The system depends on a number of factors viz. policies of the organization, types of production, size of production etc. However, the production method, its organization and operations differ from company to company. Intermittent (Job and batch) systems produce items only when orders are received. During slack periods when there is no or very little demand, workers are likely to be sacked. Thus, there is less job security in Intermittent (Job-batch) production systems. In Continuous (mass and process) system, items are manufactured for stock and so production is continuous. Due to this there is more job-security for workers. Let have a look on the Difference Between Intermittent And Continuous Production System.
Difference Between Intermittent And Continuous Production System
Following are point-wise differences between Intermittent and Continuous manufacturing systems
| Same product is not produced continuously. | Same product produced continuously |
| Items produced for order | Items produced for stock |
| Production process flexible | Process not flexible |
| Equipment used for limited time | Regular use of equipment |
| Wide range of products can be manufactured | Only particular type of product is produced |
| Smaller scale of production | Large scale production |
| Planning and control operations complicated and tedious | Planning and control operations simple and easy |
| More detailed and too many instructions are required for operations | Single set of instructions are sufficient for operations |
| Capital investment may be low | Capital investment is high |
| Per unit cost of production is high | Per unit cost of production is low |
| Less security of jobs | More security of jobs |
| Function type of organization | Divisional type of organization |
| Requires staff of high technical skill and ability | equires more managerial capability and better coordination |
| Control not ‘in line’ of production | Control in line’ of production |
| Storage is required at each operation | Storage required only at limited locations |
| Change in location easy | Change in location difficult |
| Product and the process not standardized | Product and process standardized |
| Accuracy low | Accuracy high |
There may be organizations which may use a combination of both the systems at various stages of the production process.
