Ford, Henry

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) is the founder of Ford Motor Company and the man most widely known as the inventor of the moving assembly line. While the first is true, the second common belief is a bit inaccurate. Ford actually popularized the moving assembly line; he didn’t invent it. There were numerous other examples of moving assembly lines prior to Henry Ford’s 1908 line producing the Model T.

Henry Ford in 1919 (courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

In fact, Henry Ford was not even the first to mass produce automobiles in the US. Ransom Olds (of Oldsmobile) beat him to the punch in that area. Henry Ford was just more successful, primarily because of his relentless attack on waste.

Henry Ford’s relentless continuous improvement efforts enabled him to produce the Model T at an extremely low price. This affordability changed the automobile from a luxury item for the rich to a purchase attainable by the masses, forever changing the way people worked and lived.

Henry Ford was one of the inspirations for Taiichi Ohno, an early pioneer of the Toyota Production System, and considered by many to be the founder of modern Lean.