Production methods Flashcards
(6 cards)
What is Job Production?
Production of a single product at a time by a member of staff. It is usually used for very small orders or where the order is a ‘one off’.
What are the characteristics of Job Production?
Production processes tend to be labour intensive; the workforce usually need to be skilled craftspeople.
What is Batch Production?
The production of a number of standardised products or products that can be easily varied at stages of production.
Batch production allows for large quantities of products to be produced at the same time.
What is Flow Production?
This involves the mass production of a product using a mechanical production line. Once the work on one section of a product has been completed, the product flows down the production line and onto the next task.
Examples include food production (e.g. making large quantities of bread, soup, pies), clothes production (e.g. manufacture of shirts in batches), mass market soft drinks manufacture (e.g. Coca Cola), car assembly lines, and mass production of newspapers.
What is Cell Production?
Cell production or cellular manufacturing involves dividing the manufacturing workplace into ‘cells’. Each cell occupies an area of the factory floor and focuses on a ‘product family’ - a group of products which require a sequence of similar operations.
Examples include furniture manufacturers making parts for a specific kitchen range and the manufacture of mass-made jeans with various features matched to the retailer’s specification.
What do workers in a cell do?
Workers in a cell complete a range of tasks to produce the products to a specification.
