7 Ways To Improve Industrial Manufacturing Productivity

Running a manufacturing company requires a large workforce, which can be expensive. Industrial productivity must increase over time to ensure your operations are profitable. That’s why industrial manufacturers must look at ways of improving industrial productivity.

• But what does it mean to improve industrial productivity?
• How can manufacturers ensure they’re running as efficiently and productively as possible?

Improving industrial productivity isn’t easy, but company owners can enhance the production rate and ensure it’s maxing out its financial output. From revisiting the production process to implementing new machines and regular progress tracking, there are surefire ways to improve the productivity of your industrial manufacturing business.

In general, productivity is the output (the product) that results from a specific input (materials, equipment, facilities, and labor).

Benefits Of Improving Industrial Productivity

Improving the productivity of a manufacturing business is a direct result of fewer input costs and higher output revenue.

Productivity directly impacts your business’s bottom line, enhancing your company’s success. By improving productivity, you can also see risk reduction, which helps to ensure your business is safe and secure.

Similarly, businesses that don’t take steps to improve their productivity levels risk being run off by competitors who outperform them. Moreover, the lack of productivity also creates risks that could threaten its existence.

To ensure you achieve the best financial health of your business, here are seven ways you can adopt to improve your manufacturing productivity:

Revisit Your Production Processes

Getting stuck in your ways becomes easy when you’ve been in business for so long. Many manufacturers habitually stick with their old traditional methods because they’ve become too familiar with how things are done and no longer see any need to try new strategies.

While this may be a comfortable position to get into, you must not fall into this trap of complacency. You must constantly challenge your ways and try new methods that will work more effectively in the existing business.

By revisiting the production processes on your factory floor, you can identify where you need to make improvements so that workflows are streamlined and more efficient. Additionally, it helps you assess where you currently stand regarding productivity levels. Highlighting pain points and production blockages is the first step towards improvement.

Implement Lean Manufacturing Techniques

Lean is a systematic adaptive approach to drive continuous improvement within your business. It helps you to think proactively rather than reactively when identifying areas for improvement and implementing changes or alterations. Lean works best when used with a clear goal in mind.

To use lean within your manufacturing business, you need to identify the areas where you can make improvements and whether any bottlenecks in production might be blocking progress. By implementing lean manufacturing techniques, you can identify these pain points and carry out the necessary changes for improvement.

Invest In Better Machinery

After identifying areas for improvement, you must invest in some new machinery that will allow you to bring about the changes required. New equipment, tools, and technologies—from industrial screens, conveyor belts, and walkie-talkies for your staff to computer-aided design (CAD) systems- can help significantly increase productivity levels.

Furthermore, these will help you avoid unnecessary downtime or disruption due to outdated equipment not delivering the same quality of work as newer models. Implementing new equipment into your existing workplace requires retraining, which is time-consuming and costly. However, you should see this as a long-term investment that will ultimately increase your business’s productivity.

Improve Production Processes

Once you have invested in new machinery, improving your overall production processes is next.

Look at tasks taking the longest to complete and use this as a sign of room for improvement. You’ll then need to consider potential ways to speed up these processes. For example, change the order in which you manufacture or alter certain elements to reduce time wasted during production. It’s wise not to make too many alterations at once; instead, employ a gradual, step-by-step approach toward optimization to reap the benefits of these changes over time.

Trained And Upskilled Workforce

After making changes to your production processes, all personnel must be well-trained and upskilled in the new methods to effectively operate and implement new production techniques. Training should never be an afterthought. Staff feel more engaged and invested in their roles when they are front and center of all significant changes to operations and processes.

Maximize Your Workspace

Physical space can often be a limiting factor for those operating within the manufacturing sector. Ideally, you’ll want to have your machinery and equipment carefully placed to improve workflow and add value to production. It might require some reconfiguration or changes to the layout so everything is in the right place.

You can maximize the potential of your workplace by looking at ways to make it as productive as possible.

Furthermore, optimizing the potential of your workplace will also require you to ensure that everything is properly maintained.

If your machinery or equipment breaks down, this directly impacts your ability to produce materials or goods promptly.

Introduce Quality Controls

To have complete command over new production processes, implement specific quality controls. Regular audits on quality assurance in your working environment will result in zero room for complacency as new production techniques are implemented.

Next, you could monitor production speed alongside release dates and quantities. It allows you to monitor potential issues before they materialize and ensure you meet deadlines without too many problems. This way, you can also target waste reduction.

Track Your Progress Regularly

Lastly, you’ll see many benefits when properly tracking your production progress. For example, you’ll monitor your success rate and determine how much additional revenue you generate.

Likewise, tracking production levels allows you to determine which techniques work successfully and which aren’t. With this information, you can continue or find an alternative solution to maximize productivity. This insight allows for more significant future planning and your company to expand strategically.

Bottom Line

Improving or tweaking manufacturing systems and processes will require careful staff management. However, with open communication, support, and training, your business can regularly implement strategic changes that reduce costs and improve productivity and, thus, your bottom line.