You're facing pressure to cut costs in manufacturing. How do you maintain process integrity?

One approach to initiate this process is through conducting an FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis) based on quality criteria. The commercial sector and quality control, who have direct contact with customers valeu perception, should guide the mapping process by identifying the most critical points that need to be controlled in the production. Following the FMEA classification, where severity, frequency, and detection will be rated from 0 to 10, the team should prioritize actions and investments for items with the highest scores. Opportunities for cost reduction will emerge in processes with lower scores. This approach enables the development of cost reduction projects that do not impact customer satisfaction.

Start with understanding where and what the value and cost of your key processes are. If you have a high cost / highly automated process is it providing good value? What is the ratio of what you are paid for product vs what it costs for you to produce the product. This should help you prioritize and focus on the most critical areas that drive cost….with this understanding apply lean principles like measuring key process input variables that can establish process OEE of your high leverage systems.

Lean thinking focuses on maximizing value by minimizing waste. Key insights include: Value Stream Mapping: Analyze processes to eliminate non-value-adding activities. Kaizen: Promote continuous, incremental improvements. Just-In-Time (JIT): Align production with demand to reduce inventory. 5S: Organize workspaces (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain). Kanban: Use visual scheduling to manage inventory and workflow. Standard Work: Create consistent procedures for efficiency. Root Cause Analysis: Address underlying problems, not just symptoms. Error-Proofing (Poka-Yoke): Prevent mistakes and defects.

Look at places where you have a high volume of scrap and rework. There may be some low hanging fruit in those processes that can increase integrity while cutting costs. If failures are occurring with multiple employees, especially experienced ones, that's a sign that the process itself is too difficult, and that you should not solely be relying on retraining. Ways I have dealt with these issues are introducing poka yoke tooling, reordering processes so that high-failure steps can more easily be done, seen, and fixed, adding self-inspect or buddy inspect at critical points, collaborating with design engineers to revise the design to reduce failures, and outsourcing these steps to vendors who specialize in these processes.

This goes hand in hand with eliminating waste... The elimination of potential excuses. It's a failure of engineering if the process is flawed, yet every process has the potential for failure. Without the 2-way communication/ feedback between Operators, Maintenance & Engineering... Lean cannot exist.

Sin duda, la automatización es un gran aliado en la reducción de costos. A menudo, creemos que automatizar implica implementar un sistema extremadamente avanzado, pero no siempre es así. Todo depende del tama?o de la empresa y de lo estratégicamente que se realice la automatización. Esto puede ir desde instalar una etiquetadora automática en una peque?a empresa hasta implementar un brazo robótico en una industria tecnológica.

The key is communication at every stage 1 brief why it is necessary to cut costs in terms of benefit to all in the business 2 outline the strategy and top level targets 3 how will it effect each individual ? 4 Be humble let the teams know you need their help to develop ideas ? 5 Set up cross functional teams in each area and empower to measure current state and develop action plans with ownership to address From experience In reducing costs from Quality to Consumable cost reduction through process set up reduction. The keys are communicate , involve and empower , be relentless in ensuring ideas are implemented and progress communicated

Dentro de R&D el tener proveedores estratégicos y con una relación solida de negocios es fundamental. Desarrollar a los proveedores estratégicos en materiales nuevos e innovando en sus materiales o incluso en sus procesos ayuda a mantener relaciones de larga duración incluso ayuda a negociar precios a largo plazo y al mismo tiempo brinda a la organización a mantener una buena relación comercial de manera general.

This is an excellent strategy. Bulk ordering will help both Suppliers and the organisations. Supplier will have the confidence and he can better plan his production/procurement process and thereby he can compromise a portion of his margin on his supplies. And also, organisations can have better control over procurement and payment process so as to maintain "Just in Time" of raw material. This will reduce our inventory cost considerably and makes a "win-win" scenario for both.

La formación continua del personal es esencial, pero debe ir acompa?ada de un plan de desarrollo profesional y un excelente ambiente de trabajo. Si solo se enfoca en la capacitación sin considerar estos aspectos, los gastos podrían aumentar debido a la alta rotación de empleados. En cambio, un colaborador satisfecho y bien capacitado es más propenso a quedarse en la empresa, lo que se traduce en una reducción de costos a largo plazo.

A forma??o contínua é crucial para garantir que sua equipe esteja preparada para enfrentar os desafios do mercado e manter a integridade do processo. Uma equipe bem treinada opera com maior eficiência, resolve problemas com agilidade e se adapta rapidamente a novas tecnologias. Ao investir no desenvolvimento constante de habilidades, você n?o só melhora a qualidade e a produtividade, mas também capacita seus colaboradores a serem agentes de mudan?a, fortalecendo a competitividade e a sustentabilidade das opera??es.

Cortar custos na fabrica??o enquanto mantém a integridade do processo pode ser uma tarefa complexa. Para alcan?ar essa meta, é essencial adotar uma estratégia abrangente que englobe a otimiza??o de processos, a gest?o eficaz de materiais e recursos, a melhoria contínua da qualidade, a inova??o em produtos e tecnologias, e uma gest?o de pessoas eficiente. Implementar essas práticas pode resultar em uma produ??o mais eficiente, redu??o de desperdícios, melhor uso dos recursos e, consequentemente, uma diminui??o dos custos operacionais. Além disso, essas a??es devem ser realizadas de maneira que mantenham a qualidade do produto final e a satisfa??o dos clientes, garantindo que a integridade do processo de fabrica??o n?o seja comprometida.

Absolutely. Data-driven approach will do wonders. Recently, when our recruitment cost was alarmingly getting increased due to employee attrition, we analysed the attrition data and got the insights. We did a Why Why Analysis with the insights and found the exact root cause of attrition and corrected. We have also made prevention measures to avoid recurrence. So, all data, when analysed meticulously, will give us meaningful insights which can be vital for continual improvements.

Utilize a análise de dados para obter insights sobre seus processos de fabrica??o. Ao monitorar métricas de desempenho e analisar padr?es, você pode identificar áreas onde melhorias podem ser feitas. Essa abordagem baseada em dados permite uma tomada de decis?o informada que pode levar a redu??es significativas de custos sem comprometer a integridade do processo. A implementa??o de um sistema de análise robusto pode ajudá-lo a antecipar problemas antes que eles surjam e otimizar suas opera??es para obter o máximo desempenho.