Progressive Assembly Method of Manufacturing
Progressive assembly means assembly of parts by stages, or step by step. In this work a man does one operation only, although he may be frequently changed from job to job, according to his ability as workman or mechanic.
Special equipment is required for this method. The work starts with the frame as a skeleton, which is placed either on a conveyer, that is moved very slowly, or on a special framework equipped with casters that it may be moved freely from place to place.
Where the conveyer is used, the conveyer is from 100 to 200 feet long, and moves at the rate of about two feet per minute, although the rate varies from factory to factory. By the time the frame or skeleton reaches the end of the conveyor the automobile is practically complete. The various units have been attached as the frame moves slowly down the floor. In some factories the automobile is so completely assembled that the engine is started and, after a short road test, the car is driven to the shipping platform. This means that in some factories an automobile is completely assembled in less than an hour. As the automobiles are placed close together on the conveyer a finished machine is turned out every minute or so.
Let us now proceed through the progressive assembly by units.