What do you do if your workload in manufacturing is overwhelming and you need to meet deadlines?

Most of us with years of experience are good at setting priorities - this is why we succeed over time. Communicating my priorities is so important, while being open to feedback. Consistent communication of priorities keeps all teams moving in the same direction and adds clarity to our goals. This applies for the tactical level, director level, and executive level. We should all be singing in harmony despite the stress of deadlines!

Prioritization important to meet deadlines with Balancing In my view First high cost product Second high volume Third high cycle time products Fourth balancing if above 3 are coming in same area or machine Fifth small cycle time products

I have a competely different view on this question as it is a manufacturing question. For example, the key task is the one that starts the production of whatever it is that is being manufactured. When I read prioritise task as a solution to a deadline being missed, the real question is what is delaying the next step. Find the crux of the issue.

In manufacturing, always there is product delivery time but can face unforseen issues. In such cases: 1. Depending on the product select waterfall, agile or hybrid approach. 2. Also, one can adopt SAE-AS6500 standard to manage the manufacturing process or ISO5500x series. 3. After deciding what standard to follow, prioritize tasks depending on the material and resource availability. 4. Divert resources if required to complete the task which takes longer time to accomplish. 5. The tasks which can boost productivity and can be shown to customer, shall be given preference to gain trust. 6. But if really necessary, take customer in confidence and explain in detail that why the delay and what you are doing to mitigate it.

So many companies (CEO) push for the record breaking quarter, record breaking backlog. Thats first causal issue. Start by process improvements capacity and efficiency projects (continuous improvement). Velocity builds naturally when practiced, diligence in communicating internally what we can do consistently helps prevent the panicia. Bad leadership yields overwhelm, panacia, and turnover.

Say no is very big art Do It Right First Time Avoid rework recheck Reconfirmation etc Prefer Help from other side Divide complete task in to small pcs. Categorise load in three categories Less efforts immediate require Immediate Require high efforts High efforts, Last Requirements Enjoy success with big nos , Less Failure Do not accept but try for best Learn how to handle failure in place of how to serve success Try to be a Doers , Follower or Decision Makers Never be a server of others achievement

If skills are not available then plan to increase skills matrix for colleagues to contribute in the future. If skills are borderline then assist and give sufficient information to help support even if this could be a cost to time for self.

Delegate the workload to identified subcontractors after making sure that the subcontractors understand and will successfully produce as you would in your factory

Manufacturing is a team work is a team work, involving personnel from different departments. 1. For effective results, collaboration is the key. 2. If for example design department facing difficulties, the production department guys can be involved to support and vice versa. 3. As it is not a one man job, so always manage resources and delegate the tasks. 4. But important to provide necessary tools n trainings to your staff to perform duties well. 5. After delegation, follow up for the progress if up to mark or need to amend or require more resources or support.

Maybe everything you are producing same product with negligible changes. But always good to review the work procedures and updating it where there is a chance for improvement. 1. Check if prerequisites can be done in parallel instead of waiting for completion of one. 2. Sometimes, the next task in production can be started when the previous task is 80% complete. 3. Dependencies can be updated to have more efficient production schedule with the help of fish bone diagram. 4. Production can be involved once design is majorly completed to give comments which can be rectified earlier instead of just before starting production. 5. Always have few floating resources to support wherever required.

Batching orders together to eliminate down time is a best practice. Using the FIFO system does not generally work. We are a Just in Time manufacturing facility. We do not have any stock items. By telling sales and having them set the expectation of real time lead times helps be able to batch orders and still keep customers happy. Running machines consistently, eliminating down time due to product change over, and always pushing to increase speeds and feeds will help you best to optimize your output.

Clear backlog. Focus, focus and encourage others to use time efficiently. Don't over work the contribution. Do sufficient to be acceptable when in a overloaded situation. Do not send once finished put to one side for 30 minutes then review again before sending.

Optimising the workflow is a parallel activity and needs to be done while you have lesser work load and hence let the workflow not change and manage the change once the workload goes lesser than 80%

Share. information, method of how and why we do things. Cultural support and encouragement. Confirmation of what is wanted and reflection of targets.

Communication is key to success and make it as transparent as possible not just for your team but also for your customers and suppliers

Being realistic is key and hence show what is realistic to the team and more important to the customers. Making it clear that your manufacturing has been overwhelmed ahead of time is better than cutting a sorry

Encourage the raised hand. The head-in-the-sand is not an option. Collaboration and encouragement to identify when there is a genuine problem early enough that enables a solution however limiting the final outcome.

Create a culture where potential failure is identified early and is not a reflection of the person but the demands created by the company and the market. Super heroes cause a lot of collateral damage though overtly look for the credit.