Principles of

Motion
Economy

Under the Guidance of :-

Mr. Prabhat Kumar
Associate Professor, NIFT Patna

Submitted By: -
Swapnil Krishna (BFT/19/1073)
Ashish Kumar Dwivedy (BFT/19/946)
Mritunjay Kumar (BFT/19/1081)
Shubham Kumar (BFT/19/1096)
(Department of Fashion Technology)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank National Institute of Fashion Technology for giving us
the opportunity to take this assignment. Foremost, we would like to thank our
subject faculty at NIFT, Mr. Prabhat Kumar, Associate professor at NIFT
Patna for giving his invaluable feedback and the guidance on this assignment
throughout the classes. This could not have been achieved without his support.

Lastly, we thanks to all the people who guided us through the entire process,
and fellow students at NIFT who have imparted the necessary knowledge and
skills that we required to complete this document.

Yours sincerely,

SHUBHAM KUMAR (BFT/19/1096)

MRITUNJAY KUMAR (BFT/19/1081)

ASHISH KR. DWIVEDY (BFT/19/946)

SWAPNIL KRISHNA (BFT/19/1073)

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 CONTENTS
TOPICS PAGE NO.
1. INTRODUCTION 04
2. MOTION ECONOMY 04
3. PRINCIPLE OF MOTION ECONOMY 05-06
4. USE OF HUMAN BODY 06-07
5. WORKPLACE ARRANGEMENT 08-10
6. TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT 11-14
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES

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Introduction

At present, industries are trying to make them stable in the market. This stability
can only be achieved if there is will be more will be the output and less will be
the production time and leads to result in very low production cost.
Most workers do not enjoy making unnecessary or wasted motions, particularly
if they result in unnecessary fatigue. In addition to providing some social and
psychological rewards, a job should also be reasonably efficient. Motion study
helps to reduce fatigue and wasted motions. It is designed to determine the best
way to complete a repetitive job.

Motion Economy
Motion economy was first used by Frank Gilbreth, and later a set of basic
principles was codified by Ralph Barnes in the 1930s. The principles of motion
economy comprise guidelines that can be used to help determine work method,
workplace layout, tools and equipment. They make repetitive tasks easier, more
efficient and more effective. These principles help to achieve productivity and
their objective is to maximise efficiency, minimise worker fatigue, and reduce
cumulative trauma, such as Carpal Tunnel and tendonitis, at the workstation.
The principles are used when examining and designing workstation and
workplace layouts and during method study. They are simple and empirical
hints on work design that are based on a combination of simple ergonomic
principles and common sense. The principles relate to both the design of the
workplace and the design of the work. Hence, for example, they advise that
gravity should be used, where possible, to deliver materials to their point of use
and to remove completed work. They include the characteristics of easy

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movement which suggest that working methods and workplaces should be
designed such that the motion patterns required of workers can comprise
movements that are minimum, symmetrical, simultaneous, natural, rhythmical,
habitual, and continuous.

Principles of Motion Economy

Motion economy is the process of minimizing the physical and perceptual loads
imposed on people engaged in any type of work.
Principles of Motion Economy:
 Principles that apply to the use of human body
 Principles that apply to the workplace arrangement
 Principles that apply to the design of tooling and equipment.

USE OF HUMAN BODY

 The two hands should begin as well as complete their motions at the same
time.
 The two hands should not be idle at the same time except during periods
of rest.
 Motions of the arms should be symmetrical and in opposite directions and
should be made simultaneously.
 Hand and body motions should be made at the lowest classification at
which it is possible to do the work satisfactorily.
 Momentum should be employed to help the worker, but should be
reduced to a minimum whenever it has to be overcome by muscular
effort.

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  Continuous curved movements are to be preferred to straight-line motions
involving sudden and sharp changes in direction.
 "Ballistic" (i.e., free-swinging) movements are faster, easier and more
accurate than restricted or controlled movements.
 Rhythm is essential to the smooth and automatic performance of a
repetitive operation. The work should be arranged to permit easy and
natural rhythm whenever possible.
 Work should be arranged so that eye movements are confined to a
comfortable area, without the need for frequent changes of focus.

Figure: Classification of Movement

WORKPLACE ARRANGEMENT
 Definite and fixed stations should be provided for all tools and
materials to permit habit formation.
 Tools and materials should be pre-positioned to reduce searching.
 Gravity fed bins and containers should be used to deliver the materials
as close to the point of use as possible.
 Tools, materials and controls should be located within the maximum
working area and as near to the worker as possible.
 Materials and tools should be arranged to permit the best sequence of
motions.
 ‘Drop deliveries or ejectors should be used wherever possible so that
the operator does not have to use his hands to dispose of the finished
work.

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  Provision should be made for adequate lighting and a chair of the type
and height to permit good posture should be provided.
 The height of the workplace and seat should be arranged to allow
alternate standing and sitting.
 The color of the workplace should contrast with that of the work and
thus reduce eye fatigue.

The Workplace Arrangement

The following figure shows the normal and maximum working areas in the
workplace.

Figure: Normal and Maximum Working Area Dimensions

Symbol in figure Dimensions in working Male worker Female worker
area for worker seated [cm (inches)] [cm (inches)]
NR Normal radius of arm 39 (15.5) 36 (14.0)
reach
MR Maximum radius of 67 (26.5) 60 (23.5)
arm reach
NW Normal width of arm 109 (43.0) 102 (40.0)
reach
MW Maximum width of 163 (64.0) 147 (58.0)
arm reach

Locate tools in fixed positions within the work area:

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As the saying goes, “a place for everything, and everything in its place.” The
worker eventually learns the fixed locations, allowing him to reach for the
object without wasting time looking and searching.

