Many manufacturing business are constantly looking for a way to improve the output of their factories. Some pay a lot of money to have professionals come in and survey their establishment and then offer up expensive solutions.
However, by just tweaking a few little factors within the running of your manufacturing site, you could save this money and improve the production speed.
#1 Process structures
It is a good idea to initiate process structures within your manufacturing business. When setting these up, you should time workers performing the tasks in question while recording what they are doing for others to follow the script. It is important to provide accurate timings, so choose your operative wisely.
For instance, someone who carries out the job on a very regular basis will be a lot faster than someone who very rarely gets to perform the task. Try to aim somewhere in the middle or add extra time for those less dexterous.
#2 Scheduling for operatives
Once you have some procedures in place, you will find it far easier to schedule workloads and share tasks amongst your operatives. For your scheduling software to work at its best, you should provide all of your operatives with access to their work schedule, preferably on a personal tablet.
Of course, if your manufacturing business has flow lines, you will probably only need to provide access to the scheduling software, the person at the front of the flow, and the last one on the line. This is because the first person on the line selects the order when sufficient time has elapsed after finishing the last order. The last person on the line moves the order into the completed column when the last item has left their workstation.
#3 Education levels
Of course, to get your employees to complete their job roles to your satisfaction, they will have to be trained to do so by a team member. You will know that workloads and products change due to countless years of working in the manufacturing industry.
With this in mind, it is a good idea to ensure that your operatives are trained in different job roles across your shop floor so that in times of change, they can be slotted into different product manufacturers with little to no disruption to surrounding colleagues.
To do this effectively, you can provide these individuals with a mentor and access to software that can increase communication with peers as well as improve the training experience. Learning additional well-structured knowledge will not only be beneficial to your business but will enhance your employee’s experience within your company and keep their job role interesting to them. To read more about how employee experience can help your business and how to open up communication links with peers, click here.
#4 Organize workstations
Another way to help speed up production is to organize your operative’s workstations. Making sure that there isn’t any clutter or personal items on display and that all tools required for their job roles are close to hand. Each of your operatives should have a bin by their feet. (Or at least one between two workers) for debris to be regularly cleared into.
A drawer beneath their desk to keep tools or a shadow board kept in front of them with hand tools. Such as handheld screwdrivers suspended above their workstations within easy grabbing reach will cut down. On the amount of time workers are walking around looking for the tools that they require.
