Production Technologies
Back in the olden days, when people had jobs, the work was often split up so that each person had their own task to do. This meant that they got faster and faster at their task, which meant that the business could produce more. Breaking up a job like this is called Division of Labour. People were able to 'specialise', known as 'specialisation'.
I'm only messing when I say 'when people had jobs'. Well, kind of. The problem is that businesses want to produce more and more products and people get tired if they work too long. Old style assembly lines full of people are no longer seen as being efficient (or cost-effective), as robots have come and taken our place!
I'm only messing when I say 'when people had jobs'. Well, kind of. The problem is that businesses want to produce more and more products and people get tired if they work too long. Old style assembly lines full of people are no longer seen as being efficient (or cost-effective), as robots have come and taken our place!
Robots automate production. But don't just think of robots as something with a head and arms saying 'exterminate!'. A robot can be an mechanical device that can carry out a task instead of a human.
Over the years, we have seen automation in lots of areas of our life, from making products, to doors opening automatically, to cash machines giving out money. For your exam, you need to be aware of the good and bad points of automation.
Robots, or automation, has the following advantages:
- Increases Productivity (24/7 working)
- Reduces cost of production (Economies of Scale)
- Machines can carry things out continuously and don’t get bored!
- Machines are more accurate than humans
- Less employees needed, meaning cost-savings for the business.
But it's not all fun, fun, fun. Automation causes us a few headaches too, such as:
- They are very expensive to buy and require a large capital outlay.
- Think about the 'Opportunity Cost'!
- Cost to society - Think about the impact on unemployment, income tax, benefits & VAT, communities etc.
Other Production Technologies
Businesses are using technology all of the time to try and help them cut down on their costs and to make their business more efficient (which basically means 'run better'). The key ones that you need to know about are:
- CAD - Computer-Aided Design. This is where computer programs are used so that designers can produce accurate plans of the product that is to be made. These plans can often be turned into 3D images on the screen, so that all angles can be viewed.
- CAM - Computer-Aided Manufacturing. This is when robots are used to make the product. If the product was designed using computers too (CAD), we say that a CADCAM process has been used.
- EPOS - Electronic Point of Sale. The Point of Sale is where you normally buy the product. Me and you call it a till, so all this one means is that there is an electronic till. They can normally read barcodes, which is much quicker than when I was a lad, as the cashier had to type in the price of the product. Not only that, shops had to try to work out what had been sold each day so that they could order more. These days, the electronic till keeps a note of everything that has been sold and can even be programmed to order more from the suppliers. Magic!
- EFTPOS - Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale. This is where we can pay for products using chip and pin on our credit or debit cards. Say for instance that my shopping in Sainsbury's comes to £50. If I pay by debit card, my own bank account is instantly reduced by £50, while Sainsbury's bank account is increased by £50. All this is done over the internet, so we never see any actual pound notes.