The production manager at Bramford Industries is investigating the cause of unfavorable materials and labor variances that occurred in the previous month. Standards are based on normal or expected production of 400 units per month at Bramford. The manager has discovered that 500 units were needed the previous month to meet shipment needs as ordered by headquarters. During the previous month, 100 units were spoiled, so production last month was actually 600 units.
Use your judgment to speculate as to why the variances occurred at Bramford last month.