Production and production management

are. Describe (a) the subject introduced by Marie Pinet and (b) the subject introduced by Charles Bond.

2. When he arrives in Paris, Charles Bond will have to stay in a hotel for two months. What advantages does Marie Pinet think this will have?

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Unit 3 Factory Layout

Warm-up

Look at RIV Industries proposed layout of a light industrial plant. Find words on the plan which correspond to the explanations below. Example Loading bay= Point where finished goods leave plant.

a)Point where finished goods leave plant.

b)Storage area for tools and other technical equipment.

c)Part of a video terminal where messages appear.

d)A device which carries items along the production line.

e)Machine to move goods on the shop floor.

f)Large storage area, separated from production unit.

g)A sophisticated device for cutting or drilling the product.

h)Main open work area.

i)Key positions occupied by workers.

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j)Separate areas outside the production flow.

k)Basic materials from which products are manufactured.

Reading/Vocabulary

Read the text and do the tasks below.

It is usual to classify types of production as job production, batch production and flow production. In job production, products are supplied to the special requirements of a customer, and the whole project is undertaken as one operation which is completed before passing on to the next. A good example of this kind of work is shipbuilding.

Job production

In job production a single item is produced at a time, whereas in batch production a number of similar items are produced in order to meet a continuing sale demand. Batch sizes vary, but the quantity which is produced amounts to more than immediate requirements, and the surplus production is stored. Finally, in flow production, the manufacture of a product proceeds from one operation to another at a planned rate of output.

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sembly of the final product, and the output for each operation must be balanced in order to provide a smooth flow of work.

There are advantages in both types of layout. In a process layout system there is more flexibility, and a greater specialization of machines and labour is possible, while in a flow layout system it is not necessary to maintain a high level of stocks or to demand great skill in the workforce.

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Listening

Listen to the following conversation and complete the chart below:

Product volume not maintained

Present Situation

Reason 1. ………….

What do you think King means by de-skilling? When would de-skilling be necessary?

Reading/Vocabulary

Complete the text using these words

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The layout of a production facility - the (1) ......... of departments, workstations, machines, stockholding points, and so on - obviously depends on the

repeated again and again, but not 24 hours a day. Yet assembly lines are,

tween production processes that are as short as possible. This is especially the case today when product life cycles are tending to shorten.

There are three basic production layouts. The first is product layout or flowshop layout, as in a standard production line or assembly line, in which (7)

......... or work processes are arranged according to the progressive steps by which the product is made. The ideal is perhaps a straight-line flow pattern, in which workstations are close together, and there is a smooth work flow between departments and work centres, without any backtracking or (8) .........

of materials, or the need to store materials between different stages of production.

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Some assembly lines produce the same basic product for months at a time; others are used to making" (9) ......... of different products, or even smaller job lots.

The second basic production layout is process layout or job-shop layout or layout by function, in which similar equipment or (10) ......... are grouped together. This layout is used in some factories and, outside of manufacturing, in buildings such as schools and hospitals. Schools, for example, often have classrooms close together in one part of the building, science laboratories in another, offices in a third, and so on; hospitals have general wards, specialised departments, operating theatres, and so on.

The third production layout is fixed position layout, in which the product remains at one (11) .......... because of its large size or shape. This is used, for example, in shipbuilding and on (12) .........sites.

Since it is not always possible to use one layout exclusively, many manufacturing facilities are a combination of two types. For example, some car factories are based on a flow-shop layout with an assembly line, but also have elements of a process layout, such as separate areas for spray-painting and vehicle testing.

Listening

Listen to the conversation between Mr. Banks, a Production Manager, and Jim Carter, a Production Foreman, and complete the table below:

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