O Fordism it is a mode of mass production based on the production line devised by Henry Ford.
It was fundamental for the rationalization of the production process and for low-cost manufacturing and capital accumulation.
Features
O Fordism named after its creator, Henry Ford. This installed the first semi-automated automobile production line in the year 1914.
This would become the management model of the Second Industrial Revolution and would last until the mid-1980s.
This mass production system, called the production line, consisted of assembly lines semi-automatic, made possible by heavy investments in the development of machinery and facilities industrial.
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 decrease in prices was accompanied by a drop in the quality of manufactured products.
Therefore, this model spread around the world and was consolidated in the post-war period, guaranteeing the golden years of prosperity to 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.
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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 this that he established his doctrine, following 3 basic principles:
- Intensification: allows you to streamline production time;
- Economy: aims to keep production balanced with its stocks;
- Productivity: aims to extract the most from each worker's workforce.
Fordism and Taylorism
Henry Ford perfected the precepts of Frederick Taylor, called Taylorism, on the assembly line concept.
While Taylorism sought to increase worker productivity, through the rationalization of movements and production control. Its creator, Taylor, was not concerned with issues of technology, supply of inputs or the arrival of the product on the market.
On the other hand, Ford included verticalization, through which it controlled from the sources of raw materials, to the production of parts and distribution of its 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 implementation of conveyor belts stood out, which take part of the product to be manufactured to employees. These started to perform extremely tiring and repetitive work.
Due to the functional specialization to which they were submitted and by which they were limited, these workers were unable to qualify because they did not know the other stages of production.
In addition to the lack of professional qualification, the workers suffered from a hard working day and few labor rights.
Despite this, the improvement in the standard of living of the industrial working class was remarkable and allowed the establishment of these workers as consumers.
Decline of Fordism
Due to the rigidity of the production method, Fordism began to decline from the 1970s onwards.
At this time, successive oil crises and the entry of the Japanese into the automobile market took place.
The Japanese introduce the 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 replaced by Toyotism. This had been developed by the Japanese factory Toyota.
In Toyotism, employees are specialized, but they are responsible for the quality of the final product.
Unlike Fordism, the product is not stocked. Manufacturing only takes place when there is demand and there is no surplus production. This way you save on storage and purchase of raw materials.
Thus, in the 1970s/1980s, Ford Motor Company lost the position of 1st automaker to General Motors. It is later replaced by Toyota in 2007, when the Japanese automaker becomes the largest in the world.
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