Plan No. 1104. Occupations in the Automobile Manufacturing Industry
Acknowledgment
This monograph was prepared by M. R. Bass, special agent of the Federal Board for Vocational education. Acknowledgment is due to Dr. John Cummings of the research division for editorial assistance.
The purpose of this monograph is to give a brief description of some of the work done in the manufacture of automobiles. No attempt has been made, however, to go into the machine shop side of the industry, a field in which lie possibilities for placing thousands of reeducated men in good positions. The monograph is limited to automobile assembly work.
Manufacturing automobiles and automobile accessories is one of the foremost industries of the United States. One manufacturer alone is known to have turned out more than 3,500 complete automobiles in one day, and to have turned out in one year some 350,000 cars. Many concerns produce from 50,000 to 125,000 cars annually. The 1914 census of the industry gives the value of the automobile products as $632,831,474, and wonderful changes in the last four years have greatly increased the value of the products of this industry, which was practically unknown 20 years ago.
A recent study developed the fact that there are some 85 occupations in the automobile manufacturing industry, which in its various branches offers excellent opportunities to mechanics, apprentices, and men who wish to take up a new trade. A man with even very limited qualifications can surely fit in somewhere.
The industry is still growing rapidly and branching out into what may be called an automotive industry, embracing the manufacture of motor trucks, tractors, and airplanes, as well as of automobiles. A mechanic in one branch of the industry may shift easily to other branches.
Certain factories have discontinued general manufacturing, and have specialized in the manufacture of automobile units or parts, such as engines, transmissions, frames, and axles, and the manufacturer who used to build practically all of his automobile has been persuaded to buy certain units from these specialty manufacturers. Small manufacturers have thus been enabled to build a part of a car and to buy the rest from unit manufacturers, and many small factories have been started in this way.
Work in the various automobile factories varies from purely unskilled to highly skilled labor. The unskilled employments include those of machine operators, assemblers, subassemblers, tool room keepers, janitors, watchmen, and checkers, while the skilled employments include those of special machine men, tool makers, die sinkers, heat-treatment experts, dynamometer testers, ignition experts, inspectors and general mechanical experts.
Good wages are paid, common laborers in some plants receiving from $3 to $5 per day. Well-trained, skilled mechanics, of course, earn much higher rates.
Standardization of automobile parts is gradually bringing about standardization of the automobile as a whole, which greatly simplifies the work of the mechanic who builds and repairs automobiles.
Trucks are being more extensively used by wholesale and retail merchants. Overland freight is being carried by truck trains, between small towns, and even long-distance hauling is meeting with success. This increased motor-truck service is increasing the demand for mechanics in the factories, and also for truck drivers.
Automobile factories are usually located in large cities, where raw material and supplies are at hand. Shipping and labor conditions also are carefully considered. A very large percentage of the automobile output is manufactured in the States of Michigan, Ohio, New York, and Indiana. The State of Michigan alone produced 80 per cent or four-fifths of the pleasure vehicles manufactured in 1914.
Organization of an Automobile Plant
Large plants are made up of a number of departments. The office is the chief executive department. Here the plant is checked up, all correspondence taken care of, and all financial, educational, and business matters attended to. Closely connected with the office usually are the drafting rooms, where new models, changes in models, and experimental changes are made, since all such changes are first made on drawings. The engineering and experimental departments may also be located in the office building. In the experimental department all changes are worked out, and research work is carried on. If such changes prove to be a betterment they are made on the blue prints, and are then made in the factory throughout. Since even a minor change may cost the factory thousands of dollars, all changes must be carefully considered.
Other departments include those organized for engine, frame, axle, and chassis assembly, the paint department, and other departments according to size of factory and product manufactured, whether a complete automobile or an automobile unit.
The staff of men who handle a department usually includes a general superintendent, assistant superintendent, department foreman, section foreman, timekeeper, inspectors, and checkers.
