Mass production
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Mass production, also known as flow production, series production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch production, it is one of the three main production methods.[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 New York Times used the term in the title of an article that appeared before the publication of the Britannica article.[2]
The idea of mass production is applied to many kinds of products: from
Some mass production techniques, such as standardized sizes and production lines, predate the Industrial Revolution by many centuries; however, it was not until the introduction of machine tools and techniques to produce interchangeable parts were developed in the mid-19th century that modern mass production was possible.[2]
Overview
Mass production involves making many copies of products, very quickly, using assembly line techniques to send partially complete products to workers who each work on an individual step, rather than having a worker work on a whole product from start to finish. The emergence of mass production allowed supply to outstrip demand in many markets, forcing companies to seek new ways to become more competitive. Mass production ties into the idea of overconsumption and the idea that we as humans consume too much.
Mass production of fluid matter typically involves piping with centrifugal pumps or screw conveyors (augers) to transfer raw materials or partially complete products between vessels. Fluid flow processes such as oil refining and bulk materials such as wood chips and pulp are automated using a system of process control which uses various instruments to measure variables such as temperature, pressure, volumetric and level, providing feedback.
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. Materials on pallets are handled with forklifts. Also used for handling heavy items like reels of paper, steel or machinery are electric overhead cranes, sometimes called bridge cranes because they span large factory bays.
Mass production is capital-intensive and energy-intensive, for it uses a high proportion of machinery and energy in relation to workers. It is also usually automated while total expenditure per unit of product is decreased. However, the machinery that is needed to set up a mass production line (such as robots and machine presses) is so expensive that in order to attain profits there must be some assurance that the product will be successful.
One of the descriptions of mass production is that "the skill is built into the tool", which means that the worker using the tool may not need the skill. For example, in the 19th or early 20th century, this could be expressed as "the craftsmanship is in the
History
Pre-industrial
Standardized parts and sizes and factory production techniques were developed in pre-industrial times; before the invention of machine tools the manufacture of precision parts, especially metal ones, was highly labour-intensive.
Crossbows made with bronze parts were produced in China during the Warring States period. The Qin Emperor unified China at least in part by equipping large armies with these weapons, which were equipped with a sophisticated trigger mechanism made of interchangeable parts.[4] The Terracotta Army guarding the Emperor's necropolis is also believed to have been created through the use of standardized molds on an assembly line.[5][6]
In
The invention of
Jean-Baptiste de Gribeauval, a French artillery engineer, introduced the standardization of cannon design in the mid-18th century. He developed a 6-inch (150 mm) field howitzer whose gun barrel, carriage assembly and ammunition specifications were made uniform for all French cannons. The standardized interchangeable parts of these cannons down to the nuts, bolts and screws made their mass production and repair easier than before.[citation needed]
Industrial
In the Industrial Revolution, simple mass production techniques were used at the Portsmouth Block Mills in England to make ships' pulley blocks for the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic Wars. It was achieved in 1803 by Marc Isambard Brunel in cooperation with Henry Maudslay under the management of Sir Samuel Bentham.[14] 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.[15]
The Navy was in a state of expansion that required 100,000 pulley blocks to be manufactured a year. Bentham had already achieved remarkable efficiency at the docks by introducing power-driven machinery and reorganising the dockyard system. Brunel, a pioneering engineer, and Maudslay, a pioneer of machine tool technology who had developed the first industrially practical screw-cutting lathe in 1800 which standardized screw thread sizes for the first time which in turn allowed the application of interchangeable parts, collaborated on plans to manufacture block-making machinery. 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.[14] A total of 45 machines were required to perform 22 processes on the blocks, which could be made into one of three possible sizes.[14] The machines were almost entirely made of metal thus improving their accuracy and durability. The machines would make markings and indentations on the blocks to ensure alignment throughout the process. One of the many advantages of this new method was the increase in labour productivity due to the less labour-intensive requirements of managing the machinery. Richard Beamish, assistant to Brunel's son and engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, wrote:
So that ten men, by the aid of this machinery, can accomplish with uniformity, celerity and ease, what formerly required the uncertain labour of one hundred and ten.[14]
By 1808, annual production from the 45 machines had reached 130,000 blocks and some of the equipment was still in operation as late as the mid-twentieth century.
