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What is Lean production?
a production process that increases efficiency and reduces waste
-less waste
-greater efficiency
Give an example of lean production?
Recycling defect products, rather than throwing them out
How can you improve efficiency in the workplace?
Motivate labour, use better technology such as more efficient capital, recycle products, more training for employees
What are the 2 methods of lean production?
-Kaizen (continuous improvement)
-Just-in-time (ordering materials only when they are needed)
What is Kaizen (method of lean production)?
the Kaizen method is making small improvements in production, so that over time, the efficiency increases
What are advantages of Kaizen?
Employees gain motivation, as they feel like they are a part of something
Reduced costs and greater profits for business
What are disadvantages of Kaizen?
There are many costs involved, such as training of employees
It is time consuming, as it may be hard to change a part of the production process
It may take a long time to see improvement
What is Just-in-time production?
A lean method of stock control where resources are only bought when they are needed
What are advantages of just-in-time?
reduced storage costs
items may not get damaged or expire over time
What are disadvantages of just-in-time?
materials may not arrive in time → wasted time. The business is reliant on supplier to deliver on time
inflexible to sudden changes in demand
What is quality?
it means that a product or service is fit for purpose, meeting the needs of consumers
what is quality control?
It is when an inspector checks the final product at the end of the production process
what is quality assurance?
It is training all staff to check their own work throughout the production process
What are advantages of quality control?
It prevents poor quality goods reaching the customer
It may be cheaper than quality assurance as you don’t have to train all workers
What are disadvantages of quality control?
If an error has been identified that is difficult to fix, the whole product is thrown away
It doesn’t prevents mistakes from occuring in the first place
High costs to fix the whole good
High amounts of wasteage
What are advantages of quality assurance?
It prevents mistakes from occuring in the first place
Reduced waste by identifying issues early
Employees are motivated as they feel like they are a part of something → they are improving the business
What are disadvantages of quality assurance?
High costs of training staff
It only works if all staff are committed to it
What are quality circles?
Small groups of employees from different departments, regularly assessing quality issues, making recommendations for improvement.
What are advantages and disadvantages of quality circles?
Advantages: motivation for people by working together as a team, new viewpoints from different departments, ongoing problem solving, skill development → they can learn from each other and share knowledge
Disadvantages: It may be demotivating for workers if their ideas are never used, high costs of training for employees, it may only work if everyone is committed and contributes ideas
What is benchmarking?
It is comparing the products and processes of a business against its competitors. A business can learn from them, and adapt its own operations.
What are advantages and disadvantages of benchmarking?
Businesses strengths and weaknesses are determined and they can learn from other businesses by adapting its own operations. They reduce costs and improve their time efficiency
However, it may be difficult to obtain information and there is a risk of imitation of another business → your business may become unoriginal
What is total quality management?
an approach where all employees maintain quality standards throughout production
what are advantages of total quality management?
less wastage → lower production costs
higher staff motivation due to trust and feeling a apart of a team
improve brand image due to better quality → more loyal customers
what are disadvantages of total quality management?
Expensive to train staff
Only works if everyone is committed
What is cralde to cradle manufacturing?
A sustainable, waste-free way of production. All materials are recycled or reused, so that no resources will run out
What are international standards?
Internationally recognized standards for quality, for example a country can’t sell bad quality products to Germany, they have to meet their standards
What are national standards?
Standards of quality for different industries specific to a country, such as cooking and good qualities
