Methods and Value Engineering

Chapter Three:
Motion and Micro motion study
 Contents to be Covered

 Introduction to motion study & r/s with time

study
 Micro motion study and its Purpose
 Fundamental hand motions and their usage
 Motion study and micro motion study
equipments
 Principles of motion economy
 Introduction to motion study & r/s with time study

Motion study is an analysis of the flow and processing of

material and the movements of men through or at
various work stations.

Motion Study is designed to determine to best way to

complete a repetitive job

Motion and time study can reduce and control costs,

improve working conditions and environment, and
motivate people.
 Cont’d
 Manufacturing/Industrial engineering and management
students are being prepared to design work stations,
develop efficient and effective work methods, establish
time standards, balance assembly lines, estimate labor
costs, develop effective tooling, select proper
equipment, and layout manufacturing facilities.

• However, the most important thing is to learn how to train

production workers in these skills and techniques so they
can become motion and time conscious.
 Cont’d
 Motion study offers a great potential for savings in
any area of human effort. We can reduce the cost by
combining elements of one task with elements of
another.
 Motion study uses the principles of motion economy to
develop work stations that are friendly to the human
body and efficient in their operation.
 Motion study must consider the operator’s safety
 Cont’d
 Time study can Control cost significantly. Time
standards are goals to strive for.
 In organizations that operate without time
standards, 60% performance is typical.
 When time standards are set, performance
improves to an average of 85%. This is a 42%
increase in performance:
 Cont’d
 Incentive systems can improve performance even
further.
 Incentive system performances average 120%, that is
another 42% increase in performance:
 Cont’d
 Manufacturing plants with no standards average 60%
performance.
 Manufacturing plants with time standards average 85%
performance.
 Manufacturing plants with incentive systems average
120% performance.
If additional production output is required, don’t buy
more machinery, don’t add a second shift, and don’t
build a new plant.
Just establish a motion and time study program.
 Cont’d
 Motion and time study is considered to be the backbone
of industrial engineering, industrial technology, and
industrial management programs because the information
that time studies generate affects so many other areas,
including the following:

1. Cost estimating
2. Production and inventory control
3. Plant layout
4. Materials and processes
5. Quality
6. Safety
 Cont’d
 Motion study comes first before the setting of time
standards.
 Motion study is a detailed analysis of the work method in an
effort to improve it.

Motion studies are used to

 Develop the best work method.
Develop motion awareness on the part of all employees.
Develop economical and efficient tools, fixtures, &
production aids.
Assist in the selection of new machines and equipment.
 Train new employees in the preferred method.
Reduce effort and cost.
 Cont’d
 Motion study is for cost reduction, and time study
is for cost control. Motion study is the creative
activity of motion and time study.
 Motion study is design, while time study is
measurement.
 Cont’d
 Once the importance of motion and time study is understood
and accepted, the techniques of motion study are introduced.

Flow diagrams
Multi activity charts
Operation charts
Flow process charts
Process charts
Operations analysis chart
Work station design
Motion economy
Flow patterns
 Cont’d
 The techniques of time study start with the last of motion
study technique, which shows the close relationship
between motion study and time study.
 The techniques of time study are:
1.Predetermined time standards system (PTSS)
2.Stopwatch time study
3.Standard data formula time standards
4.Work sampling time standards
5.Expert opinion and historical data time standards.
 What is a motion study?

 Motion studies are performed to eliminate waste.

