The creation of the assembly line form of manufacturing is considered one the gr

Question

The creation of the assembly line form of manufacturing is considered one the greatest achievements of the 20th Century. Before then, cars were made one at a time by hand and were so expensive that the average worker could not afford one. This invention significantly reduced the labor cost per car and made cars affordable to the masses. The masses then urbanized America. What are the differences between a current auto assembly line process and the original version? Approximately how long does it take to make a car now? How have changes in processes like this changed the accounting for them? Hint- Accounting for Just-inTime Manufacturing.

Explanation / Answer

An assembly line is a manufacturing process where the bill-of-material parts and components are attached one-by-one to a unit in a sequential way by a series of workers to create a finished good product. All of the tasks to fully produce the product are identified and as much as possible the task times are evenly assigned to the workers, whereupon the units are produced one after the other. This method of production has proven to be much more efficient than having a series of craftsmen entirely producing each finished good product one at a time. Adam Smith in the 1776 classic ‘‘The Wealth of Nations,’’ introduced the term ‘‘division of labor’’. This involves the partition of a complex production process into one or a few simpler tasks, with each task assigned to a different worker. Smith gives an analysis of a pin factory where the time and physical movement of the workers were reduced throughout.

differences between a current auto assembly line process and the original version

An assembly line is a series of process steps where sub assemblys are added together to form a product, an example is a car assembly line, where the car body is mated to the chassis / drive train, interiors, exteriors, doors and wheels are fitted to produce a finished car that is driven off the line.

A production line is a series of process steps, where the form fit or function is changed at each step to produce a product, an example being a crisp / chip line where potatoes are loaded, washed, peeled, sliced, fried, seasoned, weighed, bagged and boxed.

There are many lines which are a mixture of both to make the product as in refrigerator manufacturing, the metal sheets are stamped, bent and welded brfore having the pre made interiors added, the units are insulated, compressors are installed and gassed, doors hung and accessories included.

how long does it take to make a car now

The process of making a car can be roughly divided into stamping, welding, painting, assembly and inspections, which takes about 17-18 hours in total. (It varies according to the number of cars made by a factory.)
When we consider that each car is made of about 30,000 parts, each of which takes time to produce, the time it takes to build a car is quite long.

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