6 Ways to Prevent Downtime in Your Manufacturing Business
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Businesses cannot survive without revenue, which means they need their products to be in a state of constant production. The problem with this is that downtimes are inevitable. Manufacturing downtime can occur for any number of reasons, from machinery breaking down to employees not following proper procedures or lacking knowledge of how to use certain tools.
In some industries where machines may be running around the clock and must remain operational at all times, this sort of downtime is simply unacceptable. Here are six ways you can prevent manufacturing downtime in your company:
Have an Organized Schedule
Working around the clock is not always necessary, especially if you only have a few certain machines. If your company's manufacturing schedule can be condensed to include only certain hours of operation and downtime at other times, consider doing so. This way, you can more easily schedule downtime during these periods and thus prevent unplanned mechanical failures from occurring while your operations are still running.
Set Aside Training Time for Employees
For certain machines or processes, employees may need to go through additional training courses before they work with them. Even if this isn't the case for every part of your manufacturing process, you should ensure that some time is always available on the schedule for employees to learn new things about their roles. Not only will this prevent unnecessary mistakes from occurring during normal operations, but it can also help cut back on downtime by reducing malfunctions caused by a lack of knowledge.
Setup Regular Equipment Check-ups
If you have a lot of equipment or processes in place, doing a monthly or quarterly checkup on each one to make sure everything is working well enough to prevent failures will help reduce downtime by catching problems early and preventing them from escalating. Depending on your industry, this may involve simply examining the machines after they've been used for a certain amount of time to ensure that their moving parts are still functional and properly lubricated.
This can also include monitoring things like temperature and pressure gauges and checking all valves and other opening/closing mechanisms before they malfunction. If you use machines such as forklifts and they need replacement parts, buying from a reputable seller like Intella Parts will also ensure you get quality items for your machinery's proper and long-term functioning.
Invest in the Proper Tools
Raw materials are just one part of any manufacturing process; you also need to rely on other specialized tools to do your job. If your company is not already using these tools, consider investing in them so you can get back up and running as soon as possible if downtime occurs. Ensure that all necessary supplies are available at all times for each tool, because having the right replacement parts or tools ready goes a long way when trying to limit downtime.
Keep an Eye Out for Machine Malfunctions
Simply paying attention to everything around you - including how machines are working or malfunctioning in your work area - can be helpful in preventing downtime. Having an extra set of eyes on the job can help you identify potential problems before they happen and prevent them from disrupting your operations.
Improve Staff Communication
When a machine malfunctions in a manufacturing facility, one of the main causes may be a lack of communication. For example, if a machine is working incorrectly but an employee doesn't know about it and continues to use it, this could lead to big problems down the road.
Having open lines of communication between all levels within your company - from employees to managers and even upper management - can help you get ahead of any potential downtime issues before they happen. Everyone should always feel free to speak up about anything that's concerning them with their equipment or processes; this includes temporary problems like malfunctions as well as long-term issues such as poor work conditions or inadequate training for new hires.
Downtime costs manufacturers money, time, and resources. Preventing it is important to your bottom line. These tips for preventing downtime in manufacturing processes will save you both time and money!