Mass production (also flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines. With job production and batch production it is one of the three main production methods.
The concepts of mass production are applied to various kinds of products, from fluids and particulates handled in bulk (such as food, fuel, chemicals, and mined minerals) to discrete solid parts (such as fasteners) to assemblies of such parts (such as household appliances and automobiles).
Mass production is a diverse field, but it can generally be contrasted with craft production. It has occurred for centuries; there are examples of production methods that can best be defined as mass production that predate the Industrial Revolution. However, it has been widespread in human experience, and central to economics, only since the late 19th century.
Read more about Mass Production: Overview, Use of Assembly Lines, Vertical Integration, Advantages and Disadvantages, Socioeconomic Impacts
Famous quotes containing the words mass and/or production:
“Genius is present in every age, but the men carrying it within them remain benumbed unless extraordinary events occur to heat up and melt the mass so that it flows forth.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man, and this standardization is called equality.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)