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The production was organized in a very hierarchical way and single workers didn’t control the totality of the production process. The organization of work belonged to technical executives, which usually functioned in separate areas and in the direct control of the leadership

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Cars changed the way people lived, worked, and enjoyed leisure time; however, what most people don't realize is that the process of manufacturing automobiles had an equally significant impact on the industry. The creation of the assembly line by Henry Ford at his Highland Park plant, introduced on December 1, 1913, revolutionized the automobile industry and the concept of manufacturing worldwide.

The Ford Motor Company

Henry Ford was not a newcomer to the business of automobile manufacturing. He built his first car, which he christened the "Quadricycle," in 1896. In 1903, he officially opened the Ford Motor Company and five years later released the first Model T.

Although the Model T was the ninth automobile model Ford created, it would be the first model which would achieve wide popularity. Even today, the Model T remains an icon for the still-existing Ford Motor Company.

Making the Model T Cheaply

Henry Ford had a goal of making automobiles for the multitudes. The Model T was his answer to that dream; he wanted them to be both sturdy and cheap. In an effort to make Model T's cheaply at first, Ford cut out extravagances and options. Buyers couldn't even choose a paint color; they were all black. By the end of production, however, the cars would be available in a wide variety of colors and with a wide variety of custom bodies.

The cost of the first Model T was set at $850, which would be approximately $21,000 in today's currency. That was cheap, but still not cheap enough for the masses. Ford needed to find a way to cut down the price even further.

Highland Park Plant

In 1910, with the aim of increasing manufacturing capacity for the Model T, Ford built a new plant in Highland Park, Michigan. He created a building that would be easily expanded as new methods of production were incorporated.

Ford consulted with Frederick Taylor, creator of scientific management, to examine the most efficient modes of production. Ford had previously observed the assembly line concept in slaughterhouses in the Midwest and was also inspired by the conveyor belt system that was common in many grain warehouses in that region. He wished to incorporate these ideas into the information Taylor suggested to implement a new system in his own factory.

One of the first innovations in production that Ford implemented was the installation of gravity slides that facilitated the movement of parts from one work area to the next. Within the next three years, additional innovative techniques were incorporated and, on December 1, 1913, the first large-scale assembly line was officially in working order.

Assembly Line Function

The moving assembly line appeared to the onlooker to be an endless contraption of chains and links that allowed Model T parts to swim through the sea of the assembly process. In total, the manufacturing of the car could be broken down into 84 steps. The key to the process, however, was having interchangeable parts.

Unlike other cars of the time, every Model T produced on Ford's line used the exact same valves, gas tanks, tires, etc. so that they could be assembled in a speedy and organized fashion. Parts were created in mass quantities and then brought directly to the workers who were trained to work at that specific assembly station.

The chassis of the car was pulled down the 150-foot line by a chain conveyor and then 140 workers applied their assigned parts to the chassis. Other workers brought additional parts to the assemblers to keep them stocked; this reduced the amount of time workers spent away from their stations to retrieve parts. The assembly line significantly decreased the assembly time per vehicle and increased the profit margin.

Assembly Line Customization

As time passed, Ford used assembly lines more flexibly than he is generally given credit for. He used multiple parallel lines in a start-stop mode to adjust output to large demand fluctuations. He also used sub-systems which optimized extraction, transportation, production, assembly, distribution, and sales supply chain systems.

Perhaps his most useful and neglected innovation was the development of a way to mechanize production and yet customize the configuration of each Model T as it rolled off the block. Model T production had a core platform, a chassis consisting of engine, pedals, switches, suspensions, wheels, transmission, gas tank, steering wheel, lights, etc. This platform was continually being improved. But the body of the car could be any one of several types of vehicles: auto, truck, racer, woody wagon, snowmobile, milk wagon, police wagon, ambulance, etc. At peak, there were eleven basic model bodies, with 5,000 custom gadgets that were manufactured by external companies that could be selected by the customers.

Impact of the Assembly Line on Production

The immediate impact of the assembly line was revolutionary. The use of interchangeable parts allowed for continuous workflow and more time on task by laborers. Worker specialization resulted in less waste and a higher quality of the end product.

Sheer production of the Model T dramatically increased. The production time for a single car dropped from over 12 hours to just 93 minutes due to the introduction of the assembly line. Ford's 1914 production rate of 308,162 eclipsed the number of cars produced by all other automobile manufacturers combined.

