Method – a careful or organized plan that controls the way something is done.

(way of doing
something, how work is to be done.

Methods integral part of work accomplishment and signify:

1. How well our methods utilize the limited available resources (manpower, machines, materials,
money).
2. How methods physically affect the production output unit.
3. The quality of output obtained by application of the method.

Methods Study
- Subjecting each part of a given piece of work to close analysis to eliminate every
unnecessary element or operation, as a means of approaching the quickest and best method of performing the
work.
-It was originally designed for the analysis and improvement of repetitive manual work but it can be used
for all types of activity at all levels of an organisation.

Three Aspects of Application of Methods Study

1. Method study proper is concerned with broad investigation and improvement of a section, the
layout of of the equipment and machines, and the movement of men and materials.
2. Motion study is more detailed investigation of the individual worker/operator, layout of his
machine (tools, fixtures) and movement of his limbs when he performs his job. (ergonomics)
3. Micro motion study more detailed investigation of very rapid movements of various limbs of the
worker.
Scope of Methods Study:

The task of work simplification and compatible work system design concerns the following:

1. Layout of the shop floor or working areas or work stations

2. Working conditions
3. Handling distances (material movement)
4. Tools and equipment used
5. Quality standards to be achieved.
6. Operators and operations in achieving the production targets.
7. Materials to be used.
8. Power required and available.
9. Work cycle time
10. Working processes

Improvements maybe:

http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/ergonomics/method-study/method-study-concept-
definition-and-scope/34501/ Smriti chand (2015)
Historical Background

Frederick Winslow Taylor - One of the earliest of management theorists

- he had a mechanical engineering background and a career at a US steel manufacturer
- workplace experiments to determine optimal performance levels
- shovel design until he had a design that would allow workers to shovel for several hours
straight
- he experimented with the various motions required and developed an efficient way to lay
bricks
-He started the Scientific Management movement, and he and his associates were the first
people to study the work process scientifically.
- They studied how work was performed, and they looked at how this affected worker
productivity.
-Taylor's philosophy focused on the belief that making people work as hard as they could was
not as efficient as optimizing the way the work was done.

"The Principles of Scientific Management”

- Published by Taylor on 1909
- Time studies
- Functional or specialized supervision
- Standardization of tools and implements
- Standardization of work methods
- Separate Planning function
- Management by exception principle
- The use of "slide-rules and similar time-saving devices"
- Instruction cards for workmen
- Task allocation and large bonus for successful performance
- The use of the 'differential rate'
- Mnemonic systems for classifying products and implements
- A routing system
- A modern costing system

- he proposed that by optimizing and simplifying jobs, productivity would increase.

- He also advanced the idea that workers and managers needed to cooperate with one another.

This was very different from the way work was typically done in businesses
beforehand. A factory manager at that time had very little contact with the
workers, and he left them on their own to produce the necessary product.
There was no standardization, and a worker's main motivation was often
continued employment, so there was no incentive to work as quickly or as
efficiently as possible.

"a fair day's pay for a fair day's work." In other words, if a worker didn't
achieve enough in a day, he didn't deserve to be paid as much as another
worker who was highly productive.

Taylor developed four principles of scientific management. These principles

are also known simply as "Taylorism".

1. The development of a true science.

Replace working by "rule of thumb," or simple habit and common sense, and
instead use the scientific method to study work and determine the most efficient
way to perform specific tasks.

2. The scientific selection of the workman.

Rather than simply assign workers to just any job, match workers to their jobs
based on capability and motivation, and train them to work at maximum
efficiency.

3. The scientific education and development of the workman.

Monitor worker performance, and provide instructions and supervision to
ensure that they're using the most efficient ways of working.

4. Intimate and friendly cooperation between the management and the men.
Allocate the work between managers and workers so that the managers spend
their time planning and training, allowing the workers to perform their tasks
efficiently.
Taylorism VS Modern Day Approaches

Taylor taught that there was one and only one method of work that maximized efficiency. "And this one
best method and best implementation can only be discovered or developed through scientific study and
analysis.

"Scientific management requires first, a careful investigation of each of the many modifications of the
same implement, developed under rule of thumb; and second, after time and motion study has been
made of the speed attainable with each of these implements, that the good points of several of them shall
be unified in a single standard implementation, which will enable the workman to work faster and with
greater easy than he could before. This one implement, then is the adopted as standard in place of the
many different kinds before in use and it remains standard for all workmen to use until superseded by an
implement which has been shown, through motion and time study, to be still better."

