A work device, comprising: a first control device (36, 44, 52, 70), having a first time-measuring unit (37, 45, 52, 71) configured to measure elapsed time, the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) being configured to control a first work device (22, 24, 26, 28), which is configured to perform one of a sequence of multiple tasks; a second control device (36, 44, 52, 70), having a second time-measuring unit (37, 45, 52, 71) configured to measure elapsed time, the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70) being configured to control a second work device (22, 24, 26, 28), which is configured to perform one of the sequence of operations; a third control device, having a reference time-measuring unit configured to measure a reference time, the third control device being configured to transmit commands to the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) and the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70); and a communication unit, configured to enable communication between the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70), the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70), and the third control device; wherein the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) and the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70) are configured to acquire the reference time of the third control device via the communication unit and to measure times in the first and second control devices (36, 44, 52, 70), respectively, using the acquired reference time as a starting point, wherein the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) and the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70) are configured to measure the time in the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) and the time in the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70), respectively, taking into account a time taken to acquire the reference time. a first control device (36, 44, 52, 70), having a first time-measuring unit (37, 45, 52, 71) configured to measure elapsed time, the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) being configured to control a first work device (22, 24, 26, 28), which is configured to perform one of a sequence of multiple tasks; a second control device (36, 44, 52, 70), having a second time-measuring unit (37, 45, 52, 71) configured to measure elapsed time, the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70) being configured to control a second work device (22, 24, 26, 28), which is configured to perform one of the sequence of operations; a third control device, having a reference time-measuring unit configured to measure a reference time, the third control device being configured to transmit commands to the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) and the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70); and a communication unit, configured to enable communication between the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70), the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70), and the third control device; wherein the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) and the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70) are configured to acquire the reference time of the third control device via the communication unit and to measure times in the first and second control devices (36, 44, 52, 70), respectively, using the acquired reference time as a starting point, wherein the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) and the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70) are configured to measure the time in the first control device (36, 44, 52, 70) and the time in the second control device (36, 44, 52, 70), respectively, taking into account a time taken to acquire the reference time.