Motion Study

Motion study is the systematic observation and analysis of the movements a worker makes while performing a job. The core idea is simple: if you can identify and remove unnecessary motions, the job takes less time and becomes more efficient. Frederick Winslow Taylor and his associate Frank Gilbreth pioneered this technique, and their work on brick-laying is the classic example.

Taylor and Gilbreth found that a bricklayer originally made 18 distinct motions to lay a single brick. By carefully studying each movement, they reduced this to just 5 motions. The result was a fourfold increase in productivity — a worker could now lay roughly four times as many bricks in the same amount of time.

To conduct a motion study, Taylor observed body movements closely. He classified every motion into one of three categories:

1. Productive motions — these directly add value to the task (e.g., picking up a brick, applying mortar).
2. Incidental motions — these are necessary but do not directly add value (e.g., walking to the storage area for more bricks).
3. Unproductive motions — these are completely wasteful and should be eliminated (e.g., unnecessary bending, fumbling for a tool). Taylor used stopwatches to time each motion and employed symbols and colours to mark and differentiate them on a chart. This visual mapping made it easy to spot wasteful movements.
   Note

   The goal of motion study is not just speed, but efficient speed — removing wasted effort so the worker can produce more without extra strain. …