Job production

Job production makes a single, one-off product designed around one customer's exact requirements. Each item is completed before work starts on the next, so the output is unique rather than a standard product made again and again.

Because every job is different, job production usually relies on highly skilled or specialist workers. A furniture maker building a fitted desk to a customer's measurements, for example, must measure, cut, shape and finish materials to suit that space. The business can be flexible and adapt the product to individual requirements, rather than forcing the customer to accept a standard size or design.

Varied tasks can also motivate workers, because they are not repeating the same small action all day. A craftsperson may enjoy seeing a whole product through from start to finish and using different skills on each job.

The trade-off is that job production usually has lower productivity and higher unit costs than batch or flow production. Workers spend time planning, setting up and solving problems for each individual item, so fewer units are made per worker per hour. Job production therefore suits low-volume, unique or highly customised output, such as a made-to-measure outfit or a one-off piece of stage scenery. It is not automatically poor quality; it can be skilled and carefully made, but it is slower and more expensive per unit than making standard items in larger quantities.