[ad_1]
FreightWaves Classics is sponsored by Sutton Transport, a Midwest LTL leader for more than 40 years. Sutton Transport proudly serves Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Request a quote here.
This past Thursday marked 109 years since Henry Ford’s assembly line debuted on the factory floor of its Highland Park, Michigan, assembly plant.
Following years of experimentation, the invention changed the manufacturing and supply chain industries as well as the automotive industry forever. The first automobile product off the assembly line was the Ford Model T.
Ford, the iconic auto mogul, has worked for years on speeding up the manufacturing process. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, he took inspiration from crude versions of an assembly line commonly seen in Midwest meat processing plants in the 19th century. These early production processes used overhead trolleys to carry carcasses from worker to worker, each concentrating on one task.
Ford’s 1913 professional assembly line allowed car parts to travel to the worker instead of the other way around. According to Ford, the invention reduced chassis manufacturing time from 12 hours and 8 minutes to 1 hour and 33 minutes. A rope pulls the car down to the factory floor, where it is built step by step.
After the implementation of the assembly line, the production time of the Model T reached 90 minutes, according to Ford Motor Co.
The reduction in production time not only helped the manufacturing side of the auto industry, but Britannica said it reduced the cost of cars, making them available and affordable for a wider market. The Model T’s price tag dropped from a debut of $850 to $360 and sales tripled within a year.
The adaptation of the assembly line helped the automotive industry become part of middle-class America and a staple in factories across the country. Competitors and parts manufacturers had to adopt Ford’s system and strategies to compete with it.
A change in the making
While Ford reaped the benefits of an efficient factory, the workers on the floor did not experience the same benefits. Skilled workers were no longer needed, and cheaper unskilled workers took their place. Because the assembly line was made possible because of machinery, which dictated the speed of production. Managers would increase the speed of these machines, forcing the workers to comply. Employees also get bored with the monotony of constantly completing the same task over and over again.
Due to growing discord within Ford’s workforce, the assembly line was also responsible for another of the company’s inventions.
When employees began to leave, according to Ford Motor Co., Henry Ford began offering what he called a “$5 workday.” The program was a profit-sharing idea that doubled workers’ daily pay to $5, though many believed such a perk would bankrupt the company. Fortunately for Ford and his workers, that’s not the case.
“We believe in making 25,000 men prosperous and content instead of following the plan of making a few slave drivers in our establishment multimillionaires,” said Henry Ford.
The $5 workday also reduced the hours workers had to cover but allowed for an increase in the number of employees and an additional third shift. Soon, Ford’s production plants became a 24-hour operation.
The assembly line became essential to manufacturing, but the Model T did not see the same long-term career.
As cars became more accessible to most Americans, consumers sought more bells and whistles for lower prices. This prompted the retirement of the Model T, according to History.com, to make room for more modern designs.
However, the Model T will always be viewed as an important part of American history for the automobile itself and the supply chain innovation it brought about.
FreightWaves Classics articles look at various aspects of the history of the transportation industry. If there are topics you think would be of interest, please send them to [email protected]
[ad_2]
Source link