Before any improvement in quality or quantity of output,
any study of operations time, any scheduling of work or
balancing of workload or any calculation of standard
time, a study of the current and proposed method is
required.
• Studies of overall factory flow or process, called macro
motion studies, and then additional studies of detail or
operations, called micro motion studies, should be
completed for a project.
 Cont’d
 Motion studies were conducted by Frank and
Lillian Gilbreth about a century ago in a search
for the “one best way.”
 It is important to note that such studies seek to
minimize and simplify manual efforts.
 Cont’d
 Any process can be studied by dividing it into process
activity.
 Although each activity is different, depending on the
product, there are five classes of activities that are included
in all processes
• Operations: Changes in the properties of the product
• Transportations : Changes in the location of the
product
• Inspection: Confirmation that change fits to
specification
• Delay: Wait for start of operation, transportation, or
inspection
• Storage: Wait until needed
 Cont’d
 When the process is first studied, each activity is
recorded and arranged into one of the five classes. All
observed activities are recorded, and activities not done
are not recorded. The purpose of each activity should be
studied.
 Typically, the questions Who? What? Where? When?
Why? and How? must be answered. Next, each event is
observed in the following sequence:
 Cont’d
• Can the activity be eliminated? If not,
• Can the activity be combined and done with another
activity? If not,
• Can the activity be rearranged so occur in the
sequence at an easier time? If not.
• Can the activity be simplified with shorter distances,
mechanical assist, or reduced complexity?

 Once these questions are asked and the improvement

sequence is defined, it is necessary to draw a chart or
diagram that shows the motion improvements.
 Micro motion study and its Purpose
Micro motion Study
 Considerable wasted motion and idle time can occur
within an operation. This time can’t be found with
macro motion studies because it is usually within one
process operation.
 The improvement is gained from reducing the
operation cycle time.
 Cont’d
 It consists of taking motion pictures of the operation
with a clock in the picture or with a motion picture
camera or video camera operating at a constant and
known speed.
 The film becomes a permanent record of both method
and time and may be re-examined whenever desired
 Cont’d
 Applicable for operations with very short cycles which
are repeated thousands of times.
 Goes into greater details to determine where
movements and efforts can be saved and to develop the
best possible patterns of movements.
 Enables operators to perform the operation repeatedly
with minimum effort and fatigue.
 The technique used for this typically involves filming
the operation and hence is known as micro motion
study.
 Examples of operators studied could be cashier in the
bank – routine job of taking payment slips from
customer and issuing cash!
 Cont’d
Use of films in method study
Main advantages of films over visual methods are:
 Permit greater detailing than eye observation;
 Provide greater accuracy than pencil, paper and stop
watch;
 More convenient;
 Provide a positive record;
 Help in the development of the work study person.
 Cont’d
Purposes of Micro motion Study
 As an assist in studying the activities of two or more
persons on group work,
 As an aid in studying the relationship of the activities
of the operator and the machine,
 As a means of timing operations (instead of time
study),
 As an aid in obtaining motion-time data for time
standards,
 As a permanent record of the method and time of
activities of the operator and the machine,
 For research in the field of motion and time study.
 Cont’d
However, its two most important uses are:
– To assist in finding the preferred method of doing
work,
– To assist in training individuals to understand the
meaning of motion study and, when the training is
carried out with sufficient care, to enable them to
become proficient in applying motion economy
principles.
 Cont’d
Micro motion study as an Aid in Improving Methods
The procedure of making a micro motion study
consists of:
1. Filming the operation to be studied.
2. Analyzing the film.
3. Charting the results of the analysis.
4. Developing the improved method through the
problem-solving process.
 Cont’d
 The speed of the camera used ranges from 960 to 1000
frames per minute. But faster cameras may be used to
study very fast hand motions or complex operations.
 The pictures should be enlarged many times to facilitate
the analysis of the motions.
 Note: Micro motion study, although not too
expensive , does require special motion picture
equipment, film, and considerable time for the analysis.
Therefore, it can be used when it is economical to do so.
 Cont’d
Defining Work Systems
 A work system is a system consisting of humans,
information, and equipment designed to perform useful
work
– Contributes to the production of a product or delivery
of a service
– Examples:
Worker operating a machine tool in a factory
Robotic welding line in an automobile plant
A receptionist answering incoming phone calls
Cont’d
 Cont’d
Work Systems
1.Manual work system
–Worker performing one or more tasks without the aid of
powered tools
2.Worker-machine system
–Human worker operates powered equipment
3.Automated work system
–Process performed without the direct participation of a
human worker
 Cont’d

