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The Nature of Production - Production Operations

Many people have never been in a factory and will have little understanding of what it is like inside.

Many factories are very big. They can be very noisy and are sometimes dangerous places to work.

Businesses have to think carefully about the way in which they organise a factory. In some cases this depends on the type of product being produced.

There are three main ways that production can be organised:

• Flow production
  Flow production is where goods move along the assembly line during manufacture. Each item produced is identical and would suit goods where large amounts need to be produced. Car production is a good example.
• Batch production
  Goods are produced in batches - specified amounts. This might allow for slight differences to be made in the output of each different batch. For example, a firm manufacturing computers might offer its customers the choice of different specifications - size of memory, software, sound card and so on. The computers are pretty much the same but at some point in the process they will go to different sections where the different specifications will be produced in batches.
• Job production
  Job production occurs where the business is involved in producing one-off designs. Each output range will thus be different. For example, firms might manufacture oil rigs for the energy industry. Each rig might be designed to suit the individual requirements of the customer.

Dutch cheese factory. © B Harskaamp, Stock.Xchng

Apples at cider factory. © Nick Manning, Stock.Xchng

Textile factory. © Ehsan Namavar, RED Visual Group, Stock.Xchng

What type of production method do you think would be appropriate in each of the examples in the images above?

It is important to remember, however, that the efficient organisation of operations is not just confined to a factory. Companies such as McDonalds have to think carefully about the most efficient way of organising their operations.

The way a kitchen is laid out, how the food is delivered to the servers and then to the customers would also be the job of a production manager. They have to make sure that the food gets to the customer as quickly as possible and that the quality is also maintained.

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