HENRY FORD - A GREAT INNOVATOR
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cont from :ASSEMBLY-LINE - A 'PARADIGM SHIFT' IN AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURING
Ford was always determined to find a solution to any problem. He used to say,
"Everything can always be done better than it is being done."[1] The idea of a
'moving assembly line' struck Ford when he was on a tour of Chicago. Describing
the brainwave, Ford said, "The idea came in a general way from the overhead
trolley (a device from which the meat was hung) that the Chicago packers use in
dressing beef." 24 At the warehouse, butchers made a few cuts as each piece of
meat moved along, till no usable meat was left. Ford completely reversed the
process, building up a completed automobile on a moving assembly line. The use
of a moving assembly line process in the automobile industry was complex
because the parts manufactured on sub-assembly lines, had to be entered
smoothly into the process. Timing was of utmost importance since any
obstruction along the assembly line would stop the work.
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There were other problems associated with the assembly
stand system as well. One was that workers had to move from one assembly
stand to another, wasting a lot of their energy and time. Ford calculated
that ten steps saved by each of his workers, would enable the company to
save 50 miles of wasted energy every day. In addition to this, there was a
regular human jam as faster workers tried to overtake the slower ones. In
October 1913, Ford introduced the 'moving assembly line' concept in the
Highland Park factory, bringing the car assembly line to the stationary
worker. This innovation reduced the cycle time of the task from 2.3
minutes to 1.19 minutes. The assembly time for Model T chassis fell
drastically from 12 hours 30 minutes to 5 hours 50 minutes. |
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The assembly line included two strips of metal plates -
under the wheels of each side of the car - that extended through the length of
the factory. Ford was able to reduce inventory to a great extent, resulting in
significant savings for the company. The number of workmen required for
assembling an automobile also fell. In January 1914, Ford designed an 'endless
chain-driven' conveyor to move the chassis more quickly from one workstation to
another. In April 1914, a 'man-high' line - with all the parts and belts at
waist level - was introduced. This made the job of assembling much easier. In
1914, 13,000 Ford employees manufactured 260,720 cars, as against the industry
as a whole, which employed 66,350 workers to produce 286,770 cars.
By 1915, most of the manufacturing activities were conducted in-house. Ford
moved towards vertical integration because he had mastered mass-production
techniques long before the company's vendors had. Vertical integration enabled
Ford to cut costs considerably. By using the assembly line approach, the
production of vehicles at Ford doubled every year during the years - 1913 to
1923.
[1] As quoted in the article, "Henry Ford and the Model T,"
posted on www.wiley.com
MODEL T - AN
ASTOUNDING SUCCESS
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