How to Increase Productivity on the Manufacturing Floor
Manufacturing facilities are all about how quickly they can finish products and how many they can finish. This article discusses how to increase productivity on the manufacturing floor.
Analyze the workflow
Before making any changes, you have to analyze the workflow to know where you stand currently in productivity. This includes the people, processes, and technology (which will be discussed later); sometimes the right people aren’t in the right places and that’s all you need to change. From there, you can measure improvement and identify any bottlenecks.
Invest in training
One of the most effective ways to increase productivity on the manufacturing floor is to continually invest in training. This is the only way to guarantee employee growth and improvement. In addition, there are always changes in manufacturing and technologies, which is one of the reasons you may be struggling with productivity.
Improve technology
If you’re still operating with machinery from ten, twenty, or even thirty years ago, you’re falling behind. Incorporating new technology is one of the best ways to increase efficiency. For example, laser cutting is critical to many manufacturing industries such as the automotive industry, electrical, medical, HVAC, woodworking, and so on. One of the many reasons to switch to laser cutting is due to its impeccable accuracy. Laser cutters are capable of cutting within one nanometer; most people have never even heard of a nanometer, that’s how accurate they are.
Organization
Workers need to have an organized workspace to be productive. This ultimately begins with the entire work floor’s set up. In other words, the work floor should be set up in a seamless order that won’t overlap. For example, workers shouldn’t need to go from point A to point B just to go back to point A—there should be a point C. Another way to use organization is by reducing any clutter or unnecessary materials. If it’s not relevant to that work station, it shouldn’t be there.
While there are many ways to increase productivity in the manufacturing industry, this article covered the major ways to do this. The first thing to do is identify where you’re at now, then invest in training, improve technology, and organize the workplace.
