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Period: to
Manufacturing
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Ransom E Olds patents first Assembly Line
Ransom was a car manufacturer and patented the assembly line in 1901 increasing his companies production by 500%. -
U.S Steel is formed
Banking magnate J.P. Morgan co-founded U.S. Steel in 1901 by merging the steel empire built by Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel with the Federal Steel Company and National Steel Company. -
Ford Invents the Modern Assembly Line
By 1913, Ford had broken down the production of the Model T into 84 distinct steps, and each worker was trained on just one of these steps along a moving line which brought the work to the workers. Using Eli Whitney’s concept of interchangeable parts and the conveyor belt systems he had seen used in grain mills, Henry Ford invented the modern assembly line. -
Taft Creates US Department of Labor
Taft is responsible for signing the creation of the US Department of Labor in 1913. The D.O.L. is responsible for promoting the development of wage earners, job seekers, and retirees. Also, the D.O.L. is responsible for many of the laws keeping workers safe, productive, and well compensated. -
World War 1
New military machinery could be produced at a much larger scale and at a much faster rate than before. Along with innovative technology, this led to one of the most devastating wars in human history -
LEAN Manufacturing
Toyota begins developing "Just-in-Time (JIT)" manufacturing and the "automation." These concepts become widely adopted in the 1990s as Lean Manufacturing. -
Fair Labor Standards Act is Established
In 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which mandated standards like the 40-hour workweek, the minimum wage, and child labor restrictions. It remains the bedrock of American labor law today. -
World War 2
During the war, there was increased demand from businesses to manufacture supplies for the war effort. Factories filled up, and production skyrocketed. Between 1939 and 1944, the nation's gross domestic product increased by roughly 8% each year. -
America Goes to War
America mobilized for war and the charge was led by the country’s massive manufacturing industry. American companies stopped producing consumer goods and retrofitted their factories and assembly lines to produce tanks, planes, fighter engines, and other military necessities. -
Jet Engines Developed
In the year that began the start of America's involvement in World War II, jet engines were developed. In 1942, a group of GE engineers, known as "The Hush-Hush Boys," working non-stop for ten months built America's first jet engine. -
FDR Commits to Biggest Military Buildup in History
He announced to Congress that the first year of the supercharged production schedule would result in 45,000 aircraft, 45,000 tanks, 20,000 antiaircraft guns, and 8 million tons in new ships. -
CAD Starts Being Used
The emergence of computer-aided design (CAD) in the 1950s and 1960s allowed machine tools to make precise and consistent cuts not through the skill of talented tradespeople, but by direction received from computer software programs. -
First Robots Used
Unimation manufactured UNIMATE in 1962, which was the first robot to be implemented by a major manufacturer. -
Kennedy Urges Companies to keep Steel Prices Low
Kennedy was very concerned about inflation. He made special effort to ensure that steel prices did not go up, since steel was a key raw material used in many products. Kennedy convinced labor negotiators to make modest demands for wage improvements. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This event occurred over a weeks time and it brought America together to increase production of different goods so we were more prepared and ready than our rival the Soviet Union. -
Vietnam War
Vietnam-War spending created an almost fully employed labor market Full employment brought with it higher wages, better working conditions, and less job discrimination against women, African Americans, and other minorities. makers were not even clear as to how much was being spent on the military. -
OSHA is Enacted
The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to create and maintain workplaces that are safe from known hazards like extreme temperatures, untethered work at heights, toxic chemicals, excessive noise, and unsanitary conditions. -
American Manufacturing Peaks
The year 1979 represented the pinnacle of U.S. manufacturing, with 19.4 million Americans working in the sector. By early 2010, fewer than 11.5 million manufacturing jobs existed, despite steep population gains over the previous three decades. -
IBM Unveils First PC
IBM began marketing the first practical personal computer in 1981. The moment signaled the greatest transformation in front-office management in the history of manufacturing. -
Six Sigma Developed by Motorola
The quality system seeks to remove defects and minimize errors. This strategy became famous in 1995 when Jack Welch implemented it at GE. -
Bush Signs Clean Air Act
President Bush signs the Clean Air Act of 1990, which tightens air pollution standards and seeks to reduce urban smog, cut acid rain pollution by one-half, and eliminate industrial emissions of toxic chemicals by the end of the 20th century. -
3D Printing Starts Being Used
3D-printing, which can now produce everything from firearm receivers to boat hulls, dramatically increases speed and reduces waste by instead adding materials layer by layer, with the help of CAD software, to create three-dimensional products. -
9/11 Attacks
This tragedy brought America together and made people want to manufacture goods and services to help the country and defeat the terrorists who did it. -
Enterprise Integration Act
The Enterprise Integration Act laid the groundwork for the era of smart manufacturing that drives the sector today. -
Obama Announces Plan to Support Manufacturing
Obama plans on investing More than $300 Million in Emerging Manufacturing Technologies Critical for U.S. Competitiveness.