preview

Why Did Henry Ford Use Universal Parts?

Decent Essays

Before 1913, all products were created by experts who used unique parts with each of their designs. Although this made it easier to have custom products made, it was not feasible for mass production due primarily to the time required and cost of the products. Since there were few experts, even if they worked 12 hour days it would still be impossible build enough products for the general public and they could also charge their employer as much money as they wanted for there services since they were the only ones with the knowledge to do the job. This all changed in 1913, once Henry Ford introduced universal parts, treated his employees properly and most importantly included the moving assembly line into his factory. These new features are what made is …show more content…

As a result, many other factory owners began to duplicate what Ford was doing in his factory to minimize their own costs. Now after almost a century, the moving assembly line has been perfected and is used in nearly every factory around the world. Universal parts played critical role in cost minimization of goods because it allowed unskilled workers to perform the tasks that were once done by experts at a cheaper cost and reducing time spent on repairs. Before universal parts were implemented into the modern factory an expert would design every part of a product and then build it as only the expert knew how each part interconnected. However, universal parts can only connect one way which allowed unskilled labourers to fill the roles of the experts. Since the new universal parts could only connect one way, an employer could train unskilled labour to do the same job that was once done by experts. This immensely minimized the costs that employers had to pay out to their employees, which in turn reduced the cost of the product they were making. Additionally, costs have also been minimized with the use of universal parts in terms of how they have sped up the

Get Access