The first automobiles were being designed and built as early as 1887 by a Paris machine-tool company, Panhard et Levassor. Today P&L is only remembered by classic car collectors, however in 1984 it was the leading car company. It started in 1887 when Emile Levassor, met Gottlieb Daimler. Levassor negotiated a license to manufacture the new “high-speed” gasoline engine produced by Daimler. By the early 1890’s, P&L could build several hundred automobiles in a year. The simple car with the engine at the front, passengers in rows behind and the motor driving the rear wheels. P&L’s workforce was composed of skilled craftsmen who carefully hand-built every car. Every panel was hand shaped, every seat hand sewn. Every automobile was basically a prototype. By 1905, not

The designed-in repair-ability of the Ford amazed competitors the same way that the moving assembly line had. Ford’s new found competitive advantage sent them to the head of the world’s motor vehicle industry and changed the process of car manufacturing forever. Only a few European craft-based producers of ultra-low-volume, luxury cars continued to design and build in the old craftsman’s style.

As seen in the table beside, the change from craft production to the assembly line mass production allowed for an 88% reduction in effort which allowed Ford to produce approximately 7.5 more cars then in the previous year.

Today mass production is the continuation and improvement over the years of the moving assembly line. It is used in many factories around the world and the same ideas that Henry Ford had back in 1905 still exist. Interchangeable parts, simplicity, and division of labor still form the basis of any mass production plant except now we are taking the next major step by implementing robots to do the job of the worker. Who knows in years to come the whole factory could be run by robots, but whatever the outcome, as design and technology changes so fast in today’s world, it was Henry Ford who will be remembered his innovation to the design and implement of the process that changed the world, the moving assembly line.

This productivity improvement caught the attention of other automobile manufactures. Ford had made a remarkable discovery that changed the manufacturing process forever. His new assembly line not only reduced the capital required to build but also reduced the amount of manpower and human effort needed to assemble each vehicle. Ford soon realized that the more cars he produced, the cost per car fell. When Ford reached a peak production of two million vehicles a year in 1920, the real cost to the customer had been cut by another two-thirds.

As Ford had stated before the Model T was released, his car came with a sixty-four page owner manual, laid out in question and answer form, and explained how owners could fix any of the 140 problems likely to crop up with the Model T. This meant that a farmer with a modest tool kit could just about pull apart and then put it back together himself. For example, it explained how owners could remove the cylinder head and clean carbon deposits themselves. If the owner ever needed a spare part then he could buy it at the local Ford dealer and simply screw or bolt it on himself. With the Model T, there was no fitting required.

Perfecting the interchangeable part and the moving assembly line really created the process of manufacturing we see today. However, there is still one more part to this success story of Henry Ford and his Mass Production and it lies within the Interchangeable worker.

Some topics in this essay:
Henry Ford, Model T’s, Mass Production, Daimler Levassor, Ford Ford, North America, Henry Ford’s, Ford Company, Levassor P&L, assembly line, henry ford, mass production, moving assembly, moving assembly line, , task cycle, ford realized, building automobiles, manufacturing process, division labor, mass production lies, process ford, assembly line henry, key mass production, changed manufacturing process,