Henry Ford and Mass Production
Henry Ford (1863–1947) was an American industrialist who designed and produced a highly successful range of cars. At a time when cars were largely (1)___________ a luxury, Ford produced the affordable Model T, which was to transform both ordinary people’s lives and factory production systems. Ford’s vision was to produce a car (2)___________ for the average person, and this meant reducing production costs and therefore the price to the final customer. In most factories at the time, each skilled worker was responsible for putting together the whole product, a process that was both time-consuming and expensive. (3)___________, Ford gave each worker a single task to perform repeatedly as the vehicle passed along a moving belt. This assembly line system, as it (4)___________ to be known, was much more efficient, reducing the price of the car. This meant ordinary people could afford one, increasing their personal freedom and allowing cities to grow. Ford’s assembly line system was eventually (5)___________ up by other industries and, by revolutionising manufacturing processes, it fuelled economic growth in the USA and globally in the twentieth century.