Quick Tip: Decreasing Wasted Man Hours

How to Decrease Wasted Man Hours

One problem manufacturers often face is how to maximize efficiency and eliminate wasted time. No one has ever walked away feeling "good" after their time has been wasted. Now, if you add your factory floor to the equation, the thin margins may be the only thing keeping your profits higher than your costs. Lead time, which is the time it takes for items to be completed within a factory setting, will be extended if the process is inefficient. This makes production costlier because there is less time available for the job to be completed. Some common causes of extended lead time: 

• There are too many processes going on in a small space

• Disorganized inventory

• Inaccurate predictions

How do you fix this problem?

Outlining the current job flow is critical to resolving this issue and, once you know how long it takes to complete your processes, you’re better prepared to solve it. Once analysis begins, certain areas of improvement will become apparent. These areas include the need to:

• consolidate suppliers

• make more efficient schedules, and

• maintain the computer systems being used to manage operations.

A catch-all solution to these problems is to implement an ERP software package, like MIE Trak Pro, to automate those processes and free up hours of wasted time. MIE Trak Pro includes an APS Scheduling module that considers machine capacities, labor attendance, labor skills, tooling, floor-space, and more.  It keeps track of many variables in respect to forward and backward scheduling, as well as finite and infinite scheduling, and all the way down to individual machines in work centers.