Monday Mems #7: WHM The Mother of Modern Management

Lillian Gilbreth (1878-1972) Known as the woman of modern management, Lillian Gilbreth was born in Oakland, CA in 1878 where she would go to high school, and eventually go on to graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in English Literature. Soon after graduation she found herself enamored with and enticed by the field of industrial engineering and worked her way toward becoming an engineer. In 1904, she married a fellow engineer named Frank Gilberth, and together they conducted research in time and motion studies which would eventually lead to major advancements in project management and workplace efficiency. For example, Gilberth focused much of her work around human factors and became a pioneer in the field. The field of human factors involves the creation of work processes and equipment with the worker in mind. Today, this is known as ergonomics and Gilberth’s work continues to be the foundation of ergonomics. Additionally, Lillian Gilberth presented a new school of thought that emphasized the importance of treating laborers with the respect and dignity that a human being deserves. She was an advocate for natural human rights and believed that, in order to maximize efficiency in the workplace, workers must be treated as individuals with their own motivations, not like cogs in a machine. This, along with other findings in her work, are what modern project management is based on and what contractors are taught to maximize workflow, productivity, and worker safety.