Some of the organizational management concepts needed to create 20th-century mass production, such as
In 1807,
The
During
For the ongoing
In addition, in the ongoing climate change mitigation, large-scale carbon sequestration (through reforestation, blue carbon restoration, etc) has been proposed. Some projects (such as the Trillion Tree Campaign) involve planting a very large amount of trees. In order to speed up such efforts, fast propagation of trees may be useful. Some automated machines have been produced to allow for fast (vegetative) plant propagation.[24]Also, for some plants that help to sequester carbon (such as seagrass), techniques have been developed to help speed up the process .[25]
Mass production benefited from the development of materials such as inexpensive steel, high strength steel and plastics. Machining of metals was greatly enhanced with
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 article was written based on correspondence with Ford Motor Company and is sometimes credited as the first use of the term.[2]
Factory electrification
Electric motors were several times more efficient than small steam engines because central station generation were more efficient than small steam engines and because line shafts and belts had high friction losses.[28][29] Electric motors also allowed more flexibility in manufacturing and required less maintenance than line shafts and belts. Many factories saw a 30% increase in output simply from changing over to electric motors.
Electrification enabled modern mass production, as with Thomas Edison's iron ore processing plant (about 1893) that could process 20,000 tons of ore per day with two shifts, each of five men. At that time it was still common to handle bulk materials with shovels, wheelbarrows and small narrow-gauge rail cars, and for comparison, a canal digger in previous decades typically handled five tons per 12-hour day.
The biggest impact of early mass production was in manufacturing everyday items, such as at the
According to Henry Ford:[31]
The provision of a whole new system of electric generation emancipated industry from the leather belt and line shaft, for it eventually became possible to provide each tool with its own electric motor. This may seem only a detail of minor importance. In fact, modern industry could not be carried out with the belt and line shaft for a number of reasons. 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. The belt and line shaft were also tremendously wasteful – so wasteful indeed that no factory could be really large, for even the longest line shaft was small according to modern requirements. Also high speed tools were impossible under the old conditions – neither the pulleys nor the belts could stand modern speeds. Without high speed tools and the finer steels which they brought about, there could be nothing of what we call modern industry.
Mass production was popularized in the late 1910s and 1920s by Henry Ford's
Buildings
The process of prefabrication, wherein parts are created separately from the finished product, is at the core of all mass-produced construction. Early examples include movable structures reportedly utilized by
Following World War II, in the United States,
In the modern industrialization of construction, mass production is often used for prefabrication of house components.[38]
Fabrics and Materials
Mass production has significantly impacted the fashion industry, particularly in the realm of fibers and materials. The advent of synthetic fibers, such as polyester and nylon, revolutionized textile manufacturing by providing cost-effective alternatives to natural fibers. This shift enabled the rapid production of inexpensive clothing, contributing to the rise of fast fashion. This reliance on mass production has raised concerns about environmental sustainability and labor conditions, spurring the need for greater ethical and sustainable practices within the fashion industry.[39]
The use of assembly lines
Mass production systems for items made of numerous parts are usually organized into assembly lines. The assemblies pass by on a conveyor, or if they are heavy, hung from an overhead crane or monorail.
In a factory for a complex product, rather than one assembly line, there may be many auxiliary assembly lines feeding sub-assemblies (i.e. car engines or seats) to a backbone "main" assembly line. A diagram of a typical mass-production factory looks more like the skeleton of a fish than a single line.
Vertical integration
Vertical integration is a business practice that involves gaining complete control over a product's production, from raw materials to final assembly.
