Overview of production
From WikiTextbook
Some businesses will actually have to produce a product. This will involve careful planning to ensure that best use is made of the inputs. They will need to answer the following questions if production or assembly is to be smooth and efficient:
- what types and quantities of raw materials and components will be needed?
- where will they be bought from and how will they be transported?
- how will the materials be stored?
- what machinery and equipment will be needed?
- how many employees will be required to both carry out and manage the production process?
- what skills will the workers need?
- how will the product be packaged?
- how many units need to be produced?
Only when these questions have been answered can the production process go ahead.
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Purchasing
Manufacturing businesses will rely on buying stocks from other businesses in the form of raw materials or components. Purchasing will ensure that the business has enough material so that it is able to operate. If a factory runs out of stock, production will stop and a shop may find its shelves are empty if purchasing has not done their job properly.
Purchasing will try and negotiate the lowest price. This often means purchasing in large amounts as they will receive a discount for buying in bulk.
Processes
Businesses may produce their goods using a number of different processes. The most common of these are:
- ' Manufacturing' this is another word for 'making' and refers to the process of taking raw materials and turning them into a good that can
be sold.
- ' Assembly' this is simply another form of manufacturing, where component parts are put together to make a finished item
- ' Processing' this involves taking raw materials and putting them through a process that changes them in order to produce a finished good, for example iron ore may be smelted in order to produce steel
- ' Refining' this involves removing impurities or unwanted parts from a raw material in order to obtain a finished product, for example, petrol is refined from crude oil
Production control
The operations department is responsible for the various tasks which have to be carried out in order to make production run smoothly. These include stock control and quality control (we will look at these in greater detail later); and maintenance and efficiency.
Maintaining machinery and equipment is vital otherwise there may be break-downs that interrupt the production process. Controlling efficiency is concerned with maintaining high levels of output from the machinery and workers.
Automation
New technology has allowed businesses to introduce new machinery to carry out tasks that used to be done by people. Automisation occurs when machinery is able to operate without workers controlling them, they just supervise them.
Computer-Aided Processes
There are a number of specific computer aided processes that a business may use to assist with production.
- 'AGV' Automatically Guided Vehicle are used to carry materials around a factory. They are guided by a number of sensors or wires.
- 'CAD' Computer Aided Design is the use of computers to help in the design of the products. It allows products to be viewed and tested without having to actually produce them.
- 'CAM' Computer Assisted Manufacture uses a computer to operate a piece of machinery.
- 'CIM' Computer Integrated Manufacturing uses a computer to control the production process in a factory.
Links
Factors of production, the chain of production and value added, Job, batch and flow production, Division of labour and specialisation, Choosing the scale of production, Economies of scale, Efficiency and productivity, Stock control, Just in Time, Kanban, Kaizen, Cell production, Quality control, Human aspects of production, Location, Unit Cost and Wastage, Bench Marking, Lean Production.
Contributors
--Sam roberts 15:24, 6 February 2007 (UTC)
