Mass production
[1] The term mass production was popularized by a 1926 article in the Encyclopædia Britannica supplement that was written based on correspondence with Ford Motor Company.
The emergence of mass production allowed supply to outstrip demand in many markets, forcing companies to seek new ways to become more competitive.
Bulk materials such as coal, ores, grains and wood chips are handled by belt, chain, slat, pneumatic or screw conveyors, bucket elevators and mobile equipment such as front-end loaders.
Later, once computerized control came about (for example, CNC), jigs were obviated, but it remained true that the skill (or knowledge) was built into the tool (or process, or documentation) rather than residing in the worker's head.
This is the specialized capital required for mass production; each workbench and set of tools (or each CNC cell, or each fractionating column) is different (fine-tuned to its task).
[5][6] In ancient Carthage, ships of war were mass-produced on a large scale at a moderate cost, allowing them to efficiently maintain their control of the Mediterranean.
The first movable type system was invented in China by Bi Sheng,[10] during the reign of the Song dynasty, where it was used to, among other things, issue paper money.
Through this introduction, mass production in the European publishing industry was made commonplace, leading to a democratization of knowledge, increased literacy and education, and the beginnings of modern science.
[13] French artillery engineer Jean-Baptiste de Gribeauval introduced the standardization of cannon design in the late 18th century.
He streamlined production and management of cannonballs and cannons by limiting them to only three calibers, and he improved their effectiveness by requiring more spherical ammunition.
[16] The first unmistakable examples of manufacturing operations carefully designed to reduce production costs by specialized labour and the use of machines appeared in the 18th century in England.
By 1805, the dockyard had been fully updated with the revolutionary, purpose-built machinery at a time when products were still built individually with different components.
[19] In filling an Admiralty order for 90 sets to his high-pressure and high-revolution horizontal trunk engine design, Penn produced them all in 90 days.
However, Ford management performed time studies and experiments to mechanize their factory processes, focusing on minimizing worker movements.
The difference is that while Taylor focused mostly on efficiency of the worker, Ford also substituted for labor by using machines, thoughtfully arranged, wherever possible.
Some of the methods employed were a system of gauges for checking dimensions of the various parts and jigs and fixtures for guiding the machine tools and properly holding and aligning the work pieces.
[2] During World War II, The United States mass-produced many vehicles and weapons, such as ships (i.e. Liberty Ships, Higgins boats ), aircraft (i.e. North American P-51 Mustang, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Boeing B-29 Superfortress), jeeps (i.e. Willys MB), trucks, tanks (i.e. M4 Sherman) and M2 Browning and M1919 Browning machine guns.
Machining of metals was greatly enhanced with high-speed steel and later very hard materials such as tungsten carbide for cutting edges.
An influential article that helped to frame and popularize the 20th century's definition of mass production appeared in a 1926 Encyclopædia Britannica supplement.
The motor enabled machinery to be arranged in the order of the work, and that alone has probably doubled the efficiency of industry, for it has cut out a tremendous amount of useless handling and hauling.
Early examples include movable structures reportedly utilized by Akbar the Great,[36] and the chattel houses built by emancipated slaves on Barbados.
[37] The Nissen hut, first used by the British during World War I, married prefabrication and mass production in a way that suited the needs of the military.
The simple structures, which cost little and could be erected in just a couple of hours, were highly successful: over 100,000 Nissen huts were produced during World War I alone, and they would go on to serve in other conflicts and inspire a number of similar designs.
[38] Following World War II, in the United States, William Levitt pioneered the building of standardized tract houses in 56 different locations around the country.
Lumber and paper companies at one time owned most of their timber lands and sold some finished products such as corrugated boxes.
The Ford Model T produced tremendous affordable output but was not very good at responding to demand for variety, customization, or design changes.
As a consequence Ford eventually lost market share to General Motors, who introduced annual model changes, more accessories and a choice of colors.
In the 1830s, French political thinker and historian Alexis de Tocqueville identified one of the key characteristics of America that would later make it so amenable to the development of mass production: the homogeneous consumer base.
Using a European crafts system into the late 19th century it was difficult to meet demand for products such as sewing machines and animal powered mechanical harvesters.
Most fast-fashion clothing is mass-produced, which means it is typically made of cheap fabrics, such as polyester, and constructed poorly in order to keep short turnaround times to meet the demands of consumers and shifting trends.
