Manufacturing Operations professionals often face multiple and conflicting deadlines that can affect the quality, efficiency, and profitability of their processes. How can they prioritize their tasks and manage their time effectively without compromising their standards and goals? Here are some tips and strategies that can help.
To prioritize competing deadlines, the first step is to assess the situation and identify the factors that influence the urgency and importance of each task. These factors may include the impact of the task on customer satisfaction, safety, compliance, and revenue; any dependencies and interdependencies of the task with other tasks, processes, and resources; the availability and allocation of resources such as materials, equipment, staff, and budget; as well as any risks or consequences of delaying or skipping the task, like penalties, rework, waste, or loss of reputation.
Por mi experiencia, para administrar plazos de producción debemos considerar: Decisiones estratégicas: Involucra instalaciones, procesos y productos. Decisiones operativas: Planificar la producción en cumplimiento de la demanda. Decisiones de Control: Involucra la planificación y el control de las operaciones. Un indicador valioso a tener en cuenta es el MRP(planificación de recursos de manufactura) Este contempla: Demanda dependiente vs. independiente: cuando un componente de un producto es parte de otro u otros productos. Tiempo de manufactura: Producción por lote o en campa?a. Tiempo de solicitud de materiales: es el tiempo entre que se solicita el material y el tiempo en que el material se encuentra en el inventario.
I really believe in sharing the burden. I'm willing to take on a lot because I know that my team will help and share the burden, allowing us to complete more tasks in a shorter amount of time than we may have first believed possible.
To prioritize competing deadlines, the first step is to assess the situation and identify the factors that influence the urgency and importance of each task. These factors may include the impact of the task on customer satisfaction, safety, compliance, and revenue; any dependencies and interdependencies of the task with other tasks, processes, and resources; the availability and allocation of resources such as materials, equipment, staff, and budget; as well as any risks or
The second step to prioritize competing deadlines is to set SMART goals for each task. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This can help you clarify the scope and expectations of the task, break it down into manageable subtasks and milestones, track and measure progress, adjust and adapt the task based on feedback and changes, and communicate and coordinate with stakeholders and team members.
In my experience, and I'm borrowing from Jack Welch here, the key is incessant follow up. The goals obviously need to be set such that you can evaluate that they are being completed, tracked simply in an open issues list, but ultimately, the key is to track and measure progress regularly. The regular follow up with a standard cadence will create momentum. Nobody wants to be the person who regularly reports in update meetings that their task isn't complete nor progressing. It's not about embarrassing, but rather applying peer pressure to get goals accomplished.
The third step to prioritize competing deadlines is to use a prioritization matrix to rank and sort the tasks based on their urgency and importance. This tool helps you visualize and compare the tasks based on two criteria, such as the Eisenhower Matrix, which divides them into four quadrants; the ABCDE Method, which assigns a letter to each task based on its priority; or the MoSCoW Method, which categorizes them into four groups. With these criteria, you can determine which tasks are urgent and important (Do First), important but not urgent (Schedule), urgent but not important (Delegate), or neither urgent nor important (Eliminate).
The fourth step to prioritize competing deadlines is to plan and execute the tasks according to their priority. This involves creating a realistic and flexible schedule that allocates enough time and resources for each task and accounts for possible delays and disruptions. To make the most of your effort, you should follow the 80/20 rule, which states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort, and focus on the most impactful and valuable tasks first. You can also apply the Pomodoro Technique, which involves working on a task for 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break, and repeating this cycle until the task is done or the deadline is met. To be productive, it's important to avoid multitasking, procrastination, and distractions.
The fifth step to prioritize competing deadlines is to review and improve your processes and outcomes, which involves evaluating the results and feedback of each task, celebrating the achievements, learning from the challenges and mistakes, and seeking continuous improvement and innovation. Rewarding yourself and your team for meeting the deadlines and delivering quality work is also important. Additionally, adopting new tools and techniques that can enhance your efficiency and effectiveness can help you reach your goals.
I'm a big believer is distributing the load. I'm happy to take lots on, knowing my team will support and take part of the load, so ultimately we can accomplish more in less time than people initially might have thought possible.
The essence of prioritizing is to control the risks. You can do this only when the issues are rated according to the consequences of an issue not being addressed.