Job Production Manufacturing

Job Production Manufacturing involves the producing of a one-off product for a specific customer. One-off production is used when an item is meant to meet a customer's very specific needs and product requirements.This is considered to be the oldest form of production. With this type of manufacturing, the production is concerned with individual products. It is also important to note that many of these finished products will probably not have a large number of pre-manufactured components (many different parts) in them.Most items are largely put together by hand or with the use of highly specialized equipment.

Most of the time no two products will be the same and since the units are manufactured to customers' requirements, each unit can be expensive. This has lead to job production primarily being used for high end items where the costs can be recouped fairly easily.

It is also important to understand that because very small numbers are made, the manufacturer would have to reset the equipment for each individual job. The manufacturer may even have to use very different materials for each individual product. All this adds to the production costs for the company and affects the bottom line. Manufacturers refer to this kind of product by saying that each one of these one-off products has a high unit cost.

Job production is most often associated with small firms that have highly specialized products (for example: making railings for a specific house, building/repairing a computer for a specific customer, making flower arrangements for a specific wedding etc.) but large firms use job production too. Examples of job production in larger firms include:

• Designing and implementing an advertising campaign


• Auditing the accounts of a large public limited company


• Building a new factory


• Installing machinery in a factory

Despite the high cost of production there are many benefits to using job production.Key benefits of job production include:

• The production work is generally of a high quality since most customers with this type of work are willing to pay for it.


• A very high level of customization is possible to meet the customer's exact requirements.Manufacturers who use job production know that they must meet their customer's demands in order to stay in business.


• There is much more significant flexibility that is possible, especially when compared to mass production.Because of the focused nature of the production items can be changed or modified if they need to be.


• The workers who are using job production can be easily motivated due to the skilled nature of the work they are performing.Job production often requires highly individualized and skilled work leaving workers with a high degree of job satisfaction.

While there are many benefits to Job Production Manufacturing it is also important to understand the disadvantages.These can include:

• A much higher cost of production.Job Production Manufacturing often requires specialized equipment and training to use the equipment.Since the manufacturing output is lower than in other production processes it also drives up costs as well.


• Job Production Manufacturing requires the use of specialist labor that is much more expensive and sometimes harder to find then when compared with the repetitive and low-skilled jobs that are found in mass production.


• Because of the high quality of work that Job Production Manufacturing requires the process is relatively slow compared to other methods (batch production and mass production)

There are a number of features that should be implemented in a job production environment in order for it to be successful they include:

• Clear definitions of objectives should be set.
• Clearly outlined decision making process.
• A clear understanding of the needs and requirements of the target customer.