The Fordism is a mass production mode based on the production line designed by Henry Ford.
It was fundamental for the rationalization of the production process and for low-cost manufacturing and capital accumulation.
Features
The Fordism was named in honor of its creator, Henry Ford. It installed the first semi-automated car production line in 1914.
This would become the management model of the Second Industrial Revolution and last until the mid-1980s.
This mass production system, called the production line, consisted of semiautomatic assembly lines, made possible by heavy investments for the development of machinery and industrial installations.
Fordism, in turn, made these products accessible to the mass consumer market, as it reduced the cost of production and made the articles produced cheaper.
Note that the drop in prices was accompanied by a drop in the quality of manufactured products.
As a result, this model spread across the world and was consolidated in the post-war period, guaranteeing the golden years of prosperity for developed countries.
Furthermore, it caused unprecedented economic growth and allowed the creation of social welfare societies in these countries. The production pattern reached other production lines, mainly in the steel and textile sectors.
Henry Ford and Fordism
Henry Ford (1863-1947) was the creator of the Ford automobile production system in his factory, the “Ford Motor Company”.
It was from it that he established his doctrine, following 3 basic principles:
- Intensification: allows to streamline production time;
- Economy: aims to keep production balanced with its stocks;
- Productivity: aims to extract the maximum labor from each worker.
Fordism and Taylorism
Henry Ford perfected Frederick Taylor’s precepts, called Taylorism , about the assembly line concept.
While Taylorism sought to increase worker productivity, by rationalizing movements and controlling production. Its creator, Taylor, was not concerned with questions of technology, supply of inputs or the arrival of the product on the market.
On the other hand, Ford included verticalization, by which he controlled from the sources of raw materials, to the production of parts and distribution of his vehicles. These would be the main differences between the two methods.
Fordism innovations
The main innovations of Fordism are of a technical and organizational nature.
Among them, the implantation of moving walkways, which take part of the product to be manufactured to the employees, stood out. These began to perform extremely exhausting and repetitive work.
Due to the functional specialization to which they were subjected and for which they were limited, these workers were not able to qualify, because they did not know the other stages of production.
In addition to the lack of professional qualification, the workers suffered from the hard working hours and the few labor rights.
Despite this, the improvement in the standard of living of the industrial working class was notable and allowed the establishment of these workers as consumers.
Decline of Fordism
Due to the rigidity of the production method, Fordism started to decline in the 1970s.
At this time, successive oil crises and the Japanese entry into the automobile market took place.
The Japanese introduce Toyotism , that is, the Toyota production system, in which the use of electronics and Robotics stands out.
Fordism and Toyotism
In the 70s, the Fordist production model was being replaced by Toyotism. This had been developed by the Japanese Toyota plant.
In Toyotismo, the employees are specialized, but are responsible for the quality of the final product.
Unlike Fordism, the product is not stocked. Manufacturing only occurs when there is demand and there is no production surplus. This way you save on storage and purchase of raw material.
Thus, already in the decade of 1970/1980, Ford Motor Company loses the post of 1st assembler for General Motors. It is later replaced by Toyota in 2007, when the Japanese automaker becomes the largest in the world.