Mass production is the manufacture of goods on a large scale. It aims to produce the maximum number of goods for the lowest possible cost. The use of production lines and automation allows the manufacture of near-identical, interchangeable parts. Modern techniques of mass production were pioneered by the American motor-car manufacturer Henry Ford. Production of the Ford Model T revolutionized the way that all manufacturing industries carried out their business.
Mass production refers to the production of large quantities of the same kind of product for a sustained or prolonged period of time. Generally speaking, the production quantity has to be in at least thousands (preferably millions) and is unaffected by daily fluctuations in sales. Television sets, computers, and automobiles are typical examples of products of mass production. Mass production is associated with a high demand rate for a product, and the manufacturing plant typically is dedicated to the production of a single type of product and its variations (e.g., production of two-door and four-door automobiles in the same plant). The machine tools involved are special purpose tools that produce only one type of part quickly and in large numbers and generally are arranged sequentially in a line and in the order in which manufacturing operations must take place (some variations, such as cellular layouts, also exist). The product flows through these machine tools until completed. The layout of machine tools is called a product layout.
Mass production start-up is done by operations. The outcome is a fully operating supply chain that can accept, assemble, and ship to meet customer demand (Inaba et al., 2008). Manufacturing processes are stabilized with respect to quality specifications and yield. Team members continuously adapt and maintain assembly lines to within defined manufacturing specifications. Meller and Deshazo (2001) highlight that members of the operations team continually update the value stream map, balance operations, and implement key enclosure improvement projects. The operations team reviews volume and timing changes from the most recent sales and operations plan.
Mass production, also called continuous production or flow production, involves the fabrication of a certain something in a specific way, in a specific shape, in a consistent manner. This something may be a stand-alone product—such as a Frisbee, or a rubber ducky, or a garbage can—or it may be a part—such as a screw, or a bolt, or a body panel—that is used to fabricate something else, or it may be an intermediate product that is used as a feedstock in the production of something else.
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