.
2. Open an existing assessment with Open.
3. The duplicate button (to the right of Open) opens the Duplicate assessment window: With entries copies the whole assessment, Without entries only the name and the data of the Details tab – without methods, pre-screening, load masses and measures. Signatures are never copied, nor are photos and videos – the copy covers the assessment only. The copy is named with the prefix Copy –.
4. The bin button moves an assessment to the bin; confirm with Delete. To delete several at once, tick them and press Delete selected.
5. The Bin section below the list appears when it holds at least one assessment; expand it by clicking its title. Restore returns an assessment to the list; its bin button deletes it permanently (confirm with Delete permanently), together with its photos and videos. Ticks work in the bin too (Restore selected, Delete selected permanently).

Under the name of each assessment you see the date and time it was created, the number of methods and the number of filled-in measures; a signed assessment is also marked Signed.

8.2 Details

In the Details tab you enter the basic data of the assessment: Name, Date, Shift, Business unit, Department, Workplace, Product, Task duration (min), Working day (min), Description and Comment. Every field is saved when you leave it. The name cannot be emptied; the two durations are entered in minutes (at most 1440).

8.3 Screening

The pre-screening in the Screening tab is optional – it shows which methods need a detailed assessment. Start it with Start the pre-screening.

1. The pre-screening has a section for each of the six methods, each with a picture of the workload. Open a section with Open form; only one section can be open at a time.
2. In the section, tick what applies: This workload occurs, the answer Yes or No to the introductory question, the tasks concerned and the criteria of the second step.
3. The header of the section shows the result for that method: No entry, Criteria not met or Detailed assessment needed. The open section also has a line with the screening result. When a detailed assessment is needed, Add the method to the assessment adds the method to the Methods tab; a method that is already part of the assessment is marked The method is already part of the assessment.

Remove the pre-screening with Remove the pre-screening. If you have already entered something in it, the application asks you to confirm first.

8.4 Methods

The Methods tab lists all methods. Add a method that applies to the operation with Add; its form opens. Open a form with Open form and close it with Close form; only one form can be open at a time.

• Step 1 – the time rating points (e.g. the frequency or duration per working day).
• Step 2 – the rating points for the other indicators: selectors with descriptions, pictograms and tables. In a table, tap the cell that applies; the points of a cell are shown.

Above the open form you see the points calculated so far; the header of the method shows its state: No entry yet, Incomplete entry (above the form it says what is missing, and the missing fields are marked), The entries are not valid or the points for men and women (e.g. 70.6 / 86.1). Below the points is a risk scale: a coloured bar from 0 to 150 with four bands (up to 20, up to 50, up to 100, above 100) and a marker that moves to the current points on every change. The same figures also appear in a floating panel in the bottom-right corner that stays in view while you scroll the form; the ⧉ button above the form or the × in the panel hides it or shows it again, and the choice is remembered for your account.

Remove a method with Remove. If you have already entered something in it, the application asks you to confirm first, because the entries are deleted.

For Lifting, holding or carrying, the Compose... button helps with the load weight: with Add you enter several loads with their mass and frequency per shift, and with the Include tick you choose which of them count. The application calculates the composite mass (the mean of the masses, weighted by frequency) and the total frequency as you type; Use the calculated mass transfers both values into the form: they overwrite the load weight and the frequency already in the form, and the frequency transferred is at most 2500 per day. After the transfer the helper closes. A composite mass above 25 kg cannot be transferred – the button is then disabled and the helper shows A composite mass above 25 kg is not transferred.

8.5 Results

The Results tab shows for each method the points in the Men and Women columns, each with its risk range, and in the Action needed column what the higher of the two risk ranges calls for. For an incomplete method it says what is missing. For Pulling, pushing the men's column can also show the points for work in pairs (In pairs).

Below the results, the table of the risk ranges describes all four ranges – the probability of physical overload, the possible health consequences and the measures required; the ranges that occur in the results are marked.

8.6 Measures

In the Measures tab, Add adds a measure; enter its Measure, Date and Responsible. The fields are saved when you leave them. An empty measure (no text, date or responsible person) is not counted and not printed in the report. Delete a measure with Delete: an empty one is deleted at once, a filled-in one only after you answer Delete this measure? with Delete.

8.7 Signatures

• The Assessor signs as the signed-in user – the name is already shown.
• The Person responsible for the data types their name into the Full name field.

