Editing Assembly line (section)

==History==
Before the [[Industrial Revolution]], most manufactured products were made individually by hand. A single [[Artisan|craftsman]] or team of craftsmen would create each part of a product. They would use their skills and tools such as [[File (tool)|files]] and [[knives]] to create the individual parts. They would then assemble them into the final product, making cut-and-try changes in the parts until they fit and could work together ([[craft production]]).

[[Division of labor]] was practiced by [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greeks]], [[History of China|Chinese]] and other ancient civilizations. In Ancient Greece it was discussed by [[Plato]] and [[Xenophon]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Sturn |first=Richard |title=Division of Labor: History of the Concept |date=2015-01-01 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080970868030786 |encyclopedia=International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition) |pages=601–605 |editor-last=Wright |editor-first=James D. |access-date=2023-09-30 |place=Oxford |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-08-097087-5}}</ref> [[Adam Smith]] discussed the [[division of labour]] in the manufacture of [[pins]] at length in his book ''[[The Wealth of Nations]]'' (published in 1776).

The [[Venetian Arsenal]], dating to about 1104, operated similar to a [[production line]]. Ships moved down a canal and were fitted by the various shops they passed. At the peak of its [[efficiency]] in the early 16th century, the Arsenal employed some 16,000 people who could apparently produce nearly one ship each day and could fit out, arm, and provision a newly built [[galley]] with standardized parts on an assembly-line basis. Although the Arsenal lasted until the early Industrial Revolution, production line methods did not become common even then.

===Industrial Revolution===

The [[Industrial Revolution]] led to a proliferation of manufacturing and invention. Many industries, notably [[textile]]s, [[firearm]]s, [[clockmaking|clocks and watches]],<ref name = "xovodv">[[G.N. Georgano]] 1985.{{full citation needed|date=December 2014}}</ref> [[horse-drawn vehicle]]s, [[Locomotive|railway locomotives]], [[sewing machine]]s, and [[bicycle]]s, saw expeditious improvement in materials handling, machining, and assembly during the 19th century, although modern concepts such as [[industrial engineering]] and [[logistics]] had not yet been named.

[[File:PulleyShip.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Pulley#Block and tackle|pulley block]] was the first manufactured product to become fully automated, at the [[Portsmouth Block Mills]] in the early 19th century.]]

The automatic [[flour]] [[Mill (grinding)|mill]] built by [[Oliver Evans]] in 1785 was called the beginning of modern [[bulk material handling]] by Roe (1916). Evans's mill used a leather belt bucket elevator, [[screw conveyor]]s, canvas belt conveyors, and other mechanical devices to completely automate the process of making flour. The innovation spread to other mills and breweries.<ref>{{harvnb|Roe|1916|p=}}{{page needed|date=December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hounshell|1984|p=}}{{page needed|date=December 2014}}</ref>

Probably the earliest industrial example of a linear and continuous assembly process is the [[Portsmouth Block Mills]], built between 1801 and 1803. [[Marc Isambard Brunel]] (father of [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]), with the help of [[Henry Maudslay]] and others, designed 22 types of machine tools to make the parts for the rigging [[Block (sailing)|blocks]] used by the [[Royal Navy]]. This factory was so successful that it remained in use until the 1960s, with the workshop still visible at [[HMNB Portsmouth|HM Dockyard]] in [[Portsmouth]], and still containing some of the original machinery.<ref>Coad, Jonathan, ''The Portsmouth Block Mills : Bentham, Brunel and the start of the Royal Navy's Industrial Revolution'', 2005, {{ISBN|1-873592-87-6}}.{{page needed|date=November 2019}}</ref>

One of the earliest examples of an almost modern factory layout, designed for easy material handling, was the [[Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company|Bridgewater Foundry]]. The factory grounds were bordered by the [[Bridgewater Canal]] and the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]]. The buildings were arranged in a line with a railway for carrying the work going through the buildings. [[Crane (machine)|Cranes]] were used for lifting the heavy work, which sometimes weighed in the tens of tons. The work passed sequentially through to erection of framework and final assembly.<ref>{{harvnb|Musson|Robinson|1969|pp=491–5}}</ref>

