Manufacturing Process

1. 1
THE MANUFACTURING FUNCTION
1. Take inputs (material, labour and energy) and convert them into products
2. The chosen process is the best able to support a company competitively
in the marketplace.
3. Focus area:
a. Response to the markets,
b. Manufacturing capabilities & characteristics,
c. Level of investment required,
d. Unit costs involved,
e. Type of control & style of mgmt
4. There are 5 generic types of manufacturing process
a. Project
b. Job Shop
c. Batch
d. Line
e. Flow / Continuous processing
5. However, in many situations, hybrids have been developed that blur the
edges between one process and the next.

2. 2
THE GENERIC 5 TYPES OF PROCESS CHOICE
1. Project
2. Job Shop
3. Batch
4. Line
5. Flow/Continuous Processing
Note:
Most businesses will select two or more processes as being appropriate for the products they
manufacture, which reflects the different volume requirements of components, subassemblies, and
products.

3. 3
PROJECT
1. Project basis
2. Product: unique, complex product (i.e., civil engineering contracts,
aerospace program, etc…)
3. Characteristic:
a. Customer-specified requirement
b. It is often too large to be moved or simply cannot be moved once
completed.
4. Business will also be concerned with determining how much of the
product to make away from site and how best to provide the parts or
sections that the structures made on site. These will, in turn, often be
produced using a different choice of process than project (i.e., CTRM-Aviation).
Mill
Project
A
Saw
Grind
Store
Wareho
use
Lathe
Assem
bly
Drill
Paint

4. 4
JOB SHOP
1. Jobbing, unit, or One-off
• Job shops are typically small manufacturing businesses that handle job production,
and Job shops typically move on to different jobs (possibly with different customers)
when each job is completed.
• Requires the supplier to interpret the customer’s design and specification and apply
relatively high-level skills in the conversion process. By the nature of this type of
manufacturing operation, job shops are usually specialized in skill and processes.
• To meet the one-off order requirements of customers or if a unique product or an
individual service is required. A typical example would be a machine shop who makes
specialized components for the aerospace industry. Such parts are made in relatively
small quantities compared to components such as standard bolts or rivets.
• Other types of common job shops are grinding and fabrication shops.
• The opposite would be continuous flow manufactures such as textile, steel, and food
manufacturing.

5. BATCH
1. Batch production is the manufacturing technique of creating a group of
components at a workstation before moving the group to the next step in
production.
2. Batch production is common in bakeries and in the manufacture of sports
shoes, pharmaceutical ingredients, inks, paints.
3. Provide similar items on a repeat basis, usually in large volumes –
quantity (x) work content – than associate with jobbing.
Store
Process
A
Process
B
Process
C
Process
D
Assembly
Paint
Warehouse

6. 6
LINE
1. Investment is made to provide a process dedicated to the needs of a
single product or small range of products.
2. Example: Electronic industry
Saw
Saw
Grind
Weld
Store
Assembly
Warehouse
Lathe
Mill
Mill
Grind
Mill
Drill
Drill
Lathe
Drill
Paint
Paint
Drill

7. 7
FLOW or CONTINUOUS PROCESSING
Flow production involves a continuous movement of items through the production
process. This means that when one task is finished the next task must start
immediately. Therefore, the time taken on each task must be the same.
Flow production (often known also as mass production) involves the use of
production lines such as in a car manufacturer where doors, engines, bonnets and
wheels are added to a chassis as it moves along the assembly line. It is
appropriate when firms are looking to produce a high volume of similar items.