Locate tools and materials close to where they are used:

 This helps to minimize the distances the worker must move(minimize)in
the work place. In addition, any equipment controls should also be
located in close proximity. This guideline usually refers to a normal and
maximum working area, as shown in the figure above and clarified
further in the table. It is generally desirable to keep the parts and tools
used in the work method with in the normal working area, as defined for
each hand and both hands working together.
 If the method requires the worker to move beyond the maximum working
area, then the worker must move more than just the arms and hands. This
expends additional energy, takes more time, and ultimately contributes to
greater worker fatigue.

Locate tools and materials to be consistent with sequence of work

elements:
 Items should be arranged in a logical pattern that matches the sequence
logical pattern items that are used first in the cycle should be on one side
of the work area, the items used next should be next to the first, and soon.
 The alternative to this sequential arrangement is to locate items randomly
in the work area. This increases the amount of searching required and
detracts from the rhythm of the work cycle.
 The following figure shows the top view of a workplace layout that
illustrates these first three principles. Note that the layout in (b)locates
bins in a more accessible pattern that is consistent with the sequence of
work elements.

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Illustration of First Three Principles
Two workplace layouts:
(a) Poor arrangement of parts and tools in workplace

(b) Good arrangement of parts and tools in workplace Numbers indicate

sequence of work elements in relation to locations of hand tools and parts bins.

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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. One possible design is shown
in figure (a)

 It generally allows for quicker acquisition of an item than a conventional

rectangular tray shown in figure (b).

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Use gravity drop chutes (channels, tubes) for completed work
units where appropriate:
 The drop chutes should lead to a container adjacent to the worktable. The
entrance to the gravity chute should be located near the normal work area,
permitting the worker to dispose of the finished work unit quickly and
conveniently. They are most appropriate for lightweight work units that
are not fragile.

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.

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.

 Many adjustable chairs also provide a means of increasing and decreasing

the amount of back support.

 The chair height should be in proper relationship with the work height.
An adjustable chair for the workplace is shown in the following figure.

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Hand motion
It is very important to have knowledge about the hand motion. Movement of
hands affects the working of an operator. The movement of two hands should be
commensurable. Also, the two hands should not be motionless except during
rest period. Idleness creates wastage of time. So, time consumption is more.
For example: -
If the hands of an operator are motionless, it means there will be more
consumption of time which leads to wastage of time and energy. Also, the
two hands should be commensurable as it reduces the time for that
particular activity and makes the production faster.
Human beings use their preferred hand for maximum work and leave the
minor work for the other hand. As the preferred hand is fast and more
powerful it will be more in use. But principle of motion economy gave its
first rule that the two hands should be commensurable or simply we can
say that two hands should be symmetric. So, the two hands should work
together proportionally.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

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.

 Typically, the work holder must be custom-designed for the work part
processed in the task.

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Hands should be relieved of work elements that can be performed by the
feet using foot pedals.

 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.

 As the examples suggest, training is often required for the operator to

become proficient in the use of the foot pedals

Combine multiple functions into one tool where possible.

 Many of the common hand tools implements this principle, such as head
of a claw hammer is designed for both striking and pulling nails. Nearly
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.

Figure: Ideal Workstation Layout

Perform multiple operations simultaneously rather than sequentially

 A work cycle is usually conceptualized as a sequence of work elements or

steps.

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  The steps are performed one after the other by the worker and machine.

 In some cases, 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.

Where feasible, perform operation on multiple parts simultaneously

 This usually applies to cases involving the use of a powered tool such as
a machine tool. A good example is the drilling of holes in a printed circuit
board (PCB).
 The PCBs are stacked three or four thick, and a numerically controlled
drill press drills each hole through the entire stack in one feed motion.

Design equipment controls 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.

Hand tools and portable power tools should be designed for operator
comfort & convenience

 For example, the tools should have handles or grips that are slightly
compressible so that they can be held and used comfortably for the
duration of the shift.
 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.

Mechanize or automate manual operations if economically and technically

feasible

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  Mechanized or automated equipment and tooling that are designed for the
specific operation will almost always outperform a worker in terms of
speed, repeatability, and accuracy. This results in higher production rates
and better-quality products.

 The economic feasibility depends on the quantities to be produced. In

general, higher quantities are more likely to justify the investment in
mechanization and automation.

Conclusion:
In this study, we analyzed and represented the expertise of motion economy
specialists as search control rules by using temporal formulas. In addition, a
notion of common sense of manual operations was conceptualized.
A set of common-sense search control rules was devised and formulated to
avoid plans that have unreasonable sequences of actions. The effectiveness of
the motion economy rules was shown by comparing the plans generated with
and without the help of the rules. Justification of why a plan is evaluated as a
good plan was given by describing the improvement the motion economy rules
make as compared to the plans, which are obtained by applying only
commonsense search control.
It was observed that motion economy offers a great deal of improvement to
these raw plans. Sample problems that we have formulated show the
expressiveness of the representation scheme. A wide variety of tasks can be
represented and solved by the planner. The plans generated satisfy the
requirements of the task specifications well and they achieve this without
representing a complex optimization problem.

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References:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271588974_Principles_of_Motion_Economy

http://ijirt.org/master/publishedpaper/IJIRT143260_PAPER.pdf

Principles of motion economy - Wikipedia

Industrial Engineering Knowledge Center: Principles of Motion Economy - Details - R.M. Barnes
(nraoiekc.blogspot.com)

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