The superintendent in many cases is a man who has come up through the ranks, and superintendents of this kind are usually the most efficient. Assistant superintendents, foremen, and others also are usually men picked from the ranks. Men with common-school educations are holding responsible positions in many factories and are drawing large salaries.
In each factory will be found an efficiency man or production manager, whose duties are to put into operation new methods, machines, and devices to increase production.
There will be found also an educational and welfare department in each factory, which looks after the welfare of workers, settles disputes between workmen and foremen, and in individual cases shifts workers from one shop operation to another. As a rule, the hospital or first-aid division is located in this department, which may undertake also the organization of training classes in such subjects as will increase efficiency, and may arrange for entertainments and the organization of clubs.
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.
Plan No. 1105. Placing the Frame
The frame with its necessary brackets and springs having been assembled in a subassembly department, is placed upon the conveyer. Where the frame is heavy, an air or hydraulic hoist is used. This operation is usually done by two men, who must be able to move about freely but are not compelled to climb or to move rapidly. A man capable of hooking a chain to the frame and who is able to move a short distance can easily qualify.
Plan No. 1106. Front and Rear Axles
The frame having been placed upon the conveyer, the spring and front and rear axles are then attached. The rear axles are usually mounted by two men with the aid of a hoist. These axles like the frame have been assembled in a subassembly department of the factory.
The men who attach the axles to the frames need not be expert mechanics but must know how to handle wrenches and hand tools. They must be able to move about freely and be able to start the nuts or bolts and tighten them. Special tools are used where possible to save time. Time is a big factor in this department. If the mechanic does not complete his operation in a given number of feet on the conveyer, he will interfere with the next operation. The conveyer is moving all the time and he must complete his operation within his allotted space.
Plan No. 1107. Mounting the Transmission
Following the assembly of the axles to the frame, the transmission gear set is mounted and bolted into place. In many cases the transmission is attached to the engine (unit power plant), in which case this operation is completed when the engine is put into place. The men doing this operation need not be skilled mechanics, but must be able to use hand tools and move about freely. A man with an artificial leg could do this work easily. Again a man with one good hand and part of other could do this work.
Plan No. 1108. Placing the Engine
The engine is the next unit attached to the frame. In placing the engine a hoist is used and no heavy lifting is required. The engine is lowered into place and securely bolted. The propeller shaft also is attached and necessary connections are made. Usually the engine has had the carburetor, ignition system, and starting and lighting equipment attached to it in the engine department. For this operation men do not need to be mechanics. A workman must be able to handle hand tools such as wrenches, screw drivers, and hammers, should have strength enough to help place the engine, and should be able to move about freely. This work is all done standing and moving about. All work of this nature is passed upon by an inspector.
Plan No. 1109. Mounting the Radiator
The next operation is mounting and bolting the radiator into place, and connecting the water hoses to the engine. This operation is one that requires sufficient strength to lift the radiator into place, and is usually taken care of by one man. He also must be able to handle hand tools.
Plan No. 1110. Securing the Steering Gear
The steering gear is next secured to the frame, an operation which is usually taken care of by one man with possibly some little assistance by a helper. The operation requires a man who can lift the gear and put it into place. It is rather an awkward piece to handle and the employee should be physically able to handle it.
Plan No. 1111. Wheels and Bearings
The next operation is mounting front wheels and bearings. This requires a little more skill and care than some of the other operations that have been mentioned. The mechanic must clean and lubricate the wheel bearings and mount and adjust the wheels, which must be neither too loose nor too tight. He must also secure his adjustment by means of the locking devices furnished. If he is a careless mechanic he may leave something undone, thereby endangering the lives of users of the car after it leaves the factory.
The man who looks after this operation must be capable of lifting the wheels into place and adjusting them. The operation calls for a man with a normal body, although minor defects would not prevent him from doing the work efficiently.
The rear wheels require practically the same attention that the front wheels do. However, this operation may vary with the particular type of rear-axle construction.
Plan No. 1112. Dash and Instrument Board
The next operation is lowering into place and securely bolting the dash and instrument board. This is commonly taken care of by two men, whose requirements are the same as for axle, transmission, and engine assembly. The operation is unnecessary where the dash is not a separate unit.
