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Articles
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NAPL's Executive Insights |
Improved Operating Efficiencies Will Lead to Plant Productivity |
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By Hal Ettinger |
By improving existing operating efficiencies, you will best be able to compete and be profitable in this ever-changing marketplace. Instead of utilizing a 'bricks and mortar' solution (i.e., the construction alternative), the industry's focus should now be on implementing improvements within the existing operations. Working with what you presently have and improving upon that will be key to staying in business and continuing to grow. This ideology may be perceived as less 'glamorous' compared to all that's new; however, it will get you much farther in the long run and it will prepare you for the benefits of a recovering economy without major capital outlay for new construction. You need to remain competitive while at the same time improving profitable. Your reward will be the ability to be more productive by shipping more units in a shorter period of time with the same number of—or fewer—employees … how you get there will be the key to unlocking your company’s potential.
As the economy flourished in previous growth years, the trend was to throw more square footage on to the existing building in hopes of solving nagging operating inefficiencies. Back then, this approach appeared to be working … or at least nobody seemed to notice that it didn’t. First off, it was a way to avoid looking at existing operations to understand what the real drivers were for plant inefficiencies. Secondly, it was a statement to the community and customers that you had arrived. But where are these companies, today?
By attributing success in rather modest ways of working from within to find better ways of making existing operations more efficient, it is those other companies that are left standing today as the new champions.
You, too, can be a champion. And all you have to do is look within to improve upon your current operations. By doing this, you can open yourself up to many potential benefits, such as:
- increased plant efficiencies leading to improved flexibility in existing and emerging market
- improved productivity
- improved profitability
- gaining the best value for capital outlay dollars (best bang for your buck) in lieu of construction
- proven least invasive course of action while trying to operate under “normal” conditions as opposed to a 'bricks and mortar' solution that bring havoc to plant operations
- understanding the root causes or drivers of existing plant inefficiencies; and therefore, eliminating—or significantly reducing—old, inefficient ways of doing things
- possible extended “shelf” life of your existing building—wouldn’t it be nice to extend the expiration date of your current facility and avoid the mess of moving?
But before you begin your audit of your existing facility, you need to first know how to identify those elements that are currently contributing to plant inefficiencies. The table below can be used to facilitate this process by first dividing into three groups the various functions of the overall operations and then using the five basic criteria to evaluate each function.
Easy Worksheet
The first criteria should be to uncover your negative return on investment. Focus on those areas of the site and building that are underutilized or not used at all. Look at not only the site and building (including mezzanines and mechanical and electrical rooms) but also at off-site warehousing and/or fulfillment areas. On-site, look at areas such as parking lots, truck access areas, and how you are getting rid of plant waste. Look for, and take note of, anything that is not being utilized to its maximum efficiency. Next, look at your material handling strategies. How is the movement of skids and materials (i.e., raw materials, work-in-progress, finished goods) within departments and from department to department being handled? Does material flow in a smart and organized way—utilizing space the most efficiently? Having your materials move from area to area in the most efficient manner will save you valuable time and reduce waste.
Thirdly, look at department adjacencies. Look at your existing adjacencies within a department, as well as from department to department, to determine if excessive resources are used or if redundant product movement occurs. Then determine if whether or not the department beholds unnecessary or unusually incidence of people or materials having to go through one department to get to another. Your next step in your evaluation process is to focus on production trends. Look closely at production trends resulting from your existing customers. What's going on, here? What are the trends? Are they reoccurring? Perhaps there are opportunities by taking advantage of customer trends with the goal of becoming more efficient. Having this inside knowledge could most definitely help you serve that customer (and market) more efficiently as well as give you a leg up on the competition as the market grows and matures. The fifth method to evaluate within your existing operations is called 'space wasters'. This can be old equipment that is never—or seldom—used, raw materials or finished goods that have been around for years, etc. This is clutter. It's just taking up very valuable production space. Get rid of it. Optimize your space by utilizing every square foot of it wisely and not wastefully. Start to look at things with a new perspective. For instance, if someone were interested in renting, or subleasing, that space, what would you charge for it?
In all fairness, not all capital outlay for new construction is a patch to dodge plant inefficiencies. In some instances, physical expansion or plant relocation is the only solution to improving plant efficiencies out of necessity due to new equipment, building lease, or taking advantage of an opportunity. That's understood. But if that's not your current situation, read on.
Okay. You've taken your notes. You've evaluated your existing operations and have identified areas within the plant that are contributing to your plant inefficiencies. Now, what do you do with this information once you have it? It's simple. Just follow this five-step process, and you'll be on track to improving your existing operating efficiencies.
- Reach consensus. Does everyone agree with the findings? This is a big milestone, and you want to be sure to get approval from your management team or fellow decision-makers before moving forward. Make sure that everyone agrees on what the elements contributing to the plant inefficiencies are.
- Prioritize. What are the most important elements, here? And which ones are we going to tackle first? When, or what time of year, should we begin? What is our budget?
- Determine phasing. Group each of your prioritized elements into steps, and determine when each phase should begin and finish completion.
- Put in place an implementation strategy. How are you going to accomplish your goal? With what resources? And how? How will you approach your objectives? This will be your road map to success.
- Train. By identifing your inefficiencies, you will more than likely run into a situation where it will be required, or necessary, to retrain an operator or plant employee for more efficient productivity.
These five steps are real good tools for improving plant efficiencies and for bringing about a productive future.
Now, more than ever, you need to draw upon every available resource to compete in this changing business world. As a printer, you need to constantly improve all facets of plant operations—always moving forward as the economy starts to rebuild. You can do this. And it could be as simple as improving efficiencies at your existing plant. The familiar 'bricks and mortar' method needn't be relied on as the only solution to improving plant inefficiencies. What you should rely on instead is making improvements to the root causes, or the 'drivers', of current plant inefficiencies. Even small changes can be largely significant. You'd be surprised. It may not be a brand-new facility, but it will give you the advantage over your competition. It will extend the shelf life of your building. And you will be more productive. Go. Improve what you've got. Your reward lies ahead.
Hal Ettinger is president of RBE Company, Lawrence, KS., which specializes in project management, plant layout, and engineering design for the printing industry.
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