The assembly line as a manufacturing process dates back to earlier industrial practices, but the modern moving assembly line was invented and popularized by Henry Ford and his team. The key breakthrough occurred in 1913 when Ford introduced the moving assembly line at his Highland Park plant in Michigan. This innovation involved a conveyor belt system that moved the chassis of a vehicle through sequential workstations where workers performed specific tasks. This drastically reduced the assembly time for a car, such as the Model T, from over twelve hours to about 90 minutes. Although Henry Ford did not invent the assembly line concept itself, which dates back to at least the Industrial Revolution and even earlier examples like the Venetian Arsenal in the 12th century, his development of the moving assembly line in 1913 revolutionized mass production across industries. Prior automotive assembly lines existed, for example by Ransom Eli Olds in the early 1900s, but Ford’s implementation with a continuously moving conveyor system marked a turning point in manufacturing efficiency. In summary, the moving assembly line, as we know it, was invented and first utilized by Henry Ford in 1913.
