Continuous Process Improvement: The Lessons of History BADM 701 Dr. Ron Lembke

Cotton Gin at Work

Eli Whitney Introduced interchangeable parts in large musket contract for U.S. Army Interchangeable parts the true secret of Ford’s success Made possible by advances in measurement and tool steel

Tool Steel Advances

Beginning of Standards Before standardized parts, need Screws 1860s Machine Tool industry: Silicon Valley of its day All screws custom made by tool & die shops according to what they thought best William Sellers: 1864 “On a Uniform System of Screw Threads”

Sellers vs. Whitworth Sellers objectively better Easier: simple angle vs. difficult; rounded top vs. straight 3 cutters & 2 lathes vs. 1 cutter & 1 lathe

Not Just What you Know Machine tool makers didn’t want to be commoditized like gun makers The standard people expect to win usually does. Navy Board found it superior, asked Singer Sewing Machine, Baldwin Locomotive which would win (already adopted). Pennsylvania RR adopted (Sellers on the Board) British tanks & trucks couldn’t be repaired in WWII because Britain adopted Whitworth

Frederick W. Taylor Scientific Management Searching for the “One Best Way” to do a process Find ways to improve work environment and work processes Quantify, measure & track everything: Time required to haul wheelbarrow:

Factory Life Henry Noll “Schmidt” Taylor’s Factory

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Systematically study a work environment and find the best way to achieve a particular task With Taylor, pioneered “industrial engineering” -- time and motion studies “Cheaper by the Dozen”

Motion Capture Lights illuminate key motion joints For Computer Generation, convert to 3D

Barry Zito

Chronocyclegraph light-1914

Bricklayer Hourly output up from 125 to 350

Typesetter

Drill Press

The Entire Work Environment Color coded slots Groove for grabbing pencil

ErgonomicsTo day

Ergonomics Then

Continuous Process Improvement Eli Whitney and Interchangeable Parts William Sellers and the rise of standards Frederick Winslow Taylor and Scientific Management Frank & Lillian Gilbreth and time and motion study