Production methods

Year 10 have been developing their knowledge of production methods recently in their GCSE Food Technology lessons.

The girls first learnt how to design and produce a bespoke biscuit using the one-off production method where a single product is made.  They then produced a batch of biscuits which involved making a set number of identical products - this is seen mainly in bakeries where a certain number of different types of items are made every morning.  The final method was to create biscuits using continuous-flow production.  This is a high-volume method where machines run continuously doing repetitive tasks.  This purpose of this method is to save time and lower the cost of production.

To demonstrate and understand how a continuous production line works, the girls used a table cloth as a conveyor belt on their production line. They then made sure that the different aspects of the line was covered, such as loading, icing, decoration and packing of the biscuits.  The girls then attempted to assemble the biscuits with all the decorations and without losing any items, whilst the conveyor belt was moving.

Head of Food Technology, Mrs Orr said “By creating their own production line the girls were able to see the differences and reasons behind the production methods used by different companies. It was also entertaining seeing the girls try to ice and pack as many biscuits as possible with a fast conveyor belt.”

For more information contact:

Rebecca Conroy, Senior Marketing Executive, Pipers Corner School. Telephone 01494 719850 or email [email protected]