Taxonomy of Jewellery Manufacturing Processes According to Root Processes

Abstract

Indian Jewellery Industry substantially contributes to the economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and exports. Creating a piece of jewellery from concept to completed product requires technical competence, skill and knowledge of form. One of the biggest challenges faced in domain is lack of classification and standardization of processes. Hence effective processes cannot be designed and optimized. Besides lacking a scientific and methodical approach, there is a lack of common vocabulary to describe manufacturing processes. Work is tedious and iterative. Lack of standardization hampers transfer of information from design team to artisan as interpretation is different. Taxonomy of commonly used terms in production is essential to synchronize manufacturing. A basic framework as mentioned in ‘Kautilya’ describing four root processes for goldsmithy is adopted for this purpose. Managerial implications are tabulation of diverse processes, simplification of process line—eliminate overlaps, recursive workflow, enhance efficient communication and work distribution thereby reducing error potential.