one of the most critical requirements for time study is that of elemental breakdown. there are some general rules concerning the way in which a job should be broken down into elements. they include the following. elements should be easily identifiable, with definite beginnings and endings so that, once established, they can be repeatedly recognised. these points are known as the break points and should be clearly described on the study sheet. elements should be as short as can be conveniently timed by the observer. as far as possible, elements – particularly manual ones – should be chosen so that they represent naturally unified and distinct segments of the operation.