Method study

Method study is the systematic recording, analysis, and critical examination of existing and proposed ways of doing work, with the aim of developing easier, more effective, and less costly methods (ILO 1992, p.78)^[1]. The worker reaches across the bench, picks up the part, turns around, walks three steps to the machine, inserts the part, operates the machine, removes the part, walks back. Method study asks: why the reaching? Why the walking? Why those three steps instead of one? Can we move the bench? Eliminate the turn?

Frederick Taylor pioneered these questions at Bethlehem Steel in the 1890s. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth refined them into a science, filming bricklayers to eliminate wasted motions. The discipline became central to industrial engineering and remains relevant wherever physical work occurs. Even in highly automated facilities, someone must design how humans interact with machines, materials, and each other.

Purpose

Method study serves multiple objectives:

Productivity improvement. By eliminating unnecessary movements, waiting, and transportation, method study increases output per unit of labor^[2].

Cost reduction. More efficient methods require less time, less effort, and often less material to produce the same output.

Worker fatigue reduction. Eliminating unnecessary motions and awkward positions reduces physical strain and fatigue.

Quality improvement. Standardized methods produce more consistent results than ad hoc approaches.

Safety enhancement. Systematic analysis often identifies hazardous conditions or movements that can be eliminated.

Systematic approach

Method study follows a structured process:

Select

Choosing the work. Not all work justifies detailed study. Priority goes to operations that are repetitive, labor-intensive, physically demanding, bottlenecks, or scheduled for change anyway^[3].

Economic criteria. The potential savings must justify the cost of study. A 30-second improvement matters when the operation runs 1,000 times daily.

Record

Documenting current methods. Before improving, you must understand what currently happens. Recording techniques include:

Process charts. Flow diagrams showing operations, transportations, inspections, delays, and storage using standardized symbols^[4].

Motion studies. Detailed analysis of hand and body movements, often using video recording.

Multiple activity charts. Charts showing what workers and machines are doing simultaneously.

Examine

Critical questioning. Each element is challenged with systematic questions:

• What is done? Why is it necessary?
• Where is it done? Why there?
• When is it done? Why then?
• Who does it? Why that person?
• How is it done? Why that way?

Purpose. Questioning reveals activities that can be eliminated, combined, rearranged, or simplified^[5].

Develop

Creating improved methods. Based on examination findings, analysts develop new methods that eliminate unnecessary elements, combine operations, rearrange sequences, and simplify remaining activities.

Principles. The Gilbreths identified principles of motion economy—use both hands simultaneously, minimize travel distances, use gravity, position tools at point of use.

Evaluate

Comparing alternatives. When multiple improved methods exist, economic analysis identifies the best option considering costs, benefits, and implementation difficulty^[6].

Define

Documenting new methods. The improved method must be precisely specified—written procedures, workplace layouts, tool positions, sequence of operations—so it can be consistently followed.

Install

Implementation. New methods require training workers, modifying workplaces, and overcoming resistance to change.

Maintain

Sustaining improvements. Without ongoing attention, old habits return. Supervision and periodic audits ensure new methods persist.

Tools and techniques

Method study employs various analytical tools:

Therbligs. The Gilbreths' eighteen fundamental motions—search, find, select, grasp, transport, position, assemble, and others—provide a vocabulary for motion analysis^[7].

SIMO charts. Simultaneous motion charts record what left and right hands do at each moment.

String diagrams. Physical layouts with strings tracing movement paths reveal travel patterns.

Video analysis. Modern digital recording enables frame-by-frame examination of operations.

Relationship to work measurement

Method study and work measurement together comprise work study. Method study determines how work should be done; work measurement determines how long it should take. The sequence matters—establish the best method first, then measure it. Measuring a poor method produces a poor standard^[8].

Method study — recommended articles

Work measurement — Industrial engineering — Time study — Process improvement

References

• ILO (1992), Introduction to Work Study, 4th Edition, International Labour Organization.
• Barnes R.M. (1980), Motion and Time Study: Design and Measurement of Work, 7th Edition, Wiley.
• Kanawaty G. (1992), Introduction to Work Study, ILO.
• Meyers F.E., Stewart J.R. (2002), Motion and Time Study for Lean Manufacturing, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall.

Footnotes

1. ↑ ILO (1992), Introduction to Work Study, p.78
2. ↑ Barnes R.M. (1980), Motion and Time Study, pp.12-28
3. ↑ Kanawaty G. (1992), Introduction to Work Study, pp.34-45
4. ↑ Meyers F.E., Stewart J.R. (2002), Motion and Time Study, pp.56-72
5. ↑ ILO (1992), Introduction to Work Study, pp.98-112
6. ↑ Barnes R.M. (1980), Motion and Time Study, pp.134-148
7. ↑ Kanawaty G. (1992), Introduction to Work Study, pp.89-102
8. ↑ Meyers F.E., Stewart J.R. (2002), Motion and Time Study, pp.178-192

Author: Sławomir Wawak