How the Ford Company Gets Low Production Costs

Format:

Other

Author/Creator:

YOUNGER, JOHN, author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Warrendale, PA SAE International 1928

Summary:

ECONOMIC factors applying to mass production are dealt with in an endeavor to show how, by following certain laws of manufacturing management based on economic laws, the Ford Motor Company has attained its very low production costs. Some of these laws, which were put into concrete form as recently as 1926 by L. P. Alford, are quoted, and examples of methods are given to show how they operate. Summarized briefly, the principles followed with obvious success are:Discussers supplement the paper with numerous thoughts not mentioned by the author. The attainment of quality in a product, points out one, decreases cost in at least four ways, which he specifies. Another questions if the present trend toward making automatons of workmen is not fallacious and in direct opposition to the social trend of American civilization, which is in the direction of making men think. More extensive use of multiple-operation automatic machines is suggested as a possible remedy for this, and remarkable examples of such machines in other industries are cited. Regarding one of these, however, the chairman states that its successful development required 25 years, was very costly, and the product does not change in form, whereas design changes are frequent in the automotive industry. The last discusser calls attention to the importance of operating machinery continuously as many hours of the 24 per day as conditions render possible. He mentions the Ford company's policy of providing for production so that it will not be affected by such variables as weather and time of day, and of designing multi-story buildings to conform with production requirements and then providing artificial lighting of a kind that is superior to daylight

Notes:

Vendor supplied data

Publisher Number:

280063

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license