1.6 Modern Industrial and Commercial Practice Flashcards
What do manufacturers consider when deciding which production system to use?
- The product type
- The number of items to be made
- The speed of delivery
What is one-off (bespoke) production?
Individually designed and manufactured products that meet a clients personal specification
What are some examples of one-off (bespoke) production?
- A custom made suit or dress
- A theatre costume
- Haute couture garments
Why is one-off production costly?
- Complexity of design, decoration and the use of high quality fabrics
- Fewer economies of scale
- High labour costs
- High levels of quality control
What is batch production?
Teams of workers, skilled in more than one job, work together to make a set number of identical products
What can a batch range from?
From two to more than 100,000 items, making products cheaper as bulk purchasing of fabrics and components is possible
How does batch production work?
- Teams of workers can simultaneously work
- Planned quality contol checks can be done by checking a specified number of products from each batch
What are some examples of batch production?
- Seasonal products such as fashion tops and shorts
- Ready to wear ranges
- Textile merchandise produced for a specific event such as the Olympic Games
What is mass production?
Systems set up to continuously manufacture large numbers of identical products over a long period of time
What is the set up of mass production like?
It is inflexible and initially expensive, i takes a long time to change if the product is changed and one problem can halt the whole production line
What is essential in mass production?
Planned quality contol checks at key stages to avoid costly mistakes later on
What are some examples of mass production?
- Classic products that never go out of fashion (Levi’s jeans)
- Items that are in continual demand (white work or school shirts)
- Simpler, untailored products (t-shirts)
What is line production?
Refers to the linear nature of most production lines where the product manufacture is carefully planned so work flows efficiently through a factory in a straight line
What are some examples of line production?
- Progressive bundle production
- Synchronised or straight line production
- Continual flow production
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 or straight line production?
One person performs one task on one product before it is moved on. The delivery of work to the workstations is synchronised, meaning products spend exactly the same time at each workstation
What is continual flow production?
Used for high volume products where the line runs continuously and never shuts down. It is highly automated and used to produce simple items very cheaply
What is quick response manufacturing?
A manufacturing strategy that reduces lead times, enabling manufacturers to respond quickly to market demands when manufacturing small numbers of identical products
What is quick response manufacturing used for?
To reduce product lead times, it relies on the rapid transfer of accurate information from the electronic point of sales so that batches of products can be delivered from stock
What is electronic point of sale (EPOS)?
A self contained electronic checkout that accepts all forms of payment and also updates stock levels
What do small teams do?
Production cells/ modules complete products from start to finish by sharing tasks and equipment set out in a horseshoe arrangement
What are the benefits of quick response manufacturing?
- Faster productivity, efficiency and a motivated workforce
- Reduction in cost of keeping large volumes of stock
- Fast changeover to supply the ever changing fashion retail scene
What are unit production systems?
A computerised overhead transportation system that moves garment components automatically from one workstation to the next according to a pre determined sequence
What do computers do in unit production systems?
Plan, control, set the rahe of delivery and direct the flow of work as the garment is transported to operators via a computer controlled overhead hanging system
How do unit production systems work?
- Sections of product loaded onto hanging carrier and brought to operator
- System ergonomically designed
- On completion the operator presses button and carriers move product
- Garments tracked within system
Why is unit production system cost and time efficient?
- Allows quick response to market demands
- Labour costs reduced
- Problems immediately obvious
- High levels of quality
- Space used effectively
What is section production?
A development of one off production; the difference is that the operator specialises in one section of a product
What is the process of section production?
- Workers versatile and able to carry out a number of different processes
- Factory organised according to different sections needed for garment
- System reduce cost and is efficient
What is vertical in house production?
Where retailers do their own designing, manufacturing and distribution
What are the advantages of vertical in house production?
- Minimises need for external suppliers
- Reduces risks and costs with outsourced manufacture
- Quality assurance strategies easier to implement
- Lead times more controllable
What high street retailers use vertical in house production?
- Marks & Spencers
- Zara
What is the fashion industry reliant on?
Computer integrated systems to help with designing, manufacturing, distribution and stock control
What is just in time (JIT)?