Plan No. 1113. Starting the Engine
The dash on some cars has the fuel tank attached to it. In such cases the chassis is now practically completed. We will say it has now reached the end of the conveyer. Here gas and water are put in the containers and the engine is ready to start. This operation is sometimes accomplished by placing the rear wheels of the car between two revolving drums, which will cause the rear wheels to revolve.
The gear-shift lever is placed in some selected gear position and the clutch engaged; this in turn revolves the engine, and if the ignition is switched on, the engine will start. This operation saves considerable energy in cranking, or saves the electric current in the starting battery. After the engine is started, the chassis may be driven away on its own power, an operation which requires a man who can efficiently handle an automobile.
Plan No. 1114. Inspection
The chassis is now driven to the road-test department, where it is inspected for grease in the gear cases and such other inspections as may be necessary. Inspectors here need not be highly trained mechanics. Men with handicaps could take care of this work very nicely.
Plan No. 1115. Road Testing
Possibly a road-test body is next attached to the chassis. This body usually contains sufficient weight (rocks, iron, or sand) to make up the equivalent of the automobile body. The chassis is then given a run over the country roads. Here the trained mechanic is necessary, able to adjust the carburetor, ignition, starting and lighting equipment, brakes, rear axle gears, and clutch. In fact almost any part of the car may need adjustment. He must be able to locate trouble of all kinds. In many cases the chassis test is very limited and the tester makes out a report, the work indicated being done in a department by less skilled mechanics who have specialized in one job, such as, for example, brakes. Where this method is used, the tester must be sure of his report. A road tester need not have a perfect body, but he must have practical experience and be physically able to handle a car.
There are many jobs in the testing department that a handicapped man can do, and the chances for advancement in this department are very good.
Plan No. 1116. Dynamometer Test
After the chassis has passed the inspector of the road-test department it may be given a dynamometer test. This is accomplished by attaching an electric dynamometer to the rear wheels either by belts or chains. The engine is then operated at various speeds and the horsepower developed noted. If it is not up to the average, a close inspection is made to determine where power is lost, whether in the engine, transmission, or rear axle. The dynamometer tester must be a man who has been trained for this particular job. He must understand his machine and be able to use simple formulas. Slight physical disabilities would not interfere with his efficiency. This is a desirable occupation and usually leads to something better.
After the final chassis test the chassis is thoroughly washed and new wheels mounted. This is a job similar to that spoken of under front and rear wheels. The chassis then goes to the paint shop for its final finish. Here the body and fenders are fitted.
Plan No. 1117. In the Painting Department
There are many jobs in the painting department that are very well adapted to a handicapped man. He can become a rubber (one who rubs the surface of a body to make it smooth) if he has only one hand and one good leg. He can learn to paint, or he can learn to do upholstery work. This is one of the branches of the automobile industry in which the work is easy, and being inside work it should be a desirable occupation. The pay is good in any of these branches of the work.
Plan No. 1118. Completing the Cab
Following the body and fenders the top is put on, then the windshield and instruments.
The tires and demountable rims are then mounted. (An old set of tires are used for road-test work.) This is another place where handicapped men may fit in, as certain handicaps would not interfere with the putting on of rims and tires.
Plan No. 1119. Final Inspecting and Testing
The car is now completed and is delivered to the final test department. Here we have inspectors, testers, and checkers. In this department the car is carefully inspected as to missing parts in final assembly, finish, tires, and general condition. An expert makes a final test of the car. He drives it a few miles and notes the general running of the car. He may make final adjustments on the carburetor, etc. If the car passes his inspection, it is carefully checked as to equipment and tagged. In this department the tools are put in and the car made ready for shipment or to be driven away.
