Production Planning Practice
How a maker plans production: a step-by-step production plan, quality control against a tolerance, the scales of production from one-off to mass, and the flow chart that orders the stages with quality checks.
Get the method right under pressure
Free interactive practice on the steps that lose marks under exam pressure.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
Planning the making
Before a product is made, an engineer plans how to make it. A production plan lists the stages in order, the tools and materials, and the checks that keep quality high. This module looks at the plan, the quality checks, the tolerance that decides pass or fail, and how the plan changes with the number being made.
Planning vocabulary
Learn these four terms before you study the plan.
Scales of production
How many you make changes how you make it.
Plan in order, check as you go
A top answer builds the plan as a sequence: read the specification, list each stage with its tools and time, and add a quality check where it matters. Use the tolerance to judge pass or fail, and match the scale to how many you need. Get the order right and the making runs smoothly.
Match the term
- production plan
- quality control
- tolerance
- flow chart
- the ordered list of stages, tools and times
- checking each part against the design
- how far a size may drift and still pass
- a diagram of the stages with check points
Match the scale
- one-off
- batch
- mass
- quality check
- making a single bespoke item
- making a set number in one run
- making huge numbers on a line
- measuring a part to see if it passes
Which scale of production?
A factory makes thousands of identical bottles continuously on a production line. Which scale of production is this?
- Mass production.
- Batch production.
- One-off production.
- Bespoke production.
What is in the plan?
Select the TWO things a production plan should include.
- The order of the making stages.
- The quality checks to carry out.
- The shop selling price.
- The advertising slogan.
Order the stages
Put the stages of a production plan in order, earliest first.
- Read the specification
- List the making stages
- Gather tools and materials
- Make the product
- Carry out the quality check
Complete the facts
An ordered list of the making stages is a production _____. Checking each part against the design is quality _____. The amount a size may vary and still pass is the _____. Making a single bespoke item is a _____ product. Making huge numbers continuously is _____ production.
Work out the tolerance
A shaft should be 50 millimetres with a tolerance of plus or minus 2 millimetres. Add 2 to 50 to find the largest size that still passes. What is the answer in millimetres?
Spot the quality facts
Tap the TWO statements about quality control that are true.
- a part is checked against the specification
- a size within tolerance passes the check
- quality is judged by guessing
- checks are skipped to save time
Plan the production
Read each situation and choose the best answer.
- A workshop is asked to make one bespoke trophy for a single winner. Which scale suits this?
- A part must be 50 millimetres but a batch keeps coming out at 56 millimetres. What should happen?
- A team needs 500 identical brackets for one order. Which scale suits this best?
Explain the plan
Explain how a maker plans production and keeps the quality high.
- Describe what a production plan contains
- Explain how quality control and tolerance work together
- Explain how the scale of production is chosen