Secondary Economic Activity

As systems

Secondary Economic Activities

Secondary economic activity involves making things.

Secondary economic activities refers to manufacturing industries.

It usually involves taking raw materials and making them into a finished product or semi-finished product.

For example, in a sawmill;

Raw Material – a raw material could be the trunk of a tree.Semi-Finished Product – A semi-finished product could be planks of wood.Finished Product - A finished product could be a table or a door.

A Sawmill

Raw Material

Finished Product

Semi Finished Product

Processes – To change Raw Materials into semi-finished orfinished products we must process them.

Processes

Processes

Secondary Economic Activities

Secondary economic activity usually takes place in factories or workshops.

Some factories may only take raw materials and make them into semi-finished products.

Other factories may only take semi-finished products and make them into finished products.

Secondary economic activity may be seen as a system. Each system has Inputs, Processes, and Outputs.

Inputs, Processes, and OutputsAll systems have Inputs, Processes, and Outputs.

Inputs – These are the things that we need to put in at the start.

Processes – These are the things we do to the Inputs to turn them into semi-finished or finished products.

Outputs – These are the things we have at the end.

Inputs, Processes, and Outputs Lets take a carpentry factory that makes doors and windows as an

example.

Inputs Processes Outputs

Wooden planks Measuring Window framesElectricity Cutting DoorsMachinery Moulding Off-cutsWorkers Chiselling Sawdust

GluingClamping

Note: Processes involve doing something. These words often end in –ing.

Let’s imagine that we own a computer factory.

e.g. PC Pro in Co. Cork

Let’s make a list of all the inputs, processes and outputs that might be involved.

Semi-Finished Products

Finished Products

Finished Products