The men in this department must be men who have come up through the ranks, or men who are thoroughly familiar with the construction of the particular make of automobile. The inspector is usually a man who is able to fill out reports and keep his records. The checker does similar work, while the final tester must be a mechanic whose judgment of the mechanical condition of the car is not to be questioned. Handicapped mechanics could qualify for this position providing they were able to handle the car properly. One good hand and a part of the other and possibly one leg would allow a man to do this work. Wages are good and the position is a responsible one.
Plan No. 1120. Preparation for Shipping
From the final test department, the car goes to the shipping department. There a crew of men load the cars and block them for shipping. The men employed here must have good strong bodies as they have to move the cars by hand and oftentimes considerable lifting is necessary. A handicapped man could hardly qualify in this work unless his injury had been very slight. Wages for this work are higher than those of common laborers and the work is steady.
Plan No. 1121. Unloading, Storing, and Delivering Cars
The car is now ready for shipment and is transported to the agent of the manufacturer. Here a small crew unloads the cars and takes them to the warehouse for storage.
The men in this unloading crew are usually a little better grade of men than the loaders. Usually each one of these unloaders can drive or steer an automobile. The cars are sometimes driven away from the unloading platform under their own power, while in other cases they are towed at the end of a rope or cable. This branch of work is not very steady, and oftentimes the crews are made up of mechanics from the repair shop.
After the car has been placed in the warehouse for storage some one must check it up. This is usually done by the record clerk. The agent now puts his salesman out to sell the car and after it has been sold it is necessary for some one to deliver it to the customer. The car is brought from the warehouse to the garage or service department where it is inspected. This inspection consists of filling the fuel tank, oil reservoir, radiator, and grease cups, inflating tires, and making a road test. After delivery the customer must be instructed as to the proper way to handle the car, and several men are employed for this service.
After History of the Car
The car is now in the hands of the customer, and after he has had some service out of it, it finally becomes necessary for him to have the car gone over and adjusted. He brings the car to the repair department for this work, which requires various specialists such as, for example, engine specialists, and specialists on ignition. In time the car is practically worn out or the owner wants a new one, and he therefore trades his old car on a new one or sells it outright.
Possibly the used-car dealer gets hold of it for resale. If so, he cleans it up, adjusts it, and possibly has it painted. Here again the services of helpers, mechanics, and salesmen are required.
Eventually the car finds its way to the junk dealer as no longer usable. This dealer tears the car to pieces and sells the brass, aluminum, iron, and steel taken from it. In many cases the car is an orphan—i. e., a car that is no longer manufactured—and the junk dealer saves such parts as may be sold to owners who have cars of the same make, but who are unable to purchase new parts. In this way many old cars are rebuilt and the life of the car extended several years. But in the end the car and its parts find their way to the scrap-iron dealer.
The scrap-iron man carefully assorts the various metals. Frames and other parts are cut to pieces with oxy-acetylene cutting torches, and the pieces are eventually sold to manufacturers, automobile companies, and other buyers. Material used in a car 10 years ago may in some cases be remolded and used in a car of the same make. From the beginning of the first piece made to the return of the junked automobile, the services of many thousands of men, skilled and unskilled, are required at every stage in the manufacture, maintenance, and salvaging of cars.
Conditions of Employment
Working conditions as found in various factories are very good. In most factories the employee receives a great deal of attention. Practically all of the large factories have built hospitals, private schools, lunch rooms, rest rooms, club rooms, and play grounds, and have established welfare departments. The factories have been carefully surveyed and the ventilation and sanitary conditions brought to the highest point of efficiency. The average day is nine hours. Some factories work 8 and a few work 10 hours per day.
Living conditions are good in practically every locality where the automobile industry may be located. Street-car systems allow employees to live out in suburbs, where their rents are cheaper and where they may have small gardens.
There are some occupations, as stated above, which are not the most desirable for a man who has the education and ability to learn something better, but many of these occupations pay good wages, the work is steady, and the man can always find employment in them. Very few of the factories shut down during normal years, which means that a man is practically insured of steady work.
Motor Truck and Tractor Assembly
What has been said here concerning automobile assembly applies equally to motor truck and tractor assembly.