These concepts allowed Ford to increase his profit margin and lower the cost of the vehicle to consumers. The cost of the Model T would eventually drop to $260 in 1924, the equivalent of approximately $3,500 today.

Impact of the Assembly Line on Workers

The assembly line also drastically altered the lives of those in Ford's employ. The workday was cut from nine hours to eight hours so that the concept of the three-shift workday could be implemented with greater ease. Although hours were cut, workers did not suffer from lower wages; instead, Ford nearly doubled the existing industry-standard wage and began paying his workers $5 a day.

Ford's gamble paid off-his workers soon used some of their pay increases to purchase their own Model Ts. By the end of the decade, the Model T had truly become the automobile for the masses that Ford had envisioned.

The Assembly Line Today

The assembly line is the primary mode of manufacturing in the industry today. Automobiles, food, toys, furniture, and many more items pass down assembly lines worldwide before landing in our homes and on our tables.

While the average consumer does not think of this fact often, this 100-year-old innovation by a car manufacturer in Michigan changed the way we live and work forever.

Sources and Further Reading

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How Henry Ford's Assembly Line Changed Manufacturing

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Henry Ford introduced the first automobile assembly line at his Highland Park plant in Michigan, which changed the manufacturing industry forever.

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TAYLOR’S LIFE
Frederick Winslow Taylor March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915 was an American inventor and engineer who is known as the father of scientific management. His system of industrial management has influenced the development of virtually every country enjoying the benefits of modern industry. Taylor suggested that production efficiency in a shop or factory could be greatly enhanced by close observation of the individual worker and elimination of waste time and motion in his operation. Taylor’s fame increased after his testimony in 1912 at the hearings before a special committee of the House of Representatives to investigate his own and other systems of shop management.

DEFINITION OF TAYLORISM
A factory management system developed in the late 19th century to increase efficiency by evaluating every step in a manufacturing process and breaking down production into specialized repetitive tasks. Taylor began the theory's development in the United States during the 1880s and '90s within manufacturing industries, especially steel.

PLANNED ECONOMIES
Scientific management appealed to managers of planned economies because central economic planning relies on the idea that the expenses that go into economic production can be precisely predicted and can be optimized by design.

TAYLOR’S BOOK
Taylor wrote four books, but the most important was “ The Principles of Scientific Management”. This book spoke about the principles of  scientific management, or industrial era organization and decision theory. Taylor pointed out that while a large movement had started to conserve material resources, the less visible and less tangible effects of the wasted human effort was only vaguely appreciated. He listed three goals for the work:
First: To point out, through a series of simple illustrations, the great loss which the whole country is suffering through inefficiency in almost all of our daily acts.

Second: To try to convince the reader that the remedy for this inefficiency lies in systematic management.

Third: To prove that the best management is a true science, resting upon clearly defined laws, rules, and principles, as a foundation.

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Henry Ford was an American engineer who created the ‘’Ford Company” and went on to develop the assembly line mode of production, which revolutionized the industry. As a result, Ford sold millions of cars and became a world-famous company head. Today Henry Ford is considered one of America's leading businessmen.

A typical fordist factory was an enormous construction, with thousands of mass workers. The work was extremely simple repetition of the same phases. It was divided into small parts and it was managed by tailoristic methods. The work demanded no particular skill. The production was organized in a very hierarchical way and single workers didn’t control the totality of the production process. The organization of work belonged to technical executives, which usually functioned in separate areas and in the direct control of the leadership. In the factories the workers used mechanical devices and simple machines. Concerning the results the fordist factory was based on large serial productions of standardized products.

Model T.

Ford introduced the Model T, the first car to be affordable for most Americans, in October 1908. Simple to drive and cheap to repair following Ford’s invention of the assembly line, nearly half of all cars in America in 1918 were Model T's.

The Assembly Line.

Henry Ford invented assembly line in 1913, taking inspiration from conveyor belt system used in slaughterhouses. This new technique decreased the amount of time it took to build a car from 12 hours to two and a half, which in turn lowered the cost of the Model T.

The assembly line is the principal way of manufacturing in industry today. Automobiles, food, toys, furniture, and many more items pass down assembly lines worldwide before landing in our homes and on our tables.

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The industrial revolution (18th 19th century) was a period during the agrarian and rural communities became industrial and urban.
Before the advent of industrial revolution, people life in rural home and communities where their daily existences revolved around farming. Life of people was difficult, as incomes were meager, and malnourishment and disease were common.  Before the industrial revolution, textile field was a cottage industry and during 1700, a series of innovations led to ever-increasing productivity, while requiring less human energy.
Both iron and steel became essential materials, used to make everything from appliances, tools and machines, to ships, buildings and infrastructure.
By the 1770s, Scottish inventor James Watt had improved on Newcomens work, and the steam engine went on to power machinery, locomotives and ships during the Industrial Revolution.
The trasportation industry, was also important during the industrial revolution.

