<P> The Venetian Arsenal, dating to about 1104, operated similar to a production line . Ships moved down a canal and were fitted by the various shops they passed . At the peak of its efficiency in the early 16th century, the Venetian Arsenal employed some 16,000 people who could apparently produce nearly one ship each day, and could fit out, arm, and provision a newly built galley with standardized parts on an assembly - line basis . Although the Venice Arsenal lasted until the early Industrial Revolution, production line methods did not become common even then . </P> <P> The Industrial Revolution led to a proliferation of manufacturing and invention . Many industries, notably textiles, firearms, clocks and watches, horse - drawn vehicles, railway locomotives, sewing machines, and bicycles, 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 . </P> <P> The automatic flour 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 conveyors, canvas belt conveyors, and other mechanical devices to completely automate the process of making flour . The innovation spread to other mills and breweries . </P> <P> 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 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 HM Dockyard in Portsmouth, and still containing some of the original machinery . </P>

Who developed production line innovations that helped the assembly line