# " MOTION STUDY APPLICATIONS " 1940s RALPH M. BARNES HUMAN FACTOR & ERGONOMIC ANALYSIS FILM 66144

Ralph M. Barnes’ “Motion Study Applications: Showing Better and Easier Ways to Work” is a black and white film studying motion economy. Ralph M. Barnes was a Professor of Engineering and Production Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Iowa. The film was produced by the University of Iowa in 1942. The film opens with various workers performing mundane, repetitive tasks, such as sorting (0:44), putting pegs in holes (1:11), hammering (1:23), assembling boxes (1:36), nailing (1:50), and tightening bolts with a wrench (1:57). A man sits at his desk and uses a fountain pen to sign a document (2:08). The film cuts to a list of a common series of movements: transport empty, select, grasp, position, use, pre-position, assemble, transport loaded (2:22). A motion analyst uses a special analyst 16mm film projector to view a film of a woman working in a mailing room, observing the fundamental motions of her task (2:31). She stuffs paper into envelopes, and the analyst takes notes, recording the time required for each motion. The film cuts back to the man sitting at his desk (3:17). He signs a letter and sets it aside. Then he reaches for his pen, signs another letter, and sets it atop the other. The action slows down and the motion is broken down in a fashion similar to the steps listed previously (3:47): transport empty, grasp, transport loaded, position, use, transport loaded, pre-position, release load, transport empty. The film returns to…

- Kind: Film
- By: PeriscopeFilm
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/66144-motion-study-applications-vwr)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/66144-motion-study-applications-vwr?play=1)