9 ways to improve production line efficiency
Ideally your plant should have excellent cost control, fast turnaround times and high-quality output. Efficiency is key to these strengths.
An efficient production line stands a much better chance of achieving your goals. Productivity is maximised, allowing you to meet deadlines and generate products that consistently fulfil customer demand.
If your plant isn’t efficient, you will experience higher costs and waste levels, alongside more production issues that affect quality.
There are many factors that affect efficiency. You need the right environment, resources and processes to achieve it. Our guide lists nine ways you can improve your plant.
Understand your products
The first step to improved efficiency in your plant is understanding the task in front of you. You need to know what requirements you need to fulfil to craft a production process that enables you to do so.
Your production line needs to complete various tasks required to meet specifications. Many of these are laid out in your customer contracts.
Part of this is understanding the characteristics of the materials you will be working with. It enables you to find compatible machinery that allows you to maintain the integrity and quality of your products.
Select machines tailored to your needs and that will deliver the required output.
Have high-performing equipment
The equipment and machinery that make up your production line are crucial to its efficiency. You need high-performing solutions that offer the results you want.
Any system you purchase should be tailored to your materials and output needs. There are key features to look out for, including accuracy, speed and capacity.
For maximum efficiency, it is essential to balance speed with accuracy and quality. This means not always choosing the fastest machine but choosing the one that fits your objectives most.
Speak to the machinery supplier to determine the best options for your needs, as they may offer bespoke solutions that deliver outstanding results.
Create an appropriate environment
The processing environment is another critical factor in efficiency. Certain product types require specific conditions. For example, frozen and fresh food needs cold climates, while delicate products need fragile handling.
Understanding your objectives will help you to build the right environment. You will also need to identify machinery that matches.
When considering the environment, making one that facilitates efficiency is integral. This could include ensuring the production line is installed correctly to enable a smoother process, keeping staff on board with targets and guidelines or focusing on continuous improvement.
Train your staff
Most production lines have employees operating them to some degree. Staff members have specific tasks they need to complete for production process to progress, and if one process fails, it derails things.
You need to empower your staff to be efficient. It means providing training that gives them the expertise to operate your production line and look for continuous improvement.
Training has many benefits, including improving staff safety and ensuring jobs are done correctly. It will also drive productivity by preventing errors and maximising output quality.
Collect data
When seeking to improve efficiencies, it is crucial to analyse performance and find room for improvement. That is why data collection matters in any production line.
By monitoring performance through data, you will see what works well (and doesn’t). It alerts you to issues so you resolve them while establishing patterns that lead your future processes.
One area to monitor is overall equipment efficiency (OEE). It indicates how efficient each piece of your production line is; a higher score highlights a better-performing system. By tracking OEE, you will establish weak points in your plants to rectify them for more robust performance.
Data analysis will also empower better business decisions that improve efficiency, including stock and cost management.
Utilise automation
Automation is becoming increasingly prevalent in response to an industry skills shortage. It offers many benefits, including faster turnaround times, little room for human error and improved traceability.
Automation is an investment. However, it doesn’t mean introducing robots everywhere; it’s possible to automate specific tasks to improve results in those areas.
Many systems will offer automation at lower levels, which is a great way to introduce it into your plant if it’s new territory. Even a small amount of automation can make a huge difference to efficiency, provided you use it in the appropriate areas.
Maintain systems
As machinery is used regularly, it is affected by wear and tear. Eventually, it lessens performance and cause production issues. It could even lower OEE.
Maintenance is crucial to keeping equipment in good working condition. By routinely servicing your systems, you will detect issues before they unfold, which could save you lost time and resources. It will also enable you to ensure everything is functioning correctly, preventing problems with production or output.
Maintenance is also key to knowing when repairs or replacements are required, so the production line continues to operate as a well-oiled machine.
If you don’t have the capacity for maintenance in-house, consider a service contract. They give access to expert support, which will maintain efficiency long-term.
Focus on productivity
Productivity and efficiency are intertwined. You need to be productive to meet your goals and deadlines, which will facilitate better efficiency.
Trained staff and strong production lines are the foundations of productivity. However, it also means careful planning. For example, you need to utilise downtime for maximum results, such as cleaning your plant or servicing systems, so they perform better when required.
You also need to plan other elements, such as supply delivery and shift patterns, to operate at maximum efficiency and generate the required output.
Remember, quality is key
The outcome of your production should be high-quality products that satisfy your customers. Everything in your process needs to be aligned to deliver it.
When creating your production line, speed and cost must be balanced against accuracy and quality of output.
Quality control will be crucial during production to identify issues and prevent dissatisfaction. It will also help you to uncover defects that could lead to complaints or safety problems.
With better quality, you will have fulfilled your role and stand a better chance of securing further sales.
In summary
Efficiency will unlock many rewards for your plant, including reduced costs and increased quality. However, you need to make a continued effort to achieve it.
There are many things that can be done to drive efficiency, including maintenance, automation and data collection. The foundations are an environment with the appropriate equipment, trained staff and an inherent understanding of your products.
With this, you will be able to drive the results you want from your production line: high-quality output that drives revenue and profit.
Yamato will help you boost efficiency with our innovative and sustainable machinery and support services. Get in touch today to find out more.