Draw your signature in the signature field with a finger, a pen or the mouse and press Sign; Clear empties the field so you can start over. There can be only one signature of each kind: to sign anew, first remove the existing one with Remove signature (the application asks you to confirm).

You can save your own assessor signature. Once it is saved, the assessor's card shows the picture of the signature: Sign with my signature signs with one tap, and Draw a new signature opens the signature pad. On that pad the box Save as my signature is ticked by default while you have no saved signature (so your first drawn assessor signature is saved unless you untick it), and unticked otherwise. At the bottom of the tab the My signature block shows a preview, a Replace button (draws a new one) and a Remove button. Removing the saved signature does not change signatures already placed in assessments. The signature belongs to the user, so it is available on every device you sign in on.

An assessment counts as signed as soon as it has one signature. From then on it shows the notice The assessment is signed. Changing it deletes the signatures. above the tabs. Any later change to the entries asks first: Change and delete the signatures saves the change and deletes all signatures, Cancel leaves the assessment unchanged. Signing and removing a signature do not ask this. In the list of assessments a signed assessment is marked Signed.

8.8 Photos, videos and synchronization

Take photos and videos with the Capture button to the right of the assessment's name and view them in the Media tab – just as in the other modules. Before you finish work, press Synchronize so that the assessments reach the server. The PDF report of an assessment is made in the office.

9. Planned times – time against influencing parameters

The Planned times module follows the REFA method: from measured times and the values of influencing parameters (mass, distance, number of pieces …) it determines how the time depends on them. The chosen relationship then drives a calculator and a planned-time table, with no further measuring. The module is available when it is switched on for your company; open it with the PT button in the top bar.

9.1 List

The list shows the company's planned times: the name of the work step, the number of included points and parameters, and the chosen form of the relationship. Create a new one by typing a name and pressing Create. Folders, the bin, duplicating (With points or Without points) and permanent deletion work as in the other methods.

9.2 Data and influencing parameters

On the Data tab you enter a description of the work step, optionally a standard task from the master data, and the time unit (HM, seconds, minutes, hours); times are stored in seconds and shown in the chosen unit. Below you add the Influencing parameters: each has a name, a unit and an optional symbol for the formula (otherwise x1, x2 …). Removing a parameter deletes its values at the points; when there are any, the app asks first.

9.3 Points and the take-over from Z2

On the Points tab every row is one observation: the time and the value of each parameter, a note and the origin. The Included box leaves a point out of the calculation without deleting it. Take over from a Z2 study lets you pick a study and a section and the mode: one point per study (the section's normal time) or one point per cycle (every valid reading). You type the parameter values in the dialog; per cycle they prefill every row and can be corrected row by row. A point already taken over from the same study is marked already taken over and is not added again. The Z2 study itself is never changed. If a parameter's name matches a planned-time parameter, the value is marked from the study; the edit link lets you correct it before the take-over. A parameter the planned time does not have yet is created with the tick add to the planned time as a parameter; the points then carry the study's mean value, and the dialog also shows the range.

9.4 Relationship

The Relationship tab fits five forms: linear, power, logarithmic, exponential and – with two or more parameters – multiple linear. The chart shows the points (excluded ones hollow) and the one-parameter curves for the parameter selected above the chart; the Predicted vs measured view shows every point against the diagonal. The table next to it gives each form's formula, number of points, correlation coefficient r, r², residual standard deviation s and mean relative deviation; a form that cannot be fitted says why. Choose the relationship with the button in the Chosen column; the chosen curve is drawn thicker. Below is the Validity range of every parameter – the smallest and largest value among the included points.

9.5 Planning

The Planning tab is available once a relationship is chosen. In the Calculator you enter parameter values and read the Planned time; a value outside the validity range is coloured and flagged. With Allowances entered (recovery, personal, other) the Standard time (with allowances) is shown as well. The Planned-time table is built from from, to and step for the first and second parameter (the others are fixed); cells outside the validity range are shaded and the table is capped at 400 cells. Copy table puts it on the clipboard as tab-separated text.

10. Tips and shortcuts

• Data is saved continuously – you can close the application at any time and continue later.
• Before finishing work, press Synchronize to transfer the data to the server.
• Deleted LTTS entries are not lost – you will find them in the Bin and can restore them.