Mass production

Mass production is the process of manufacturing large quantities of standardized goods. This process typically takes place on factory assembly lines, where many workers and machines each perform one step that contributes to a final product. Creating goods this way results in higher output, which increases availability of products and creates lower prices for consumers.

Mass production took shape in the 1700s and 1800s, and became a major feature of industry in the 1900s. Today, most consumer goods, including cars, computers, and appliances, are mass produced. This method of production has become an important feature of global industry, economy, and society in modern times.

Overview: Development of Mass Production

In ancient times, both the supply and demand of consumer goods were much lower than they are today. People generally had few desires for manufactured goods, and could craft for themselves most of the objects they needed. If the needed item was very difficult to make, or required specialized tools or materials, people could hire a local craftsperson to create the item. This artisan, likely working alone or in a small shop with a few assistants, would handcraft the needed item, building it from start to finish. This challenging, time-consuming process could take hours, days, or even longer, and even simple goods could thereby entail considerable expense.

Over time, manufacturing technology improved and allowed craftspeople to work faster and more efficiently, thus creating more goods and decreasing their cost. This led to the factory system, in which groups of workers, skilled and unskilled, gathered in a central location to manufacture goods. This was not true mass production, however, since workers generally collaborated to build one item at a time. In addition, parts were uniquely crafted, which meant that they could not be easily replaced without expert refitting and customization. Early factory production was also time-consuming because workers had to master and perform many tasks to create each item.

Isolated developments of new manufacturing machines and techniques occurred throughout Europe, but the greatest steps toward mass production occurred in the United States. Inventors there, most notably Eli Whitney, perfected the concept of interchangeable parts. By creating interchangeable parts, workers could focus on just one task or skill, and thereby produce more parts in less time. Just as importantly, the parts would be made in a standardized fashion and would thereby be practically identical and easy to replace. This innovation set the groundwork for modern mass production.

In the 1800s, American manufacturers began applying the concept of interchangeable parts in armament factories, where guns could be produced more quickly and efficiently than ever before. This provided a great boost for the American military, which not only had more weapons, but had to pay less for them and could more easily repair damaged weapons thanks to identical replacement parts. Later, similar manufacturing techniques were employed in the production of textile machines, clocks, agricultural equipment, bicycles, and many other goods. The American economy boomed and its industrial output shocked rival nations, which termed the production methods the American System.

Henry Ford and Modern Mass Production

The final step in the development of mass production came in the early 1900s with the introduction of the assembly line. An assembly line is a method of factory production in which a motorized belt carries a product from one stationary worker to another. Each worker adds one specific part or performs one particular modification, and then the product moves along to the next worker. This way, each worker can concentrate on a single task, and the product is constructed in a relatively short time.

American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford popularized use of the assembly line, even though he did not truly invent it. Ford was most likely influenced by factory procedures in meat-packing plants, in which ceiling-mounted trolleys carried animal carcasses between workers while the workers prepared the meat or cut off particular sections. Ford created a similar contraption in his automobile factory in 1913. He used a moving belt to carry car parts between workers, each of whom performed one specific task. This organization is called division of labor. The result was a staggering decrease in time required, as well as an equally impressive increase in output. Within a year, Ford's factory was working as much as eight times faster. That allowed Ford to construct an unprecedented number of cars and sell them to consumers at a reasonable rate.

Ford had made mass production work, but his accomplishment came at a price. Reconfiguring a factory for an assembly line was extremely expensive and difficult. Many workers complained about the boredom of standing in one place and performing single tasks, and some critics decried Ford's reliance on machines and unskilled labor. His successes, however, spoke for themselves. Ford became an industrial giant and changed American society by making automobiles accessible to most people. His ideas also spread, and leaders of industries around the world began adopting similar assembly lines. Mass production had become the new standard for world industry.

Effects of Mass Production

The worldwide spread of mass production has led to significant changes in industry, economy, and society. On the positive side, mass production has greatly increased material wealth in many nations. People can live at a higher standard of comfort for smaller amounts of money thanks to mass-produced goods. This shift has led to the modern mass consumer culture in which people dedicate much of their time and money to purchasing, using, and discarding manufactured goods.

At the same time, mass production and its effects have faced serious criticism. Critics have claimed that such industrial practices dehumanize and alienate workers, encourage shallow and wasteful consumer lifestyles, and bring ecological harm to the planet through poor factory practices and discarding of overproduced goods. Recent studies have linked mass consumerism, fueled by the affordability created by mass production, to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Regardless of its helpful or harmful effects, mass production remains the standard of industry, and today most consumer products are manufactured through this system.

Bibliography

Batchelor, Ray. Henry Ford: Mass Production, Modernism and Design. New York: Manchester University Press, 1994.

Dubofsky, Melvyn, ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Business, Labor & Economic History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Hounshell, David A. From the American System to Mass Production, 1800–1932. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984.

“How Did Mass Production and Mass Consumption Take Off After World War II?” Council on Foreign Relations, 14 Feb. 2023, education.cfr.org/learn/reading/how-did-mass-production-and-mass-consumption-take-after-world-war-ii. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

"The Evolution of Mass Production." Ford Motor Company, www.ford.co.uk/experience-ford/Heritage/EvolutionOfMassProduction. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.

Thompson, Fred. "Mass Production." Willamette University, www.willamette.edu/~fthompso/MgmtCon/Mass‗Production.html. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.