3 Easy Ways To Fix Your Manufacturing Plant

What is happening with your products? Are you dealing with a lot of defective products and issues in your manufacturing line? What can you do about these issues? Fixing your manufacturing plant doesn't need to be expensive nor does it need to be a confusing and frustrating process. Using simple methods like lean manufacturing along with Six Sigma and various improvement tools, your plant can be repaired and you will be able to find out ways to make your customers happier. Here are 3 simple tips to follow in order to fix your manufacturing plant and to find success.

Tip # 1 - Use the waste
How many wasted products and things do you toss? If you have a manufacturing line that is ineffective you will probably end up with excess waste and other things that are thrown out. Redesigning your manufacturing line can help you to save excess product waste and to turn it into something valuable. You will also be able to reduce how much waste you end up having in the first place. Being able to identify and to use the waste will save your company a lot of money and gives you a chance to cut down on how many orders you need to make for raw materials.

In addition to waste from products, you must also learn how to use the waste of time. How much time is wasted by employees that are looking for ways to do their jobs? When people are always needing to wait on other people or on equipment, it causes hang-ups in the process and it leads to a lot of frustration and contention. It is important that you learn how to focus on being able to use the wasted time by re-designing your process so people aren't standing around. You also need to take advantage of the down time by having your employees do additional tasks during the down time. One way to learn how to use the waste in a smart manner is by turning to the 5S method. This will help you in organizing your business in an effective way so you don't end up with waste in the first place. Using this system your employees will be able to know where supplies are that they need and they will not need to stand around and wait for things to be done.

Tip # 2 - Process tracking
A great way to help you fix your manufacturing plant is by creating a system that allows you to monitor all the different steps in your production line. This is called process tracking and it will assist you in getting rid of errors and problems as you will have your employee monitor the different systems and to look for defects or concerns. They will then create solutions for them and will focus on fixing them before they become a bigger concern for the company and lead to defective products and other things. Tracking can be done with visual control tools but you can easily track using other methods as well like coding, Kanban, Kaizen. These all assist in the day to day processes of the company and will be able to prevent issues from happening and allow you to properly maintain a higher quality standard.

Tip # 3 - Control groups
How many of your employees are looking for growth opportunities? Do you have a lot of staff members that are always looking to be challenged in a different way? A wonderful option you have is to create volunteer control groups. These employees are given special projects to work on and often deal with safety issues and concerns. It's a great way to motivate them and to have more involvement in the positioning of your company by your staff members.