2.The“American system”of mass production originated in the firearms industry about 1800 required precision engineering to create parts that were interchangeable,which allowed the final product to be assembled in stages,each worker specializing in a specific operation2. The “American system” of mass production • originated in the firearms industry about 1800. • required precision engineering to create parts that were interchangeable, which allowed the final product to be assembled in stages, each worker specializing in a specific operation