Manufacturing appliances comes with a unique set of challenges. Streamlining your overall processes is one of them. To help improve your appliance facility’s productivity, and efficiency, Sisler Companies in Marion, Ohio has created this brief guide.
While the guidelines below will help your facility increase efficiency, it’s important that you continue following all regulatory safety guidelines and laws. The best way to be productive is to prevent the risk of downtime. And to prevent downtime, the best decision your facility can make is to follow through on routine maintenance, prioritize safe procedures, and support your team members to the best of your ability.
Having said all of this, here are the steps to take to streamline your assembly and shipping processes.
Effective communication is perhaps the most important factor in an efficient, productive manufacturing system. Without adequate communication, internal confusion is more likely to occur. Confusion and misunderstanding always leads to lost time and resources.
Therefore, if you don’t have a streamlined communication channels, streamlining your assembly and shipping processes becomes that much more difficult.
To facilitate better communication throughout your facility and team, consider scheduling weekly meetings if you don’t already. While some meetings may need to be longer than others, quick and short meetings to get everyone on the same page will pay dividends on your facility’s production. Additionally, meetings open up the chance for team members to ask questions, receive or provide feedback, and help build a stronger understanding about the work you're performing.
Beyond meetings, you can supplement daily communication through email or instant messaging services that help your teams stay in the loop in case something changes in the middle of the day. Leverage the numerous technology tools available to strengthen your communication channels—and enhance your teams’ productivity.
In order to reduce or eliminate inefficiencies in your process, you have to be able to find where these inefficiencies actually are. Track, compile, and then analyze your production data over the course of several months and years to provide invaluable insights into your processes.
From how much materials are used to overall production time, by breaking down and measuring each part of your manufacturing system, you can get a comprehensive view into your processes, and then look for solutions.
Since the demands of your clients are likely to change throughout the years, tracking your data can help you both predict and recognize manufacturing trends, but also better adapt to industry changes when you most need to.
Outsourcing is one way to increase the efficiency and quality of a particular part of your facility’s manufacturing process. For example, outsourcing your shipping to an external distributor helps you free up resources to invest in your production team, and may be more cost effective than doing everything yourself.
You can eliminate the need for infrastructure, lower your cost of labor, and potentially enhance your current processes through outsourcing certain parts. If you’re having a difficult time keeping your facility fully-staffed, or you’re struggling to fulfill your contracts, outsourcing allows you to operate at a stronger capacity with fewer costs and logistics.
At Sisler Companies in Marion, Ohio, we offer advanced component services to your appliance manufacturing facility. We can purchase components on your behalf, put components in assemblies, maintain your inventory, and even package and ship on time, every time.
To learn more about services, get in touch with us today.
