Manufacturing Process

The nature of the process of production required by these three different types of production system are distinct and require different conditions for their working. Selection of manufacturing process is also a strategic decision as changes in the same are costly. Therefore the manufacturing process is selected at the stage of planning a business venture. It should meet the basic two objectives i.e. to meet the specification of the final product and to be cost effective.

Type of manufacturing process

The manufacturing process is classified into four types.

(i) Jobbing production

(ii) Batch production

(iii) Mass or flow production

(iv) Process Production

(i) Jobbing Production:  Herein one or few units of the products are produced as per the requirement and specification of the customer. Production is to meet the delivery schedule and costs are fixed prior to the contract.

(ii) Batch Production: In this, limited quantities of each of the different types of products are manufactured on same set of machines. Different products are produced separately one after the other.

(iii) Mass or flow production: Under this, the production run is conducted on a set of machines arranged according to the sequence of operations. A huge quantity of same product is manufactured at a time and is stocked for sale. Different product will require different manufacturing lines. Since one line can produce only one type of product, this process is also called as line flow.

(iv) Process Production: Under this, the production run is conducted for an indefinite period.

Factors affecting the choice of manufacturing process

Following factors need to be considered before making a choice of manufacturing process.

(a) Effect of volume/variety: This is one of the major considerations in selection of manufacturing process. When the volume is low and variety is high, intermittent process is most suitable and with increase in volume and reduction in variety continuous process become suitable. The following figure indicates the choice of

process as a function of repetitiveness. Degree of repetitiveness is determined by dividing volume of goods by variety.

(b) Capacity of the plant: Projected sales volume is the key factor to make a choice between batch and line process. In case of line process, fixed costs are substantially higher than variable costs. The reverse is true for batch process thus at low volume it would be cheaper to install and maintain a batch process and line process becomes economical at higher volumes. (c) Lead time: The continuous process normally yields faster deliveries as compared to batch process. Therefore lead-time and level of competition certainly influence the choice of production process.

(d) Flexibility and Efficiency:The manufacturing process needs to be flexible enough to adapt contemplated changes and volume of production should be large enough to lower costs.

Hence it is very important for entrepreneur to consider all above mentioned factors before taking a decision regarding the type of manufacturing process to be adopted as for as SSI are concerned they usually adopt batch processes due to low investment.