To determine the backlash in an arrangement in which a motor moves a load via a transmission mechanism, a transducer is used which is present anyway in conventional production machines and which measures an angular position or translatory position of the drive element or a derivative of this quantity. Via the transducer the effect of the backlash on the actual position of the drive element is measured, the actual position being different from the desired position, which is defined by the forces or torques acting on the drive. On the basis of a frequency analysis, quantities can be derived which permit the use of threshold criteria. For example, the drive is driven with a periodic signal which is close to the absorber frequency, i.e. a frequency at which the absorption by the transmission mechanism is greatest.