Manufacturing orders are of two classes: general orders to the superintendent to manufacture a certain quantity of goods, and specific orders to shop foremen to do some part of the work. For convenience, these orders will be referred to in this discussion as Production orders and Shop orders.
23. Production Orders. The production order is the written instructions to the superintendent to manufacture certain goods. It is his authority to secure the necessary material, to employ the required number of men, and to convert that material and labor into the finished product. The production order may call for the manufacture of the quantity of goods of a certain type required to fill one or more customers' orders; the manufacture of a certain quantity of goods to be placed in stock, from which to fill future orders; the conversion of a definite quantity of raw material into finished products; or even the manufacture of an indefinite quantity of raw material into an equally indefinite quantity of the finished product, but within a definite period of time.
Usually the production orders of one factory will be confined to one class, though there are some exceptions. In the first class, we find shops manufacturing special machinery, jobbing foundries, and mills manufacturing underwear and hosiery. In the latter business the goods are sold in advance, from samples, and only the quantities or particular styles required to fill orders are manufactured.
The second class includes furniture factories, typewriter factories, the manufacture of tools, and numberless similar industries in which a stock of standard goods is manufactured for future sale.
An example of the third class is found in a harness factory. In this business, a certain number of sides of leather are issued to the cutting room to be cut. Since the leather is not uniform in weight or texture, it is not possible to cut an entire side of leather into pieces of the same size, or the same parts of a harness—as lines or traces. The cutter must use his best judgment, so cutting the leather that it will produce the largest possible volume of usable stock, with the least waste. The definite factor is the side of leather which is to be converted into an indefinite quantity of finished, or semi-finished product.
The last class is illustrated in the manufacture of salt. The brine—raw material—is pumped from the wells into storage tanks, from which it is drawn into evaporating pans or grainers. An order may be issued to make what is known as common fine salt in three of these evaporators. Evaporating processes are influenced by atmospheric conditions—the same heat will evaporate the brine much more rapidly one day than another. Also, the brine is of different degrees of strength—the same quantity does not always contain the same amount of salt. The only definite factor is time—an indefinite quantity of brine is converted, in a given time, into an indefinite quantity of salt and, it might be added, of an indefinite quality.
When all these conditions are considered, together with the fact that each manufacturer has his individual methods of conducting the business—methods probably different from those of his competitors in the same line—it will be seen that the variety of forms of production orders is almost without number. But the important thing is to have an order of some kind—to provide a record.
If there is one essential feature to be incorporated in the production order, it can be expressed in two words—definite instructions. The order should be made perfectly clear, leaving no room for doubt, as to what is desired. When No. 3 dining-room chairs are wanted, the order should state the fact very clearly, and not read chairs, leaving the superintendent to guess the style and size.
