Assembly Line Production Process Vs Batch Production Process

If you are attempting to locate the most advantageous production process for your manufacturing operation, you may be considering an assembly line or batch production process. Batch production is identified as a scaled-down version of the assembly line production process. Instead of being produced in continuous streams as they are on assembly lines, the batch production process pertains to producing them within groups. While this sounds like the method that many production facilities should use, batch production can also create delays, simply because of companies having to stop production lines between batch runs.

These delays can be increasingly problematic if they are to interfere with getting products to customers within a timely manner. Having said that, batch production is still a substantially beneficial production process that manufacturing operations could utilize. If you are considering assembly line production or batch production, there are advantages to both of these processes. To begin, we will discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of assembly line production.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Assembly Line Production

Within assembly line production, there are various advantages and disadvantages that include the following:

• Advantages of Assembly Line Production - Production or assembly lines enable manufacturers to effectively produce large quantities of items in a timely and efficient manner. Workers and machines perform specific task that build a portion of the product as it moves down the line, ultimately becoming the finished product once the process is completed. Assembly line production works in favor of economies of scale, which refers to the reduction in the average cost that it takes to make a production due to an increase in production.
• Disadvantages of Assembly Line Production - One of the main disadvantages to assembly line production is its inability to control waste and financial loss within the assembly line. Large production lines often include expressive assembly machines that are only economic for manufacturers to utilize at higher outputs. Having said that, large production runs increase chances for manufacturing mistakes that produce defective products a manufacturer can’t sell. Big production outputs also may leave manufacturers stuck with a substantially large amount of products that can not be sold due to a drop in consumer demand.

Now that we have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of assembly line production, we can move forward to batch production.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Batch Production  

Within batch production, there are various advantages and disadvantages that include the following:

• Advantages of Batch Production - Batch production processes are utilized more within small manufacturing operations that can not afford to run continuous production lines. It also may aid companies in avoiding a substantial amount of waste. Batch production is useful for seasonal items as well, in which manufacturing can start and stop in accordance with the seasonal demand. At times, retailers may agree to stock new products in their stores that may not sell well, so they can cancel future orders. In such cases, batch processing prevents manufactures from making investments in new products that could potentially not sell.
• Disadvantages of Batch Production - Batch production processes could lead to inefficiency because of the downtime associated within the process. Manufacturing facilities have to shut down machines and reconfigure them in order for a new batch to be produced. Manufacturers also have to retest machines to ensure that their output is on target for the product that is being made. These downtimes can be extremely lengthy if the production process is complicated or involves various machines.

A software that can aid in assembly line or batch production is PlanetTogether’s Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software (APS). Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software (APS) generates production schedules that allow manufacturing facilities to have thorough visibility into their production process through visualization of the process as a whole. Operations managers can locate areas where efficiency is lacking, where constraints may be, and ultimately aid them in developing a plan to potentially enhance those areas. Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software (APS) has become a necessity for manufacturing operations around the globe that are seeking to take their production to the next level in terms of optimization and efficiency enhancement.   

Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software has become a must for modern-day manufacturing operations due to customer demand for increased product mix and fast delivery combined with downward cost pressures. APS can be quickly integrated with a ERP/MRP software to fill gaps where these system lack planning and scheduling flexibility and accuracy. Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) helps planners save time while providing greater agility in updating ever-changing priorities, production schedules, and inventory plans.

• Create optimized schedules balancing production efficiency and delivery performance
• Maximize output on bottleneck resources to increase revenue
• Synchronize supply with demand to reduce inventories
• Provide company-wide visibility to capacity
• Enable scenario data-driven decision making

Implementation of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software will take your manufacturing operations to the next level of production efficiency, taking advantage of the operational data you already have in your ERP.

Related Lean Manufacturing Video

 APS Resources