As manufacturing unit of the Bell System, Western Electric must be ready
at all times to produce over 200,000 different kinds of apparatus and
component parts for telephone equipment. Each year, about 70,000 of
these are required and manufactured. The quantity of each item produced
varies from one to many millions. Mass production methods are used
wherever possible, but the items required in large quantities are very
much in the minority. In a recent year, less than one per cent of the
products manufactured were made in quantities of over 100,000. About 30
per cent were made in quantities of less than 10.
[Illustration: _Applying lead sheathing to telephone cable._]
[Illustration: _Each of Western Electric’s 29 distributing houses
maintains an efficient repair shop where service-worn telephone
apparatus is reconditioned so that it will give good service once
again._]
Because telephone equipment must be tailor-made—much of it in small
quantities—it is necessary for the manufacturing and supply unit to have
intimate knowledge of Bell System plant everywhere. And since telephone
plant must give trouble-free service 24 hours a day, telephone equipment
must be of the highest quality and built to exact, uniform standards.
Experience has proved that the design, manufacture and operation of
standard telephone equipment can be accomplished best when the
designers, the makers, and the operating people work closely together on
the same team.