Manufacturing How are products made in the factory? What is Quality Assurance and Quality Control?

Methods of manufacturing One off production – only making one item to the customers specification ie. Wedding cake. Batch production – making identical products when a certain quantity is required. 1000 cheese pasties followed by 1000 ham and onion pasties. Products can be made according to demand. Mass production – the process is divided into stages. Workers learn the part of the manufacturing process and become very skilled. The production line can be varied from day to day. E.g. Vanilla Swiss Roll Continuous production – A production line is set up and produces good continuously, often 24 hrs a day and 7 days a week – e.g. coca cola cans

Pasta Manufacture Mass production

Pasta Manufacture Mass Production

How can a factory maintain quality? Quality Assurance – this is concerned with the overall standard of quality of the factory processes. It involves everyone in the business, from lab technicians to clerical staff. It should include:- Raw material specifications Suitability of the suppliers Recipe information Manufacturing methods In-put, process specifications and feedback for control Appropriate storage Distribution and recall control systems

Quality Control This is part of the quality assurance. It involves sampling and testing a product as it is being made, to ensure it fits within the designated tolerances. QC can take the form of:- Weight checks- under or over-weights are rejected. Visual checks for checking condition of food, seal etc. Computer monitoring for colour / shape Organoleptic – tasting and smelling, sensory testing on delivery and final product. Inspection for quality to match the specification Chemical analysis – samples tested for chemical contamination and nutritional analysis. Microbiological analysis – testing for bacteria. Temperature – at various stages from delivery to cooking temperatures, often using probes. Metal detectors – identify any metal from machinery etc.

TQM – Total Quality Management JIT - Just in time stock control This involves all workers in the quality assurance procedures. Each stage of the manufacturing process is checked by the next section on the line. JIT This is a system which orders stock to arrive for when and where it is needed. It prevents the unnecessary use of storage space and staff required to monitor the safe storage of commodities Quorn manufacture

Exam Questions Describe (giving reasons )your choice of method for the manufacture of Ravioli. 6 marks Describe 3 quality control checks which would be carried out during production. 3 marks Explain Write a definition of TQM and JIT 4marks.