Work Design and Motion Economy

2.  Work design
involves the methods
and motions used to
perform a task. Work
design is the design of
the work system.
 Motion study
Involves the analysis
of the basic hand,
arm, and body
movements of workers
as they perform work.
• What does work design include?
• the workplace layout and
environment
• the tooling and equipment
(e.g., work holders, fixtures,
hand tools, portable power
tools, and machine tools).
Selaam! Hi!
Merhaba!
I’m Çelik. I help u. 

3. If you want to get extra information
about Frank Gilbreth you can look
at this web side :
Google Hazretleri  or add me as a friend
on facebook ;)
I should catalog the
basic motion elements
and I should call them
‘therbligs’.
Frank Gilbreth

4. Therbligs are the basic
building blocks of virtually
all manual work performed
at a single workplace and
consisting primarily of
hand motions.
Each therblig represents time and
energy expended by a worker to
perform a task.

5. 17 Therbligs
1. Transport empty (TE) – reach for an object
with empty hand – today we call it “reach”.
2. Grasp (G) – grasp an object by contacting
and closing the fingers until control has been
achived.
3. Transport loaded (TL) – move an object with
hand and arm – today we call it “move”.
4. Hold (H) – hold an object with one hand.
5. Release load (RL) – release control of an
Object.
6. Use (U) – manipulate/use 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
10. Disassemble (DA) – seperate multiple
parts
that were previously joined

6. 17 Therbligs
That’s All, Guys… 
12. Select (St) – choose among several objects in a group (hand- eye
coordination is involved).
13. Plan (Pn) – decide on an action (a short pause or hesitation in the
motions)
14. Inspect (I) – determine quality of object using the eyes.
15. Unavoidable delay (UD) – waiting due to factors beyond worker control.
16. Avoidable delay (AD) – worker waiting.
17. Rest (R) – resting to overcome fatigue.
If the task is repetitive, of relatively
short duration, and will be
performed many times, it may be
appropriate to analyze the therbligs
that make up the work cycle as
part of the work design process.
The term micromotion analysis
is sometimes used for this type of
analysis.

7. Effective therbligs:
Transport empty
Grasp
Transport loaded
Release load
Use
Assemble
Disassemble
Inspect
Rest
Ineffective
therbligs:
Hold
Pre-position
Position
SearchSelect
Plan
Unavoidable
delay
Avoidable
delay
Ohhh My God! it’s so nice
I love so much 

9. Canbe organizedinto 3 catogories :
1 . Principles related to the use of human body.
2 . Principles relatedto workplace arrangement.
3 . Principles relatedto the design of tooling and equipment.

10. » The two hands should begin and end
their motions at the same time.
» Both hands should be fully utilized.
Both hands should be used as equally as possible.
•The work is evenly divided between the right-hand side and the left-
hand side of the workplace.
•In this case, the division of work should be organized according to the
following principle.

11. » The motions of the hands and arms should
be symmetrical and simultaneous.
 Minimize hand-eye coordination.If both hands are doing the
same movements at the same time ;
 Less concentration will be required.
Okey, sorry… I’ve gained weight so much… 
now I’m going to IUS fitness center… ;)

12. » The work should be designed to emphasize the worker’s preferred
hand.
 The preferred hand is faster,stronger and
more dexterous.
 For exp: Work units should enter the
work place on the side of the worker’s
preffered hand.
» The worker’s two
hands should never
be idle at the same
time.

13. » Method should consist of smooth
continuous curved motions rather than
straight motions with sudden changes in
direction.
» Use momentum to facilitate
task.
Using of momentum to
make a task easier.

14. » The method should take advantage of gravity ,instead of opposing it !
Less time and energy are required to move a
heavy object from a higher elevation to a lower
elevation than to move the object upward.

15. » Method should achieve a natural rhythm of
the motions involved.
Basically, the worker learns the rhythm and performs the motions without
thinking, much like the natural and instinctive motion pattern that occurs
in walking.

16. » The lowest classification of hand and arm motions should be used.
 There are five classification.
 The worker can perform the hand and arm
motion more quickly and with less affort.
I Movement of the fingers only.
II Fingers and wrist motion.
III Fingers, wrist, and
forearm
IV Finger,wrist ,forearm,upper arm and shoulder

17. » Minimize eye focus and eye travel activities.
 Eye focus occors when the eye must adjust to
change in viewing distance.
 Eye travel occors when the eye must adjust to
a line-of-sight change.
 Since eye focus and eye travel each take time,
it is desirable to minimize the need for the
worker to make these adjustments as much as
possible.
» The method should be designed
to utilize the worker’s feet and
legs when appropriate.
 The legs are stronger than the arms.
 The feet are not as dextrous as the hands.
The work should be designed to take advantage of the
greater strength of the legs. For example : Lifting tasks.

