Description
Fred Winslow Taylor, a foundry manager from Philadelphia, laid the foundation for mass production.5 He was the first to systematically apply scientific principles to manufacturing. His landmark text, Scientific Management,6 remains a classic. The craft system was largely empirical, depending on the experience of the tradesman. 7 Taylor sought to identify the “best way” to do the job based on scientific principles. In doing so, he invented industrial engineering.
Taylor’s system was based on separating planning from production. Industrial engineers, through new techniques such as time and motion studies, would determine the “best way” to do the job, leaving the workforce to do the short cycle, repetitive tasks. The basic premise of the Taylor system was that the workforce lacked the literacy needed the plan the work. Taylor’s premise may have been valid at the turn of the last century. Is it true today? S Taylorism is a dirty word to some-synonymous with mindless, dehumanizing work. But if mass production developed along these lines, it was not Taylor’s intent. His many innovations included:
• Standardized work-identifying the best and easiest way to do the job.
• Reduced cycle time-the time it takes for a given process.
• Time and motion study-a tool for developing standardized work.
• Measurement and analysis to continually improve the process (a prototype of the plan-do-check-act cycle).
The great pioneers oflean production, from Taiichi Ohno to Shigeo Shingo, have acknowledged their debt to Taylor.
The Ford System
Meanwhile, a young entrepreneur named Henry Ford9 was trying to design an automobile that was easy to manufacture and easy to repair. Ford finally achieved his goal with his 1908 Model T.
The key to mass production was not the assembly line. Rather, it was the thorough interchangeability of parts and ease of assembly. These innovations, in turn, made the assembly line possible.
To achieve interchangeability Ford standardized gauge use throughout his operations. He was assisted by machine tool innovations that allowed machining of prehardened parts. This solved the warping that had confounded standardization.
Once parts could be standardized, design innovations followed. Ford reduced the number of moving parts in engines and other critical systems and simplified the assembly process. For example, Ford’s engine casting comprised a single complex block. By contrast, competitors cast each cylinder individually and bolted them together.
These innovations resulted in huge savings. The need for part fitting, so expensive under craft production, was greatly reduced. Moreover, the goal of easy repair by the user became reachable.
The next problem was how to coordinate assembly. Assembly entailed a sequential series of dependent events. Once a given process was completed, the vehicle would be pulled to the next one. Such as system is unstable. Bottlenecks and other headaches were common as faster workers overtook slower ones.
To reduce such hassles, Ford started delivering parts to the work area, thus reducing the walk time of assembly workers. Moreover, following Taylor’s lead, he reduced the number of actions each worker was required to do. Cycle times, which had measured in hours in 1908, dropped to a few minutes in 1913 at Ford’s new Highland Park assembly plant.
There Ford hit upon the inspired idea of the moving assembly line that brought the car past the stationary worker. The assembly line reduced walk time, and most important, linked sequential processes. Thus, slower workers sped up and faster workers slowed down, achieving overall stability.
In summary, Ford’s principal innovations during this period were:
• Interchangeability and ease of assembly of parts.
• Reduction of actions required of each worker.
• Moving assembly line.