How is your Product Manufacturing Efficiency.

What do I mean by this: In simple terms, where you have a manufacturing process typically blending. Do you achieve the same out put rates across all products or do they vary.

Plant Standard Output Rate: Have you ever considered looking at your best product out put rate and creating it as your "Standard Output Rate". Why should you do this? The answer is to challenge yourself and the team as to why other products perform at a lower output rate.

Lower Output Products: Many answers are given, historically this is the best this product can run, but I ask Why?

• Often the plant is blamed for not really being suitable for this type of product.
• QC is difficult on this product.
• This formulation is very technical.

How to fix such problems: Firstly you should not need me to drive an improvement. But you do need your team of production, engineering, quality control and purchasing working together to solve the poor performance.

Typical challenges for the team:

• QC limits are very narrow on some products. This needs to be challenged and checked. Why do you have a product on such a narrow specification blocking production capacity. Maybe the limits can be increased thus allowing an improved first time pass rate and with it increased production out put. May be the manufacturing method needs to be modified as small ingredients need to be made in a semi finished product offline that allows for improved first time pass rates.
• Raw material quality is poor, giving variances from batch to batch. Here you need QC and purchasing working together with the suppliers. You need a consistent quality grade. Yes you may pay more but the difference is most likely negligible on the product but the effect on productivity could be huge.
• Technical formulations, these need reviewing to really identify the problem as it is costing you productive output. Are the problems linked to QC specifications, raw material quality, method of manufacture. It is not a blame game but a search for answers. It may be a combination of things, the target is to solve it.
• Manufacturing Plant Suitability, what is so different about this product that you cannot produce it at the "Standard Output Rate. If the products properties are very different to other products eg density, rheology, particle size distribution etc. Ask yourself as a team, are we trying to manufacture this in the wrong type of plant. If the answer is yes we need different equipment, this brings up that particular products viability but you need to follow this through to a conclusive answer. You may need budget for new equipment or the products viability, as is, in the range may be reviewed.

Above is only a few points of what can be a complex set of tasks. Often you do need me a manufacturing consultant who can help you through the task of setting up a project and team. Setting goals and challenging present beliefs, driving all to look for answers, guiding from experience potential routes for improvement. But before you call me, have a look yourself but as a team with a no blame agenda.

Next challenge is then to increase the Standard Output Rate. But that is for another day.