modern industrial and commercial practise-1.6

Question 1

what is one-off production?

Answer 1

production where a single, bespoke garment is made for a customer and fits the customers specification

Question 2

what are some examples of one-off produced products?

Answer 2

-wedding dresses
-a custom made suit or dress finished to a very high standard
-a theatre costume
-haute couture garments

Question 3

what does haute couture mean?

Answer 3

high-end fashion that is constructed by hand from start to finish and is made from top-quality components and materials

Question 4

what are the 2 advantages of one off production?

Answer 4

1. the garment can be made to fit the client’s specification
2. the garment is made to an extremely high quality

Question 5

what are the disadvantages of one-off production?

Answer 5

-extremely costly due to the complexity of the design, decoration, and the use of high end materials and components
-no bulk discount on materials and components
-high labour costs- one skilled person usually makes the garment
-the need for high levels of quality control throughout the process makes it extremely costly

Question 6

what is batch production?

Answer 6

production which involves a team of workers working together to make a set of identical products- batches of clothing can range from 2 to more than 100,000 items

Question 7

what are the advantages of batch production?

Answer 7

-products are cheaper as bulk purchasing or fabrics and components is possible
-the manufacturing set up can be altered
-products are less complex in design and use standardised components
-planned quality control checks can be done by checking a specified number of products from each batch

Question 8

what are some examples of batch produced products?

Answer 8

-seasonal products such as fashion tops and shorts
-ready to wear (pret a porter) ranges
-textile merchandise products produced for specific events e.g the olympic games

Question 9

what is mass production?

Answer 9

a production method which manufactures large numbers of identical products over a long period of time

Question 10

what are the advantages of mass production?

Answer 10

-workers become skilled in just one part of the manufacture
-CAM is used as much as possible to cut labour costs
-bulk-buying of fabrics and components results in very low unit cost per item

Question 11

what are the disadvantages of mass production?

Answer 11

-the set up is inflexible and initially very costly. It takes a long time to change if the product is changed and one problem can halt the production line.

Question 12

what are some examples of mass produced products?

Answer 12

-classic products that never go out of fashion- e.g jeans
-items that are in continual demand- e.g white shirts
-simple, untailored products- e.g t-shirts

Question 13

what is progressive bundle production?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

what is synchronised/straight line production?

Answer 14

one person performs one task on a product before it is moved on to the next station. The delivery of work to the work stations is synchronised, meaning the products spend exactly the same time at each work station.

Question 15

what is continual flow production?

Answer 15

production which is used for high-volume products where the line runs continuously and never shuts down. it is highly automated and used to produce simple items at very cheap prices.

Question 16

what is quick response manufacturing?

Answer 16

a manufacturing strategy that reduces lead times, enabling manufacturers to quickly respond to market demands when manufacturing small numbers of identical products.

small teams or production cells complete products from start to finish by sharing tasks and equipment set out in a horseshoe arrangement

Question 17

what are the benefits of quick response manufacturing?

Answer 17

-motivated workforce
-faster productivity and efficiency
-reduction in the cost of keeping large volumes of stock
-fast changeover to supply changing fashion trends

Question 18

what are lead times?

Answer 18

the time between the start and completion of the production of a product

Question 19

what are unit production systems?

Answer 19

a garment manufacturing system where computers plan, control, set the rate of delivery and direct the flow of work as the garment is transported to operators via a computer controlled overhead hanging system.

Question 20

how do unit production systems work?

Answer 20

the sections of the product are loaded onto a hanging carrier and brought via the overhead conveyor belt to another operator/worker to sew or complete the next section.

Question 21

how are unit production systems ergonomically designed?

Answer 21

by minimising the handling of the garment

Question 22

what is the disadvantage of unit production systems?

Answer 22

-the installation is initially costly and workers may need specialist training in order to use the machinery

Question 23

what are the advantages of unit production systems?

Answer 23

-allows for a quick response to market demands
-labour costs are reduced as there is no handling of bundles
-problems are immediately obvious-intergrated quality control
-provides high levels of quality as the garments are hung at each stage of manufacture
-space is used effectively and the total workload of the factory can be balanced efficiently.
-greater operator efficiency

Question 24

what is section production?

Answer 24

a production method where an operator or worker specialises in one section of a product

Question 25

what are the advantages of section production?

Answer 25

-the factory is organised according to the different sections needed for the garment
-reduces cost and is a very effective way of producing a variety of styles in reasonable quantities

Question 26

what is vertical in-house production?

Answer 26

vertical in-house production is where retailers do their own designing, manufacturing and distribution- they control all aspects of producing a product.

Question 27

what retailers operate using vertical in-house production?

Answer 27

marks and spencer and zara

Question 28

what are the advantages of vertical-in house production?

Answer 28

-minimises the need for external suppliers and reduces the risk and costs associated with outsourcing manufacture
-quality assurance strategies are easier to implement
-lead times are more controllable, enabling products to get to the shop floor more quickly.
-Products made by vertical-in-house production have minimal environmental impact as resources do not have to be transported between sites
-communication is improved as retailers using design, manufacture and distribute products all on the same site