Ford to stop production of the F150... tonight?

[dragoneggs]

Toyota CEO credited Henry Ford for the introduction of JIT. Just in Time, Henry Ford's Contributions, Lean Manufacturing, Toyota

"When researchers examine the Japanese industrial renaissance they often find American ideas. This article describes such a situation. In 1980, Norman Bodek of Productivity Press searched for the origin of Toyota’s production system and its just-intime (JIT) method of production supply and inventory control. Interviewing retired CEO Taichi Ohno, who is credited with creating the Toyota System, Bodek inquired about the development of Toyota’s JIT method of production supply and inventory control:

Mr Ohno replied that he learned it all from Henry Ford’s book Today and Tomorrow. This conversation led to the reprinting of Ford’s book 62 years after its writing (Petersen, 1990, p. 95).

In searching further for the origin of this innovation, one could argue that Frederick W. Taylor might have influenced this accomplishment at the Ford Motor Company. Rising to fame around the same time, Taylor and Ford were aware of each other’s accomplishments. The purpose of this article is to explore the possible influence that Taylor had on the development of JIT production methods at the Ford Motor Company and then show how Ernest Kanzler developed this approach in collaboration with Henry Ford[1].

Following a short overview of JIT production methods, this article will summarize the experience and views of Henry Ford. Then a description of Frederick Taylor’s scientific management will be followed by a more detailed discussion of the possible influence that Taylor had on the development of JIT production methods at the Ford Motor Company. This article will then concentrate on the work of Ernest Kanzler and Henry Ford in developing JIT production methods" (emphasis, mine).

Good stuff, Eric! From my teachings, JIT wasn't institutionalized until after WWII. The Japanese did not have capital and were trying to rebuild quickly with Toyota leading the way.

True enough... Ford's moving assembly line ushered in JIT as a natural fit to make it truly flow, but batch processing was still the norm until Toyota got it going on a big coordinated scale.

That said, one can study the B-17 bomber production in WWII by Boeing and Ford. My numbers might be off but I think the Boeing Seattle was pumping out 15 airplanes per day in the early 40's. And mostly built by women. Wasn't moving assembly line, but I am sure it was JIT!

 

[ch47dpilot]

Just like land, they aren't making any more oil. What we got is what we got and that's it.

Not a scientist, engineer or geologist but I truly don't believe this. It seems like every 10-15 years the sky is falling and the oil will run out tomorrow. Then "new"
oil is discovered. I always wonder if oil is really just something the earth naturally produces over time.

 

[robertsa]

Not a scientist, engineer or geologist but I truly don't believe this. It seems like every 10-15 years the sky is falling and the oil will run out tomorrow. Then "new"
oil is discovered. I always wonder if oil is really just something the earth naturally produces over time.

Oil is something the Earth naturally produces over time. Unfortunately, the time it takes is hundreds of thousands of years so not anywhere near fast enough to be considered a renewable resource; no reputable party is arguing that point. If you can access this website then it means you can also hit up Google and educate yourself.

 

[GLyford]

The formation of oil deposits occurred when there were fewer microbes capable of breaking down the carbon in woody plants. So there were these huge accumulations of plant material that just did nothing but sit around and get covered up.

The conditions that lead to the buildup of fossil fuels are no longer happening; nature has found a way to recapture that chemical energy much earlier in the process now, rather than just accumulate...

 

[zing]

The formation of oil deposits occurred when there were fewer microbes capable of breaking down the carbon in woody plants. So there were these huge accumulations of plant material that just did nothing but sit around and get covered up.

The conditions that lead to the buildup of fossil fuels are no longer happening; nature has found a way to recapture that chemical energy much earlier in the process now, rather than just accumulate...

Sort of... what you are describing is how the woody plants (it was the cellulose in the wood that microbes could not break down) you find on land piled up to create coal beds. Oil formation was a similar process of organic material piling up, but it was at the bottom of the ocean. Move the same process up north under the ice, and you have the formation of peat. All of these processes take huge amounts of time.

I agree with the point you and robertsa are making though. Just because new technology lets us find or get access to fuel deposits that we couldn't get access to before, does not mean more oil is being made by the earth fast enough to replenish what we are consuming.

 

[goeduck]

So I am not recycling dinosaurs when I fill up my tank? I thought I was being ecogreen. :irked:

 

[MinnesotaEric]

So I am not recycling dinosaurs when I fill up my tank? I thought I was being ecogreen. :irked:

The Russians tended to think that oil is a naturally occurring mineral (abiotic oil) while western thinking is that oil is old biomass turned to goo.

Scientists Prove Abiotic Oil Is Real!

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

The explosion at Meridian was about six miles from my house and actually woke my wife up. It blew a huge hole in the roof and because it was a magnesium fire they just had to let it burn out. Fire fighters just got access to the source a day or two ago. Luckily it was during shift change and only two were injured, no one died.

Some production has resumed at that facility but it may take four to six months to get going 100% again. I expect Meridian has the ability to move production to their other facilities but that takes time too. I work for another automotive supplier and we are affected with the shutdown. FCA (Chrysler) and GM will also be affected at some level. I did hear that this won’t hurt Ford because inventory was getting high and now they don’t have to offer huge incentives to reduce it.

This stuff happens a lot. Just last week there was a strike at a plant that had the supply chain slowing down. For suppliers, supplying many different platforms is the best way to absorb this type of thing. The OEM’s don’t like to dual source components due to quality and traceability issues. The trade off is risks like this can shut down an entire plant.

 

[bcp]

I wonder if that has to do with the aluminum body parts? I could see how one supplier would make those.


Oops I read it again. Instrument panel. Me not smart.

The CarDashians sure keep finding ways to stay in the news.



Bruce

 

[vvanders]

Good stuff, Eric! From my teachings, JIT wasn't institutionalized until after WWII. The Japanese did not have capital and were trying to rebuild quickly with Toyota leading the way.

True enough... Ford's moving assembly line ushered in JIT as a natural fit to make it truly flow, but batch processing was still the norm until Toyota got it going on a big coordinated scale.

That said, one can study the B-17 bomber production in WWII by Boeing and Ford. My numbers might be off but I think the Boeing Seattle was pumping out 15 airplanes per day in the early 40's. And mostly built by women. Wasn't moving assembly line, but I am sure it was JIT!

The history on that is actually pretty interesting, Kaizen[1] was actually came about as part of the Marshall plan where post WW2 factory experience was brought over from the US to help rebuild Japan. I want to say there was a fascinating This American Life covering the NUMMI plant that dug into it a little bit. Highly recommend the episode.

[1] Kaizen - Wikipedia