**1. Introduction**

Manufacturing is essential to a nation's economic well-being and quality of life for citizens because it creates wealth which is distributed through high-value jobs. Since its birth two centuries ago, the manufacturing industry has evolved through several paradigms [1]. The first paradigm was craft production which created the product requested by the customer at a relatively high cost. The reason is that there were no manufacturing systems associated with this paradigm. Also, craft production was confined to localised geographical regions and such production process was not scalable or interchangeable. Subsequently, the moving assembly lines then enabled the development of mass production which provided low-cost products through large scale manufacturing. However such production was limited in variety, as evidenced by the famous statement about colour that he wanted so long as it was black.

Mass production evolved as a method of producing goods in large quantities at a low cost per unit. It was kicked off with a moving assembly line at Highland Park near Detroit, Michigan named after Henry Ford. Mass production was fully established and massively utilised at the end of the World War II when demand for consumer products became very high [1]. This technology was sought after because of the concepts of parts interchangeability, moving assembly lines and scientific management which are key enablers for mass production. While mass production created tremendous wealth for the U.S. and many individuals, it also had several weaknesses. Although massively revolutionised, it still faced issues such as quality control of the production process attributed to supply chain management, customised production of commodity speciality chemicals and huge demand from other chemical industry manufacturers. This book chapter therefore will review the evolution of mass production during traditional manufacturing to the present day and then carry out a risk assessment of quality of production in a typical chemical industry mass production environment with a view to managing and recommending adequate quality control of the mass production process.

In the late 1980s, global competition and consumer demand for high product variety led to the development of mass customisation. This was achieved by manufacturers designing the basic product architecture and possible options while customers selected the assembly combination of their choice. Product family planning then enabled manufacturers to share certain common components for a range of family of products.

**Figure 1** shows how mass production with a key objective of economy of scale can be differentiated from mass customisation involving mass production of specific products for a large variety of customers while exploiting the economy of scope. Another option is personalisation which designs/produces products which are personalised for individuals thereby achieving a high level of value differentiation for specific users.

**Figure 2** shows that the goal of mass production is scale while for mass customisation it is both scale and scope of production. For personalised production the goal is scale, scope and value derived. Overall, the desired product characteristics is quality and cost during mass production, quality, cost and variety for mass customisation and quality, cost, variety and efficacy for personalised production. It is therefore assumed that during mass production the customer buys the product while during mass customisation the customer chooses what they wish to buy. A request for personalised production requires the customer to design, choose and then buy the product.

During mass production, mass customisation and personalised production the emphasis and key objective is to produce very large quantities of the product within

**135**

**Figure 2.**

*Quality Control Perspectives during Mass Production with a Focus on the Chemical Industry*

a limited time scale to satisfy customer demand. Monitoring manufacturing quality therefore could prove difficult considering that satisfactory product quality can only be achieved by rapid screening of materials at the input stage, transformation process stage within the manufacturing hub and finally at the output stage before shipment to the customer. The aim of this chapter therefore, is to review a typical mass production process, understand current practice to guaranteeing quality assurance during mass production and finally propose how this can be implemented in the chemical industry. It will also develop risk assessment that could guide

There are four industrial revolutions so far [2] including first industrial revolution associated with discovery of water and steam power engine in 1784, the second industrial revolution in 1870 which involved *mass production* using electrical energy, the third industrial revolution in 1970 which introduced the use of information technology systems for automation and the fourth industrial revolution describing the present day which embraces Internet of Things (IOT) and cyber physical systems (CPS). The industrial revolutions which commenced over three centuries ago therefore have evolved and formed the backbone of manufacturing with each revolution providing a boost to productivity in the sector. Since the second industrial revolution mass production has sustained high volume production to satisfy global demand and needs. The manufacture of cars, guns and fast food are examples of mass production. It is the machine tool industry that gave rise to the idea of mass production because it motivated innovators in Britain and the United

Henry Ford was known to have invented an improved version of the assembly line for mass production when he mass produced the Curved Dash Oldsmobile. Ransom Eli Olds in 1901 in the USA. On this occasion he was said to have conceived the basic concept of the assembly line out of which 425 Curved Dash Oldsmobiles

process quality monitoring during mass production.

*Differences between mass production, mass customization and personalised [1].*

States to commence production of interchangeable parts.

**2. Background and literature review**

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90203*

**Figure 1.** *Goals of the manufacturing paradigms [1].*

*Quality Control Perspectives during Mass Production with a Focus on the Chemical Industry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90203*


**Figure 2.**

*Mass Production Processes*

of family of products.

tion for specific users.

then buy the product.

Mass production evolved as a method of producing goods in large quantities at a low cost per unit. It was kicked off with a moving assembly line at Highland Park near Detroit, Michigan named after Henry Ford. Mass production was fully established and massively utilised at the end of the World War II when demand for consumer products became very high [1]. This technology was sought after because of the concepts of parts interchangeability, moving assembly lines and scientific management which are key enablers for mass production. While mass production created tremendous wealth for the U.S. and many individuals, it also had several weaknesses. Although massively revolutionised, it still faced issues such as quality control of the production process attributed to supply chain management, customised production of commodity speciality chemicals and huge demand from other chemical industry manufacturers. This book chapter therefore will review the evolution of mass production during traditional manufacturing to the present day and then carry out a risk assessment of quality of production in a typical chemical industry mass production environment with a view to managing and recommend-

In the late 1980s, global competition and consumer demand for high product

**Figure 1** shows how mass production with a key objective of economy of scale

**Figure 2** shows that the goal of mass production is scale while for mass customisation it is both scale and scope of production. For personalised production the goal is scale, scope and value derived. Overall, the desired product characteristics is quality and cost during mass production, quality, cost and variety for mass customisation and quality, cost, variety and efficacy for personalised production. It is therefore assumed that during mass production the customer buys the product while during mass customisation the customer chooses what they wish to buy. A request for personalised production requires the customer to design, choose and

During mass production, mass customisation and personalised production the emphasis and key objective is to produce very large quantities of the product within

variety led to the development of mass customisation. This was achieved by manufacturers designing the basic product architecture and possible options while customers selected the assembly combination of their choice. Product family planning then enabled manufacturers to share certain common components for a range

can be differentiated from mass customisation involving mass production of specific products for a large variety of customers while exploiting the economy of scope. Another option is personalisation which designs/produces products which are personalised for individuals thereby achieving a high level of value differentia-

ing adequate quality control of the mass production process.

**134**

**Figure 1.**

*Goals of the manufacturing paradigms [1].*

*Differences between mass production, mass customization and personalised [1].*

a limited time scale to satisfy customer demand. Monitoring manufacturing quality therefore could prove difficult considering that satisfactory product quality can only be achieved by rapid screening of materials at the input stage, transformation process stage within the manufacturing hub and finally at the output stage before shipment to the customer. The aim of this chapter therefore, is to review a typical mass production process, understand current practice to guaranteeing quality assurance during mass production and finally propose how this can be implemented in the chemical industry. It will also develop risk assessment that could guide process quality monitoring during mass production.