18. 1 . Tools and materials should be located in fixed positions within work area.
The worker eventually learns the fixed locations, allowing him to reach for the object without
wasting time looking and searching.‘A place for everything, and everyting in its place.’
3. Locate tools and materials to be
consistent with sequence of work
elements in work cycle. Decrease the
time required for searching.
2. Tools and
materials should
be located close
to where they
are used.To
minimize the
distances to be
covered.

19. Normal working area in the workplace. Maximum working area in the
workplace.
For working area dimensions of average
male and female workers.
» Poor arrangement of parts and tools in workplace
» Good arrangement of parts and tools in workplace
Elements in relation to locations of hand tools and parts bins.

20. 4 . Use gravity feed bins to deliver small parts and fasteners
A gravity feed bin is a container
that uses gravity to move the
items in it to a convenient access
point for the worker.
 It generally allows for quicker
acquisition of an item than a
conventional rectangular tray
shown in Figure (b).
 One possible
design is
shown in
Figure (a).
5 . Use gravity drop chutes for
completed work units where
appropriate.The drop chutes should lead to a container
adjacent to the worktable.

21. 6 . Provide adequate illumination
» The issue of illumination is normally associated with ergonomics.
» However, illumination has long been known to be an important factor
in work design.
» Illumination is especially important in visual inspection tasks.

22. 7 . A proper chair should be provided for the
worker.
 This usually means an
adjustable chair that can
be fitted to the size of the
worker.
 The adjustments usually
include seat height and
back height. Both the seat
and back are padded.
 The chair height should be
in proper relationship with
the work height. An
adjustable chair for the
workplace is shown in
Figure .

23. 1. Work-holding devices should be designed for
the task.
A mechanical work-holder with a fast-acting clamp permits the work
unit to be loaded quickly and frees both hands to work on the task
productively.

24. 2 . The Hands should be relieved of work elements that can performed by
the feet. Foot pedal controls can be
provided instead of hand
controls to operate certain
types of equipment. Sewing
machines are examples in
which foot pedals are used as
integral components in the
operation of the equipment.
3 . Combine multiple functions into one tool where
possible.Many of common hand tooks and
implements exhibit this principle.
 The head of a claw hammer is
designed for both striking and
pulling nails.
 All pencils are designed for both
writing and erasing.
Less time is usually required to reposition such a double-function tool
than to put one tool down and pick another one up.

25. 4.Multiple operations should be performed simultaneously rather than
sequentially.
The work method can be designed so
that the steps are accomplished at the
same time rather than sequentially.
Special tooling and processes can
often be designed to simultaneously
accomplish the multiple operations.
5 . Equipment controls should be designed for operator convenience and error
avoidance.Equipment controls include dials, cranks, levers, switches, push buttons, and other
devices that regulate the operation of the equipment. >>>All of the controls needed
by the operator should be located within easy reach, so as to minimize the body
motions required to access and activate them.

26. 6. Hand tools and portable powered tools should be designed for operator
comport and convenience.
The location of the handle or grip relative to
the working end of the tool should be
designed for maximum operator safety,
convenience, and effectiveness of the tool.
 If possible, the tool should
accommodate both right-handed and left
handed workers.
7 . Manual operations should be mechanized or automated wherever
economically and technologically feasible.

27. It’s time to watch my film 

30. • Groover,Mikell P.(2007) Work Systems and the Methods, Measurement, and
Management of Work. United States of America:Pearson Education,Inc.
• Transtutors(2012) Educational solutions
[online]available from <http://www.transtutors.com/homework-help/Industrial-
Management/Work-Study/working-area.aspx> [2012]
• Original source was R.Farley,’’Some Principles of Methods and Motion Study as
Used in Development,’’ General Motors and Engineering Journal 2,no.6:20-25.)
• http://www.rehabcare.org/ergonomics/ergonomics.html
• Purdue University(2012)
• [online]available from <https://engineering.purdue.edu/IE/GilbrethLibrary
• /frankmotion.html> [2012]
Bye! 