W 1P: Production

For more information about how hot-air balloons are produced, you may want to look at the explanation of production. This worksheet looks at the various stages of production and considers some of the decisions that have to be made when organising a production system.

Step 1 - Man or machine?

Would you describe the production of balloons as job production / batch production or flow production?

What factors of production go into the production of a balloon? Try to identify FIVE examples of each, and fill them in below:

Try the photographic tour of the Cameron Balloons plant.

Would you classify the production of balloons as capital-intensive or labour-intensive? Give reasons for your answer.

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Step 2 - Where to locate?

Research in your library or textbook to find out the main factors that affect the decision of a manufacturing company about where to locate.

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Which of these might be particularly important in the case of Cameron Balloons?

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Bristol has become perhaps the ballooning capital of the world. Why is it therefore important for Cameron's to be located there?

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Step 3 - How is it all laid out?

When planning the layout of a factory, what factors would you expect a company to take into account?

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Look at the layout of the Cameron Balloons factory shown on the left-hand side of the page. On the copy of it below, put arrows to show how the flow of production around the factory takes place, and the order in which it happens:

Are there any areas where you feel the flow of production could take place faster? Justify your answer.

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