Abstract
This paper describes an experimental thesis completed for a graduate program at the Air Force Institute of Technology by Captain Ferde Arbeit and Captain Harry A. Schaefer. The purpose was to investigate the possibility of identifying the physical difficulty of some U.S. Air Force jobs through survey. Obtaining information in this manner from experienced employees has an advantage over direct measurement in that it requires much less effort. Using an example of sixteen journeyman-level maintenance technicians, estimates of task difficulty were paired with measured quantities. Statistical comparison of the data pairs indicated that experienced employees can indeed estimate the difficulty of physical tasks with satisfactory accuracy.
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