Running any operation, large or small, is no mean feat, but specific industries carry a heavier load when it comes to ensuring that operations remain smooth and productive. Industrial facilities tend to operate on relatively thin margins because of the capital expenditure involved in setting up the business and keeping machines and people that make money in fine fettle.
Fortunately, modern technology has made it easier than ever to kit out these facilities with the sort of equipment that can truly move the needle. However, the question still remains: What kind of machinery and processes are required if you want to boost efficiency without overstretching resources?
Assess Current Layout And Workflow Efficiency
The first step before embarking on any other task is to take a step back, assess the current layout, and see if there is anything you can do to improve the workflow’s efficiency. You can often yield incredible results without the need to invest in fancy new equipment by simply reorganizing how tasks are achieved and in what order.
However, in most instances, you will get to a point where you might need specific machinery items to facilitate the new layout.
This could range from installing a vertical material lift to making it a smoother process to transport heavy products from one level to another to other more complicated equipment like an overhead gantry crane if you need to move oversized items frequently.
The idea is that by improving the layout and adding in machinery where it makes sense, you can drastically increase your team’s effectiveness and reduce any pitfalls that might have only existed due to an older configuration.
Choose Ergonomic Machinery To Improve Workflow And Reduce Injury
Ergonomics isn’t just for those sitting upstairs in the accounting office; it can also extend to the machines and devices used by your employees to complete their various tasks. Figuring out where any improvements in this regard lie will be a significant operation and will likely involve discussing what they might like to see with those in the trenches every day.
Once you’ve figured out if you can update anything to make the work less damaging to your employees’ bodies, you can upgrade your site.
Once the job has been completed, you ought to monitor if there has been any change in employee health and see if this small step has reduced the number of sick days that come from the usual suspects of workplace injury (back pain, repetitive strain injuries, etc.).
Invest In Proper Lighting
A dimly lit workplace isn’t just a miserable one; it can potentially cause serious injury and even cause you to fall foul of numerous health and safety regulations.
Even if your lighting situation is adequate in terms of legal compliance, it won’t hurt to test if you can rearrange the lighting or even test out if certain light temperatures actually make a difference to employee satisfaction and productivity.
Some research has indicated that cooler light temperatures (like those with a higher Kelvin rating) generally promote alertness and focus, leading to improved performance in tasks requiring concentration, while warmer light temperatures can be more relaxing and may negatively impact productivity in demanding work environments.
Implement Effective Storage And Organization Systems
Industrial operations are usually located in cavernous buildings and require vast amounts of material to manufacture whatever they happen to make. Part of the process involves retrieving and distributing raw materials and finished products around the place, so examining how you store and organize these things makes sense.
The best way to achieve this is probably going to be by outsourcing the job to agencies that specialize in this task based on the information you provide them. Once you receive your report back, you can initiate any of their suggestions that make sense and discover a new level of efficiency that should provide a massive boost in productivity.
Integrate The Right Technology For Your Needs
Technology has always been an integral part of the industrial sector, and when you integrate the right tools into the workflow, you can begin to see better outcomes in terms of workflow and increased quality of the final product.
The technology you choose for the Internet will depend on your specific business, but it ranges from back-office kind of tech like ERPs and CRMs to the things you add to the shop floor like autonomous robotics or CNC machines or whatever makes sense.
You need to take some time to figure out what technology you want to invest in because the temptation is usually to spend a large portion of your capex budget on the latest and greatest shiny objects only to find that they don’t have the results you expected for the investment.
Regularly Maintain Equipment And Tools To Ensure They Last
The tools and machinery you use need to continue operating day in and day out if you want to continue seeing revenue roll in and avoid any bottlenecks that could be catastrophic for your business.
By checking over your existing maintenance schedules and processes, you will identify if anything is missing or if you’ve allowed standards to lapse over time (which they almost always do). This will involve an all-arms meeting with your management team and those responsible for keeping the gear in tip-top condition and going over existing processes.
Once you’ve established where your weaknesses lie in this regard, you can develop a plan to get things back in order again. This could involve returning those operating the machinery to adding new sections to your training manual used to onboard new hires.
The less frequently your machinery malfunctions, the more you will be able to maintain a smooth workflow and lower your costs in areas like repair and replacement.
Gather Employee Feedback On Improvements
One of the first things that any business can do, regardless of what industry it operates in, is to gather employee feedback. This information is invaluable and will give you insights that you might never be able to receive otherwise.
Your team is the people at the sharp end of the stick, and they are better positioned than anyone to update you regarding how things are going and any improvements that could lead to better working conditions that yield improved efficiency and productivity.
Improving productivity in an industrial setting is far more involved than with other sports due to the sheer size and number of moving parts related to these enterprises. But when you put in the effort and add the investment to back up your desire to increase productivity, you will see a dramatic uptick in employee and customer satisfaction.
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