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time and motion study

 
Dictionary: time and motion study
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n.
An analysis of the efficiency with which an industrial operation is performed. Also called motion study, time study.


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: time-and-motion study
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Analysis of the time spent in going through the different motions of a job or series of jobs in the evaluation of industrial performance. Such studies were first instituted in offices and factories in the U.S. in the early 20th century. They were widely adopted as a means of improving work methods by subdividing the different operations of a job into measurable elements, and they were in turn used as aids in standardization of work and in checking the efficiency of workers and equipment.

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Business Dictionary: Time-And-Motion Study
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Measuring the time and motions necessary for the completion of specific job tasks. Time-and-motion studies were first advocated by Frederick W. Taylor in his book Scientific Management in order to create a management standard for evaluating individual employee productivity. See also Stopwatch Studies.

Accounting Dictionary: Time and Motion Study
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Systematic study of the time and human motions used to perform an operation. The purpose is to eliminate unnecessary motions and to identify the best sequence of motions for maximum efficiency. Therefore, time and motion study can be an important source of productivity improvements. For example, a time and motion study analyzing the functioning of tellers in a bank might be conducted in an effort to effect savings in costs and processing time.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: time and motion study
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time and motion study, analysis of the operations required to produce a manufactured article in a factory, with the aim of increasing efficiency. Each operation is studied minutely and analyzed in order to eliminate unnecessary motions and thus reduce production time and raise output, which increases productivity. The first effort at time study was made by F. W. Taylor in the 1880s. Early in the 20th cent., Frank and Lillian Gilbreth developed a more systematic and sophisticated method of time and motion study for industry, taking into account the limits of human physical and mental capacity and the importance of a good physical environment.

Wikipedia: Time and motion study
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A time and motion study (or time-motion study) is a business efficiency technique combining the Time Study work of Frederick Winslow Taylor with the Motion Study work of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth (not to be confused with their son, best known through the biographical 1950 film and book Cheaper by the Dozen). It is a major part of scientific management (Taylorism).

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Purpose

A time and motion study would be used to reduce the number of motions in performing a task in order to increase productivity. The best known experiment involved bricklaying. Through carefully scrutinising a bricklayer's job, Frank Gilbreth reduced the number of motions in laying a brick from 18 to about 5. Hence the bricklayer both increased productivity and decreased fatigue.

The Gilbreths developed what they called therbligs ("therblig" being "Gilbreth" spelled backwards), a classification scheme comprising 18 basic hand motions. 1920 Frank B. and Lillian Gilbreth developed their time and motion studies. The Gilbreths showed the importance of the total working environment by reducing unnecessary motions

See also

References

  • Management (3rd Edition), Robbins, S.P., Bergman, R., Stagg, L, & Coulter, M. (2003) . Sydney, Australia: Prentice

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Business Dictionary. Dictionary of Business Terms. Copyright © 2000 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Accounting Dictionary. Dictionary of Accounting Terms. Copyright © 2005 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Time and motion study".  Read more