How Did Henry Ford Build The Assembly Line

Henry Ford was not the first person to create to assembly line. The first car to be made using the assembly line was the Oldsmobile Curved Dash. According to Ford in My Life and Work the assembly line should have the following principals. "(1) Place the tools and the men in the sequence of the operation so that each component part shall travel the least possible distance while in the process of finishing. (2) Use work slides or some other form of carrier so that when a workman completes his operation, he drops the part always in the same place—which place must always be the most convenient place to his hand—and if possible have gravity carry the part to the next workman for his own. (3) Use sliding assembling lines by which the parts to be …show more content…
However the tasks were repetitive and boring and Ford's turnover rate was extremely high. That is why he introduced the Five dollar a day wage. This was ground breaking at the time and doubled the average wage employees were making at that time. During the same time he also introduced profit sharing and shorten the work day from nine to eight. Ford's competitors thought that this would be the end of the Ford Motor Company. The next day thousands of people lined up to attempt to secure a job with Ford. Ford knew what he was doing with this decision. Not only did he know this would reduce his turnover, he also realized that if his employees were making more money that they could purchase his vehicles. With the increase in automation the cost of the Model T would continue to drop. This made cars more affordable for Ford's workers and the middle class. He was making a car that any working man could …show more content…
Life would of be a lot different for many reasons. First, the only Americans able to purchase a car would have been the wealthy. The price range would have been too high and middle class Americans would had to of saved years worth of wages to purchase a automobile at the time. Second, is the employee that worked for Ford probably would not of made as much money as they did. Ford's introduction of the $5 dollar a day wage was something that was unheard of. Those lucky enough to have these jobs or tough enough to stick it out more than likely would of never made that much money. Suburbs would have been created much slower than they would have been. Since so many Americans were driving cars the desire to move out of the city and into the country side would of never been there. Ford's business abilities and creative inventions and innovation made him a man that generated changed. Had these changes never had happened American life would have been drastically