MASS PRODUCTION

application of the principles of specialization, division of labour, and standardization of parts to the manufacture of goods. Such manufacturing processes attain high rates of output at low unit cost, with lower costs expected as volume rises. Mass production methods are based on two general principles: (1) the division ond specialization of human labour; and (2) the use of tools, machinery, and other equipment, usually automated, in the production of standard, interchangeable parts and products. The use of modern methods of mass production has brought such improvements in the cost, quality, quantity, and variety of goods available that the largest global population in history is now sustained at the highest general standard of living. the application of the principles of specialization, division of labour, and standardization of parts to the manufacture of goods. The use of modern methods of mass production has brought such improvements in the cost, quality, quantity, and variety of goods available that the largest global population in history is now sustained at the highest general standard of living. A moving conveyor belt installed in a Dearborn, Mich., automobile plant in 1913 cut the time required to produce flywheel magnetos from 18 minutes to 5 and was the first instance of the use of modern integrated mass production techniques. In designing their manufacturing operation, Henry Ford and his colleagues drew on a history of ideas and examples of the benefits obtainable by dividing a manufacturing process into a sequence of tasks, each of which is performed by a worker specially trained for it. Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, demonstrated the usefulness of specially designed and standardized tools in eliminating the need for highly trained artisans when, in 1798, he produced 10,000 flintlock guns using a work force of relatively unskilled boys. The great precision of the Ford conveyor belt operation was made possible by time and motion studies pioneered by F.W. Taylor and Frank and Lillian B. Gilbreth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The requirements for mass production of a particular commodity include the existence of a market for quantities of the commodity sufficient to justify a large investment; a product design amenable to the use of standardized parts and processes; a physical plan that minimizes material handling; division of labour into simple, short, repetitive steps; continuous flow of work; and tools designed specifically for the tasks to be performed. Each worker in a modern mass production operation performs one or a small number of tasks over and over, many times per shift. The placement and action of the tools used, the height of the conveyor belt or work table, and all other details of the workplace are designed to allow the worker to accomplish the task by a series of movements that time and motion studies have demonstrated to be natural (and therefore easily learned) and to involve a minimum of waste motion or need for mental or physical readjustment. From this calculated economy of labour derives much of the savings in manufacturing costs in mass production. Carefully designed workplaces make possible the close estimates of worker productivity necessary for the coordination of a multistage, high-volume production operation. In order for each worker to be able to perform a task the same way each time, the machines used in mass production are precisely tailored to the task, and parts are interchangeable among final products. In industries such as automobile manufacture, where various models are offered for sale, the use of interchangeable components in as many models as possible allows production to respond flexibly to market demand for each model. Standardization of parts is also economical in that it makes possible production (or purchase) of the parts in large quantities. Design of a production line begins with consideration of the most economical division of work functions between workers and machines. Then special tools and workplaces are designed, workers are trained, and arrangements are made for the delivery and handling of raw materials. A pilot line may be set up to study the actual performance of the line, and based on its results adjustments may be made. There is an optimum rate of production for any given manufacturing process or set of facilities; producing at lower than the ideal rate wastes trained labour and machinery, while producing at a higher rate causes fatigue of workers and machine breakdowns. Adjustments may be required to avoid bottlenecks that prevent the optimum rate from being achieved. Finished items may come off a production line either in batches (as in the chemical industry) or one after another in a continuous line. In many operations, some components are produced in batches and then delivered to an appropriate stage for integration into a continuous production main line. To cite just one of thousands of examples, with such integrated production techniques a factory employing 8,000 workers can produce 8,000,000 telephone sets annually, in 1,000 varieties and colour combinations, using materials from more than 3,000 different suppliers. To the savings in the utilization of labour already