Industry

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1. Industrial Systems

You need to be able to describe the different inputs, processes and outputs for different types of industry.

You should also have an understanding of the different proprtions of labour and capital they use.

industrial systems diagram
Figure 3.1.1 Industrial Systems

Electronics Manufacturing, China

  1. Watch video 3.1.1 and make notes about the inputs, processes and outputs that are involved.
  2. Write a paragraph explaining why labour is so prominent in this factory and why the machinery is relatively basic.
  3. Are the workers skilled & do they appear happy/satisfied? Explain your answer.

(Clip taken from the video: Manufactured Landscapes)

Video 3.1.1 Manufactured Landscapes

Car Manufacturing: Mini, Oxford

BMW are one of the worlds major car manufacturers and produce many of their cars in developed countries where wages are high.

  1. Watch the clip and again comment on the inputs, processes and outputs involved.
  2. In this factory labour is more skilled but most processes are mechanised, explain why.
  3. Comment on whether the wokers seem satisfied - suggest reasons for your answer.
Video 3.1.2 Capital Intensive Car Production

2. Industrial Location

You should be able to describe the different factors (physical and human) that influence where industries locate.

You also need to be able to distinguish the ones that are more important for different industries. Heavy manufacturing has very different key locational factors compared to a Facebook data center.

industrial location factors
Figure 3.1.2 Industrial Location Factors

Facebook Datacenter Location

Facebook have their main offices in California. The key inputs being highly skilled labour. California is home to many other high-tech firms and Stanford University which are both sources of highly skilled workers. The environment and urban areas areas are also desireable to live.

Their data centers are located far away though. Watch the video and answer the following:

  1. What are the main factors that make Oregon an ideal location?
  2. Make a list of the inputs a datacenter requires and rank them in order of importance.
Video 10.3 Facebook data center location

Facebook moves into the Arctic Circle

Just south of the Arctic Circle, in the Swedish town of Luleå, Facebook in June opened its latest megasized data center, a giant building that comprises thousands of rectangular metal panels and looks like a wayward spaceship. By all public measures, it’s the most energy-efficient computing facility ever built, a colossus that helps Facebook process 350 million photographs, 4.5 billion “likes,” and 10 billion messages a day. While an average data center needs 3 watts of energy for power and cooling to produce 1 watt for computing, the Luleå facility runs nearly three times cleaner, at a ratio of 1.04 to 1.

The location has a lot to do with the system’s efficiency. Sweden has a vast supply of cheap, reliable power produced by its network of hydroelectric dams. Just as important, Facebook has engineered its data center to turn the frigid Swedish climate to its advantage. Instead of relying on enormous air-conditioning units and power systems to cool its tens of thousands of computers, Facebook allows the outside air to enter the building and wash over its servers, after the building’s filters clean it and misters adjust its humidity. Unlike a conventional, warehouse-style server farm, the whole structure functions as one big device.

The next one will go online in Iowa, where cheap wind power is plentiful.

Adapted fromsource

Toyota Factory Location: Burnaston, Derby, UK

When Toyota was looking for a site in Europe it had several key requirements:

  • A good local market
  • Enough space. Its site is 235 hectares ( about 235 football pitches).
  • Enough people with the right skills to make modern cars - it has 3,166 employees to press body panels, weld, paint, mould plastic and assemble the cars.
  • Good communications. Making 150,000 cars a year, getting them to the market quickly and easily is essential. As 80% of the cars are exported, taking them to the port is a critical part of the process.

Why Derby?

Use the links and map 3.1.1 to explain the locational advantages that Burnaston, Derby had for locating a car manufacturing plant. Identify the physical and human factors.

Toyota location pdf

Burnaston Facts and Figures

Map 3.1.1 Toyota Factory Location

3. Revision

Content for Accordion Panel 5

Revision Guides