the invention that decided a car should be built by a hundred people who each do one thing forever.
means a manufacturing method that moves a product past stationary workers, each adding one part in sequence instead of one worker building the whole thing.
from henry ford didn't invent the concept but weaponized it in 1913 at highland park, borrowing the moving-belt idea from chicago slaughterhouses that disassembled animals the same way ford would assemble cars.
ford highland park — 1913, detroit, the first moving automotive assembly line
boeing everett factory — largest building by volume, builds 747s and 777s
foxconn longhua — shenzhen, assembles iphones with over 200,000 workers
toyota production system — 1950s japan, added just-in-time and quality stops