Jump to content

How many hours in a Person Year?


honeybus

Recommended Posts

What is the most popular figure to classify a Person Year?

2080 is full time, 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.

2000 considers the 10 national holidays.

1980 is the figure that is being used in the acquisition which I am supporting. I questioned the rationale of using 49.5 weeks (1980/40) as a Person Year because it not only breaks a week in half, it breaks a day in half.

What number of hours would you use, as a general matter. Thanks.

Barry sends

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is the most popular figure to classify a Person Year?

2080 is full time, 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.

2000 considers the 10 national holidays.

1980 is the figure that is being used in the acquisition which I am supporting. I questioned the rationale of using 49.5 weeks (1980/40) as a Person Year because it not only breaks a week in half, it breaks a day in half.

What number of hours would you use, as a general matter. Thanks.

Barry sends

Barry,

I'm not sure what you mean by a Person Year. I have seen contractors propose based on Productive Hours for a particular year. Normally this is calculated as follows:

Base Hours (2080) minus Vacation Hours, Holiday Hours, Sick/Emergency Leave Hours = # of productive hours for the year.

Now, like you said, the 2080hrs is based on a 40hr work week. Keep in mind that contractors can choose how they manage their workforce to meet any particular requirement. So depending on the requirement itself and the contractor's management approach the 2080hrs may be adjusted up or down for any particular employee.

Hope this helps some.

Blitz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Person Year / Man Year.

I see figures like "200,000 Labor Hours, based on a 1980 LH Man Year equates to XXX FTE (Full Time Equivalents)"

I then ask "Why do you use 1980 LH to equate to a FTE, and not some other figure?" I question the 1980 as without rationale since 1980 LHs equals 49 weeks, 2 days, and 4 hours, i. e., 49.5 weeks. It is an awkward figure. 1984 is better, (though ominous), and 1920 is more reasonable yet, considering 2 weeks holidays and 2 weeks leave.

Perhaps the 1980 figure is in some regulation or guideline, or is in common use. I don't know.

Barry sends

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The number of productive hours per FTE can vary. Not only do different companies have different policies for vacation and sick leave, there are other factors such as company specific training (non-reimbursable), jury duty, reserve duty, time off for short term disability, pregnancies, etc. I believe the 1980 is an average based on a large population taking into consideration all non productive time off. That?s the reason that you end up with a partial day. I?ve seen the number used for years, but I?ve not validated whether it is still a representative average.

The specific number of hours equivalent to an FTE for a particular contract can vary. If looking at a small population of employees, a company may not factor in some of these potential causes of lost productivity. If the contract is to provide 5 FTEs or the hours are equivalent to 5 FTS, then it would too inefficient to have a sixth person on staff just in case an employee gets pregnant and needs a couple of months off. If the work force is several hundred, history will tell you that over the course of a year, X employees will go out on maternity leave, Y employees will be out several months on reserve duty, Z weeks will be spent on jury duty, etc. The demographics of the work force, male/female, young/old, can also impact it.

Because of the variables, I am always hesitant to dictate the number of hours per FTE. Tell the contractor what is required, whether that is to perform these tasks or a need for 20 guards, 40 hours a week. Let the company figure out how many people need to be hired. If you need to know how the FTEs relate to the number of hours, have the company provide number of productive hours they used and the basis for that number.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I rarely see a number as low as 1980 hours. As Carol mentions, there are a number of variables.

If you start with 2,080 hours in a year, you first deduct Holidays. If you go with the ten Federal recognized ones, you are already down to 2,000. Then there's paid time off. That seems to be what many companies refer to and combine annual leave with sick leave (federal terms). That generally ranges from 120 hours to 240 hours. Alternatively, companies provide two to four weeks of vacation time plus 10 days to two weeks of sick time. (these are just some representative numbers and it varies widely).

Many companies also have required training and corporate meetings.

I don't have any data in front of me now, but I think something like 1860 is more in line with what is used.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest carl r culham

I am thinking there is confusion with regard to the original question. Person year appears by definition to be based on 12 months equaling 1.0 person year while FTE is based on hours. Example purusant to OMB Circular A-76 FTE is 1776 productive hours for Full-time, Part-time, Temporary, and Seasonal and 2007 for Intermitent. Generally they might get to the same place but I would be careful of the context in which the question is intended and the answer might be used. Even my general offering here would be different based on why the question was posed in the first place.

Person year as defined by teachmefinance.com which appears from research to be the accepted definition.

Person-year -- One whole year, or fraction thereof, worked by an employee, including contracted manpower. Expressed as a quotient (to two decimal places) of the time units worked during a year (hours, weeks, or months) divided by the like total time units in a year. For example: 80 hours worked is 0.04 (rounded) of a person-year; 8 weeks worked is 0.15 (rounded) of a person-year; 12 months worked is 1.0 person-year. Contracted manpower includes survey crews, drilling crews, consultants, and other persons who worked under contract to support a firm's ongoing operations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thing you might want to consider in your decision about what are appropriate #hours for a "Person Year" is the contract requirements. What type of contract is this?

The requirements for support may be that the workweek is nonstandard, that is, more than 5 days or more than 8 hours per day. 1,980 also may include subtractions for paid absences, holiday, and vacation, but additions for work on the 6th and 7th weekday or work past 8 hours/day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for your very valued input. Sincerely.

I forgot to consider my own personal guidance: When I am asked a question, I do not answer the question unless I am absolutely clear on how, or for what purpose the interrogator will use my response. So often when I am asked a question, I ask 'why do you ask that question; what will you do with my answer?'

If I am not satisfied with the question presented, I will say 'Let me rephrase your question so that I can give an answer.'

Apparently my question had twists and turns which I had not considered, and for receiving that insight I am thankful.

Here's a ditty I like to sing - "Ask the RIGHT question and you will get the RIGHT answer. Ask the WRONG question and you will get - - - - - the RIGHT answer - - - to the WRONG question." [Yes, a little strange person sitting at this keyboard.]

Barry sends 2/9/2009

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

Thank you all for your very valued input. Sincerely.

I forgot to consider my own personal guidance: When I am asked a question, I do not answer the question unless I am absolutely clear on how, or for what purpose the interrogator will use my response. So often when I am asked a question, I ask 'why do you ask that question; what will you do with my answer?'

If I am not satisfied with the question presented, I will say 'Let me rephrase your question so that I can give an answer.'

Apparently my question had twists and turns which I had not considered, and for receiving that insight I am thankful.

Here's a ditty I like to sing - "Ask the RIGHT question and you will get the RIGHT answer. Ask the WRONG question and you will get - - - - - the RIGHT answer - - - to the WRONG question." [Yes, a little strange person sitting at this keyboard.]

Barry sends 2/9/2009

Having run across this thread this morning, I would have to respond by asking what is the purpose of the question? Is it to determine the number of productive hours in a labor year (output) or is it to determine the total cost for a labor year? (Sorry - I think that the term "person year" is clumsy - like saying a "personnel access hole").

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...