Production Operation

any part of the industrial process that is treated as a distinct element for the purposes of such design and organizational considerations as planning, accounting, and control. A production operation is characterized by stability in both the labor process and the equipment used by the operator. Distinctions are made between basic technological operations, auxiliary operations, and servicing operations.

Technological operations consist of purposeful changes in the form, size, and condition of raw materials or semifinished products, or in the structural, mechanical, physical, or other qualities of these materials and products. These changes are made with the instruments of labor in order to obtain the product of labor. Technological operations are part of the technological process of a production shop, section, or assembly line. They are carried out at a particular work position on a single object or on several simultaneously processed objects by a single worker or production brigade. Where production is automated, workers may either have no role in technological operations or they may function merely as observers.

Technological operations may be automatic or semiautomatic; they may be machine operations, combined hand-and-machine operations, or purely hand operations; they may also be done by special instruments. The component structure of a technological operation varies according to the exact nature of the technological process. The constituent elements of technological operations are positioning (ustanovka), cutting (perekhod), and passing (prokhod). Every change in position of the workpiece while the operation is being performed is called a reposition; each new surface produced by a tool constitutes a new cut. A cut that results in a single layer of material being removed is called a pass.

Production planning focuses on technological operations and on the allocation of equipment for these operations. Norms are set for the amount of labor, materials, energy, and equipment time to be expended on each technological operation. The labor of operators is rated and paid in terms of the technological operation performed, and in some cases quality control measures are applied to each technological operation.

Auxiliary operations are production operations involving the enterprise’s construction of the technical equipment and the instruments needed for the manufacturing process. These operations also include repairs to equipment, buildings, and other facilities. Servicing operations provide materials, semifinished products, and energy for the basic and auxiliary industrial processes. They also provide transport and inspection services, as well as laboratory testing and research.

One of the goals in organizing production is to combine all technological, auxiliary, and servicing operations in space and time in such a way that an even rhythm of production is assured, conditions are created for a high level of labor productivity, and the fixed and working capital of the enterprise are used as effectively as possible.