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CycleStudy Pro vs paper and spreadsheet time studies

A stopwatch, a clipboard and a spreadsheet work. Many good studies were done that way. The cost is the hours spent after the shift copying numbers and building the same tables again.

	Paper + spreadsheet	CycleStudy Pro
Recording	Write times by hand, one machine at a time	Tap per pass or event on a phone; loader and truck screens
No signal	Works	Works: data is stored on the phone and syncs later
Typing it up	Manual, after the shift	None: records are already digital
Cycle times, match factor	Your own formulas, rebuilt per study	Computed for you from the recorded events
Delay Pareto, shift report	Built by hand	Generated in the app, exportable to Excel or PDF
Cost	Free, plus your time	14-day free trial, then a paid plan (see pricing)

When paper is still fine

A one-off check of a single machine for a few minutes does not need an app. Software pays off when you repeat studies, run several machines or need a report the same day.

Where to start

Read how to run a loader cycle-time study, then record one shift in the app and compare it with your own sheet.