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INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The Industrial Revolution took place from the 18th to 19th centuries.
It was a period during which agrarian, rural societies became industrial and urban.
The iron and textile industries played a central roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems of transportation, communication and banking.

But this advent also brought bad living conditions for poor and working classes.

The “first” Revolution starts in Britain in the late 1700s.

Britain had great deposits of coal and iron ore and it was a politically stable society, so it signed Britain like industrial revolution birthplace.

Before the I.R. most people resided in small communities, where life for the average person was difficult, and malnourishment and disease were common.

Most manufacturing goods was done in homes or small, rural shops called “cottages”, using hand tools or simple machines.

The textile industry was transformed by industrialization.

Around 1764, James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny, a machine that enabled an individual to produce multiple spools of threads simultaneously.

Another “key” was the power loom, which mechanized the process of weaving, which was developed by Cartwright.

In the 18th century there was developments in the iron industry, for example, Abraham Darby discovered a cheaper method to produce cast iron, using a coke-fueled furnace.

Both iron and steel became essential materials, used to make everything, like tools, machines, ships etc.

The steam engine was invented in 1712 by Newcomen, and it was used in machinery, locomotives and ships.

Before the invention of the steam engine, raw materials and finished goods were distributed via horse-drawn wagons, and by boats.

Around 1820 John McAdam developed a new process for road construction which resulted in smoother and less muddy roads.

Then Trevithick and Fulton built first successful steamboat and steamlocomotive, so, transportation was highly improved.

The “second” Revolution starts with Nikolaus August Otto, a german engineer which used wood and coal like energy power to built the first “Internal Combustion Engine”.

In this period there were 3 important men that must be considered:

Frederick W. Taylor, Henry Fayol and Henry ford.

Taylor and Fayol “reformed” the company structure, making the “tasks subdivision”

Taylor also invented the HS (high speed steel), wich was improved in HSS (super high speed steel), and he developed the process of mass-producing steel.

Instead, Henry Ford took care of vehicles construction, and he invented the “Assembly Line”.

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Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution took place from the 18th to 19th centuries. It was a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. The iron and textile industries, played central roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems of transportation, communication and banking. While industrialization brought about an increased volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for some, it also resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes

Britain: Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution

Life for the average person was difficult, as incomes were meager, and malnourishment and disease were common. People produced their own food, clothing, furniture and tools. Most manufacturing was done in homes or small, rural shops, using hand tools or simple machines. Many factors have contributed to the birth of the industrial revolution  in britain. it had great deposits of coal and iron ore. Britain was a politically stable society.the merchants needed more cost-effective methods of production, which led to the rise of mechanization and the factory system.

Innovation and Industrialization

The textile industry,,was transformed by industrialization.  In the 1700s, a series of innovations led to ever-increasing productivity, while requiring less human energy. For example, around 1764, Englishman James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny (“jenny” was an early abbreviation of the word “engine”), a machine that enabled an individual to produce multiple spools of threads simultaneously.  The spinning jenny was improved upon by British inventor Samuel Compton. Another key innovation in textiles, the power loom, which mechanized the process of weaving cloth, was developed in the 1780s by English inventor Edmund Cartwright.Developments in the iron industry also played a central role in the Industrial Revolution.  In the 1850s, British engineer Henry Bessemer developed the first inexpensive process for mass-producing steel. Both iron and steel became essential materials, used to make everything from appliances, tools and machines, to ships, buildings and infrastructure.The steam engine was also integral to industrialization. In 1712, Englishman Thomas Newcomendeveloped the first practical steam engine. By the 1770s, Scottish inventor James Watt had improved on Newcomen’s work, and the steam engine went on to power machinery, locomotives and ships during the Industrial Revolution.

Transportation and the Industrial Revolution

The transportation industry also underwent have a transformation during the Industrial Revolution. Before the advent of the steam engine, raw materials and finished goods were hauled  via horse-drawn wagons, a In the early 1800s, American Robert Fulton built the first commercially successful steamboat, and by the mid-19th century, steamships were carrying freight across the Atlantic.  In the early 1800s, British engineer Richard Trevithick constructed the first railway steam locomotive. By 1850, Britain had more than 6,000 miles of railroad track. Additionally, around 1820, Scottish engineer John McAdam developed a new process for road construction. His technique, which became known as macadam, resulted in roads that were smoother, more durable and less muddy.