[[File: Bridgewater foundary.gif|thumb|left|The [[Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company|Bridgewater Foundry]], pictured in 1839, one of the earliest factories to use an almost modern [[Process layout|layout]], workflow, and material-handling system]]

The first flow assembly line was initiated at the factory of [[Richard Garrett & Sons]], Leiston Works in [[Leiston]] in the [[English county]] of [[Suffolk]] for the manufacture of [[portable steam engine]]s. The assembly line area was called '[[Long Shop Museum|The Long Shop]]' on account of its length and was fully operational by early 1853. The [[boiler]] was brought up from the foundry and put at the start of the line, and as it progressed through the building it would stop at various stages where new parts would be added. From the upper level, where other parts were made, the lighter parts would be lowered over a balcony and then fixed onto the machine on the ground level. When the machine reached the end of the shop, it would be completed.
<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.industriouseast.org.uk/index.php?pageId=147&anchor=164&filter=gb |title= Long Shop Museum |access-date= 2012-12-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150601151902/http://www.industriouseast.org.uk/index.php?pageId=147&anchor=164&filter=gb |archive-date= 2015-06-01 |url-status= dead }}{{full citation needed|date= December 2014}}</ref>

===Interchangeable parts===

During the early 19th century, the development of [[machine tool]]s such as the [[screw-cutting lathe]], [[Planer (metalworking)|metal planer]], and [[milling machine]], and of toolpath control via [[Jig (tool)|jigs]] and [[Fixture (tool)|fixtures]], provided the prerequisites for the modern assembly line by making [[interchangeable parts]] a practical reality.<ref>Beetz, Kirk H. "Assembly Line." Dictionary of American History, edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed., vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003, pp. 334–336. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401800294/GVRL?u=tamp44898&sid=GVRL&xid=da247923. Accessed 19 Jan. 2021.</ref>

===Late 19th-century steam and electric conveyors===

Steam-powered [[conveyor lift]]s began being used for loading and unloading ships some time in the last quarter of the 19th century.<ref name="Wells1890">{{harvnb|Wells|1890|p=}}{{page needed|date=December 2014}}</ref> Hounshell (1984) shows a {{circa|1885}} sketch of an electric-powered conveyor moving cans through a filling line in a canning factory.

The [[meatpacking]] industry of [[Chicago]] is believed to be one of the first industrial assembly lines (or disassembly lines) to be utilized in the United States starting in 1867.{{sfn|Nibert, 2011|p=200}} Workers would stand at fixed stations and a pulley system would bring the meat to each worker and they would complete one task. [[Henry Ford]] and others have written about the influence of this [[slaughterhouse]] practice on the later developments at Ford Motor Company.{{sfn|Patterson, 2002|pp=71–79}}

===20th century===

[[File:Ford assembly line - 1913.jpg|right|thumb|Ford assembly line, 1913. The [[Ignition magneto|magneto]] assembly line was the first.<ref name=swan>{{cite web |url=http://www.caranddriver.com/features/fords-assembly-line-turns-100-how-it-really-put-the-world-on-wheels-feature |title=Ford's Assembly Line Turns 100: How It Really Put the World on Wheels |first=Tony |last=Swan |publisher=[[Car and driver]] |date=April 2013 |access-date=26 March 2017 |archive-date=19 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419222733/http://www.caranddriver.com/features/fords-assembly-line-turns-100-how-it-really-put-the-world-on-wheels-feature |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Weber2013/>]]
[[File:A-line1913.jpg|thumb|1913 Experimenting with the mounting body on Model T [[chassis]]. Ford tested various assembly methods to optimize the procedures before permanently installing the equipment. The actual assembly line used an [[overhead crane]] to mount the body.]]
[[File:Ford Model T Assembly Line(1919).webm|thumb|thumbtime=2|Ford Model T assembly line {{circa|1919}}]]
[[File:Model T assembling circa 1924.webm|thumb|thumbtime=6|start=6|end=47|Ford Model T assembly line {{circa|1924}}]]
[[File:Ford assembly line(1930).webm|thumb|thumbtime=6|Ford assembly line {{circa|1930}}]]
[[File:Ford assembly line (1947).webm|thumb|thumbtime=6|Ford assembly line {{circa|1947}}]]
According to Domm, the implementation of mass production of an automobile via an assembly line may be credited to [[Ransom Olds]], who used it to build the first mass-produced automobile, the [[Oldsmobile Curved Dash]].<ref name="michigan yesterday">{{harvnb|Domm|2009|p=29}}</ref> Olds [[patented]] the assembly line concept, which he put to work in his [[Olds Motor Vehicle Company]] factory in 1901.<ref>{{cite web |first= Phil |last= Ament |url= http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/assbline.htm |title= Assembly Line History: Invention of the Assembly Line |publisher= Ideafinder.com |access-date= 2011-10-15 |archive-date= 2018-01-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180117205321/http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/assbline.htm |url-status= live }}</ref>

