THE PRINCIPLES OF WORK STUDY THE PRINCIPLES OF WORK STUDY, WITH ONE OR TWO APPLICATIONS IN THE LABORATORY G. A. C. PITT, M.S½., F.R.I.C., M.B.I.M.* A lecture delivered before the Society on 2$th April 1962. A brief accoun• of method study and work measuremen• is given, and examples are cited. The relationship wi•h o•her managemen• functions is also given. WORK STUDY is, as it says, the study of work, human work. This, however, has not always been its name. Its original names were Motion Study and Time Study. Under these names it acquired an unenviable reputation. Since the war these two have been married under the name Work Study and under this name have acquired a degree of respectability. HISTORY In the early part of this century, Motion Study and Time Study were not widely practised in this country. F.W. Taylor, the originator of much of these practices, succeeded in the U.S.A. but found no acceptance in this country. He accordingly moved on to the mainland of Europe where he was better received. It is incontrovertible that this was a factor in our falling behind the United States and other European countries in productivity (that is, output per worker hour) and which results in so many exhortations to increased productivity that we receive today. TERMINOLOGY Work Study is, in fact, Motion Study plus Time Study. These tech- niques have also been renamed: Motion Study is now more generally called Method Study. Time Study is now more generally called Work Measurement. Work Study •7 Motion Study •x Time Study • Motion Study (Macro) (Micro-motion Study) (Micro) Work Measurement *Potter & Moore Ltd., London, E.10.

4 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS •IETHOD STUDY Method Study can be divided into macro- and micro- subdivisions. Method Study on the macro-scale involved the study of any operation or movement lasting longer than about 3 seconds. include a study of (a) factory layout (b) (c) (d) For example, it would movement of material through a factory material handling on the shop floor operator work place lay-out where the operation or movement time exceeds about 3 seconds. To assist in Method Study certain shorthand symbols have been used ß OPERATION DENOTED BY O TRANSPORTATION DENOTED • T STORAGE DENOTED BY •] INSPECTION DENOTED BY -•' DELAY DENOTED BY Figur• 1 The basic purpose in Method Study is to reduce the amount of work to be done by detailed study of it thereby enabling the operator by various means to produce more. Figur• 2. Path followed in original layout