3 ms·

It's pretty interesting to think that quality can actually go up as volume increases. This seems to run counter to general perception that small/hand batches ca

by bane 10y ago

It's pretty interesting to think that quality can actually go up as volume increases. This seems to run counter to general perception that small/hand batches can be of incredibly high quality and once it goes to mass production quality goes lower. We've never really seen production at Apple/Samsung's scale before and I wonder if this quality curve is something that is all that well understood.

csours 10y ago
Take a look at the Toyota Production System. A large part of the reason they won (at least temporarily) was that they forced all their suppliers and factories to produce high quality parts. Then take a look at Six Sigma. Small batches can be made by experts and thoroughly inspected; but it is prohibitively expensive to scale up artisans and inspections, both in complexity and quantity.
Klinky 10y ago
This is not surprising. Cobbled together prototypes and first runs are usually not pretty. It's like the first pancake or waffle, usually not quite right. A machine will certainly be quicker and more consistent once setup correctly. Perhaps there are artisan niches where a machine cannot do the work, and a human slaves over the minute details, but those are usually luxury items.
- roel_v 10y ago
  " It's like the first pancake or waffle, usually not quite right" Very much OT, but that's because the pan or iron isn't hot enough. Ever since I started first putting the pan on the fire, then mix my batter while the pan heats up, my first pancake has been as good as every one after that. (sorry to contaminate the discussion with this, but I found it much more satisfying than I would think is normal when I got a process down that stopped me from looking like an amateur pancake maker, which is why I figured I'd share :) )
  - tluyben2 10y ago
    My first pancakes 'fail' (no-one minds eating them :) not because of that but because I need to get the feel for the batter spoon in my wrist, get a feel for the cooking time and get a feel in my wrist for the pan & flipping motion. I do not bake them that often so that feeling needs to come first. After a few it's there and then I can bake 100s of the same ones. Which I do at (beer) festivals. Also sorry to contaminate the thread.
starky 10y ago
When you manufacture at the scale Apple does, you can justify more expensive tooling as the cost gets distributed over many more parts. It isn't that you can't do the high quality at low quantity, just that the fixed costs make it infeasible.
eva1984 10y ago
Same with code. Abstracted code often leads to less efficient performance. With large volume, every bit of optimization matters, and Apple has that money to squash the last bit out of it.

by bane 10y ago

csours 10y ago

Take a look at the Toyota Production System. A large part of the reason they won (at least temporarily) was that they forced all their suppliers and factories to produce high quality parts. Then take a look at Six Sigma. Small batches can be made by experts and thoroughly inspected; but it is prohibitively expensive to scale up artisans and inspections, both in complexity and quantity.

Klinky 10y ago

This is not surprising. Cobbled together prototypes and first runs are usually not pretty. It's like the first pancake or waffle, usually not quite right. A machine will certainly be quicker and more consistent once setup correctly. Perhaps there are artisan niches where a machine cannot do the work, and a human slaves over the minute details, but those are usually luxury items.

roel_v 10y ago
" It's like the first pancake or waffle, usually not quite right" Very much OT, but that's because the pan or iron isn't hot enough. Ever since I started first putting the pan on the fire, then mix my batter while the pan heats up, my first pancake has been as good as every one after that. (sorry to contaminate the discussion with this, but I found it much more satisfying than I would think is normal when I got a process down that stopped me from looking like an amateur pancake maker, which is why I figured I'd share :) )
- tluyben2 10y ago
  My first pancakes 'fail' (no-one minds eating them :) not because of that but because I need to get the feel for the batter spoon in my wrist, get a feel for the cooking time and get a feel in my wrist for the pan & flipping motion. I do not bake them that often so that feeling needs to come first. After a few it's there and then I can bake 100s of the same ones. Which I do at (beer) festivals. Also sorry to contaminate the thread.

starky 10y ago

When you manufacture at the scale Apple does, you can justify more expensive tooling as the cost gets distributed over many more parts. It isn't that you can't do the high quality at low quantity, just that the fixed costs make it infeasible.

eva1984 10y ago

Same with code. Abstracted code often leads to less efficient performance. With large volume, every bit of optimization matters, and Apple has that money to squash the last bit out of it.