Topic 6 of 6 · Form 6
Production planning, costing and enterprise
Working drawings, cutting lists and material schedules, flow charts of operations, jigs and templates, and batch scheduling.
Notes for this topic 1 file, in order
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Planning
Working drawings, cutting lists and material schedules, flow charts of operations, jigs and templates, and batch scheduling.
Calculating timber
Volume = length × width × thickness (m³). Add an allowance (about 10–15%) for waste.
Worked example: Find the volume of 12 boards each 2.4 m × 150 mm × 50 mm, plus 10% waste.
One board = 2.4 × 0.15 × 0.05 = 0.018 m³; 12 boards = 0.216 m³; with waste 0.238 m³
Costing
Materials + labour + overheads (power, rent, depreciation of machines) + profit.
Worked example: A table needs 0.05 m³ of timber at US$800 per m³, fittings US$12, labour 6 hours at US$4 per hour, and overheads of 20% of these costs. Find the cost and a selling price with 30% mark-up.
Timber 40; fittings 12; labour 24 → 76; overheads 15.20 → cost US$91.20; price 91.20 × 1.3 = US$118.56
Quality control
Tolerances, inspection, jigs for accuracy, and finish standards.
Enterprise
Furniture SMEs (e.g. in Glen View, Harare, and Bulawayo's industrial areas) serve local markets; opportunities include school furniture, coffins, doors and frames and tourist crafts. Challenges: timber supply, finance, machinery, competition from imports, and quality.
Check yourself
- Find the volume of a plank 3 m × 200 mm × 25 mm.
- Why is a waste allowance added to timber estimates?
- Name two overhead costs in a furniture workshop.
Show answers
- 3 × 0.2 × 0.025 = 0.015 m³
- To cover defects, saw cuts, planing losses and mistakes.
- Any two: electricity, rent, machine depreciation, insurance, maintenance.
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