In the age of mass production, this caused shipping and trade problems in that shipping systems were unable to transport huge volumes of finished automobiles (in Henry Ford's case) without causing damage, and also government policies imposed trade barriers on finished units.[40]
Ford built the
Upstream vertical integration, such as to raw materials, is away from leading technology toward mature, low-return industries. Most companies chose to focus on their core business rather than vertical integration. This included buying parts from outside suppliers, who could often produce them as cheaply or cheaper.
Standard Oil, the major oil company in the 19th century, was vertically integrated partly because there was no demand for unrefined crude oil, but kerosene and some other products were in great demand. The other reason was that Standard Oil monopolized the oil industry. The major oil companies were, and many still are, vertically integrated, from production to refining and with their own retail stations, although some sold off their retail operations. Some oil companies also have chemical divisions.
Lumber and paper companies at one time owned most of their timber lands and sold some finished products such as corrugated boxes. The tendency has been to divest of timber lands to raise cash and to avoid property taxes.
Advantages and disadvantages
The economies of mass production come from several sources. The primary cause is a reduction of non-productive effort of all types. In craft production, the craftsman must bustle about a shop, getting parts and assembling them. He must locate and use many tools many times for varying tasks. In mass production, each worker repeats one or a few related tasks that use the same tool to perform identical or near-identical operations on a stream of products. The exact tool and parts are always at hand, having been moved down the assembly line consecutively. The worker spends little or no time retrieving and/or preparing materials and tools, and so the time taken to manufacture a product using mass production is shorter than when using traditional methods.
The probability of human error and variation is also reduced, as tasks are predominantly carried out by machinery; error in operating such machinery has more far-reaching consequences. A reduction in labour costs, as well as an increased rate of production, enables a company to produce a larger quantity of one product at a lower cost than using traditional, non-linear methods.
However, mass production is inflexible because it is difficult to alter a design or production process after a production line is implemented. Also, all products produced on one production line will be identical or very similar, and introducing variety to satisfy individual tastes is not easy. However, some variety can be achieved by applying different finishes and decorations at the end of the production line if necessary. The starter cost for the machinery can be expensive so the producer must be sure it sells or the producers will lose a lot of money.
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.[2]
With each passing decade, engineers have found ways to increase the flexibility of mass production systems, driving down the lead times on new product development and allowing greater customization and variety of products.
Compared with other production methods, mass production can create new occupational hazards for workers. This is partly due to the need for workers to operate heavy machinery while also working close together with many other workers. Preventative safety measures, such as fire drills, as well as special training is therefore necessary to minimise the occurrence of industrial accidents.
Socioeconomic impacts
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. De Tocqueville wrote in his Democracy in America (1835) that "The absence in the United States of those vast accumulations of wealth which favor the expenditures of large sums on articles of mere luxury... impact to the productions of American industry a character distinct from that of other countries' industries. [Production is geared toward] articles suited to the wants of the whole people".
Mass production improved productivity, which was a contributing factor to economic growth and the decline in work week hours, alongside other factors such as transportation infrastructures (canals, railroads and highways) and agricultural mechanization. These factors caused the typical work week to decline from 70 hours in the early 19th century to 60 hours late in the century, then to 50 hours in the early 20th century and finally to 40 hours in the mid-1930s.
Mass production permitted great increases in total production. 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.[2] By the late 1920s many previously scarce goods were in good supply. One economist has argued that this constituted "overproduction" and contributed to high unemployment during the Great Depression.[41] Say's law denies the possibility of general overproduction and for this reason classical economists deny that it had any role in the Great Depression.
Mass production allowed the evolution of consumerism by lowering the unit cost of many goods used.
Mass production has been linked to the Fast Fashion Industry, often leaving the consumer with lower quality garments for a lower cost. 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.
