Therblig

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Therbligs are 18 kinds of elemental motions used in the study of motion economy in the workplace. A workplace task is analyzed by recording each of the therblig units for a process, with the results used for optimization of manual labor by eliminating unneeded movements. The word therblig was the creation of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American industrial psychologists who invented the field of time and motion study. It is a reversal of the nameGilbreth, with 'th' treated as one letter.
Contents
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1 The basic motion elements 2 Effective and ineffective basic motion elements 3 Example usage 4 History 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

[edit]The

basic motion elements

The 18 therbligs.

A basic motion element is one of a set of fundamental motions required for a worker to perform a manual operation or task. The set consists of 18 elements, each describing a standardized activity.

Transport empty [unloaded] (TE): reaching for an object with empty hand. ((called now (reach).)) Grasp (G): grasping an object by the active hand. Transport loaded (TL):moving an object using a hand motion. Hold (H): holding an object. Release load (RL): release control of an object. Preposition (PP):positioning and/or orienting an object for the next operation and relative to an approximation location. Position (P): positioning and/or orienting an object in the defined location. Use (U): manipulate a tool in the intended way during the course working. Assemble (A): joining two parts together. Disassemble (DA): separating multiple components that were joined. Search (Sh): attempting to find an object using the eyes and hands. Select (St): choosing among several objects in a group. Plan (Pn): deciding on a course of action. Inspect (I): determining the quality or the characteristics of an object using the eyes and/or other senses. Unavoidable delay (UD): waiting due to factors beyond the worker's control and included in the work cycle. Avoidable delay (AD): waiting within the worker's control causes idleness that is not included in the regular work cycle. Rest to over come a fatigue (R): resting to overcome a fatigue, consisting of a pause in the motions of the hands and/or body during the work cycles or between them. Find (F): A momentary mental reaction at the end of the Search cycle. Seldom used.

[edit]Effective

and ineffective basic motion elements

Effective

Ineffective

Reach

Hold

Move

Rest

Grasp

Position

Release Load

Search

Use

Select

Assemble

Plan

Disassemble Unavoidable Delay

Pre-Position Avoidable Delay

Inspect [edit]Example

usage

Here is an example of how therbligs can be used to analyze motion: [1] ...Suppose a man goes into a bathroom and shave. We'll assume that his face is all lathered and that he is ready to pick up his razor. He knows where the razor is, but first he must locate it with his eye. That is "search", the first Therblig. His eye finds it and comes to rest -- that's "find", the second Therblig. Third comes "select", the process of sliding the razor prior to the fourth Therblig, "grasp." Fifth is "transport loaded," bringing the razor up to his face, and sixth is "position," getting the razor set on his face. There are eleven other Therbligs -- the last one is "think"! Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper By the Dozen

[edit]History
In an article published in 1915, Frank Gilbreth wrote of 16 elements: "The elements of a cycle of decisions and motions, either running partly or wholly concurrently with other elements in the same or other cycles, consist of the following, arranged in varying sequences: 1. Search, 2. Find, 3. Select, 4. Grasp, 5. Position, 6. Assemble, 7. Use, 8. Dissemble, or take apart, 9. Inspect, 10. Transport, loaded, 11. Pre-position for next operation, 12. Release load, 13. Transport, empty, 14. Wait (unavoidable

delay), 15. Wait (avoidable delay), 16. Rest (for overcoming fatigue)." (Motion Study for the Crippled Soldier, in Journal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, December 1915, page 671.)

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Time & Motion Studies

The idea of a TimeandMotionStudy is often still associated with production lines and manufacturing industry. It gained a bad reputation as a source of disagreement between "management" and "workers". However if used properly it can be ofmutual benefit to modern companies and their workforce. The study of management and productivity is a massive field, what follows is of necessity a brief overview.

History
ScientificManagement
Time & Motion studies have their roots in the work of Frederick Winslow Taylor who in 1911 published his famous article The Principles of Scientific Management. Essentially this involved getting the best person for each job and training them to do it the best way possible. Although Taylor believed in cooperation between management and workers, "Taylorism" can be seen as formalising the management/worker divide. Management would be responsible for deciding how things were done with workers simply doing what they were told. It was seen as dehumanising, reducing skilled workers to the status of mechanical parts and resources.

Gilbreths
Time and Motion study was refined in the early twentieth century by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. The Gilbreths' preferred "motion study" to Taylor's "time study", however the term Time and Motion has tended to stick in popular terminology. The Gilbreths studied the actions taken by workers at certain task with the aim of streamlining the processes involved. One of their most famous experiments involved analysing the work of bricklayers and significantly reducing the number of "operations" involved. This change benefited both employer (increased productivity) and employee (decreased fatigue).

Therbligs
The Gilbreths developed a categorisation system for the different basic activities which went to make up a task. These were called Therbligs (an anagram of "Gilbreths"). The basic Therbligs numbered around 15 (the system developed over time) and included such actions as "find", "select" and "rest". Each of these was represented by an icon, for example an eye for "find". The activity of a worker could then be plotted on a Simo Chart("Simultaneous Motion Chart") for optimisation.

HawthorneEffect
One problem for Time and Motion studies is what is known as the Hawthorne Effect (named after a factory not a person). This in essence says that employees change their behaviour when they know that they are being measured - the mere act of performing a study can improve performance. It's a form of "observer effect" akin to a productivity placebo. The Hawthorne Effect also showed that productivity tends to improvewhatever changes are made, then return to normal over time. This recognises that workers are human beings and that knowing they are valued can in itself inspire better performance. The Hawthorne Effect doesn't undermine the value of Time and Motion studies but does emphasise that people are the most significant element of any workplace.

MTM
The original Time and Motion Study concepts led during the twentieth century to the development of PredeterminedMotionTimeSystems(PMTS)such as MethodsTimeMeasurement (MTM) . This was released in 1948 by Maynard, Stegemerten, & Schwab and is today found in three versions: MTM-1, MTM-2 and MTM-3