At [[Ford Motor Company]], the assembly line was introduced by William "Pa" Klann upon his return from visiting [[Gustavus Franklin Swift|Swift & Company's slaughterhouse]] in Chicago and viewing what was referred to as the "disassembly line", where carcasses were butchered as they moved along a conveyor. The efficiency of one person removing the same piece over and over without moving to another station caught his attention. He reported the idea to [[Peter E. Martin]], soon to be head of Ford production, who was doubtful at the time but encouraged him to proceed. Others at Ford have claimed to have put the idea forth to [[Henry Ford]], but Pa Klann's slaughterhouse revelation is well documented in the archives at the Henry Ford Museum<ref>{{citation |last= Klann |first= W. C. |date= n.d. |title= Reminiscences |id= Accession 65, Box 21, Folder 10 |publisher= Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village Archives}}</ref> and elsewhere, making him an important contributor to the modern automated assembly line concept. Ford was appreciative, having visited the highly automated 40-acre [[Sears]] [[mail order]] handling facility around 1906. At Ford, the process was an evolution by trial and error<ref name=Weber2013>{{cite web|url=http://www.assemblymag.com/articles/91581-the-moving-assembly-line-turns-100 |title=The Moving Assembly Line Turns 100 |last=Weber |first=Austin |publisher=Assembly Magazine |date=2013-10-01 |access-date=2017-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826161557/http://www.assemblymag.com/articles/91581-the-moving-assembly-line-turns-100 |archive-date=2016-08-26 |url-status=live |quote=The assembly line ... was the result of a long period of trial and error. The assembly line wasn't a planned development; rather, it emerged in 1913 from a dynamic situation. People such as Carl Emde, William Klann and William Knudsen all played key roles in early automation efforts at Ford's Highland Park factory. Two individuals were essential to the success of the moving assembly line: Clarence Avery and Charles Sorensen. constant redesign of the Model T. Many components was tweaked regularly to make the vehicle easier to assemble. In 1913 alone, Ford made more than 100 design changes every month. Continuous experimentation was the rule rather than the exception at Ford's Highland Park plant. Ford engineers were constantly redesigning and tweaking jigs and fixtures, and planning new machine tools or fixing old ones, to achieve higher production. }}</ref> of a team consisting primarily of [[Peter E. Martin]], the factory superintendent; [[Charles E. Sorensen]], Martin's assistant; [[Clarence W. Avery]]; [[C. Harold Wills]], draftsman and toolmaker; [[Charles Ebender]]; and [[József Galamb]]. Some of the groundwork for such development had recently been laid by the intelligent layout of [[machine tool]] placement that [[Walter Flanders]] had been doing at Ford up to 1908.

The moving assembly line was developed for the [[Ford Model T]] and began operation on October 7, 1913, at the [[Highland Park Ford Plant]],<ref>{{cite news|date=October 7, 2013|title=Ford's Assembly Line Turns 100: How It Changed Manufacturing and Society|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/ford-assembly-line-turns-100-changed-society-article-1.1478331|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131130021237/http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/ford-assembly-line-turns-100-changed-society-article-1.1478331|archive-date=November 30, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/moving-assembly-line-at-ford|title=Moving Assembly Line at Ford|publisher=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]]|work=This Day in History|date=4 March 2010 |access-date=September 2, 2016|archive-date=September 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915141050/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/moving-assembly-line-at-ford|url-status=live}}</ref> and continued to evolve after that, using [[time and motion study]].<ref name=Weber2013/> The assembly line, driven by [[conveyor belts]], reduced production time for a [[Model T]] to just 93 minutes<ref name="michigan yesterday"/> by dividing the process into 45 steps.<ref name=Weber2008>{{cite web|url=http://www.assemblymag.com/articles/85803-how-the-model-t-was-assembled |title=How the Model T Was Assembled |last=Weber |first=Austin |publisher=Assembly Magazine |date=2008-09-02 |access-date=2017-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306031306/http://www.assemblymag.com/articles/85803-how-the-model-t-was-assembled |archive-date=2016-03-06 |url-status=live }}</ref> Producing cars quicker than paint of the day could dry, it had an immense influence on the world.

