CHAPTER 2.

1
PRODUCTION METHODS

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Outline

Type of production methods

Job production
Mass production
Batch production

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Learning Objectives

Explain the strategic importance of process

selection.
Explain the influence that process selection has
on an organization.
Describe the basic processing types.

Production method
1.Jobbing
- A type of process used to make a one at a time product exactly to
customer specification
2.Mass
- A type of process that operates continually to produce a high
volume of a fully standardized product
3.Batch
- A type of process used to produce a small quantity of products in
groups or batches based on customer order or specifications

Job production
- involves producing a one-off product for a specific customer.
- Job production is most often associated with small firms (making railings
for a specific house, building/repairing a computer for a specific customer,
making flower arrangements for a specific wedding etc.) but large firms use
job production too.
Examples include:
Designing and implementing an advertising campaign
Auditing the accounts of a large public limited company
Building a new factory
Installing machinery in a factory
There are a number of features that should be implemented in a job
production environment, they include:
i. Clear definitions of objectives should be set.
ii. Clearly outlined decision making process.

Benefits and disadvantages

Key benefits of job production include:
i. work is generally of a high quality
ii.a high level of customisation is possible to meet the customer's exact
requirements
iii. significant flexibility is possible, especially when compared to
mass production
iv.workers can be easily motivated due to the skilled nature of the work they
are
performing
Disadvantages include:
i. higher cost of production
ii. requires the use of specialist labour (compare with the repetitive, lowskilled jobs
in mass production)
iii. slow compared to other methods (batch production and mass production)

Mass Production

- also called flow production, repetitive flow production,

series production, or
serial production)
- is the production of large amounts of standardized products,
including and
especially on assembly lines.
- The concepts of mass production are applied to various kinds of
products, from fluids and particulates handled in bulk (such as food,
fuel, chemicals, and mined minerals) to discrete solid parts (such as
fasteners) to assemblies of such parts (such as household
appliances and automobiles).
- capital intensive and energy intensive, as it uses a high
proportion of machinery and energy in relation to workers.
-typically uses electric-motor-powered moving tracks or conveyor
belts to move partially complete products to workers, who perform
simple repetitive tasks. It improves on earlier high-throughput,
continuous-flow mass production made possible by the steam
engine.
-It is also usually automated to the highest extent possible. With

Advantages
i.each worker repeats one or a few related tasks that use the same tool to
perform identical or near-identical operations on a stream of products
(improve productivity)
ii.The exact tool and parts are always at hand, having been moved down the
assembly line consecutively. The worker spends little or no time retrieving
and/or preparing materials and tools, and so the time taken to manufacture a
product using mass production is shorter than when using traditional
methods.
iii.probability of human error and variation is also reduced, as tasks are
predominantly carried out by machinery.
iv.A reduction in labour costs, as well as an increased rate of production,
enables a company to produce a larger quantity of one product at a lower cost
than using traditional, non-linear methods.

Disadvantages
i.inflexible because it is difficult to alter a design or production process after a
production line is implemented.
ii.all products produced on one production line will be identical or very
similar, and introducing variety to satisfy individual tastes is not easy.
However, some variety can be achieved by applying different finishes and
decorations at the end of the production line if necessary.

Batch production
-The primary characteristic of batch production is that all components are
completed at a workstation before they move to the next one.
Examples:
1.Batch production is popular in bakeries and in the manufacture of sports
shoes, pharmaceutical ingredients, inks, paints and adhesives.
2.In the manufacture of inks and paints, a technique called a colour-run is used.
A colour-run is where one manufactures the lightest colour first, such as light
yellow followed by the next increasingly darker colour such as orange, then red
and so on until reaching black and then starts over again. This minimizes the
cleanup and reconfiguring of the machinery between each batch. White (by
which is meant opaque paint, not transparent ink) is the only colour that cannot
be used in a colour-run due to the fact that a small amount of white pigment can
adversely affect the medium colours.

-There are inefficiencies associated with batch production. The

production equipment must be stopped, re-configured, and its output
tested before the next batch can be produced. Time between batches
is known as 'down time'.
-Batch production is useful for a factory that makes seasonal items or
products for which it is difficult to forecast demand.
-Batch production are products that are made, very similar and without
too much detail, for example, cars-all cars would have the same body
shape and therefore, all can be made at the same time and with no
extra cost.

Advantages
1.it can reduce initial capital outlay because a single production line can be used
to produce several products.
2.can be useful for small businesses who cannot afford to run continuous
production lines. Also, companies can use batch production as a trial run. If a
retailer buys a batch of a product that does not sell then the producer can cease
production without having to sustain huge losses.

Types of Processing

Product and Service Processes

Low

Volume

High

Process Type

Job Shop

Appliance repair
Emergency room

Ineffective
Commercial
baking

Batch

Classroom
lecture
Automotive
assembly

Repetitive

Automatic
carwash

Continuous
(flow)

Ineffective

Steel production
Water purification