Born in 1863 in Michigan, Sir Henry Ford is generally referred to as the father of mass production and the inventor of an affordable vehicle for the common folk in the United States of America. To date, his company name still stands for the quality of motor vehicles it produces; Ford Motors. It is an invention that has managed to outlive its founder and remained relevant in solving the challenges that emerged in the industry 150 years later. It clearly is a very adaptable brand.
The opportunity Ford turned into a reality is that of faster and efficient mass production where both the factory worker and the owner benefit. He came up with the conveyor belt assembly line which is a progressive assembly method where parts are added to the product as it moves along the production line in a sequence from one artisan to another until the product is finished. This means that by the time the manufacturing process is complete, there’s minimal movement and lifting done by the artisan which causes him to save energy and also results in a faster production. This also encourages the division of labour as there are different work stations. This can be proven by the fact that by 1927 Ford had produced over fifteen million Model T vehicles and was the largest automobile company in the United States of America (Editors, 2009).
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The opportunity to introduce assembly line manufacturing in the production of motor vehicles was indeed a very viable opportunity as it enabled mass production of motor vehicles more efficiently. This enabled the company to produce more goods and distribute widely which translated to accessibility and increased sales which meant there was an increase in profit.
References
Editors, H. (2009, November 9). Henry Ford . Retrieved March 2019, 9, from History: https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/henry-ford
