4 Ways to Take Your Production Line to the Next Level Manufacturing
Implement these measures on your production line to increase productivity and efficiency, growing your business in the process.
Process improvement is one of the most important undertakings for business owners. It gives you an idea of how your business is performing and what is needed to improve in particular areas.
By streamlining your production process, you can set yourself up for success. It puts you on the right path towards expanding your business operations for more rewarding projects.
One of the most important ways to grow your manufacturing business is to make the most of what factory automation has to offer. The following are four effective ways for taking your production line to the next-level manufacturing.
Effective ways to take your production line to the next level
#1: Improve existing workflows
It is nearly impossible to talk of moving from point A to B if you don’t know what is going on at point A currently. That is why every project to enhance your processes begins with a detailed look into what is taking place at the moment.
Evaluating your workflow can help reveal some of the time-wasters on the job. These include unnecessary tasks on the line, repetitive labor force, and old equipment.
Tip: Always keep an open mind when evaluating your business model and production line. Even if it is something that you helped develop, all processes deserve review and can be optimized for improvements.
According to Camuda, 97% of businesses that engage in workflow automation leverage the benefits of digital transformation. Furthermore, 36% of businesses are already adopting solutions required to automate workflows.
You can initiate the improvement process by seeking feedback from your employees on how they feel about current procedures. The goal would be to find out what is working and what isn’t. Such information would guide you to optimize procedures for a better working experience.
Look at whether you have the right people with the right skills properly matching their roles. That involves a clear definition of your objectives on the production line.
More importantly, adopt tools and technology needed for industrial automation. Make sure that you are using relevant machinery for your specific applications.
#2: Prioritize maintenance
Production lines may have increasingly poor performance over time because they are not well-maintained. Running operations without maintenance can prove dire to the business as you constantly struggle with unplanned downtime due to machinery repairs.
For that reason, it is crucial to have a maintenance schedule. Schedule maintenance in intervals to prevent overlapping maintenance on similar sections of your production line.
Plant maintenance is one of the most important undertakings on your production line. That’s because 18% of operator errors come about due to unscheduled equipment downtime.
Begin the maintenance process by training all your operators and maintenance technicians. That gives them a technical understanding of what needs to be done under certain conditions. Also, set fixed dates and intervals when all maintenance works would be done.
#3: Modernize processes and technologies
It is impossible to take the production line to the next level of manufacturing while still running on old technologies.
We live in a time when companies are scrambling to make the most of smart technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT). The technology involves networking all your core equipment to communicate with each other. Such communication is achieved through software, sensors, and technologies that foster data exchange.
Modernizing your business processes involves looking into how new software can help with planning, monitoring, and inventory control. Furthermore, it entails either upgrading or replacing existing machinery and equipment.
#4: Diversify the product range
Taking your production line to the next manufacturing level requires you to think out of the box and come up with new product ranges. Releasing one product to the market may prove challenging to your growth efforts. Diversification of your product line is the key to achieving unprecedented growth levels.
That does not mean introducing just any product. Align the new products with existing ones for optimal efficiency, such as:
Products that are made of the same materials
Products that use the same machines
Products that are used by the same or similar markets
There are different techniques for product diversification, including renaming, repackaging, resizing, and brand extension.
It is important to think of what you do better than competitors as you diversify. That gives you an idea of your current strengths and how you would extend the same in the new products.
In the long run, having various products on your manufacturing line helps increase profits and tremendously create brand awareness.
NRTC IS YOUR GATEWAY TO TAKING THE PRODUCTION LINE TO THE NEXT LEVEL
As you try to learn how to adopt industry 4.0 to enhance your production line, you need a partner who knows how to move toward continual growth. AT NRTC, we are all about automating your production line with the latest technologies. You can count on us for different services, including industrial robot refurbishing, service parts manufacturing, robotic training, among others.
Schedule a free consultation today to get started.