How to optimize manufacturing processes

Optimizing manufacturing processes allows businesses to increase efficiency. This means adopting the use of smart technology and automation to help reduce waste and save manufacturing costs in the long run.

Manufacturing is a complex process involving many different steps, from designing products through their production to their distribution. The world of manufacturing is changing, and the rise of new technologies and a greater focus on sustainable manufacturing means that the way we do business needs to change with it too.

In today’s competitive environment, it's important for manufacturers to be able to produce high-quality products while minimizing costs, reducing waste, and maximizing efficiency. One way to accomplish this goal is by optimizing manufacturing processes.

How can businesses optimize manufacturing processes and improve productivity?

Optimizing the manufacturing process means using data and technology to build better products faster. The goal is to produce the greatest amount of output, at the highest possible quality, for the lowest possible amount of input resources, which includes time and human labor.

Manufacturing process optimization usually involves making improvements over a number of areas, including machinery, control loops, quality monitoring, maintenance scheduling, etc. It allows you to find any defects, validate solutions and mature products faster. This results in the manufacturing process being more efficient and productive overall, with increased product quality and reduced waste, helping your business maintain its competitive edge in the market.

Here are a few steps that your business can take to increase efficiency on the manufacturing floor.

Analyze your current workflows

Start the optimization process by taking a closer look at your business's current workflow from three perspectives.

Personnel

Are the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time? Do you have a clearly defined SMART (specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-related) objective for your production processes?

Processes

When did you last map out and evaluate your processes? Where are the bottlenecks and obstacles?

Tools and technology

Are all your machinery and equipment in good condition? Are you using the most relevant technology to meet your business goals? And how easily can you alter your production processes?

It's also a good idea to speak with your employees and get their perspectives before making any adjustments. This makes the entire team feel like they're being involved and listened to in the problem-solving process, uplifting the team's morale. This could also help provide insights into critical issues that the higher-level management may not be aware of.

Modernize your processes and technologies

Once the workflow has been mapped out, it's time to think about whether you want to modernize or improve your current processes and technologies. Remember that bigger and more expensive machinery and equipment can only do so much to maximize efficiency.

The key takeaway here is to focus on specific tools your business currently lacks and how those tools can fill knowledge gaps in improving the manufacturing process. Some questions to think about are:

Could you automate certain processes?
Could you use new software to improve planning, inventory control, or monitoring?
Could you replace or upgrade your equipment and machinery?

Prioritize employee training

Bringing your staff up to speed and prioritizing training is important every time you optimize your production processes. Ensure that your employee gets dedicated training every time new equipment is installed to enable them to better operate and maintain your machinery and equipment. This will make it less likely that production will come to a sudden standstill.

Pay attention to ongoing machine maintenance

Neglecting basic maintenance of machines can prove to be costly to your business. Broken or worn-out machinery costs far more to put right than a brief production shutdown to perform maintenance.

Ensure that you have a planned maintenance program in place, pay attention to what’s happening with each machine and ensure that your staff are trained well to look after them. This is essential for keeping the operation active and the equipment running well.

Optimize your inventory

When it comes to stock management, it's all about finding the right balance between too much and too little. You can streamline the inventory process by using modern technologies and software to pinpoint what exactly you have in stock and where. This will also help ensure that your stock is always at optimal levels. 

Automate processes

Automation can help reduce time spent managing processes by hand and give you more time to focus on complex tasks that add value to your business. Any process that can be defined and repeated may be best done with the help of automation, including inventory management, report generation, vendor communication, and personnel coordination.

Why is optimizing the manufacturing process important?

Manufacturing process optimization allows you to get from the early stages of production to mass production and beyond, quickly. This means generating as little waste as possible while saving labor and manufacturing costs at the same time. In a business that is constantly under pressure to increase productivity and streamline processes, downtime can be costly. Therefore, continuous improvements need to be made in every part of the chain for processes to run smoothly.

With the help of process optimization, your business can achieve:

Lower incidence of errors in e.g. configuring processes
Increased quality of the product.
Streamlined relationships with suppliers and customers.
Reduced equipment downtime and increased efficiency of business systems.
Increased speed, flexibility and efficiency of the production process, boosting productivity.
Decreased costs of production and reduced manufacturing waste.
Improved compliance with industrial and governmental regulations.
Expanded range of what can be produced.

What is Tork Workflow?

Improving productivity and efficiency in manufacturing is an essential question closely tied to any company's success. The answer for one company included using a service from Tork that helped them take a close look at their operations – and learn about products that could better get the job done.

This strategy worked for Leoni, a market-listed group of companies with nearly 95,000 employees in 32 countries. Its products include custom wiring systems for the global car, commercial vehicle, and component supply industry. Leoni regularly looks to find more cost-efficient ways to clean products – and that’s where Tork Workflow made a difference.

Tork Workflow is a complimentary service through which a Tork expert reviews a company’s maintenance and workstation efficiency. It consists of a 60-minute virtual or in-person session focused on a facility’s operations. The Tork expert then offers recommendations on how to reach targets and boost workplace efficiency while cutting costs. The Workflow report also features a free trial of Tork products best suited to meet specific needs.

Tork Workflow focuses on four areas:

Productivity
Waste
Employee & customer satisfaction
Environment, health & safety

Leoni found strong results with Tork Workflow

Before Tork Workflow, Leoni used the same wiper for all tasks throughout its operations. After, individual processes were optimized with Tork systems, including a variety of professional wipers and dispensers. The primary results were a reduction in motion, inventory and defects waste.

Data further demonstrated the major results of implementing Tork solutions at Leoni, including the following:

80% carbon footprint reduction
18% material waste reduction
18% toxic waste reduction

Focus on workplace efficiency and the 5S system with Tork

Tork Workflow is in line with the well-known 5S system for workplace efficiency. 5S is based on five Japanese words; the English translation is “sort”, “set in order”, “shine”, “standardize”, and “sustain”. 5S began as part of what is known as Lean Manufacturing, a system that aims to increase the value of products or services for customers. This goal is often accomplished by finding and eliminating waste from production processes.

Find out how you can reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction with Tork Workflow and other hygiene solutions for manufacturing.