Types of Production Processes: From Craft to Just-in-Time
Types of Production Processes: From Craft to Just-in-Time
The Production Project
The production project is a static stream. You get only highly differentiated products to meet specific needs of a client. The products are usually very complex, high volume, and heavy. They have a high cost. The workers are highly specialized and can be qualified or not. Machinery can be either used as a specific use. It is difficult to plan and control due to the poor connection of the tasks performed.
Examples: construction of a ship, a bridge
Craft Production
Craft production is characterized by the use of tools by blue-collar, highly skilled workers who often perform the tasks necessary to obtain the final product at various stages. The workflow is sequential. The work is primarily manual. There is great flexibility with regard to customer requirements. It is used in activities that require custom prototypes or fabrication.
Example: joinery workshop
Batch Production
Batch production is similar to functional flow. The difference is that it makes a lot more product (difference from artisanal). There is improved uniformity of products, lower cost, and a greater connection between tasks. The general-purpose machinery and workers are highly skilled. The fixed costs are very low, and the variable costs are very high. The unit cost is also high. There is less productive efficiency. This production batch is more appropriate when the product does not require standardization or when production volume is low.
Mass Production
In mass production, the sequence resembles a straight line. Special purpose machinery is used. The variable costs are low, and fixed costs are high. The workers are low-skilled. The cost per unit is relatively low compared to batch production. It should employ large numbers of workers, and their tasks are defined in detail.
Example: pens, pocket calculators, or microprocessors
Continuous Production
Continuous production uses a sequential workflow in a straight line. It differs from mass production in that the production volume is higher. The differentiation is more limited. There is a greater reliance on capital equipment. Many times, the output coefficients are used as input in subsequent production processes. Due to the increased mechanization, the number of direct labor is reduced, but indirect labor increases in the form of skilled and specialized workers. The unit cost is usually low.
Just-in-Time Production (JIT)
Just-in-time (JIT) originated in Japan in the 1970s at Toyota. Sequential flow is used as a U. The machinery is commonly used. Workers are versatile and skilled. The responsibilities are not assigned individually but to the working group formed by the cell. Large quantities of products are manufactured in small batches to meet specific needs of the marketplace. Inventory levels are reduced significantly. Long-term relationships with suppliers are maintained. The fixed costs are low, while variable costs are higher.
Trade-off Model
The trade-off model (model of incompatibilities) is based on two basic premises:
- The plant has multiple objectives.
- Some targets are incompatible.
A trade-off means granting a production target preferential treatment over others, i.e., a priority. The multiplicity of objectives arises from the manufacturing plant producing the same products at different stages in their lifecycle and different products that meet market needs. Thus, the multiplicity reflects the result of having two or more products with different criteria for success in the same factory or organization. The factories that want to be exceptional in multiple targets end up being worse than those that concentrate their efforts on one. Skinner suggested that among the various possible production targets, each plant should choose one or at most two to give preferential treatment; this goal is called the “task of manufacturing.”
In practice, some companies do not comply with the trade-off. Some researchers argue for an alternative model. Under this assumption, multiple objectives are consistent over time.
Sequential or Sand Cone Model of Objectives
Some researchers distance themselves from the trade-off model and advocate a balance between competing goals. Ferdows and De Meyer (1990) raise an approach called the sequential model of creation and exploitation of the ability and skills in manufacturing or the sand cone model. This approach considers it appropriate that the factory will focus on one goal at each point in time; there is a logical sequence on successive goals which must be maintained in order to achieve substantial improvements in all of them.
In particular, the initial emphasis should be on getting the quality, and once the right level is achieved for her, she begins to improve delivery time. However, while improving the run, the quality continues to improve. Once you reach the level in the delivery, start improving flexibility while perfecting the other two goals. Finally, after obtaining the desired level of flexibility, the emphasis began to be on the cost. The model determines that the base of the sand cone widens as it rises to the height. In fact, the widening of the base is related to continuous improvement, and it is perfecting the objectives achieved as it tries to achieve the next target. The objectives of this sequence were developed to become a formidable competitive advantage to emerge from consistent management practices and effective.