Topic 5

Word

Definition

Example

production

the action of making or manufacturing from components or raw materials

It was a wonderful production.

manufacture

to use machines to make goods or materials, usually in large numbers or amounts

The company that manufactured the drug.

manufacturing

the process or business of producing goods in factories

Thousands of jobs had been lost in manufacturing.

manufacturing facility

a building or area where goods are made

The manufacturing facility also loses access to research needed to upgrade its products.

factory

a place where workers make things

He works in a car factory.

plant

a living thing that has leaves and roots and grows in earth

Don't forget to water the plants.

output

the amount of goods or work produced by a person, machine, factory etc

Industrial output increased by four per cent last year.

capacity

the maximum amount that something can contain

All the hotels were filled to capacity.

lean

a lean organization, company etc uses only as much money and as many people as it needs, so that nothing is wasted

In this age of lean corporations, more workers are expected to work overtime.

lean manufacturing

the business of producing goods in large numbers using methods that avoid wasteand reduce the time taken

The factory has adopted a lean manufacturing programme to weed out waste in its productionprocesses.

just-in-time manufacturing

a methodology aimed primarily at reducing times within the production system as well as response times from suppliers and to customers

Japanese firms pioneered more efficient just-in-time manufacturing.

chain of production

the processing stages that a good or service goes through to get to the consumer

Efficiency enhancements in supply and distribution play a major role in gains in productivity and competitiveness throughout the chain of production.

research and development

(in industry) work directed towards the innovation, introduction, and improvement of products and processes.

All our profits are re-invested in research and development.

laboratory

a room or building with scientific equipment for doing scientific tests or for teaching science, or a place where chemicals or medicines are produced

Scientists carry out experiments in a laboratory.

product

something that is made to be sold, usually something that is produced by an industrial process or, less commonly, something that is grown or obtained through farming

Can I ask you a few questions about your product?

goods

something that can be sold

Our company produces electrical goods.

merchandise

goods that are being sold

Our team will bring the merchandise to the venue.

FMCG

are products that sell quickly at relatively low cost. These goods are also called consumer packaged goods

For FMCG customers shop less frequently.

focus group

a group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product

According to results we obtained from focus groups red is the best colour for the packaging

reverse engineering

a situation in which a product is examined to see how it is made, so that it can be copied

So, through reverse engineering Indian companies have been able to make drugs still on patent internationally.

staff suggestion scheme

a means by which employees are encouraged and enabled to offer ideas relating to the business

This can be encouraged by introducing a staff suggestion scheme which offers good reward to valuable suggestions.

product-oriented

company put in maximum effort on producing quality product and fixing them at the right price so that consumer differentiates the company's products and purchase it

The product-oriented approach to decreasing emissions of air pollutants includes an eco-labelling programme.

quality control

a system of maintaining standards in manufactured products by testing a sample of the output against the specification.

Quality control is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production

subcontract

if a company subcontracts work, they pay other people to do part of their work for them

The lack of transparency is especially significant when companies subcontract to others.

quality circle

a small group of factory workers who meet regularly to discuss ways to improve working methods and to solveproblems

Quality circles were introduced into Ford UK to form the communications basis for these organizational changes.

benchmarking

a process of measuring the performance of a company's products, services, or processes against those of another business considered to be the best in the industry, aka “best in class.”

Regional benchmarking is also a useful tool to inform strategic intelligence initiatives.

TQM

total quality management (TQM) describes a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction

One of the main schemes of TQM is employee involvement.

monitor

to carefully watch and check a situation in order to see how it changes over a period of time

The company constantly monitors its performance against that of its competitors.

routine check

the regular monitoring of business accounts, books and ledgers to determine how the business is functioning and to detect any errors that may have occurred, either accidentally or fraudulently

He carried out routine checks on a product, place or piece of equipment.

inspect

to look at (something) carefully in order to learn more about it, to find problems

I got out of the car to inspect the damage.

invent

create or design (something that has not existed before); be the originator of

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876.

not-invented-here syndrome

a stance adopted by social, corporate, or institutional cultures that avoids using or buying already existing products, research, standards, or knowledge because of their external origins and costs, s

IT developers do tend to suffer from the not-invented-here syndrome.

researcher

someone who studies a subject in detail to discover new facts about it

The researchers found a link between smoking and cancer.

technologist

someone who has special knowledge of technology

Today's gene technologists are much more ambitious.

innovation

the introduction of new ideas or methods

The company encourages creativity and innovation.

leading edge

the area of activity where the most modern and advanced equipment and methods are used

Software companies are on the leading edge of technology in very competitive markets.

state-of-the-art

using the most modern and recently developed methods, materials, or knowledge

DiScan2 is a state-of-the-art security system.

CIM

computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is the manufacturing approach of using computers to control entire production process

CIM allows manufacturers to make customized products in small batches.

patent

a government authority or licence conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention

He took out a patent for an improved steam hammer.

under licence

in a business arrangement where one company gives official permission to another company to do or make something

The company makes computer chips under licence from the original manufacturer.

intellectual property rights

Intellectual property rights refers to the general term for the assignment of property rights through patents, copyrights and trademarks

Governments should promote consumer confidence, privacy and intellectual property rights.

assembly line

a series of workers and machines in a factory by which a succession of identical items is progressively assembled

The assembly line was on a 12-hour run

batch production

when a factory makes a quantity of one form of a product or part, followed by a quantity of another different form

Small batch production on a flexible manufacturing system

flow production

when a finished product is produced from basic materials in one production process

Assembly line operation is an important feature of flow production.

job production

a type of business model that performs or creates single and customized projects for a specific client

He was being interviewed for job production engineering manager.

small-scale

involving only a small number of things or a small area

Data on breaches of the taboo in small-scale communities are sparse and largely considered as cases of individual deviance.

mass production

when products are made in large numbers by machines so that they can be sold cheaply

The leisure activity for the home was supported by mass production and an army of employees-mostly women.

automation

the use of computers and machines instead of people to do a job

Any occupation that consists mostly of the repeated application of rules is a target for automation.

mechanization

the introduction of machines or automatic devices into a process, activity, or place.

With the increasing mechanization of agriculture, far fewer farmers are raising donkeys.

robot

a machine that can move and do some of the work of a person, and is usually controlled by a computer

Most cars are built by robots.

robotics

the study of how robots are made and used

But automation and robotics have changed all that.

CAD

(computer-aided design) the use of computers to design industrial products

Diplomacy in a CAD manager is to be treasured.

CAM

(computer-aided manufacturing) the use of computers to make industrial products

Ashridge Management College offers a CAM Certificate for graduates.