Sukhdev Johal

The Myth of the Line: Ford's Production of the Model T at Highland Park, 1909–16

This article questions the myth that the moving assembly line was Fords key productive innovation before 1918. It begins by analysing Hounshell and Lewchuks recent historiographic accounts of Ford. The article then refutes the myth of the line by demonstrating that the myth cannot be reconciled with Ford Archive evidence on the chronology of productivity growth and the composition of costs. A concluding section sets the moving assembly line in historical perspective by reinterpreting Fords achievement as the realisation of flow in repetitive manufacturing.

List of exhibits

1 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to BPL 319 2 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to Videocon 321 3 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to Samsung 322 4 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to Sony 324 5 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to LG 325 6 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to Onida 327 7 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to Godrej 328 8 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to Philips 330 9 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to Whirlpool 331 10 Results of GAP Analysis Level of agreeability to Kenstar 333 11 Results of Gap Analysis Level of agreeability to brand extension of BPL 334