The photo depicts two assemblyline workers installing finished components on a rolling automobile frame, probably a Ford Model T, in 1923. During this period, known as the Progressive Era in the United States, businesses and government demonstrated a particular zeal for scientific management. Developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor, scientific management was the intentional study of manufacturing. Taylor studied all aspects of manufacture, from shoveling coal to the necessity for breaks for laborers to restore physical stamina. Taylor argued that hiring, training, and paying the right person for each task was critical to keeping production levels high. Automobile manufacturers, including Henry Ford and his Ford Motor Company, tried several different manufacturing techniques to organize their manufacturing process.