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Maths

Production simulation

Curriculum links

English National Curriculum:
Ma 2: Number 4d

Approximate time required: 1 hour

Resources needed

Costs and profit sheet
Profit sheets cut into 'cards' representing 6 days
Calculators (optional)

Suggested organisation

Whole class, then 6 ability groups.

Carrying out the activity

This activity is a realistic, though simplified, version of what can happen in a week in the colour industry. It is a role play. So to encourage the children to enter into the spirit of the activity, the teacher role plays the company's Managing Director (MD).

At the meeting the Production Managers are going to report back on "last week's colour production and the profit made for the company", with help from the rest of the Production Team.

Each table group is responsible for one day's production as a Production Team. They must appoint their own Production Manager who will act as spokesperson for the whole group during the activity.

Before getting into role, give the children the following context-setting information:

On the industrial site, each production shift makes one batch of coloured dye by bringing the raw materials (ingredients) from the stores, measuring the correct amounts for the recipe, mixing and heating them to obtain the final product, which leaves the site in large metal drums. No product leaves the site until the Quality Control laboratory is satisfied, by testing drums of the colour.

The MD begins the meeting by presenting the Costs and profit sheet, as handouts and transparancies, if available. The MD works through the figures shown and the terminology used, before asking the groups to complete the missing calculations.

Each team is then given the information about one day's production from 'last week'. This includes details of problems that arose on that particular day. They are to examine the facts carefully and discuss in their group how their day is different from a normal day and the effect these differences will have on production.

The teams are then asked to prepare a short report for the meeting to tell the MD what happened on their day, including any change from normal conditions and how that affected production costs and profits. As this report can include complex calculations, the less able children should be given the least complicated activity. The order of difficulty follows the days of the week, with Monday offering the easiest task, and Saturday's being the most complex.

Numerical solutions:

Plenary

All the production teams report back to the MD at the Production Meeting, with the 'Production Manager' acting as the spokesperson for each team. It should be obvious that some days were better than others and that some days were disastrous.

The MD asks the Production Teams to think of practical ideas to help reduce the problems encountered in order to improve the company's profits in future. The ideas are summarised by the MD and prioritised by the whole class for future improvements, before the meeting is closed. Ideas could include:

• A spare pump could be purchased and kept in storage in case it is needed urgently.
• A list can be drawn up of workers willing to come in at short notice to replace those who call in sick.
• Storage space can be increased so there is less chance of running out of ingredients.
• Regular checks can be made during production so that quality can be controlled and improved.

Extensions / links

Design & Technology
The whole class work on producing a product, e.g. tissue paper flowers. The process is broken down so that small groups are responsible for one part of the process. The children organise between them the list of jobs, including issuing materials, packaging and production management, then plan production layout in the classroom in the most efficient way by discussion. Finally, they could try it out.