Frank George Woollard

Frank George Woollard MBE (22 September 1883 – 22 December 1957), was a British mechanical engineer who worked for nearly three decades in the British motor industry in various roles in design, production, and management. He was a pioneer in what is today called "Lean management," but whose work has been forgotten.

Woollard is regarded as one of the fathers of the British motor industry for his major contributions to flow production, progressive management practices, and industrial automation. In 1918, Woollard was awarded Member of Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his work on in improving the design and production of tank gearboxes, which had been the bottleneck in tank production during World War I. Woollard’s innovative work at Morris Engines Limited, later known as Morris engines branch, beginning in 1923, enabled Morris Motors Limited to grow rapidly and achieve a commanding 34 percent domestic market share by 1930.

Born in London, England, his father George was a butler and his mother Emily (Powell) was a kitchen maid, Woollard was educated at City of London School where he excelled in mathematics and science. In 1914, Woollard married Catherine Elizabeth Richards, and they gave birth to a son who died in infancy and daughter Joan Elizabeth on 20 September 1916. Miss Joan Woollard died on 30 January 2008.

Upon completing his education at City of London School, Woollard apprenticed for five years as a mechanical engineer at the London and South Western Railway starting in 1899. His first experience with a basic form of flow production was in the manufacture of railway coaches in 1904. Around 1905 he entered the British automotive industry as an auto parts designer. In 1910 he joined E G Wrigley & Co Limited, Birmingham, a maker of gear boxes, axles, and steering components for various British automobile companies, as chief draftsman in a department with a professional staff of 18, then in 1914 Woollard assumed responsibilities as production engineer. He re-organized production from batch to a simple form of flow to meet increased orders for vehicle components. In January 1918 he was appointed assistant managing director of Wrigley's.

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