Who introduced the assembly line?

The assembly line can be traced back to the technique used in a 19th century meatpacking
industry in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is commonly known as a disassembly line. It was also
seen in Chicago where overhead trolleys were used to carry carcasses from one worker to
the next. The trolleys were connected with chains and power was used to move the meat
down the line. This was the true beginning of the assembly line. Each worker was given a
specific task and pace to work with and this generated the idea for Henry Ford. It came at a
time when he was trying to solve the problem of producing enough cars for the demand in
the market and at a reasonable price.

Mass production began between the years of 1900 -1908. Although the mass produced automobile is generally attributed to Henry Ford, it was Ranson E. Olds who actually first attempted to manufacture automotive. Olds used a moving line and some division of labor to produce a total of four thousand cars in 1904. Due to the fact that this car was too lightly built it had many defects. Ford fixed this problem by designing the model T. This automobile could handle to rough roads of the early 20th century. Like his predecessor, Henry Ford used a moving line, division of labor, as well as standardized and interchangeable parts. This new technique required precision, manufacturing, and synchronization. It was officially operated in 1913. He used a rope to pull the chassis past stockpiles of components. He made this improvement along with a chain to improve power in assembly line movement. He gave each man an assigned workstation and made it comfortable The result was mass production with lowered price of each automobile.