Mass Production (redirected from "continuous flow production")

mass production: see production.

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mass production

Application of the principles of specialization, division of labour, and standardization of parts to the manufacturing of goods on a large scale. Modern mass-production methods have led to such improvements in the cost, quality, quantity, and variety of goods available that the largest global population in history is now sustained at the highest general standard of living ever. The requirements for mass production of a particular product include the existence of a market large enough to justify a large investment; a product design that can use standardized parts (see interchangeable parts) and processes; a physical layout that minimizes materials handling; division of labour into simple, short, repetitive steps (see time-and-motion study); continuous flow of work; and tools designed specifically for the tasks to be performed. See also assembly line.

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Mass Production 

a form of the organization of production, characterized by a limited assortment of uniform products manufactured in great quantities.

Mass production represents the highest form of production specialization, allowing the enterprise to concentrate on the output of one or several articles or components of standard dimensions. Mass production is characteristic of many sectors of industry: machine building (tools, fasteners, bearings), instruments (watches), light industry (shoes, haberdashery), and the food industry (canned food). Mass production can be organized within workshops or sections of workshops or in the enterprise as a whole. As a rule, with mass production, production can be significantly increased while maintaining or improving quality. Labor productivity rises because special equipment and production tooling is used and because the time needed for the preparatory and final operations is minimized; the cost price is lowered, and profitability is increased.

Mass production requires changes in the production process itself and the methods of its implementation, as well as in the specialization of work areas and their arrangement in terms of the order of operations performed. In the majority of cases, the technological process is progressive and relatively unchanging. The workers’ skills in the area of a narrow specialization must be very high. The technical operations in mass production are synchronized, and the movement of the objects of labor from one work area to another is continuous, often via mechanized means of transport (conveyors). Thus, a minimal duration of the production cycle is achieved, with a maximum turnover speed. With mass production, various articles are manufactured simultaneously and, as a rule, without interruption. This flexibility is made possible by maximum standardization of the assemblies and the components in the designing process.

With mass production, the amount of work assigned to a work area and the mechanization of accounting and control are increased. Production is subject to continuous remote control dispatching, and an automatic system of enterprise control has been introduced.