Discover the critical best practices manufacturers should adopt to improve productivity and efficiency in their organizations.
As a manufacturer, having streamlined and efficient processes and operations is key to delivering quality output and customer satisfaction. No matter the size of your facility, an increase in productivity can have a massive impact on your profitability and your ability to remain competitive.
So how can you increase productivity and efficiency in your manufacturing company? We’ve rounded up actionable best practices you can use to achieve this goal.
Increase productivity in manufacturing with these 5 steps
Identify processes that need improvement
Focus on employee training
Ensure ongoing machine maintenance
Automate as much as possible
Invest in a manufacturing ERP solution
1. Identify areas and processes that need improvement
Are your processes, people, and technology working in sync? Are there any obvious signs of inefficient processes? Before you make any significant changes, you need to measure your current output and identify inefficient processes and any existing bottlenecks. Start by listing all issues that can be resolved quickly, along with those critical to smooth functioning. Once done, set up a process for detecting such hurdles early on and set guidelines to counter them before they spiral out of control.
Now shift your focus to problems you see that will arise down the road. Whether it is stalking up the spare parts or resolving conflicts within the team, you need to chart out every issue that may hamper productivity. You also check in with your employees during this process to get a better idea of any critical issues or pain points they may face daily.
2. Focus on employee training
A manufacturing plant is as good as the people working in it. Outdated skills and a lack of training cannot cope with the demanding manufacturing landscape of today. So, continuous and rigorous employee training is essential to improving manufacturing productivity. Here are some practices to implement:
Ensure you have a robust safety training program for new employees
Schedule training sessions for employees when new equipment is installed
Consider refresher training sessions as and when needed.
Offer opportunities for your employees to upgrade their skills or learn new ones – this also helps retain employees and build a better workplace culture.
Encourage communication and create channels for speedy feedback and inter-department communication.
3. Ensure ongoing machine maintenance
Ongoing, scheduled maintenance for your machinery is critically important. It may be inconvenient, but by ignoring scheduled maintenance, you risk decreasing productivity and slowing your operations if equipment gets worn out or breaks down. Here are some steps you can take:
Schedule preventative maintenance regularly and commit to it
Train your operators in essential maintenance
Pay attention to what’s happening with your machinery, train your employees to keep an eye out as well
If specific equipment needs maintenance, don’t delay.
These steps will help you stay ahead of issues and avoid downtime – which can be tough on profit margins.
4. Automate as much as possible
Introduce automation as much as possible in your workflows and processes. It significantly impacts productivity as you’re eliminating or reducing manual work and making the best of your resources. You can automate processes such as inventory management, report generation, vendor communication, and more.
By taking away repetitive tasks from your employees, automation saves time, helps reduce human errors, and frees up your staff to focus on more complex and valuable tasks. A modern ERP solution for manufacturing can easily help you automate your workflows, bringing us to our next point.
5. Invest in a manufacturing ERP solution
By investing in a modern cloud ERP solution, your manufacturing business can streamline its processes, reduce waste, and increase efficiency and productivity across the board. There are numerous benefits of cloud ERP for manufacturing, such as:
Your ERP solution will consolidate your company data in one central location and break data silos across departments.
This allows you to gain real-time visibility into your entire operations, enabling you to make better business decisions.
Unified data also makes implementing artificial intelligence capabilities in your company easier.
Your cloud ERP solution will have modules to help you improve production planning, manage your supply chain and inventory, optimize your warehouse and even assist with predictive maintenance.
Ready to Transform Your Manufacturing Business?
These five action items will go a long way in helping you increase productivity and streamline processes in your manufacturing company. If you need help with business process optimization, are looking to adopt your first ERP solution, or want to shift from on-premises to the cloud, get in touch with our team at Kwixand Solutions. As a Microsoft Dynamics Partner, we help businesses across USA and Canada through all stages of their digital transformation and set them up for long-term success. Book a free consultation or get in touch with us directly at info@kwixand.com
