Therbligs

The term Therblig is an anagram of "Gilbreth" and was coined by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth for their system of studying, timing and analysing the motions of workers. Therbligs are usually aimed at manual tasks and are often used in the field of time and motion studies.

Although motion study and Therbligs are usually associated with the workplace they can equally be used to optimise other processes, for example in the home. The theory is that by analysing and optimising the steps involved in a task time can be saved. In a factory, saved time means higher productivity. In the home saved time on chores means more leisure time.

And, of course, let's not forget the boardroom and the golf course.

What Are Therbligs?

Therbligs represent basic units of motion and activity. The list of Therbligs has evolved over the years. Today it is common to use 18 such elements, however originally the Gilbreths developed a system with 15. Clearly some Therbligs will be more appropriate to certain tasks than others. The whole set of 18 will not always be used.

In today's world of computer software we probably need a new version of Therbligs to represent user interface interaction. I'm sure someone somewhere has produced one.

How to Use Therbligs

To use Therbligs, the activity of workers is first recorded and analysed. The individual sequences of motions can be broken down into their component Therbligs and timed. The timing is usually performed in milliseconds. Tools such as Simo chart can be used to record this information and assist in optimisation.

The times taken can then be compared to industry norms (there are published tables for these). If workers are routinely taking longer than expected for a particular Therblig then there might be a reason that can be easily fixed, for example by investing in better equipment or rearranging the workspace.

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