Editing Assembly line (section)

===Industrial Revolution===

The [[Industrial Revolution]] led to a proliferation of manufacturing and invention. Many industries, notably [[textile]]s, [[firearm]]s, [[clockmaking|clocks and watches]],<ref name = "xovodv">[[G.N. Georgano]] 1985.{{full citation needed|date=December 2014}}</ref> [[horse-drawn vehicle]]s, [[Locomotive|railway locomotives]], [[sewing machine]]s, and [[bicycle]]s, saw expeditious improvement in materials handling, machining, and assembly during the 19th century, although modern concepts such as [[industrial engineering]] and [[logistics]] had not yet been named.

[[File:PulleyShip.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Pulley#Block and tackle|pulley block]] was the first manufactured product to become fully automated, at the [[Portsmouth Block Mills]] in the early 19th century.]]

The automatic [[flour]] [[Mill (grinding)|mill]] built by [[Oliver Evans]] in 1785 was called the beginning of modern [[bulk material handling]] by Roe (1916). Evans's mill used a leather belt bucket elevator, [[screw conveyor]]s, canvas belt conveyors, and other mechanical devices to completely automate the process of making flour. The innovation spread to other mills and breweries.<ref>{{harvnb|Roe|1916|p=}}{{page needed|date=December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hounshell|1984|p=}}{{page needed|date=December 2014}}</ref>

Probably the earliest industrial example of a linear and continuous assembly process is the [[Portsmouth Block Mills]], built between 1801 and 1803. [[Marc Isambard Brunel]] (father of [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]), with the help of [[Henry Maudslay]] and others, designed 22 types of machine tools to make the parts for the rigging [[Block (sailing)|blocks]] used by the [[Royal Navy]]. This factory was so successful that it remained in use until the 1960s, with the workshop still visible at [[HMNB Portsmouth|HM Dockyard]] in [[Portsmouth]], and still containing some of the original machinery.<ref>Coad, Jonathan, ''The Portsmouth Block Mills : Bentham, Brunel and the start of the Royal Navy's Industrial Revolution'', 2005, {{ISBN|1-873592-87-6}}.{{page needed|date=November 2019}}</ref>

One of the earliest examples of an almost modern factory layout, designed for easy material handling, was the [[Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company|Bridgewater Foundry]]. The factory grounds were bordered by the [[Bridgewater Canal]] and the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]]. The buildings were arranged in a line with a railway for carrying the work going through the buildings. [[Crane (machine)|Cranes]] were used for lifting the heavy work, which sometimes weighed in the tens of tons. The work passed sequentially through to erection of framework and final assembly.<ref>{{harvnb|Musson|Robinson|1969|pp=491–5}}</ref>

[[File: Bridgewater foundary.gif|thumb|left|The [[Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company|Bridgewater Foundry]], pictured in 1839, one of the earliest factories to use an almost modern [[Process layout|layout]], workflow, and material-handling system]]

The first flow assembly line was initiated at the factory of [[Richard Garrett & Sons]], Leiston Works in [[Leiston]] in the [[English county]] of [[Suffolk]] for the manufacture of [[portable steam engine]]s. The assembly line area was called '[[Long Shop Museum|The Long Shop]]' on account of its length and was fully operational by early 1853. The [[boiler]] was brought up from the foundry and put at the start of the line, and as it progressed through the building it would stop at various stages where new parts would be added. From the upper level, where other parts were made, the lighter parts would be lowered over a balcony and then fixed onto the machine on the ground level. When the machine reached the end of the shop, it would be completed.
<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.industriouseast.org.uk/index.php?pageId=147&anchor=164&filter=gb |title= Long Shop Museum |access-date= 2012-12-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150601151902/http://www.industriouseast.org.uk/index.php?pageId=147&anchor=164&filter=gb |archive-date= 2015-06-01 |url-status= dead }}{{full citation needed|date= December 2014}}</ref>