Production Time

the length of time that capital (under capitalism) or assets of enterprises (under socialism) stay in the sphere of production.

Production time covers the period from the moment of entry of the means of production into an enterprise up to the completion of the finished product. It is made up of three periods: the time during which the means of production are in production reserves (for example, the time raw materials and stock stay in the enterprise’s warehouses); the working time (the period during which the objects of labor are being affected directly by the instruments of labor in the labor process); and the period during which natural processes (physical, chemical, biological) act on the objects of labor. The length of time the means of production are in production reserves depends on the regularity with which raw materials, stock, and other inputs reach the enterprise—that is, on the organization of technical material supply and the punctuality of the supplier. The length of the working time depends on the branch of production, the complexity of the technology, the level of technique, and the productivity of labor within the given enterprise. The duration of interruptions during the period of direct processing of the objects of labor is conditioned by the nature of the articles themselves, technology, the organization of production, and the duration of changes taking place in the articles as a result of natural processes (for example, the period of fermenting of wine, drying of lumber, tanning of leather). Thus, production time as a whole depends on the duration of the three periods of which it is composed.

Decreasing the production time frees current assets, allows better use of fixed assets, helps accelerate rates of reproduction, and helps increase the output. The main trends in decreasing production time are the introduction of new techniques and the modernization of equipment, the improvement of the technology of production, and the more rational organization of production and labor.