Purdue University. Motion and Time Study Laboratory

Dates

• Existence: 1930s - 1956

Biography

In the early 1900s, there was a growing interest in the field of industrial engineering and management. To accommodate this interest, in 1914 the Purdue College of Engineering developed an Industrial Management option for students and faculty. In the 1920s, the Industrial Management program was led by Frank Hockema and later George H. Shepard. Shepard also taught time and motion study courses. In the 1930s, Jack E. Walters further expanded the Industrial Management program. He also secured funding, equipment, and a location in Heavilon Hall for the establishment of the Motion and Time Study Laboratory.

In 1935, President Elliot and Dean of Engineering Andrey Potter invited Lillian Gilbreth to join the faculty at Purdue. Lillian Gilbreth was renowned for her expertise in industrial management and time and motion studies. Gilbreth worked closely with H. Barrett Rogers, and later his successor Marvin E. Mundel, to expand the Motion and Time Study Laboratory and curriculum at Purdue. In 1937, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Processes, and Engineering Drawing were placed under the new General Engineering Department. The new department led to the hiring of additional faculty including H. Barrett Rogers in 1938. Before coming to Purdue, Rogers was the supervisor of time study at Westinghouse Electric Company. Rogers taught time and motion studies courses and led the Motion and Time Study Laboratory. In 1940, the Purdue Time and Motion Study Laboratory presented their motion and time study films at the National Time and Motion Study clinic in Chicago.

After H. Barrett Rogers’ departure to Northwestern University in 1942, Marvin E. Mundel was hired as his replacement. Prior to his appointment at Purdue Mundel had studied under time and motion studies experts, David Porter at New York University and Ralph M. Barnes at the University of Iowa. Under Mundel’s leadership, the Time and Motion Study Laboratory produced several motion study films for use in research and teaching. Mundel also expanded the curriculum and collaborated with other departments in time and motion studies. In 1946, the General Engineering department was reorganized with three sections including Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Processes, and Engineering Drawing. Robert W. Field chaired the Industrial Engineering section which contained the Motion and Time Study Laboratory and associated faculty and curriculum. As part of the reorganization Harold Amrine was hired and he taught motion and time study courses alongside Robert W. Field and Mundel.

In 1950, Mundel replaced Field as chair of Industrial Engineering, but he left in 1952 due to Dean Potter’s refusal to allow the Industrial Engineering section to be spun off as its own entity. Amrine replaced Mundel as chair of Industrial Engineering. In 1955, the department of General Engineering was discontinued. The Industrial Engineering section was spun off to create a new School of Industrial Engineering and Management. The new school consisted of two departments: the Industrial Engineering led, by Amrine and Industrial Management and Transportation, by Emanuel Weller. The Motion and Time Study Laboratory was placed in the Industrial Engineering department under Amrine. In 1956, the Laboratory was discontinued and partitioned to make room for a new Industrial Engineering Library and office spaces.

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