For those seeking expert manufacturing tips for profitability, you’re in the right place. After 30 years of helping manufacturers and distributors improve their operations through ERP and Additional Shipping Technologies, I’ve got five straightforward ideas that won’t cost much but will provide immediate returns.
1.) WALK the shop floor and talk to your front-line workers.
I am still amazed at how many plant managers isolate themselves in their offices and rarely talk with their employees. When you encourage your team to speak openly about what could make their jobs easier, you can quickly uncover changes that help them work faster and more effectively.
2.) Institute an Internship Program with local trade schools, high schools, or tech schools. U.S. manufacturers are short on people, plain and simple.
There are hundreds of thousands of open jobs, and it’s not a new problem. Baby Boomers are retiring, not enough young people are coming in, and we don’t have enough workers with the skills needed for today’s higher-tech manufacturing roles. While things have improved since the worst of the pandemic, the shortage is still slowing production, stretching lead times, and driving up costs. The root cause is a decades-long belief that manufacturing is a dead-end job if you don’t go to college. That thinking broke the talent pipeline. Now, companies are stuck rebuilding it through training, apprenticeships, and automation to keep up. Start an internship program that highlights supply chain learning, positioning you for the future, and paying you as you learn.
3.) Start a Manufacturing Mentorship Program
So, are your senior-level employees worried about losing their jobs to new trainees? What if you created an environment where their security was promised and KEPT, while rewarding them for taking part in a mentorship program for your company’s future? It’s more than possible, and you can design and incentivize your top workers who may want to share their knowledge so they can take a vacation day without being bombarded with work questions.
4.) Build Maintenance and Cleaning into Your Schedule.
Regular maintenance of manufacturing equipment prevents downtime and allows issues to be addressed before they become costly. Too many manufacturing plants fail to schedule routine maintenance and cleaning, then face expensive repairs, premature equipment replacement, or lost revenue due to missed delivery commitments.
5.) Look at Your Machine and Facility Layout
I cannot tell you how many times I have performed an on-site engagement for a plant walk-through followed by recommendations. If you’ve been around for a while, expanded your plant, changed your operations, have newer, more popular selling products, etc. It’s time to move things around. If your team members are taking unnecessary steps to reach popular materials, or if you have fast-moving products in the furthest area of your plant, a simple change or two can yield enormous time savings, without hiring someone like me to tell you this.
