MTFCA Forum

I have random thoughts floating in and out of my ape brain. A question has me frozen up and I know there are huge brains in this club.

Generally speaking: How many days a week did Ford manufacture automobiles?

Did Ford make them work holidays?

Did they normally work 1,2, or 3 shifts per day?

Time for Tylenol.... Thinking time quota filled for today.

Thank You for your input.

According to the book Ford Methods And Ford Shops, in 1914, the work day was 8 hours per shift. Factory workers may work in one, two, or three shifts, depending on the job:

Core makers and heat treat men worked 3 shifts.

Machinists, Car assemblers, Testers, shipping, Stores, and Receiving worked 2 shifts.

Draftsmen, and Office workers worked one shift.

Working 6 days a week was typical 100 years ago. Ford factory 8 hour days was not typical, but worked for dividing a 24 hour day into 3 shifts. Factory workers were allowed 10 minutes for lunch and took it at their work stations, they did receive pay for the time for the lunch break.

Jeff,

Thank You, I figured about that as I do not have the book you quoted. Being as it was an entirely new concept, now put into practice, it makes a lot of sense the manufacturing process, being more labor intensive and thus slower, would be on 3 shift rotation to keep up with the quicker assembly line process.

I'm still wondering about mid week holidays. Did Henry think enough of the men to give them a day off or did he make them work? We may never know.

Thanks Again

If you look at the daily production totals / serial numbers in the book "Ford, The Car That Changed The World" by Bruce McCalley commonly called "The Encyclopedia" it has the data, sorta.
Once you get past the earliest years (before 1913) the daily production is recorded well.
You will have to compare the dates to a calendar to tell what day of the week it was.

You find information like July 4th and 5th 1913 the plant was listed as "closed" plus they were closed Thanksgiving and Christmas
Most weeks were 6 days long but not all the time
Plus there are lots of notes about when production changes were made.

Mike