Word du Jour: Therblig

I learned a new word yesterday: therblig. It’s not a particularly useful term, and originates out of that dodgy human factors business, but here’s a definition:

The fundamental motions of the hands of a worker.These operations are made up of 17 types of motion: search, select, grasp, reach, move, hold, release, position, pre-position, inspect, assemble, disassemble, use, unavoidable delay, avoidable delay, plan, and test to overcome fatigue.Frank Bunker Gilbreth defined these motions in his system of motion study.(Therblig is Gilbreth spelled backwards).

There’s a nifty diagram of 16 therbligs here.

4 comments

  1. I just finished Frank, Junior’s book, “Time Out For Happiness”, read it before using a term like “dodgy”, Gilbreth, Sr. and his wife Lillian championed the idea that management’s job was, in part, to ensure the worker’s happiness that efficiencies should be aimed at reducing fatigue and increases in profits from efficiencies should be shared with the workers.

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