5.2 Production methods

Question 1

What is customized production?

Answer 1

also called job production - production of special `one-off’ product made to a specific order

Question 2

What is batch production?

Answer 2

Production of a group of identical products (“batch” refers to the fact that the items in each group go together from one stage of production to the next).

An example, which is not necessary, is the commercial manufacture of biscuits

Question 3

What is mass production?

Answer 3

Production of a high volume of identical, standardized products.
Some other names based on forms/aspects:
Flow production,
process production, and
line production

Question 4

Cellular production?

Answer 4

Cellular/cell manufacturing is a form of mass production in which the flow is broken up by teams of workers who are responsible for certain parts of the line (Japanese model, part of job enrichment, also good for motivation because workers know what and why they are producing)

Question 5

Is customized production market-oriented or product -oriented?

Answer 5

Market-oriented, with the client deciding precisely what the product should be, possibly with many/long consultations

Question 6

Which type pf production may have longer development phase in the product life-cycle?

Answer 6

Customized/job production

Question 7

Advantages of Customized production?

Answer 7

● The mark-up is likely to be high.
● Clients get exactly what they want.
● This production method is likely to motivate skilled workers working on individual projects.
● It can be a flexible production method.

Question 8

Disadvantages of Customized production?

Answer 8

● Can be expensive, requiring skilled workers and non-standardized materials.
● Likely to be time consuming
● The product might fail and this may be bad for reputation.

Question 9

Advantages of batch production

Answer 9

Targets middle market

● Businesses can achieve economies of scale
● Captures more market share
● May help deal with unexpected orders (for usually mass producers).

Increasingly sophisticated automation is now allowing greater customization, even in a batch or mass- production environment.

Question 10

Disadvantages of batch production

Answer 10

● Possible Loss of production time as machines are recalibrated and/or retooled ( “down time”).
● Businesses may need to hold large stocks of work (in case of unexpected orders).
● The sizes of batches may be dependent on the capacity of the machinery (or of labour).

Question 11

Advantages of mass production

Answer 11

High volume of standardized products, typically by using a continuous flow of raw materials along an assembly line.

Labour is usually unskilled and cheap; (skills mainly required for those with control function)

Automization makes it cheaper (as machines do not need regular breaks and can be relied on to produce to the same standard every time they are set).

● The business can respond to an increase in orders of the same products very quickly, as the process has already been set up.

Question 12

Disadvantages/limitations of mass production

Answer 12

● Set-up costs will be high.
● Breakdowns are costly, as the whole assembly line may have to stop.
● The business is very dependent on a steady demand from a large segment of the market.
● The system is inflexible: if there are sudden changes in demand, the business may well be left holding large stocks of unwanted products.
● The production process can be demotivating for workers doing robotic activities.
also:

Requires careful planning in order to synchronize all the stages of the production process. Mistakes cost a lot!

Low margins - The target segment is mostly the low end of the market and in large quantities.

Question 13

Advantages of cellular production?

Answer 13

Cell production can lead to a greater competitive advantage, as they can achieve the three
aims of improving:

    quality,      (easier to halt production, if any issues)
    increasing productivity, (also coming form skills and  
                                               motivation) and 
    reducing costs of production (also from less wastage 
                                      and lower rejection rates)

Quality improvements will come from the cooperative nature of the production, with members of the team being directly responsible for their own quality checkin. Eeach worker is given greater responsibility compared with the robotic and repetitive nature of working on an assembly line.

Question 14

Consequences of changes in the production method?

Answer 14

Once a business has a particular production method in place, it is not easy to change it, because of the high opportunity costs involved (However, it may be possible and suitable to combine different methods). Possible results:
For HR: Workers dismissed, trained etc
For Marketing the image and distribution channels may be affected
For Finance: stock control, cash flow may be affected,

Question 15

Factors to consider the optimum production method?

Answer 15

Size and volume of target market
State of technology
Available resources
Need and Availability of special skills

Question 16

What could be each type of method for a Georgian restaurant? to use just to compare as examples

Answer 16

Mass production of Tkemali
Bach production of khachapuri
Customized production of Khinkali
Cell production of ordinary and vegetarian dishes

Question 17

Mass vs batch?

Answer 17

Batch production - the same production equipment can be used to make different batches of different items at different times. So, for example, once a bakery has completed its production of cookies, it can use the same equipment to produce muffins. In between the creation of the two different batches, the equipment being used can be cleaned and reconfigured.

Mass production, on the other hand, has the ability to produce a variety of different items all at the same time. Let’s suppose a company produces different types of juice. Using this production technique, its apple juices, orange juices and grape juices can all be produced concurrently.