mentioned should be added other economies of scale. These include large-lot purchasing of raw materials and supplies, the benefits of long production runs over short ones in which much time is lost to setup and other nonproductive steps, and the observed fact that, with increased experience of both workers and production engineers, production becomes progressively more efficient and unit costs decline. The rise of mass production has had implications for both the nature of work and the nature of ownership. The repetitive nature of the work produces boredom and fatigue, which may lead to inefficiency, error, or injury. It has been found that often positive measures must be taken to encourage workers to identify with a finished product to which they may have contributed only a tiny and invisible part. The great amounts of capital necessary for creating mass production operations can seldom be supplied by individuals; as a result, in modern large manufacturing firms, ownership has passed from the hands of individuals to a corporate body. Additional reading Two handbooks contain a wealth of general information on industrial production systems, methods, problems, and management techniques: Gordon B. Carson, Harold A. Bolz, and Hewitt H. Young (eds.), Production Handbook, 3rd ed. (1972); and H.B. Maynard (ed.), Industrial Engineering Handbook, 3rd ed. (1971). See also Franklin G. Moore and Thomas E. Hendrick, Production/Operations Management, 8th ed. (1980), a classic textbook covering a wide range of topics in nontechnical language; and Harwood F. Merrill (ed.), Classics in Management, rev. ed. (1970), an excellent collection of excerpts from the writings of several pioneers in industrial production, including Frederick W. Taylor, Henri Fayol, and Frank B. and Lillian M. Gilbreth. Two general texts that cover many aspects of the general field treated in this article are Elwood S. Buffa, Modern Production/Operations Management, 7th ed. (1983); and Richard B. Chase and Nicholas Acquilano, Production and Operations Management: A Life Cycle Approach, 4th ed. (1985).Various aspects of systems and control are dealt with in B.H. Amstead, Phillip F. Ostwald, and Myron L. Begeman, Manufacturing Processes: SI Version, 7th ed. (1979); Michael Peters and Terence Oliva, Operations and Production Management (1981); and James H. Greene, Production and Inventory Control, rev. ed. (1974), and Operations Management: Productivity and Profit (1984).Early studies of the organization of human effort for production are treated in classics of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Academie des Sciences, Paris, Descriptions des arts et mtiers, 45 vol. (176189); Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776, reissued 1981); and Charles Babbage, On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures, 4th ed. enlarged (1835, reprinted 1971).Historical views of developments leading to modern mass production methods are J.K. Finch, Engineering and Western Civilization (1951), The Story of Engineering (1960); and Friedrich Klemm, A History of Western Technology (1959, reissued 1964; originally published in German, 1954). Technical descriptions of mass production techniques are given by E. Paul Degarmo, J. Temple Black, and Ronald A. Kohser, Materials and Processes in Manufacturing, 6th ed. (1984). The classical technical works on time and motion studies in manufacturing are Frederick Winslow Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management (1911, reissued 1967); and Frank B. Gilbreth, Motion Study: A Method for Increasing the Efficiency of the Workman (1911, reprinted 1972). Ralph M. Barnes, Motion and Time Study, 7th ed. (1980), describes modern industrial engineering methods; Ernest J. McCormick, Human Factors in Engineering and Design, 5th ed. (1982), provides a broad study of the physiological aspects of engineering design. Trevor I. Williams, A Short History of Twentieth-Century Technology c. 1900c. 1950 (1982), is a good overview; Otto Mayr and Robert C. Post (eds.), Yankee Enterprise: The Rise of the American System of Manufactures: A Symposium (1981), is a treatment of mass production revolution; Daniel Nelson, Frederick W. Taylor and the Rise of Scientific Management (1980), is a study of the development of Taylor's ideas; Ira C. Magaziner and Robert B. Reich, Minding America's Business: The Decline and Rise of the American Economy (1982, reissued 1983), is an account of specific problems.Books written about human and societal problems and adjustments to the industrial milieu include R. Burlingame, Backgrounds of Power: The Human Story of Mass Production (1949), a popular history and commentary; William A. Faunce, Problems of an Industrial Society, 2nd ed. (1981), on the sociological effects; and Harvey Swados, On the Line (1957, reissued 1978), about the problems of assembly line work. Others have focused on the problems of individuals and how they may be approached. Among these are William J. Dickson and F.J. Roethlisberger, Counseling in an Organization (1966); Robert N. Ford, Motivation Through the Work Itself (1969); Frederick Herzberg, Work and the Nature of Man (1966, reprinted 1973); and Charles R. Walker and Robert H. Guest, The Man on the Assembly Line (1952, reprinted 1979).