Operations, Finance and Influences on Business (OCR)

Manufacturing

Making products, usually in a factory

Batch production

Producing a set number of identical products, can be small or large amounts

Productivity

Measurement of efficiency, usually output per person over a given time period

Just-in-case production

Hold extra stock in case there is a sudden rise in orders or a delay getting supplies

Kaizen

Japanese strategy of 'continuous improvement' the production process is constantly improved by making small changes

Automation

Replacing human labour with machines or robots

Robots

Machines designed to carry out production tasks

Stock

Items that held by a business to be used to produce outputs

Buffer stock

An amount of stock a manager believes is necessary to ensure availability and continuity of production

Bar gate stock graph

A graph that shows the level of stock of individual items and the minimum buffer stock level

Assembly line

A linear arrangement of production steps that a single product passes through to completion

Mass-market products

Products that are widely sold, well known and made to a predictable standard

retool

To change machinery in a production process to make different items or products

Labour-intensive production

Production process that requires a lot of people's time and work

Capital intensive production

Production process which is expensive to set up and supply