Management By Objectives), Continuous Improvement Add to My Personal Learning Plan initiatives, BPR
Add to My Personal Learning Plan (Business Process Reengineering
These promote individual responsibility, and seek to push decision making
through all levels of the organization. The idea here is that workers are given
as much autonomy as practically possible, so that they can use the most
appropriate approaches for the situation at hand. What's more, front line
workers need to show this sort of flexibility in a rapidly-changing environment.
Rigid, rules-driven organizations really struggle to adapt in these situations.

"In almost all the mechanic arts the science which underlies each act of each workman is so great and
amounts to so much that the workman who is best suited to actually doing the work is incapable of fully
understanding this science.."

Taylorism breaks tasks down into tiny steps, and focuses on how each person
can do his or her specific series of steps best.

Modern methodologies prefer to examine work systems more holistically in

order to evaluate efficiency and maximize productivity.

Where Taylorism separates manual from mental work, modern productivity

enhancement practices seek to incorporate worker's ideas, experience and
knowledge into best practice.
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http://www.skymark.com/resources/leaders/taylor.asp
Frank B. Gilbreth (1868– 1924), and Lillian Gilbreth (1878–1972)
- husband-and-wife team who worked as engineers in the early part of the 20th century
- Frank was a contractor in Boston.
ne case he increased the rate of laying bricks from 1,000 a day to 2,700 a day
- Lillian was college graduate in University of California. Mother of Modern Management
- pioneered the study of "time and motion" at work

Their main focus was on the fields of motion study and time study, combined with an
interest on the psychology of efficiency and work.

Human element of management and technical observations.

The Gilbreth theory held that there was a “one best way” to do any task.

