Types of Production Process

The main challenge for a  production manager while designing the production process is to choose the most appropriate production method for his organization. The absolute decision about any method of production is determined by the nature of the product and the quantity to be produced. Production methods may be broadly classified into continuous and intermittent production methods. Continuous production methods include Mass and Flow Production and Intermittent production methods include Job Production and Batch production.

Continuous production:

Mass Production

Flow production

Intermittent production:

Job production

Batch Production

Mass Production

Mass production is a production process method that is used to create standardized products in large quantities as economically as possible to meet high market demand. Mass production requires a large investment in machinery and equipment; workers are generally needed less skilled and mainly they have to assemble component parts to make the finished good.

Examples of mass production processes are the newspaper manufacturing process and the soft drinks manufacturing process.

Flow or Continuous Production

The flow production process is a production method in which the manufacturing process runs without break; hence this production process is also known as the Continuous production process.  Companies whose products are homogeneous, adopt flow production to reduce the cost of stop and start and to increase heavy market demand. Flow production is highly automated, and workers mostly monitor the process instead of actively participating in the process.

Some examples of flow production industries are the gas and oil industry and the mining industry.

Batch Production

Batch production is a method of the production process in which similar items in groups, stage by stage are produced and the product goes through each stage of the manufacturing process together before going on to the next stage.

Some examples of batch production are the manufacturing process of furniture, bakeries, and textiles.

 

Job Production

Job production is a process in which only one unit is made at a time.  Job production is mostly used for large projects or for making customized products; hence it is also known as the Project-based production process. The workers of this production process are highly skilled in their field because of the customization and the customer’s needs and preferences have a decisive role in the output.

Some examples of job-based production are projects like metro railways and customized productions like home construction and haircuts.