what is mass production 
mass production is the manufacturing of large quantities of standardized products often using assembly lines or automation technology mass production facilitates the efficient production of a large number of similar products mass production is also referred to as flow production repetitive flow production series production or serial production in mass production mechanization is used to achieve high volume detailed organization of material flow careful control of quality standards and division of labor an early example of the demand for standardized products in large quantities came from military organizations and their need for uniforms and other supplies precision machining equipment has led to large scale demand for mass produced products created cheaply with small workforces understanding mass productionhenry ford founder of ford motor co f developed the assembly line technique of mass production in 1913 he pioneered the moving assembly line for production of the ford model t automobile the reduced manufacturing time for parts allowed the company to apply the same method to chassis assembly and drastically reduced the time it took to build the model t automobile 1ford continued to refine the process even hiring someone who studied the way people moved most efficiently from 1908 to 1927 ford built more than 15 million model t cars 2 as a result of ford s mass production cars became something that the general public could afford rather than a luxury item that only a limited number of people had access to since then ford s concept of time and space efficient production has been adopted by most industries lowering the costs of everyday items advantages of mass productionmass production has many advantages if production is stringently monitored mass production can result in a high level of precision because production line machines have preset parameters mass production also results in lower costs because the automated assembly line production process requires fewer workers manufacturers can produce products in batches thereby reducing the time and cost of machine setup in addition mass production can create higher levels of efficiency because mass produced items can be assembled at a quicker rate through automation rapid assembly aids the prompt distribution and marketing of an organization s products that in turn can create a competitive advantage and higher profits for a company for example mcdonald s mcd has a competitive advantage in the fast food industry because of the speed at which it can produce a meal for time conscious customers disadvantages of mass productionhowever not everything about mass production is beneficial establishing an automated assembly line is capital intensive and requires a significant up front investment of time and resources if there is an error in the production design an extensive investment of time and money may be necessary to redesign and rebuild mass production processes a revision of the mass production processes may be required for reasons other than errors for example if a pharmaceutical company has a comprehensive assembly line in place for the production of a popular drug it would be time consuming and expensive for them to respond to a u s food and drug administration fda regulatory change requiring a different production process while an advantage of mass production is that it can reduce labor costs employees who remain part of an assembly line may lack motivation because their tasks are repetitive the boredom caused by repetitive work can lead to low employee morale and increased levels of turnover manufacturers are experimenting with the integration of three dimensional 3d printers in the mass production of everyday products example of mass productionmass production now touches most of what american consumers buy from cars to clothing to toothbrushes for example in 1954 every marshmallow peep took 27 hours to make by hand with the introduction of the assembly line this time requirement had been reduced to six minutes per peep and an average of 5 5 million peeps are made every day as of 2024 3ford took its assembly lines one step further introducing robots that could unload a die casting press in 1961 now robotics play a major part in much mass production with humans standing in as quality assurance 4