Method Study: Finding the Best Way to Do the Job

Method study (method analysis) determines the most effective way to execute each process. It works by breaking an operation into its elements, or sequences of motion, and examining them. The one rule: an operation can never be studied in isolation, because each is affected by the operation before it and the one after it.

The eleven objectives

Method study aims to deliver:

1. Improved processes and procedures
2. Improved plant and equipment design
3. Improved layout
4. Improved quality
5. Better use of men, materials, and machines
6. Economy of human effort and less unnecessary fatigue
7. Improved safety standards
8. A better working environment
9. Increased efficiency
10. Use of new work aids
11. Reduced training time for an operation

These cluster into three themes: efficiency (1, 2, 5, 9), the worker (6, 7, 8, 11), and the output (3, 4, 10).