In 1922, Ford (through his ghostwriter Crowther) said of his 1913 assembly line:

{{blockquote|I believe that this was the first moving line ever installed. The idea came in a general way from the overhead trolley that the Chicago packers use in dressing beef.<ref>{{harvnb|Ford|Crowther|1922|p= 81}}</ref>}}

[[Charles E. Sorensen]], in his 1956 memoir ''My Forty Years with Ford'', presented a different version of development that was not so much about individual "inventors" as a gradual, logical development of [[industrial engineering]]:

{{blockquote|What was worked out at Ford was the practice of moving the work from one worker to another until it became a complete unit, then arranging the flow of these units at the right time and the right place to a moving final assembly line from which came a finished product. Regardless of earlier uses of some of these principles, the direct line of succession of mass production and its intensification into automation stems directly from what we worked out at Ford Motor Company between 1908 and 1913. Henry Ford is generally regarded as the father of mass production. He was not. He was the sponsor of it.<ref>{{harvnb|Sorensen|Williamson|1956|p=116}}.</ref>}}

As a result of these developments in method, Ford's cars came off the line in three-minute intervals or six feet per minute.<ref>{{harvnb|Ford|Crowther|1922|loc=Chapter IV}}{{page needed|date=March 2017}}</ref> This was much faster than previous methods, increasing production by eight to one (requiring 12.5 man-hours before, 1 hour 33 minutes after), while using less manpower.<ref name = "xovodv"/> It was so successful, [[paint]] became a bottleneck. Only [[japan black]] would dry fast enough, forcing the company to drop the variety of colours available before 1914, until fast-drying [[Duco]] [[lacquer]] was developed in 1926.<ref name = "xovodv"/>

The assembly line technique was an integral part of the diffusion of the automobile into American society. Decreased costs of production allowed the cost of the Model T to fall within the budget of the American middle class. In 1908, the price of a Model T was around $825, and by 1912 it had decreased to around $575. This price reduction is comparable to a reduction from $15,000 to $10,000 in dollar terms from the year 2000. In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay.<ref name = "xovodv"/>

Ford's complex safety procedures—especially assigning each worker to a specific location instead of allowing them to roam about—dramatically reduced the rate of [[injury]]. The combination of high wages and high efficiency is called "[[Fordism]]", and was copied by most major industries. The efficiency gains from the assembly line also coincided with the take-off of the United States. The assembly line forced workers to work at a certain pace with very repetitive motions which led to more output per worker while other countries were using less productive methods.

In the [[automotive industry]], its success was dominating, and quickly spread worldwide. Ford France and Ford Britain in 1911, Ford Denmark 1923, Ford Germany and Ford Japan 1925; in 1919, Vulcan (Southport, Lancashire) was the first native European manufacturer to adopt it. Soon, companies had to have assembly lines, or risk going broke by not being able to compete; by 1930, 250 companies which did not had disappeared.<ref name = "xovodv"/>

The massive demand for military hardware in World War II prompted assembly-line techniques in shipbuilding and aircraft production. Thousands of [[Liberty ships]] were built making extensive use of prefabrication, enabling ship assembly to be completed in weeks or even days. After having produced fewer than 3,000 planes for the United States Military in 1939, American aircraft manufacturers built over 300,000 planes in World War II.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} [[Vultee]] pioneered the use of the powered assembly line for aircraft manufacturing. Other companies quickly followed. As [[William S. Knudsen]] (having worked at Ford,<ref name=Weber2013/> GM and the National Defense Advisory Commission) observed, "We won because we smothered the enemy in an avalanche of production, the like of which he had never seen, nor dreamed possible."<ref>{{harvnb|Herman|2012|pp=176–91}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Parker|2013|pp=5–12}}</ref>