Business Operations: Production, Quality and Safety

Operations is the making of the thing

Marketing decides what to sell and human resources decides who does the work. **Operations is how the thing actually gets made**, to what standard, and safely. There are four parts to this topic: - **Methods of production** - one at a time, in batches, or continuously - **Quality** - how a business makes sure the product is right - **Health and safety** - the legal duty to keep people from being hurt - **Technology** - what changes when machines take over part of the job One idea joins all four, and spotting it is what separates a good answer from a list: **each one is a trade-off.** Cost against flexibility, effort now against faults later, time against injury, money up front against cost per unit afterwards.

Job, batch and flow

Three ways to organise production. Which suits a business depends on how many identical items it needs and how much variation customers want.

Match each product to its production method

Which method would you use?

A furniture maker sells hand-built kitchen tables. Customers choose the timber, the size and the finish, and each order is different. Which method suits the business, and why?

• Job production, because every table differs and flexibility matters more here than cost per unit
• Flow production, because it gives the lowest cost per unit
• Batch production, because tables can be made in groups
• Any of the three; the method makes no real difference

Finding faults, or preventing them

These two terms sound alike and mean opposite things. Confusing them costs marks every year. **Quality control** checks the product **at the end**. An inspector examines finished goods and rejects the faulty ones. The fault is caught, but only after the business has already paid for the materials and the labour that went into making it. **Quality assurance** builds quality in **at every stage**. Each worker is responsible for checking their own work before it moves on, so problems are found where they happen and rarely reach the end of the line at all. The trade-off: quality assurance takes more effort and training up front, and saves the cost of waste, rework and returns later. That sentence is worth learning as it stands.

Why quality assurance pays

Select the TWO strongest business reasons for using quality assurance rather than end-of-line inspection alone.

• Faults are caught where they happen, so less money is wasted on materials and labour that end up scrapped
• Fewer faulty goods reach customers, which protects reputation and cuts returns and complaints
• It costs the business nothing to introduce
• It removes any need to check the finished product ever again

The quality standards

Recognisable marks and schemes a business can use to show its quality is more than a claim.

Where the checks go

A furniture business is introducing quality assurance. Put its checks in the order they happen in production.

• Incoming timber is checked for damage and moisture before it is accepted from the supplier
• The machinist measures each cut piece against the drawing before passing it on
• The assembler checks that joints are square and tight before the frame moves to finishing
• The finisher inspects the surface for marks before the table is packed
• A final check confirms the right table, correctly packed, is loaded for the right customer

Making it, checking it

A business making one unique item to a customer's order is using _____ production, while a soft drinks plant filling identical bottles all day uses _____ production, which gives the lowest cost per unit but almost no flexibility. Inspecting finished goods and rejecting the faulty ones is _____, whereas building quality in at every stage so faults are caught where they happen is _____. An internationally recognised standard for a business's quality management system is _____.

Spot the safety breaches

A description of a small workshop. Tap the TWO things a health and safety inspector would act on.

• The workshop is well lit and the floor is swept at the end of each shift.
• The guard has been removed from the bench saw because it slowed the work down
• . Staff have been shown how to use each machine and there is a first aid box by the door.
• Stacked pallets are blocking the fire exit at the back of the building
• . Safety boots and ear defenders are provided and worn.

Whose duty is it?

A worker is injured using a machine whose guard had been removed by the employer to speed up production. Where does responsibility lie, and what can it cost the business?

• With the employer, who has a legal duty to provide safe equipment and training. It can mean enforcement action, compensation, lost production and damaged reputation
• With the worker, who should have refused to use the machine
• With nobody; accidents happen in any workplace
• With the insurance company, which will cover it

Technology in the answer

**"A manufacturer is considering replacing part of its assembly line with robots. Discuss whether it should. (9 marks)"** "There are clear operational gains. Robots work continuously without breaks, produce far more consistent output than people can, and once installed cut the cost per unit. Computer-aided design and manufacture also shorten the time between designing a product and making it, so the business can respond faster to what customers want. Against that, the initial cost is high and the money is committed before any saving appears. Staff need retraining, some roles will go, and a business that mishandles that damages morale among the people it keeps. A breakdown on an automated line stops everything at once. **On balance it depends on volume.** If the manufacturer is producing large quantities of identical items over several years, the up-front cost is recovered and automation is the right decision. If output is low or the product changes frequently, the flexibility lost is worth more than the saving gained." Look at the last paragraph. It does not sit on the fence: it names **the condition** that decides the answer. That is what a discuss question is asking for, and it is where the top marks are.

Write a balanced line about automation

Build a sentence that gives both sides and then says what settles it.

Should the bakery automate?

A family bakery makes bread in batches and sells to local shops. The owner is considering an automated dough line. Work through the decision.

• The owner says automation will let the bakery switch to flow production. What is the catch?
• The new line comes with automatic weight and temperature checks at each stage. What does that change?
• Two long-serving staff would no longer be needed on mixing. What should the owner weigh?

Your turn: run the operation

A business making garden furniture is reviewing how it operates. Advise it across all four areas.

• Recommend a production method and justify it against one alternative
• Explain the difference between quality control and quality assurance, and say which you would use
• Name two health and safety duties the business owes its workers and one cost of neglecting them
• Give one benefit and one drawback of introducing new technology, then state the condition that decides whether it is worth it