Communication and Banking in the Industrial Revolution

Communication became easier during the Industrial Revolution with such inventions as the telegraph.The inventors of telegraph are william Cooke and charls wheatsone  in 1866, a telegraph cable was successfully laid across the Atlantic.The Industrial  New York Stock Exchange was founded in the early 1790s. Adam smith is considered the founder of the modern economy

he published “The Wealth of Nations.” Smith promoted an economic system based on free enterprise, the private ownership of means of production, and lack of government interference.

Quality of Life during Industrialization

The Industrial Revolution raised the standard of living for many people, particularly for the middle and upper classes. However, life for the poor and working classes continued to be filled with challenges. Wages for those who labored in factories were low and working conditions could be dangerous and monotonous. Children were part of the labor force and often worked long hours and were used for such highly hazardous tasks as cleaning the machinery. in the  19th century,  the government instituted various labor reforms and workers gained the right to form trade unions.

Industrialization Moves Beyond Britain

Industrialization spread from Britain to other European countries, including Belgium, France and Germany, and to the United States. By the mid-19th century, industrialization was well-established throughout the western part of Europe and America’s northeastern region. By the early 20th century, the U.S. had become the world’s leading industrial nation.

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Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of the steam engine, played central roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems of transportation, communication and banking.

Britain: Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution

Before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, most people resided in small, rural communities where their daily existences revolved around farming. Life for the average person was difficult, as incomes were meager, and malnourishment and disease were common. People produced the bulk of their own food, clothing, furniture and tools. Most manufacturing was done in homes or small, rural shops, using hand tools or simple machines. For one, it had great deposits of coal and iron ore, which proved essential for industrialization. Britain was a politically stable society, as well as the world’s leading colonial power, which meant its colonies could serve as a source for raw materials, as well as a marketplace for manufactured goods.
INNOVATION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION
The textile industry, in particular, was transformed by industrialization.  Before mechanization and factories, textiles were made mainly in people’s homes (giving rise to the term cottage industry), with merchants often providing the raw materials and basic equipment, and then picking up the finished product.  For example, around 1764, Englishman James Hargreaves (1722-1778) invented the spinning jenny (“jenny” was an early abbreviation of the word “engine”), a machine that enabled an individual to produce multiple spools of threads simultaneously.  Another key innovation in textiles, the power loom, which mechanized the process of weaving cloth, was developed in the 1780s by English inventor Edmund Cartwright (1743-1823).
In the 1850s, British engineer Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) developed the first inexpensive process for mass-producing steel. Both iron and steel became essential materials, used to make everything from appliances, tools and machines, to ships, buildings and infrastructure.

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The industrial revolution occurred from the 18th to 19th century , was a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban.  Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. While industrialization brought about an increased volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for some, it also resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes.
Before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, most people resided in small, rural communities where their daily existences revolved around farming. Life for the average person was difficult.
People produced the bulk of their own food, clothing, furniture and tools.
Most manufacturing was done in homes or small, rural shops, using hand tools or simple machines. A number of factors contributed to Britain’s role as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
As demand for British goods increased, merchants needed more cost-effective methods of production, which led to the rise of mechanization and the factory system.

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THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION  which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, rural societes in Europe and America became industrial and urban. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of the steam engine, which also saw trasportation, communication and banking.
BRITAIN. BIRTHPLACE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION most people resided in small, rural communities where their daily existences resolved around farming. People produced the bulk of their own food, clothing, furniture and tools. Additionally, Britain was a politically stable society, as well as the world's leading colonial power, which meant its colonies could serve as a source for raw materials as well as for manufactured goods

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The industrial Revolution,which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period during which predominantly agrarian. Previous to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s,manu facturing was often done in people's homes,using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of the steam engine, which also saw improved systems of trasportation, communication and banking.

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Watch the video and write down the words and expressions you can catch

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The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th century, when agricultural societies became more industrialized and urban. The transcontinental railroad, the cotton gin, electricity and other inventions permanently changed society.

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Read the text and write a summary

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Surf on the net and look up the definition of the following expressions related to the period of the Industrial Revolution:
- Workhouses
- Slums
- Luddism
- Trade Unions

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Watch the following video and fill in the gaps

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Listen to the text and answer the questions