-they come up with the therbligs - subdivided workers' hand movements - used new
technologies such as film to break motions down into incremental parts
- unlock the mystery of the way we do work
- comprise a system for analyzing the motions involved in performing a task. The identification of
individual motions, as well as moments of delay in the process, was designed to find unnecessary or
inefficient motions and to utilize or eliminate even split-seconds of wasted time.
- invented and refined this system, roughly between 1908 and 1924
-The method would also have to be a system that could easily apply to all types of activities and yet still
allow identification of what the Gilbreths viewed as unnecessary or fatigue producing motions.
-The resulting method included anywhere from 15 to as many as 18 Therbligs
-The Therbligs would then be plotted on a Simo Chart (Simultaneous Motion Chart) along with the time
each motion took. The sequences of motions of each hand were plotted, as was a foot, if used for pedal
controls. Then, by examining the charts, one could determine which Therbligs were taking too long or
which could be eliminated by rearranging the work. They could also identify periods of delay caused be
either the tool/part layout.
1. Search - {icon suggested by an eye turned, as if searching} The Search motion starts when the
eyes and/or hand start to seek the object needed and ends just as the object is located.
a. A onedimensional search might be locating a piece of paper on a desktop. A two
dimensional search might be finding a light switch on a wall and the three dimensional
search would be locating a hanging pull-chain for a light or fan
b. However, the classic example of the Gilbreths reducing Search was by arranging tools
and parts in a physical sequence.
2. Find: {icon suggested by an eye looking straight ahead at an object
a. this one is so momentary that the time taken for the Find function would be hardly
worth measuring
b. Even though we may not find frequent or essential use for this Therblig, it should be
kept available, since it may become important in a future application of the system.
3. Select: {icon suggested by an arrow aimed at an object, much the same as a computer cursor in
form and intent}
a. This Therblig may be considered a part of Search.
b. Picking an object
c. If the Select function took too long, it might be wise to see how clearly the pencils are
marked.
d. While you could count out each and every bag (1 to 100), you could save a great deal of
time by having an accurate scale and finding the average weight of a bag of 100 nails. T
4. Grasp: {icon suggesting by a hand poised over an object, ready to grasp it}
a. is when the worker’s hand grabs the object.
b. In this Therblig, the time taken is directly proportional with the ease of the grasp
c. Hot or cold objects could be grasped faster if they had insulated handles rather than
using a rag or gloves to pick up an un-insulated handle
d. such as holding a block of wood while a screw was being inserted, it should be
eliminated by using a jig or foot-activated clamp or other holding device
e. power grip, hook, precision or pinch grip
5. Hold: {icon suggested by a horseshoe magnet holding a bar}
a. he retention of an object after it has been grasped, [with] no movement of the object
taking place
b. This is particularly true in using Therbligs in ergonomics, where static holding is an
undesirable posture. By eliminating static Holding, you not only free up a hand for other
uses, but also reduce overall fatigue.
6. Transport Loaded: {icon shows a hand cupped, holding an object}
a. This Therblig begins after Grasp where the hand is doing “work” by moving the weight
of an object, and ends when just before the Release Load, Use or Assemble Therbligs.
The main objective of this Therblig is to reduce the distance and subsequent time
involved for transport
b. Ramps
7. Transport Empty: {icon shows an empty hand}
a. This is the motion of moving the unloaded hand from the point of Release Load to the
next function within the sequence.
 b. It can also be considered the hand motions involved between Select and Grasp, where
the eye identifies the object and the hand moves towards it to grasp.
c. his Therblig is a non-productive one, and as such, should be kept to a minimum. One
could reduce the length of Transport Empty by placing the release point close to the
Assemble point
8. Position: {icon suggests an object, such as a pen, being placed in the hand, ready to Use}
a. This motion is the act of placing the object in the proper orientation for Use.
b. This Therblig, like Hold, is one, which can completely be eliminated by the design of the
work place. If a tool or part is placed such that it is stored in the proper position for
Grasp, the object doesn’t have to be reoriented
c. This Therblig, like Hold, is one, which can completely be eliminated by the design of the
work place. If a tool or part is placed such that it is stored in the proper position for
Grasp, the object doesn’t have to be reoriented.
d. Example pen
9. Assemble: {icon shows several items (lines) placed together}
a. This Therblig starts when two or more parts are placed together (a peg into a hole) and
ends when either the assembled object is Transport Loaded or when the hand reaches
for another part (Transport Empty).
b. Gilbreth and Barnes found that your can speed assembly by increasing the size of the
target.
c. Puzzle
10. Use: {icon is simple the letter U---for Use}
a. This Therblig should not be confused with Assemble. Use is when an object is being
operated as it was intended, and typically denotes a tool.
b. For example, we would Assemble a drill by placing a drill bit in the chuck and tightening
it, but we Use the drill to bore holes. Operation of controls on a machine would also be
considered Use.
c. How to minimize? Skills
11. Disassemble: {icon shows Assemble symbol with one part removed}
a. This motion is essentially the opposite of Assemble, depending on the circumstances.
While it could be used where a mistake was made in Assemble, it could also be the act
of removing a part from a jig or clamp, which held the part during the Use or Assemble
motion.
12. Inspect: {icon suggests a magnifying glass}
a. This Therblig involves the act of comparing the object with a predetermined standard.
This act can employ one or all human senses, depending on the object and the desirable
attributes being checked.
b. Example : sample of set standard
13. Pre-Position: {icon suggests a bowling pin being placed into proper position – obviously
developed before automatic pin setting machines}
a. his is the motion of replacing an item in the proper orientation for it’s next Use
b. Billiards
14. Release Load: {icon suggested by a hand with an object poised to drop}
a. This motion involves releasing the object when it reaches its destination
 b. The actual time taken will be fractions of a second and would vary with such things as if
it were being Pre-Positioned or if the release was merely down a hole, into a gravity
chute.
15. Unavoidable Delay: {icon suggested by a man bumping his nose unintentionally}
a. This Therblig is measured from the point where a hand is inactive to the point where it
becomes active again, with another Therblig.
b. Out of control and unexpected
c. Can be sed as rest
16. Avoidable Delay: {icon shows a worker intentionally lying down on the job}
a. involves inactive time the worker encounters over which he/she has control.
b. Did not do a maintenance job
c. Assembling in one hand
17. Plan: {icon shows a worker with fingers on head, thinking}
a. This Therblig is a mental function, which may occur before Assemble (deciding which
part goes next) or prior to Inspection, noting which flaws to look for.
b. However, in routine jobs, the time spent in the Plan Therblig should be kept to a
minimum through arrangement of parts and tools.
18. Rest to overcome Fatigue: {icon shows a person resting in a seated position}
a. This Therblig is actually a lack of motion and is only found where the rest is prescribed
by the job or taken by the worker.
b. Break enforced or not

The management theory of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth can be summed up by the following:

1. Reduce the number of motions in a task to increase efficiency.

2. Focus on the incremental study of motions and time to understand an entire task.

3. The goal of increased efficiency is both increased profit and greater worker satisfaction.