Methods of Production

Question 1

What is capital-intensive production?

Answer 1

Capital-intensive production involves producing products primarily by mead of machinery and equipment.

Capital-intensive production can utilise automation or mechanisation.

Question 2

What is automation?

Answer 2

Automation refers to production being fully automatic. This involves the use of computerised aided manufacture (CAM) to fully control automated assembly lines that used robotics.

Question 3

What are the advantages of automation?

Answer 3

• CAM/robotics produce products in exactly the same way every time, improving consistency.
• CAM doesn’t lose concentration so fewer mistake are made, which limits waste.
• Robots can do jobs that are dangerous for humans to do.
• Robots don’t take breaks, holidays or sick leave so can work 24/7.
• Fewer employs are need as automation doesn’t require human control, reducing wage costs.

Question 4

What are the disadvantages of automation?

Answer 4

• Huge investment is needed to automate a production line.
• Breakdowns can be catastrophic, losing hours of production time and wasting vast amounts of materials.
• Replacing labour with automated robotics will demotivate retained employees.
• Absence of a ‘human touch’, often leads to lack of creativity and personality in the products produced.

Question 5

What is mechanisation?

Answer 5

Mechanisation refers to labour and machines working together to produce products. A traditional example is machinist operating a sewing machine in textile factory.

Question 6

What are the advantages of mechanisation?

Answer 6

• Using machinery improves accuracy over purely handmade products as human error is lessened.
• Using machinery can speed up production.
• Unlike automatic, a human element exists in mechanisation, improving creativity.

Question 7

What are the disadvantages of mechanisation?

Answer 7

• The machines and equipment can not be used without humans, so are liable to some human errors.
• Production can not be 24/7 as human require breaks, holidays, and so on.
• If machinery breaks down the business has to repair it, leaving workers idle.

Question 8

What is labour-intensive production?

Answer 8

Labour-intensive production involves humans doing most of the work. This is the most common in job production.

e.g. skilled hand-crafts such as cake decorating.

Question 9

What are the advantages of labour-intensive production?

Answer 9

• Labour can be less expensive than capital-intensive production.
• Humans can use initiative and creativity, something that is often lacking in automated systems.
• There’s a constant supply of labour, available in areas of the country with manufacturing traditions.
• Employees are motivated as they are not ‘giving up’ task to machines.

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of labour-intensive production?

Answer 10

• The business is at high risk of human error, resulting in waste, faulty products and disgruntled customers.
• Humans have to take breaks, holidays, etc, which limits production time.
• Humans have to be paid overtime for working over normal hours whereas machine costs the same at any time of the day.
• Recruitment, training and wage costs need to be considered.