Job Production
One off items to meet the needs of each individual customer
e.g. Wedding Cakes
Batch Production
Identical Items produced in batches, going through the same production line
e.g. Bakeries
Flow Production
Along an assembly line in continuous process
Cell Production
A form of flow production where the production line is split into cells
Kaizen
Continuous Improvement
Productivity
A measure of the efficiency in the production process
output/number of workers
Capital Intensive Production
Large % of total costs are ties up in purchasing machinery
Labour Intensive Production
Labour costs make up for a high % of total costs
Capacity
The maximum amount of resources that can be utilised
Capacity Utilisation
A measure of the % of potential output being achieved
Current output/Maximum possible output x 100
Under Utilisation
Demand is less than the total capacity
Over Utilisation
Demand is Greater than the capacity available
Quality assurance
Checking quality at each stage of the production process
Quality Circles
Quality circles are informal groups of workers who volunteer to meet and discuss issues with the businesses processes/products
Quality Control
A team who make sure all products are up to the right quality at the end of the production process
Just in Time
Ordering stock so it arrives just as current stock runs out
Just In Case
Holding buffer stock incase stock runs out early
Buffer-Stock
Stock that is held back as reserves in case there are any issues