Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - (Page GM-5)

foundation for making the marketing idea so proﬁtable,” he argued in an article in the Winter 1991 issue of Business History Review. Over the last 100 years, GM engineers also pioneered concepts such as changeover, ﬂexible assembly, automation, computer simulation, machine vision and robotics. They have continually innovated on the plant ﬂoor with new assembly processes and production tools. As a result, manufacturing has been the underlying force behind the company’s marketing and ﬁnancial success story. Flexible Ass Assembly Manufacturing engineers at GM have engi in developed several innovations over the last century that have dramatically improved assembly line productivity, product ﬂow and e ciency. One of efﬁ preda those actually predates the creation of GM itself. th By developing the process of “progressive assembly,” Ransom E. Olds and his employees at Olds Motors Works (Lansing, M were able to MI) c manufacture 2,500 copies of the curved d h Oldsmobile i dash Old bil in 1902. Up until then, the leading manufacturers in the ﬂedgling auto industry were only producing several hundred vehicles a year. For instance, Olds assembled just 425 vehicles in 1901. The progressive assembly technique pioneered by Olds used wooden tables and metal stands mounted on wheeled dollies to speed production and improve workﬂow. The carts were manually moved from one workstation to the next as parts and components were installed and assembled in sequence to become a completed vehicle. When GM acquired the Olds operation in November 1908, the factory was assembling more than 6,000 cars a year. At the time, Buick was GM’s other production champion. But, it still lagged behind rivals such as Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI). When a former railroad shop supervisor named Walter Chrysler became works manager at Buick in 1912, he implemented a series of innovations to reduce the time and cost of ﬁnal assembly. He set out to streamline the production process by eliminating wasted time and materials, and making Buick cars easier to assemble. Chrysler introduced methods and techniques that were new to the auto industry, such as determining the cost of a car in advance of production, rather than setting the price by guesswork after it was assembled. Chrysler had honed his skills while employed in the locomotive manufacturing industry. Buick assemblers had been using traditional carriage-building methods. It took 4 days to produce one automobile frame. Each wooden frame was sanded, painted several times and dried for 12 hours between coats. Chrysler slashed production time in half by eliminating several coats of paint and reducing drying time by increasing the temperature in the drying rooms. Buick output increased from 45 to 200 cars a day. The building used for ﬁnal assembly had numerous posts scattered about the ﬂoor to support the roof. To increase the amount of available space and improve material ﬂow, Chrysler braced the roof with stronger trusses and removed the support beams. When Chrysler arrived on the scene, each Buick model was almost completely assembled in one spot on the factory ﬂoor. Crews carried parts to each workstation, assembled part of the vehicle and then moved on to the next workstation. To speed up production, Chrysler installed a track throughout the plant that was made from twoby-fours. After the wheels and springs were attached to the frame, vehicles were pushed along the track and, as the car came to assemblers, they each attached a part before the car was wheeled to the next workstation. Chrysler claimed that Ford operated its ﬁnal assembly line on a chain conveyor after Buick had begun its own nonmotorized system. Because of the new assembly process, Buick output increased from 45 to 200 cars a day. As a result, www.assemblymag.com (Top) The Oldsmobile Model 20 pioneered the concept of interchangeable parts in 1909. (Bottom) Before 1912, Buick assemblers used old carriage-building methods. It took 4 days to produce one automobile frame. Each vehicle was assembled in one spot on the factory ﬂoor. | July 2008/ASSEMBLY | GM - 5 http://www.assemblymag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Assembly Planbook - July 2008

Assembly Planbook - July 2008 Contents Editorial Quality in Assembly Station to Station Assembly Lines Assembly in Action Surviving the Roller Coaster The Human Side of Manufacturing Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? Manufacturing Innovation A Century of Progress Trendsetting Plants Pulse Tools Get Smart Plastics: Design for X Product Reviews Products Advertisers Index Classified Leading Lean

Assembly Planbook - July 2008

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