Every increase in productivity for your manufacturing business translates to an increase in profits. Even if you think things work smoothly, there is almost always space for improvement.
These 8 tips can have a huge impact on productivity in your business.
1. Don’t skip tool maintenance
The tools on your assembly line degrade over time. They aren’t as accurate after 8 months of heavy use as they were when your supplier delivered them.
Generally, torque tools should receive maintenance after 2,500 repetitions. For some businesses, that might be a year. For others, the number comes after just 4 months.
We can recalibrate your tools, or you can invest in on-site calibration tech and training to reduce downtime.
2. Replace your old equipment
Age catches up with even the best new equipment.
Over time, technology gets better, new materials are used, and best practices change.
Look into new technology from your supplier every few years. The investment might pay for itself quickly, leaving you with the exact same processes but a much more profitable product.
3. Reevaluate your warehouse layout
The placement of your key equipment may have made sense 10 years ago, but the way you do things may have changed.
You may also be held back by misplaced loyalty to an out-of-date layout in the warehouse.
Look at the way your warehouse operates during a normal shift. Where has inefficiency emerged? It may have been perfect a decade ago, but new tools and technology may have opened up opportunities for efficiency.
4. Talk to your employees
Your employees spend more time on the physical manufacturing processes than you. If there are obvious inefficiencies, they know it.
Some manufacturers incentivize employees who improve efficiency. Rather than asking your employees to recommend changes out of the goodness of their hearts, offer extra paid time off or bonus pay if you implement their recommendation.
5. Audit your loading and unloading process
Lots of manufacturers are too casual about loading and unloading.
Look at loading and unloading as the final stage of your process. You look for efficiencies on the factory floor, so look at how you can move products to and from delivery trucks more efficiently.
That might mean changing the timing for arrivals and departures or even reorganizing the space around your delivery bays.
6. Track your efficiency
Follow your process from start to finish, day after day.
Look for discrepancies between efficiency from day to day and figure out the cause.
Consistency from day to day can improve overall productivity.
7. Invest in your employees
Happy employees are productive employees.
How can you help keep your employees happy? By investing in them in a number of ways:
- Fair and competitive salary.
- Benefits.
- Quality tools they need to do the job right.
- Ergonomic improvements for worker comfort.
- Training and personal improvement opportunities.
- Teambuilding and recreation time together.
Employees are more productive when they recognize you are interested in their happiness on the job.
8. Set realistic expectations
You can only improve productivity so far. There is a point where you set goals or expectations impossibly high. That’s when workers get stressed out, mistakes are made, and processes slow down.
Set realistic expectations so your workers can enjoy the satisfaction of achievement, and don’t leave them chasing an impossible standard forever.
Get The Tips and Tools You Need from Ultra Torq
Increased productivity means increased profits, and who doesn’t want more money to take home or invest back into growing your business?
Get the modern tools your workers need to improve productivity from us today. Call to talk about your process, and we’ll recommend the best upgrades for your assembly floor.