Nothing was considered more of a sin than wasting valuable time, that is why the father, Frank timed himself trying to go as fast as he possible can with almost everything. Every movement of everyday must be functional. He timed himself buttoning his shirt to see which way was faster, top-bottom, or bottom-top. He timed himself shaving to see which way took longer, using to brushes to apply the shaving cream, or one. He found that two were faster. He also experimented which way was faster, using two razors or one. He found that one was faster, because with two he cut himself so many times it took him twice as much time to cover up the cuts. As father once said: "There is one right way to do everything, and that right way is the best way. That is true whether it is making an automobile, eating an apple, or raising a family!" This type of motion study and time management could be very helpful in today's economy, especially on a smaller scale. I can think of a few instances in my own work place where a small amount of time wasted could be avoided. Although, I must say, in my office we are pretty good about not wasting movements or time, but if by some chance any of us slip in the slightest way, it is brought to our attention. For instance, while the sterilizing unit (autoclave) is filling it's chamber with water (this sometimes takes a few minutes, and we have to wait for the water to reach a certain level before we shut the door) instead of just watching it, we can save time by putting away the clean instruments in the cabinet above. There are a few other examples including the way we pull patient charts out of the filing cabinet and the way we re-file them in order to save as much time and movement as possible. .
This book took place right after the industrial revolution. I am sure that motion study was and still is widely used in American industry to eliminate unnecessary effort.
