Gilbreth biography

Frank Bunker Gilbreth and his wife Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth were pillars of the Scientific Management movement in the first half of the 20 th century. From the outset he displayed an interest in analysing and improving the way work was done. He was quickly able to demonstrate that output could be nearly trebled from to bricks per hour , by a series of simple changes, which included:.

It was not long before the self-taught Gilbreth was boss of his own successful construction business with offices in New York, Boston, and London. Frank's life changed after a chance meeting in with Lillie Moller, a striking young Californian, with a master's degree in English literature. They married in , after which, with Lillian's encouragement, Frank Gilbreth began formalising and publishing his innovatory ideas and became more involved in consultancy work.

Frank and lillian gilbreth theory

It should be noted that, during the first decade of the 20 th century, the concepts behind Taylorism had caused increasing resentment in the US labour movement, even leading to a Congressional investigation in Intriguingly, this was the same year that the Gilbreths set up their consultancy company. With Lillian's increasing influence, the Gilbreths preached a more compassionate version of scientific management than that practiced by F.

They argued that good human relations were essential, if work was to be done more effectively. The Gilbreth marriage was a great success and they raised a formidable family of twelve. Both books were the basis of successful Hollywood films.