Manufacturing is built around productivity, and the beginning of a new year is an ideal time to examine your suppliers to see how they measure up. Sales are not the only driver of profitability; lean manufacturing principles and maintaining maximum productivity are also key components. Together they can help your suppliers offer you the most competitive rates in the market place and ensure your orders are delivered on time. Because nothing eats away at profit more than downtime on a job or project.
There are a number of components that manufacturers can review to improve productivity and order fulfillment, including:
Machinery and tools
Investment in top-quality tools and machinery means better reliability and less down time for repairs or routine maintenance. Wherever possible, machine operators should be trained to do basic maintenance/repairs to further maximize productivity.
Standard operating procedures
All production jobs and machines should be work studied and have a standard set of operating procedures compiled. Operating procedures should be prominently displayed at each work station.
Raw material and product handling
The less time spent handling raw materials and product, the better. Poor management of raw material and product handling is one of the biggest drains on productivity in manufacturing.
Defects and corrections
Defective work, or work that requires correction is essentially zero productivity that still costs time, energy and wages. Defects and corrections must be cut from production as much as possible.
Shift changes, machine set up and work flow
Productivity can be dramatically increased by reducing shift-change and machine set-up time, and by reviewing and tweaking product flow across the factory floor to minimize unnecessary twists and turns.
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