What's Making Your Processing Plant Less Productive Than It Could Be

release date: 03/30/2016

The manufacturing industry has changed. Gone are the days of outdoing competitors by rapid delivery while quality slips, or vice versa. Rather, manufacturers need to be able to offer high-quality products with fast delivery at exceptional prices.

In order to achieve this, manufacturers are having to become more well-rounded altogether by changing the action taking place in their facilities, staying up to date on technological advancements, and adjusting and perfecting production processes.

Quality and efficiency are the permanent driving factors of success in the manufacturing industry, and if a processing plant lacks productivity, it’s going to be difficult to remain competitive.

However, if you don’t know why your processing plant is less productive than it could be, it’s going to be hard to resolve the issue. Read on for three reasons why your plant might be less productive than it could be, and then learn the solutions!

Reason #1: Poor Communication and Coordination

If production managers and workers are not on the same page, it’s going to be a major pain point in your processing plant. Managers have to constantly be monitoring employee productivity, product quality, input and output goals, and employee safety.

Employees have to be aware of their manager’s goals, changes in machinery operation and equipment inspections.

If there is a communication lapse between managers and employees, or coordination issues involving who is doing what, the plant’s productivity will suffer.

Reason #2: Gaps in the Production Process

If there are gaps in your production process and your production output is not as productive as it could be, it can hurt your bottom line.

For instance, if new equipment is installed and it’s not coordinated into the overall workflow of your processing plant, it could slow production. Or if there are gaps in time from the beginning of production to the final steps of processing, those time gaps could be taking too much time and hurting your efficiency.

Reason #3: Inefficient Processing Equipment

Going hand in hand with the previous reason, if your equipment is running inefficiently, it’s going to hurt your plant’s production. Especially if your processing plant is on a 24-hour continuous production schedule, you’re going to have serious efficiency problems if your equipment is failing.

With that being said, there are many reasons why you might be having the inefficient equipment. It could be user error; perhaps your machinery operators are not running the equipment properly so you’re not getting longevity out of it. It could be lack of maintenance; if you don’t schedule downtime, you’re going to experience breakdowns and unplanned downtime. Or it could be poor quality parts.

Learn How to Make Your Processing Plant More Productive

In order to remain competitive in your industry, you need to ensure your processing plant is as productive as possible. Learn how to improve overall equipment effectiveness in your plant in order to get the most bang for your buck, and to have your facility operate as efficiently and productively as possible!

Download the free eBook, The Foolproof Guide to Improving OEE in Your Manufacturing Plant, to receive the arsenal of steps you need to improve your productivity.