Wednesday 29 May 2013

Different types of production

One-Off Production
is when only one product is made at a time. Every product is different so it is labour intensive. Products may be made by hand or a combination of hand and machine methods.
The product cost more to produce but can be sold for a higher price because of it's 'novelty value'

Batch Production
is when a small quantity of identical products are made. Batch production may also be labour intensive, but jigs and templates are used to aid production. Batches of the product can be made as often as required. The machines can be easily changed to produce a batch of a different product.This means that they can ensure they are always creating a product that is desired and has a good market. However whenever  a new products will be made time is wasted on re-configuring the machines.

Mass Production
is when hundreds of identical products are made, usually on a production line. Mass production often involves the sub-assemblie of numerous individual components. Parts may be bought from other companies. There is usually automated tasks and this enables a smaller number of workers to output more products. 

Continuous production
is when many thousands of identical products are made. The difference between this and mass production is that the production line is kept running 24 hours a day, seven days a week to maximise production and eliminate the extra costs of starting and stopping the production process. The process is highly automated and few workers are required. This means the product is normally very cheap to make. This saving is filtered down to consumers and means products produced on a continuous production line are normally cheaper.

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