See also
- Batch production
- Craft production
- Continuous production
- Culture industry
- Fast-moving consumer goods
- Fordism
- Ford Model T
- Great Divergence
- Industrial engineering
- Industrialisation
- Industrial Revolution
- Instant manufacturing
- Job production
- Just-in-time
- Lean manufacturing
- Licensed production
- Manufacturing
- Mass market
- Mechanization
- Modular construction systems: identical components are easier to mass-produce
- Operations management
- Outline of industrial organization
- Pilot plant
- Cost-of-production theory of value
- Ready-made garment
- Scientific management
- Second Industrial Revolution
- Technological revolution
- Technological unemployment
References
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From old price tables it can be deduced that the capacity of a printing press around 1600, assuming a fifteen-hour workday, was between 3,200 and 3,600 impressions per day.
- ^ Williams, David (October 2008). "Mass-Produced Pre-Han Chinese Bronze Crossbow Triggers: Unparalleled Manufacturing Technology in the Ancient World". Arms & Armour. Vol. 5, no. 2. pp. 142-153(12). Archived from the original on 11 December 2013.
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- ^ Cameron, Rondo; Neal, Larry (2003). A Concise Economic History of the World: From Paleolithic Times to the Present. Oxford University Press. p. 161.
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Bi Sheng... who first devised, about 1045, the art of printing with movable type
- ^ 吉星, 潘. 中國金屬活字印刷技術史. pp. 41–54.
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- ^ "Johann Gutenberg". Catholic Encyclopedia. 1912. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "The Portsmouth blockmaking machinery" Archived 5 April 2017 at the UK Government Web Archive. makingthemodernworld.org
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- ^ "Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust: History 1690 - 1840" Archived 26 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine. portsmouthdockyard.org.
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(help) - ^ Roberts, Kenneth D., and Snowden Taylor. Eli Terry and the Connecticut Shelf Clock. Ken Roberts Publishing, 1994.
- ^ National Geographic Channel "War factories" documentary episodes
- ^ "Can Mass Production of Components Slash the Cost of Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations?". Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
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(help)CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ Jerome, Harry (1934). Mechanization in Industry. National Bureau of Economic Research. p. xxviii.
- ^ Devine, Warren D. Jr. (1983). "From Shafts to Wires: Historical Perspective on Electrification, Journal of Economic History, Vol. 43, Issue 2" (PDF): 355. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - ^ Smil, Vaclav (2005). Creating the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations of 1867-1914 and Their Lasting Impact. Oxford / New York City: Oxford University Press.
- ^ Nye, David E. (1990). Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New Technology. Cambridge, MA / London: MIT Press. pp. 14, 15.
- ^ Ford, Henry; Crowther, Samuel (1930). Edison as I Know Him. New York: Cosmopolitan Book Company. p. 15 (on line edition). Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ^ Hounshell 1984
- ^ Hounshell 1984, p. 288
- ^ Irfan Habib (1992), "Akbar and Technology", Social Scientist 20 (9-10): 3-15 [3-4]
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- ^ McCosh, F. (1997). Nissen of the Huts: A biography of Lt Col. Peter Nissen, DSO. Bourne End: B D Publishing. p. 82-108.
- ^ Custer, Jack (August 1988). Orange Coast Magazine: Customizing your tract home. Emmis Communications. p. 160. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ "Prefabrication and Industrialized Construction Could be the Solution to the Future of Infrastructure". interestingengineering.com. 7 March 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Style that's sustainable: A new fast-fashion formula | McKinsey". www.mckinsey.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ Womack, Jones, Roos; The Machine That Changed The World, Rawson & Associates, New York. Published by Simon & Schuster, 1990.
- ^ Beaudreau, Bernard C. (1996). Mass Production, the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression: The Macroeconomics of Electrification. New York / Lincoln / Shanghai: Authors Choice Press.
Further reading
- Beaudreau, Bernard C. (1996). Mass Production, the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression. New York / Lincoln / Shanghai: Authors Choice Press.
- Borth, Christy. Masters of Mass Production, Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1945.
- Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, Random House, New York, NY, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4000-6964-4.
External links
- Quotations related to Mass production at Wikiquote
- Media related to Mass production at Wikimedia Commons