Your production line is the heart of your business. Why is that?
It contains everything your business promotes to your customers: quality assurance, delivery speed, and plentiful supply.
To keep those promises, you must ensure that your production line is highly refined and well-attended.
That way, you will consistently provide your customers with:
- Uniform, high quality, and durable products
- Minimal lead time from customer order to date of shipment
- A continuous supply to meet their demands
However, just as CEOs have to plan and work to create a successful business, manufacturers must be strategic when developing their production lines.
To meet the needs of your customers and continue to grow as a company, consider these three tips to enhance your production line.
1. AUTOMATE
Automation is the holy grail of manufacturing. Since the Industrial Revolution, manufacturers have been steadily automating processes to deliver their products faster.
An example of this is when Henry Ford installed the first assembly line in 1913, effectively reducing production time for one car from 12 hours to one hour and 33 minutes!
Since then, the manufacturing sector has seen vast improvements in production. Industrial robots were introduced in the mid-twentieth century and have advanced significantly since. Payloads are higher, applications are more flexible, arms and wrists are more refined, repeatability is more precise, and more.
Automation is nothing new, and it is even more crucial now as competition gets more intense and the global market introduces millions of potential customers.
2. STAY ON TOP OF MAINTENANCE
If you have already automated your production line, then staying on top of maintenance is absolutely necessary for the longevity of your equipment.
Preventative maintenance will protect your equipment from breakdowns and part failures. Each piece of equipment will have a different maintenance schedule depending on the make and model, so be sure to keep equipment manuals in a central location to reference them when needed.
What does machine maintenance usually consist of?
- Routine checks
- Replacing old or worn parts
- Cleaning out old grease and replacing it with fresh grease
- Replacing filters
- Paint jobs
- Replacing batteries
Whether it is every three months or once a year, keeping up with your equipment maintenance schedules allows your equipment to work as efficiently as possible. Plus, regular maintenance will save you time and money on buying new equipment.
3. GET LEAN
Last but not least, use lean manufacturing methodology to get your production line in the best shape possible.
Lean methodology aims to reduce waste as much as possible to improve production efficiency. Think about it: the less waste that is produced during manufacturing, the less energy that is taken away from important production processes.
You’ve worked hard to get to where you are. Try out the tips we’ve listed above to get to where you want to be.
