Methods
The Assembly Line
Also Known As Production Line
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
The assembly line breaks manufacturing into a sequence of small, standardized steps, with the product moving past stationary workers or stations rather than workers moving to a stationary product. Stationary assembly and disassembly lines existed earlier, including meatpacking disassembly lines in nineteenth century Cincinnati and Chicago, and the line depended on the interchangeable parts the American System of manufactures had already made practical, but Henry Ford's introduction of the continuously moving line at his Highland Park plant in 1913, to build the Model T, cut the time to assemble a chassis from more than twelve hours to about ninety minutes and became the model for large scale manufacturing worldwide.
Facts
Core PrincipleBreaking production into a sequence of standardized, sequential steps performed by stationary workers as the product moves past them. 1 Origin YearThe Ford Motor Company introduced the first moving assembly line for automobile manufacturing at its Highland Park, Michigan plant in 1913, cutting Model T assembly time dramatically. Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Mass Production, Methods Frequently used as synonyms, but distinct: the assembly line is one specific technique, a moving conveyor with fixed-station workers, that operates inside the broader mass production system of standardized parts and divided labor. A factory can practice mass production without a moving line, and the philosophy predates the line by more than a century.
Quality Control, Methods Both grew out of the same early twentieth century scientific management movement toward standardized, monitored industrial processes.
In Field
Preceded By
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Assembly Line (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation20th century sectionQuote, 20th century section
The moving assembly line was developed for the Ford Model T and began operation on October 7, 1913, at the Highland Park Ford Plant, and continued to evolve after that, using time and motion study.
Technology: A World History
Daniel R. Headrick, Oxford University Press, 2009
A History of Technology
Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall and Trevor I. Williams, editors, Oxford University Press, 1954
American System of Manufactures (Encyclopedia.com)
Encyclopedia.comfirst paragraphQuote, first paragraph
The American System of Manufactures was an innovative method for producing finished goods.
American System of Manufactures (Encyclopedia.com)
The Origins of TPS (Creative Safety Supply)
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