A stock control management system that is highly dependent on integrated computer systems so that the right materials and finished goods are always available when required
How is JIT used?
Products and stock tracked using barcodes
What does JIT save on?
Storage, monitors output and stops materials and energy from being wasted on unwanted products
What does JIT enable?
High street fashion stores to react to customers requirements, enabling them to remain competitive
What is a disadvantage of JIT?
The systems dependence on reliable suppliers and transport infrastructure
What is modular/ cell production?
Workers operate in small teams to enable products to be made as quick response manufacturing
What are some examples of flexible manufacturing systems?
- Quick response manufacturing
- Demand activated manufacture
- Demand based flow
- Mass customisation
What is demand activated manufacture?
A system that caters for smaller orders of products that are specially tailored to consumers needs
What is demand based flow?
Manufacturers factor production time into an acceptable delivery time so they can produce foods as they are ordered. This system is based on demand rather than schedule
What is mass customisation?
The modification of standard designs to individual customers’ requirements
What are distribution services reliant on?
Computerisation to provide electronic data interchange linkage with suppliers and customers
What is electronic data interchange?
A system that allows computers to exchange information electronically in a standard format between business partners
What does computer aided administration (CAA) do?
- Personnel: HR department, marketing and sales, accounting and costing
- Processing orders
- Stock administration and buying
What does production planning and control (PPC) do?
- Production, planning and scheduling of machinery
- Process and capacity control
- JIT stock management
- Order status monitoring
- Quality planning and quality assurance
What does computer aided design (CAD) do?
- Design: virtual modelling, colourways
- PDS software: draft patterns, grade patterns, produce lay plans
What does computer aided manufacture (CAM) do?
- Warehouse and distribution logistics
- Warehouse processes: fabric manufacture and printing, cutting, sewing, pressing
What are standardised components?
Zip lengths or bias binding widths, come in pre set sizes and are mostly brought from specialised manufacturers
What are the advantages of bought in components?
- Wide range to choose from
- Bought in bulk to reduce unit cost
- JIT systems can buy components as and when needed
- Efficient use of manufacturing systems
What is sub assembly?
A self contained, separately manufactured element incorporated in a final products assembly
What parts of a product can be made as a separate line?
- Shirt collars
- Sleeves
What can concurrent manufacture improve?
Product quality and simplify and speed up the manufacturing process
What can computerised product data do?
Be emailed across the globe and fed into a company’s CIM system, enabling it to make the product within hours of receiving the data
What are giant contact manufacturing companies set up to make?
Products for different brands globally. They are technologically organised, have capacity and can respond with speed and quality
What are the postive impacts of offshore production?
- Cheaper overheads and lenient regulation can make production less expensive
- Large, skilled labour pool available
- Production closer to raw materials
- Up to date machinery
What are the negative impacts of offshore production?
- Environmental concerns over transportation of goods
- Consumer disapproval of perceived or real unethical working practices
- Increased unemployment in UK
- Decline in UK textile industry
What are the postive impacts of imports and exports?
- International trade agreements allow UK manufacturers to export products to other countries
- Overseas outlets owned by UK retailers provide export markets for UK made products
What are the negative impacts of imports and exports?
- Imported low-cost products have contributed to the decline of the UK textile industry
- Politics, trade tariffs, and fluctuating exchange rate to make it difficult for manufacturers to plan and accurately cost to manufacture
What are the postive impacts of branded goods?
- Brands help to sell UK products in the global marketplace
- Distinguish designers and retailers
- Legal protection from competitors
- Become loyal and buy more
What are the negative impacts of imports and exports?
- Expensive to set up and maintain a brand name
- Negative effects more easily attached to brands
- Make high value products attractive to counterfeiters
What are the postive impacts of contracted goods?
- Contractors set up high volume production runs to make products at a low unit cost
- Retailers do not have to invest
- Produce pilot runs of products
- Operational advantage
What are the negative impacts of contracted goods?
- Increase the risk of losing sensitive, commercial or technical information
- Environmental concerns over the transportation of goods
