Production Methods: Batch, Mass and JIT

Making one, or making millions

The way a factory makes a product depends on two things: how many are needed, and how alike they have to be. Choose the wrong method and the cost or the quality suffers. This module works through the main choices: - One-off production: making a single item to a specific need.\n- Batch production: making set groups of identical items, then switching.\n- Mass production: making very large numbers continuously, often on an assembly line.\n- Just-in-time: keeping stock low by having parts delivered exactly when needed. Costs and automation each have their own module. Here the focus is the methods themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to pick the right one for the job.

Words for production

Five terms you need before you use them. Learn what each one means.

Match each production method to an example

Batch against mass production

Two of the most common methods sit either side of a key trade-off: flexibility against sheer volume. Telling them apart is a frequent exam point.

Which method fits the job?

A company needs to make millions of identical drinks cans as cheaply as possible for each one. Which production method suits it best?

• Mass production, since it makes huge numbers at a very low cost each
• One-off production, each can made to order
• Batch production in small groups
• No particular method is needed

Tap the two benefits of just-in-time

Tap the TWO genuine benefits of just-in-time stock control.

• Less money is tied up in stored stock
• Less warehouse space is needed for parts
• The factory can ignore its suppliers entirely
• Production never stops even when a delivery is late

Choosing the right scale

There is no single best production method. The right choice falls out of two questions: how many do you need, and how identical must they be? For a unique or custom item, one-off production fits, even though it is costly per item. For medium runs with variety, batch production lets a firm switch products, though changeovers waste time. For huge identical volumes, mass production drives the cost per item right down. Layered on top, just-in-time cuts the money and space swallowed by stored stock, but it leans entirely on reliable suppliers, because one late delivery can halt the whole line. Match the method to the job, and weigh the trade-off every time.

Pick the true production facts

Select the TWO statements that are true.

• Mass production gives a very low cost for each item made
• Batch production lets a firm switch between different products
• One-off production is the cheapest way to make millions of identical items
• Just-in-time works well even with unreliable suppliers

Order how a product moves down an assembly line

Put the stages of a product moving along an assembly line in the order they happen.

• Raw parts arrive at the start of the line
• The first station adds its component
• Each station in turn adds the next part
• Quality is checked as the product nears the end
• The finished product comes off the line

One factory, three product runs

Picture a single factory that makes three very different things, and see why it uses a different method for each. A special order: a customer wants one unique trophy, cast and finished by hand to an exact design. Only that one is ever made, by skilled workers, at a high price. A seasonal run: the same factory makes five hundred garden benches for spring, then switches its machines to make five hundred bird tables. Each product runs in a group, then the line changes over. The steady seller: its best-selling bracket sells by the million, so it runs down a continuous line day and night, at a tiny cost for each one. Keeping stock lean: across all of this, the factory has its metal delivered only as it is about to be used, so little money sits idle in a store. Three products, three methods, each chosen to fit how many are needed and how alike they must be.

Complete the production methods facts

Making a single item to a specific need is _____ production. Making a set group of identical items and then switching is _____ production. Making very large numbers continuously is _____ production. Keeping stock low by having parts delivered as they are needed is _____.

Build a production point

Choose the words that complete this statement about choosing a method.

The production methods run

Five questions on production methods. Three lives.

Choose the production method

Read each case and choose the production method that fits, then think about why.

• A firm needs one custom-built machine part made to an exact design for a single repair. Which method fits?
• A workshop makes a large group of white brackets, then cleans down and makes a group of black brackets. Which method is this?
• A factory wants to cut the money tied up in stored parts sitting in its warehouse. What should it consider?

Explain the main production methods

A student in the year below does not understand how manufacturers decide how to make things. Explain the production methods using what this module has covered.

• Explain the difference between one-off, batch and mass production
• Explain when each method is the best choice
• Explain what an assembly line is
• Explain how just-in-time reduces cost and what it depends on
• Finish by explaining how the number of items needed decides the method