THE ASSEMBLY LINE
Definition: An organized line of workers
each with a different task, but continuously
do that task to produce a finished product.
The product moves along conveyer belts
to each worker.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the
United States slowly transformed into an
industrialized nation. One of the major
inventions to come out of this industrialization period is the assembly line. With the assembly
line, mass production was now easy. With mass production, products became more affordable
for the general public.
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Henry Ford made the assembly line famous beginning in 1908. By the year of 1914,
Ford was able to produce a car in only 93 minutes. The cost of Fordʼs automobiles went from
$2,000 to less than $500. Ford once had said, “I will build a car for the great multitude...It will be
constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that
modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary
will be unable to own one.” The assembly line increased efficiency but created a lack of
unoriginality among products. Everything was the same, and had no unique touch to it.
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The assembly line had a huge impact on factory workers. It made more jobs available,
but the pay was low and the hours were very long. Workers performed the same tasks
repeatedly.
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Pros and Cons of the Assembly Line
PROS:
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Products are made faster.
Products are made more cheaply.
Mass production is now possible. (Make goods more quickly and cheaply)
Products are now more affordable.
CONS:
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Jobs have low pay.
Poor working conditions.
The hours are long.
The tasks are repetitive and boring.
The work requires no skill which makes it easy to replace workers.
There is no originality, the products are all the same.