Are your manufacturing company’s sales booming in recent years, causing you to operate at full capacity? One solution is to broaden your operational footprint. However, this entails significant capital outlays, and you may be unwilling to make such an investment due to economic uncertainties.
Fortunately, there are ways to boost your manufacturing capacity without committing to a larger facility. Here are eight suggestions to consider:
1. Assess production capacity. To determine the best practices for reaching your desired levels of production, you must first assess your current production capacity. For example, say your employees work eight hours per day on ten machines that create widgets, for a total of 80 machine hours each day. If it takes three minutes (0.05 hours) to create one widget, your daily output capacity is 1,600 widgets (80 divided by 0.05). With this information, you can consider your options for increasing your capacity.
2. Increase employee hours. One of the simplest methods to expand your operations, especially to satisfy short-term demand, is to urge your employees to work longer hours. For example, in the situation above, if your employees worked 10 hours per day, you would boost your machine hours to 100 hours per day, allowing you to manufacture 2,000 widgets each day (100 divided by 0.05).
However, doing so would likely result in overtime compensation. You should weigh this cost against the increased capacity and revenue benefits. Hiring more staff will save money on overtime, but there are other factors to consider. Many manufacturers continue to struggle with attracting qualified laborers.
3. Add work shifts. Implementing a shift-based approach is an efficient way to increase production. Additional evening, overnight, and weekend shifts allow your equipment to run longer — even around the clock — resulting in a significant capacity boost without the need for large capital investments.
4. Outsource. If your equipment is already operating at full capacity, consider outsourcing the manufacturing of your product or components to a contract manufacturer. While outsourcing may come at a premium price, contract manufacturers may make a product or part for less than you can. For a scalable short-term solution, outsourcing may be the best choice.
5. Add equipment. If space and budget allow, consider buying or leasing new equipment to meet excess capacity requirements. This long-term approach requires less investment than moving to a bigger facility.
6. Make existing equipment more productive. Use techniques like predictive maintenance to boost the production of your existing equipment. Rather than waiting for equipment to break down before repairing or servicing it, predictive maintenance uses wireless sensors in the equipment to warn employees when service is required. This reduces downtime and lost production.
7. Improve tech skills. You can improve the productivity of your current operations by utilizing technology. Automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence are examples of cutting-edge technology that can help you do more with less human capital. In addition to increasing productivity and efficiency, these technologies can improve quality and minimize cost.
Augmented reality (AR) technologies can boost your workforce’s effectiveness and efficiency. AR can enhance a range of complex manufacturing processes by superimposing digital pictures over a worker’s physical environment.
8. Streamline operations. Adopting lean manufacturing principles may improve productivity in your current operations. Lean manufacturing aims to increase productivity, decrease waste, and shorten lead times, allowing you to manufacture more products.
However, be sure to balance these advantages against the potential drawbacks in case of another economic downturn. When the pandemic disrupted global supply chains, several manufacturers who had adopted lean practices, such as as just-in-time inventory management, discovered that the approach had become a liability. Prepare contingency plans in case of supply chain interruptions.
It’s tough to forecast when another downturn will occur, so stay adaptable. The good news is that many of these eight tactics are scalable, which means you can quickly adjust your production output up or down to meet demand fluctuations. Contact us to discuss what’s best for your specific situation.
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