How to Improve Efficiency in Manufacturing

One of the best ways that you can reduce - and sometimes remove - costs in your manufacturing businesses is improving efficiency. It’s one of those buzz phrases that often makes people roll their eyes but let’s be real here - you need to be efficient in what you’re doing. You want to increase output and stay competitive in your field because when your processes run smoothly, you can focus on running a quality business while your employees are busy with creating a quality working environment.

Efficiency doesn't have to mean making a budget for expensive upgrades - though that doesn't hurt - but it does require making the smaller tweaks and improvements that will, over time, change the game and lead to much bigger results. Let’s take a look at some of the easiest ways that you can improve efficiency across your operations.

Review and Simplify Your Processes

The very first step to improving efficiency is to understand how your work is currently done. After all you cannot make any change without knowing what needs doing. So, you should take the time that you need to map out each step of the process of production from the raw materials to the finished goods. It’s here you can spot gaps in unnecessary steps and repeated tasks. You can even spot where the delays are between stages and simplify the workflow from here. It’s so much easier for people to do their jobs properly when you spot and plug the gaps.

Invest in the Right Equipment.

Outdated and poorly matched equipment is never a good thing for a business to manage but if you have that going, it’s going to slow down your production and increase the risks of breakdowns. Using machines and tools that are designed for your specific workload allows tasks to be completed quicker and safer. If you plan this early, you can get the help of a reliable lifting and handling equipment supplier which reduces manual labor, minimizes injuries and improves the flow of material without disrupting your operations.

Focus on Prevention

Unexpected equipment failures are a major cause of downtime. Preventive maintenance can help to avoid these issues by identifying small problems before they turn into costly repairs. Create a regular maintenance schedule and make sure that you follow it to the letter. Also, don't forget to get your team on board with it so that they know what changes you’re making and when. Well maintained machinery will always operate more efficiently and last you longer, too. This’ll go a long way to saving you money!

Improve the Layout of the Workspace

Manufacturing businesses are notoriously busy. There is a lot happening at once and the physical layout of the facility will play a huge role in efficiency. Poor layouts force your people to walk long distances, wait for materials or work around obstacles. Arrange your workspaces and storage areas so that your materials are moving in a logical and straight pathway. A better layout reduces movement, saving you time and lowering fatigue all at the same time.

Train, Train, Train

Training your team is a given but you need to treat training them as the empowering job that it is. Employees are at the heart of what you’re doing and if you are running proper training sessions, you can ensure that they feel confidence in what they’re doing day to day. This leads to fewer mistakes and they’ll feel empowered to share their improvement ideas. Often, your people will notice the inefficiencies happening before you do because they’re the ones at the face of the business every single day. Don't dismiss what they know.

Standardize What You Can

Processes that have been properly standardized help to reduce variation and errors. Clear instructions for tasks ensures that work is done the right way every single time and regardless who’s performing the work, you can improve quality and reduce rework. This in itself makes training much easier. Simple checklists and visual guides can be very effective and your people will really thank you for the effort you put in.

Reduce Waste

It’s not just about paper and box clutter, but about unnecessary movement and waiting time and overproduction. These things are all wasteful and so you should be looking to identify areas where resources are being wasted and look for ways that you can eliminate them. Lean manufacturing processes and principles help to streamline those operations and focus efforts on activities that add real value.

Use Data

Data can really assist your decision making processes and tracking performance metrics allows you to see where you can make changes but also where you can stop plugging your money. Data also ensures that you can see the areas that you need to make improvements, which can be useful. Monitor production rates, downtime and defect rates, delivery times and even basic data collection. All of these things can reveal patterns that point to inefficiencies and you can use this information to make informed decisions without relying on assumptions.

Improve Communication

Poor communication causes delays, errors and frustration and you can come away from all of that by ensuring that production goals and schedules are clearly communicated to the team. You can then keep everyone aligned and clear communication like that really does wonders in reducing confusion and keeps everything running on time as it should be.

Create a Culture of Improvement

Efficiency is never going to be a one-time project, it's an ongoing effort. You need to work to encourage a mindset where small improvements are made regularly. Here, you can celebrate the successes and learn from your mistakes while remaining open to change and that makes all the difference.

Improving manufacturing efficiency is going to benefit everyone. You can make these improvements steadily and without pressure but once you do, you’ll wonder where you’d be without them in the first place. Take your time because high quality production takes effort and time to implement.