Comments: The answer requires a brief definition of each of the production patterns referred to in the question before going on to discuss the circumstances that would justify them.
Key points:
i. Jobbing production is the production of single items usually to order. The circumstances which would justify the adoption of jobbing patterns of production include the following:
a. Where large items such as ships are to be built;
b. Where single large pieces of equipment such as electricity generating plant are to be manufactured;
c. Where large individual items such as a major bridge are to be constructed;
d. Where small one-off parts or components are to be produced to the order of the production department in a factory;
e. Where prototype models are required for design and / or planning processes in a manufacturing or construction organization.
ii. Batch production is the production of standardized units in lots, where each lot has to be processed at each operation before moving forward to the next operation. The circumstances which would justify the adoption of batch patterns of production include the following:
a. Where items such as standard components are to be produced for stock e.g. to support production in due course;
b. Where standardized items are being manufactured on a sub-contracted basis for another manufacturer;
c. Where production requires a variety of quantities and types of items, which cannot be produced under a flow-production process, because of the interruptions to the flow of operations.
iii. Flow/mass production is the continuous production of items which move, or flow, from one operation to the next until completion without break. The circumstances which would justify the adoption of flow or mass patterns of production include the following:
a. Where large quantities of a narrow range of goods are required to meet the demands of mass markets;
b. Where standardized units can be moved individually from one operation or process to the next without requiring any break in operations;
c. Where the returns from mass production are more than able to meet the expensive start-up costs of an assembly-line form of production;
d. Where large quantities of liquids, powders or gases are to be processed, as in the case of paper production, the manufacture of cement or the production of petroleum spirit, for example.
Also refer to question two of December 2010