They scrutinize all the peripheral elements that affect their training, from their meals to their mindset. Surprisingly, most find their biggest gains come from adjustments to the peripherals, not the training itself. Many manufacturing operations could take a lesson from that revelation.
You're already very good at making your products. Getting better, while a worthy goal, is an arduous journey. Yet, the manufacturing process is only one part of your business.
You must manage how material moves through your facility, how you store it, and the mindset with which your staff approaches their work.
These critical areas are too often neglected in many facilities. Still, they offer the clearest and easiest path to rapid production optimization. Read on to learn where you should be investing for a truly optimized facility.
How material moves through your facility plays a massive role in optimization. Repetitive horizontal transport and associated labor are significant expenses in most manufacturing facilities. Yet, automation solves labor challenges and rapidly pays for itself.
Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are an emergent technology that solves the inefficiency of assigning human labor to repetitive, tedious tasks like horizontal transport. AGVs are autonomous robots, like the Bastian Solutions ML2 AV, that run preprogrammed routes throughout your facility, integrating with your human staff to deliver raw materials and finished products to predetermined locations.
These machines are fast, efficient, and consistent, quickly paying for themselves in saved labor costs. Additionally, many are long-running. The ML2 AV, for example, can operate continuously throughout a three-shift operation thanks to in-floor opportunity charging stations. Better yet, AGVs often require little to no additional infrastructure to integrate into your operation.
Conveyors may be an older technology, but these systems have plenty of advantages. There are many types of conveyors available, making them highly customizable. Powered conveyors can move products vertically or up inclines, allowing better utilization of vertical storage.
Gravity-fed systems operate without power, and integrating them into powered systems is an excellent way to reduce energy costs. Additionally, conveyor systems can incorporate sortation conveyors, quickly disseminating materials throughout your facility. No operator intervention required.
Storage space is particularly important to manufacturing operations. First, the amount of raw material and parts you keep on hand can be a limiting factor in productivity. Second, finished goods often require storage before they can ship out. Both require optimized storage and sorting solutions to ensure the most efficient use of space and the expedient retrieval of necessary parts.
Automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRSs) are the solution. ASRS systems come in a myriad of varieties, offering horizontal, vertical, and cube storage options. Manufacturing facilities that use a lot of small parts, like fasteners and resistors, often benefit from vertical lift modules. These units maximize vertical storage space by storing small parts in stacks of subdivided trays. An operator submits an order for a desired part, and a robotic arm retrieves the tray.
Alternatively, horizontal carousel modules are great for storing and sorting cartons and bins. These units deliver requested goods to a designated picking station, ensuring speed and reducing manufacturing defect rates.
Cube storage is an excellent option for facilities looking to maximize their storage space. These systems utilize picker robots to maintain a dense grid of goods stored in bins. Operators request a part, and the robots cycle through the bins. Once found, they deliver it to the picking station next to the operator. These systems are also excellent for storing mixed-demand parts because high-demand parts naturally matriculate to the top, and low-demand parts settle to the bottom of the grid. This allows for faster picking of frequently used parts.
While the above tools indeed have the power to eliminate inefficiencies in your organization's process, a mindset shift is often required to revolutionize your facility. Toyota Lean Management (TLM) embodies that mindset. TLM is a proven management system based on the Toyota Production System and used by Amazon, McDonald's, and dozens of thriving manufacturers to fix inefficiencies, boost profitability, and prevent defects and waste.
The system begins with the 5S process:
Continuous Improvement and the Lean Management process are a never-ending pursuit, but the benefits derived from TLM yield greater operational rewards than any other optimization tool.
There's no such thing as an out-of-the-box solution when it comes to optimization.
Every operation has its own unique process with its own strengths and weaknesses. Optimizing that process requires careful evaluation of the status quo. Unfortunately, that's almost impossible to do on your own.
The human brain tends to ignore things you see every day and focuses on the unusual because, at one time, that helped us survive. Now, it means you need a fresh set of professional eyes to help you improve.
That's where our free optimization assessment can help. Our experts come to your facility and audit your process. They identify inefficiencies, defects, and waste. Then, they make recommendations on how to solve those challenges. With over 70 years of experience helping clients, we have the expertise you need to transform your facility into a lean, efficient manufacturing machine. To learn more about optimizing your operation, contact us online or visit one of our locations throughout Georgia and Florida.
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Further Reading
Toyota’s Lean Management Program Explained (with Real Life Examples)
Labor Shortage Problem? Why Automation is a People-First Solution
What Do Warehouse Conveyor Systems Do?