Mass-production
Have you ever wondered how the items you use on a daily basis, like your toothbrush or cell phone, were made? Have you ever considered how many identical copies of these exact same items might exist around the country — or even around the world?
Thanks to mass-production manufacturing, items like toys and toothbrushes can be made quickly and cost-effectively. That makes them less expensive and readily available to consumers. This is possible through the use of assembly lines.
Assembly Lines
An assembly line is a manufacturing process where parts are brought together in a series of work stations. Workers and machines at each station specialize in creating a part or adding parts to a semi-finished product. By the end of the line, the product is completed, checked for quality, and can be packaged for shipment.
Assembly lines are now used to create almost every product you can name. Cars, phones, appliances, toys, clothing, shoes, paper, pencils, computers, Christmas cards...
Some types of assembly lines rely entirely on machines while others need a combination of machines and human workers to mass-produce a product.
One-person Assembly Lines
Assembly lines optimize the flow of raw materals and parts, and the use of machines and workers.
Optimize: (verb) To make the best use of a situation, opportunity, or resource.
The assembly line method can also be used to organize one person's work. Instead of the unfinished product moving from place to place, tasks are split-up and ordered to reduce the amount of time it takes to create a finished product. Materials, tools, and tasks are organized to minimize time lost looking for things or switching between different kinds of work. The following video shows how one woman applies this method to create a set of matching thank you cards.
Note that several tasks, such as cutting smaller pieces, were completed before the video starts. Preparing similar pieces at the same time for later assembly is common when using the assembly line method by yourself.