How Did Henry Ford Improve The Use Of The Assembly Line?

introduction

Henry ford has always taught of producing cars for everyone at an affordable price. He was able to achieve this by introducing the Model T in 1908. This model had two important characteristics, that is, its ability to be maintained without calling on a mechanic and its simplicity (user friendly). Fords general idea behind mass production was about how parts can be attached easily together. He never took into consideration the number of people involve in the manufacturing process but was always concerned with how interchangeability of parts could be reliable. (Womack, Jones, Roos, & Technology, 1990)

According to Hounshell and David, interchangeability of parts is vital when parts (needed for manufacturing a car) are made at the

In December 1903, ford introduced the Pièce De Résistance - the moving-chassis assembly line whereas in February 1914, introduced the mechanized belt which run a speed of six feet per minute.

Ford’s motive of producing on a larger scale was to increase consumption. He aimed on arriving this goal by producing in large quantities. He also designed his manufacturing environment in such a way that no one could interrupt the other. For example, in the Detroit factory in Michigan, each worker was assigned to a fix position aiming to fix parts on the moving chassis until the process completes. This improved all motor-vehicle industries that adopted the technique in three (3) basic ways which were:

1. The division of tasks into smaller groups granted both skilful and unskilful workers the ability to

Lean manufacturing goes back to the Eli Whitney, originator of interchangeability of past. His theory inspired Henry Ford and was adopted by him in the early 20th century. The system got it stand after the Second World War, in the Toyota Motor Company now known as the Toyota Production System (TPS). It also took a strong ground when Japan began struggling to rebuild it economy after the war.

In order for the Japanese industries to be able to adopt the United States of America auto giant of Ford, they needed to be much more skilful and more smart. Therefore, Henry Ford with some other engineers invented some theories that could help eliminate waste during production. In addition to this, other theories and developments such as the study of time, standardize work and the elimination of non-value added activities were also invented and applied to the Toyota production system. This proves that lean concept began from Craft Production through to Mass Production and finally