Motion Study and Work Design

Concerned with basic motions of a human worker while performing a

given task
Examples of basic motion elements:
–Reach
–Grasp
–Move
–Release
Guidelines for work design include “principles of motion economy” that
is in three categories: (1) use of the human body in developing the
standard method, (2) workplace layout, and (3) design of the
tooling and equipment used in the task.
 Cont’d
Methods design
Motion study - analysis of the basic hand, arm, and body
movements of workers as they perform work
Work design - design of the methods and motions used to
perform a task
This design includes
– the workplace layout and environment
– the tooling and equipment (e.g., work holders,
fixtures, hand tools, portable power tools, and machine
tools).
work design is the design of the work system.
 Fundamental hand motions/Basic
Motion Elements
 Most work is done with the two hands, and all manual
work consists of a relatively few fundamental motions
that are performed over and over again.

 Gilbreth, in his early work in motion study, developed

certain subdivisions or events which he thought common
to all kinds of manual work. He invented the word
therblig in order to have a short word with which to refer
to any of these 17 elementary subdivisions of a cycle of
motions. The experienced analyst has no difficulty in
using these therbligs in industrial applications.
 Cont’d
 Although the word therblig is familiar to industrial
engineers, the term motion or hand motion is preferred
when discussing the subject of micro motion study with
factory and office personnel.
 17 basic motion elements called therbligs (Gilbreth
spelled backward).

–Basic building blocks of virtually all manual work

performed at a single location
–With modification, used today in several work
measurement systems, e.g. Methods - Time Measurement
(MTM)
 Cont’d
 Any manual task is composed of work elements, and
the work elements can be further subdivided into basic
motion elements.
 A list of Gilbreth’s 17 therbligs is presented along with
the letter symbol used for each as well as a brief
description…next slide, Some of the motion element
names and definitions have been revised
 Methods analysis at the therblig level seeks to eliminate
or reduce ineffective therbligs.
 Cont’d
17 Therbligs
1.Transport empty (TE) – reach for an object
2.Grasp (G) – grasp an object
3.Transport loaded (TL) – move an object with hand
and arm
4.Hold (H) – hold an object
5.Release load (RL) – release control of an object
6.Use (U) – manipulate a tool
7.Pre-position (PP) – position object for next operation
8.Position (P) – position object in defined location
9.Assemble (A) – join two parts
 Cont’d
10. Disassemble (DA) – separate multiple parts that
were previously joined
11. Search (Sh) – attempt to find an object using eyes or
hand
12.Select (St) – choose among several objects in a group
13.Plan (Pn) – decide on an action
14.Inspect (I) – determine quality of object
15.Unavoidable delay (UD) – waiting due to factors
beyond worker control
16.Avoidable delay (AD) – worker waiting
17.Rest (R) – resting to overcome fatigue
Cont’d
Therbligs Symbol
 Cont’d
Micro motion Analysis
Analysis of therbligs that make up a repetitive task
Objectives:
–Eliminate ineffective therbligs if possible
–Avoid holding objects with hand – Use work
holder
–Combine therbligs – Perform right-hand and
left-hand motions simultaneously
–Simplify overall method
–Reduce time for a motion, e.g., shorten distance
 Cont’d
Example: A repetitive Manual Task
Current method: An assembly worker performs a
repetitive task consisting of inserting 8 pegs/hooks into
8 holes in a board. A slightly interference fit is involved
in each insertion. The worker holds the board in one
hand and picks up the pegs from a tray with other hand
and inserts them into the holes, one peg at a time.
Cont’d
 Cont’d
Current method and current layout:
 Cont’d
Improved method and improved layout:
–Use a work-holding device to hold and position the
board while the worker uses both hands simultaneously
to insert pegs.
–Instead of picking one peg at a time, each hand will grab
four pegs to minimize the number of times the
worker’s hands must reach the trays.
Cont’d
 Cont’d

Class exercise
 Take a simple repetitive manual task , indicate
the current method (work contents/elements)
and show the improved method and layout by
considering the micro motion study analysis