modern industrial and commercial practise-1.6 Flashcards
(28 cards)
what is one-off production?
production where a single, bespoke garment is made by a single, high skilled worker and is produced for a customer and fits their personal specification
what are some examples of one-off produced products?
-wedding dresses
-a custom made suit or dress finished to a very high standard
-a theatre costume
-haute couture garments
what does haute couture mean?
high-end fashion that is constructed by hand from start to finish and is made from top-quality components and materials
what are the 2 advantages of one off production?
- the garment can be made to fit the client’s specification
- the garment is made to an extremely high quality
what are the disadvantages of one-off production?
-extremely costly due to the complexity of the design, decoration, and the use of high end materials and components
-no bulk discount on materials and components
-high labour costs- one skilled person usually makes the garment
-the need for high levels of quality control throughout the process makes it extremely costly
what is batch production?
production which involves a team of workers working together to make a set of identical products- batches of clothing can range from 2 to more than 100,000 items
what are the advantages of batch production?
-products are cheaper as bulk purchasing or fabrics and components is possible
-the manufacturing set up can be altered
-products are less complex in design and use standardised components
-planned quality control checks can be done by checking a specified number of products from each batch
what are some examples of batch produced products?
-seasonal products such as fashion tops and shorts
-ready to wear (pret a porter) ranges
-textile merchandise products produced for specific events e.g the olympic games
what is mass production?
a production method which manufactures large numbers of identical products over a long period of time. the work flows through the factory in a straight line and every operation is timed.
what are the advantages of mass production?
-workers become skilled in just one part of the manufacture
-CAM is used as much as possible to cut labour costs
-bulk-buying of fabrics and components results in very low unit cost per item
-reduces time and cost
-mass production using machinery which is not reliant on humans typically, reducing human error and ensuring products are not wasted.
what are the disadvantages of mass production?
-the set up is inflexible and initially very costly. It takes a long time to change if the product is changed and one problem can halt the production line.
-mass production is not typically used for clothing because fashion trends and consumer demands are continuously changing . However, some factories may specialise in specific products that will be guaranteed to sell such as basic tops and jeans.
-as workers typically only become skilled in just one part of manufacture, they may need to be re-trained to do other parts of work
-can be very boring for workers, as they are continuously manufacturing the same products over and over again.
what are some examples of mass produced products?
-classic products that never go out of fashion- e.g jeans
-items that are in continual demand- e.g white shirts
-simple, untailored products- e.g t-shirts
what is progressive bundle production?
each worker receives a bundle of unfinished garments and performs a single manufacturing process on each garment before the bundle is moved forward to the next worker
what is synchronised/straight line production?
one person performs one task on a product before it is moved on to the next station. The delivery of work to the work stations is synchronised, meaning the products spend exactly the same time at each work station.
what is continual flow production?
production which is used for high-volume products where the line runs continuously and never shuts down. it is highly automated and used to produce simple items at very cheap prices.
what is quick response manufacturing?
a manufacturing strategy that reduces lead times, enabling manufacturers to quickly respond to market demands when manufacturing small numbers of identical products.
small teams or production cells complete products from start to finish by sharing tasks and equipment set out in a horse shoe arrangement- as the workers share tasks,they can become more skilled as the jobs that they complete change day by day according to what is being made. Workers may work in a horseshoe arrangement with a set of around 8 machines to complete individual garments, passing the unfinished garment from one machine to the next.
what are the benefits of quick response manufacturing?
-motivated workforce
-faster productivity and efficiency as one product is made by multiple different people
-reduction in the cost of keeping large volumes of stock
-fast changeover to supply changing fashion trends
-allows a worker to become skilled in multiple different sections of production as the tasks are shared, therefore their role in production changes day by day. This is in contrast to unit system production where workers become specialised in one section and may become bored or need to be trained continuously when new product styles are introduced.
what are lead times?
the time between the start and completion of the production of a product
what are unit production systems?
a garment manufacturing system where computers plan, control, set the rate of delivery and direct the flow of work as the garment is transported to operators via a computer controlled overhead hanging system. The garment is placed on hangers and hung onto the conveyor belt system, transporting the unfinished garment directly to the next worker. Some construction can even take place with the garment still attached to the overhead conveyor belt.
how do unit production systems work?
the sections of the product are loaded onto a hanging carrier and brought via the conveyor belt to another operator/worker to sew or complete the next section. The rate of the production is pre-determined and the computer sets the speed at which sections of the product are taken to the operator.
how are unit production systems ergonomically designed?
by minimising the handling of the garment
what is the disadvantage of unit production systems?
-the installation is initially costly and workers may need specialist training in order to use the machinery
what are the advantages of unit production systems?
-allows for a quick response to market demands and new trends- it allows as many as 40 different styles to be produced at one time.
-labour costs are reduced as there is no handling of bundles
-problems are immediately obvious-intergrated quality control
-provides high levels of quality as the garments are hung at each stage of manufacture
-space is used effectively and the total workload of the factory can be balanced efficiently.
-greater operator efficiency
what is section production and how does it work?
a production method where an operator or worker specialises in one section of a product- it is a development of one-off/bespoke manufacturing, but is on a larger scale to reduce costs. For example, if a shirt were being made, one person would sew the fronts including pockets and making the buttonholes, then another person would make the back of the shirt, then it would be passed onto the next worker, who joins the back of the shirt with the front that the first worker sewed. This would then continue until the shirt was complete.
