Are you tired of wasting materials and money while your margins get smaller and smaller?
That’s exactly why many smart manufacturers are using industrial automation solutions to reduce waste and boost their profits.
Want to know the crazy thing…
While many manufacturers struggle to reduce costs and waste, others are killing it. They’re getting more done with less. Closing the gap between costs and revenue.
Here’s how they’re doing it…
By automating parts of their process.
Smart manufacturers have already realized the power of using industrial automation solutions to dramatically reduce costs and eliminate waste.
How can you join them?
Before we jump into automation solutions, let’s take a look at why manufacturing waste is costing you more money than you think.
What you’re going to discover:
- Why Manufacturing Waste Is Costing You More Than You Think
- How Industrial Automation Solutions Cut Waste
- The Profit-Boosting Benefits of Going Automated
- Getting Started With Smart Manufacturing
Why Manufacturing Waste Is Costing You More Than You Think
Small business owners are losing money every day to manufacturing waste.
They just don’t realize it.
FACT: Manufacturing produces 1,800 lbs of waste per employee each year.
Yep. You read that right. Each employee that you have working for you is responsible for nearly 2 tons of waste each year.
But it doesn’t stop there…
40% of ALL industrial waste goes to landfill sites.
Think about that.
Workers are making products during their shift, but when they leave for the day 40% of their waste goes into a landfill.
Instead of that money being poured into your bank account.
So what type of waste is flying out of your facility?
If you’re manufacturing products, here are a few examples:
- Materials being wasted during the cutting process
- Scraped or defective parts that need to be fixed
- Hour after hour of downtime due to machinery failures
- Energy that is wasted when operating machines or lights
- Hours of labour that could be allocated to something else
Obviously, there are countless different types of waste that you could be dealing with.
There are industrial automation solutions that can help businesses drastically cut waste while increasing output and efficiency. Gimbel CNC Automation is a great example of a business that specializes in helping manufacturers implement smart automation into their facilities.
How Industrial Automation Solutions Cut Waste
Ok. So you’re convinced that automation is the answer. But how does it actually help reduce waste and costs?
Here’s how.
PRECISION.
Machines don’t make mistakes.
Say what you want about robots taking over, but they can produce parts with tolerances we weren’t capable of decades ago.
CNC machines can make cuts measured in thousandths of an inch.
That precision allows there to be very little material wasted when cutting your parts.
If your machine is cutting where it’s supposed to cut, there will be less scrap.
If your machine is drilling to the correct depth every time.
You get the point.
Automated systems can vastly reduce waste by carefully monitoring every aspect of the production process.
They’ll do things like this to stop waste in its tracks:
- Monitoring sensors will detect anomalies in real-time and alert operators to prevent equipment damage
- Automatic adjustments keep machines running at peak efficiency
- Self-correcting programming drastically reduces part rejections
Best part?
Many of these smart factories are using their waste materials to create what is known as closed-loop manufacturing.
Instead of tossing plastic scrap into a landfill, they’re melting it down and using it to create more products.
Pretty sweet right?
Not only will these systems save you money by cutting down on waste, but they’ll continue to learn and improve as they go.
Leading to even greater efficiency gains down the road.
The Profit-Boosting Benefits of Going Automated
By reducing waste, you’ll start to see an improvement in your bottom line.
But there’s more…
Automation can improve your profit margins in a variety of ways.
Over 90% of workers say automation increases productivity, and companies that actually invest in automation report a 22% decrease in operating costs.
Machine and automation companies have made huge strides in recent years to not only provide smarter, time-saving solutions, but affordable ones as well.
Companies that have invested in technologies like this have seen their profit margins soar.
Let’s take a look at a few ways that going automated can boost your bottom line.
Labour
Automated systems never need a vacation or a sick day.
They can run 24 hours a day 7 days a week without needing extra pay for overtime.
Quality
More consistent production means happier customers.
If you’re producing high-quality parts without defect, your customers will be ordering more and more from you.
Speed
Want to take on more work?
Automating parts of your process can help you improve speed and shorten your production time.
Rework
Don’t waste labour hours fixing scrap parts.
If your machine is running the same program 5,000 times a day, there will be little to no part rejection.
Automation and CNC machine shops that run efficiently average between 15-35% net profit margins.
If your shop isn’t one of them, it might be time to welcome automation into your facility.
Getting Started With Smart Manufacturing
You’ve talked with your boss.
You’ve presented the idea to your partners.
Maybe you’ve even picked out a few cool automation solutions that you’d like to run by them.
Here’s the thing.
You don’t need to automate your entire facility overnight.
The smart manufacturers out there started where they saw the most waste and went from there.
Take these steps to implement a smarter manufacturing process:
- Audit what you’re wasting
- Figure out how much that waste is costing you
- Research solutions that can help you reduce that waste
- Start small and scale from there
Did you know that by 2030 the industrial automation market is expected to reach $378 BILLION?
Manufacturers have caught on, and they’re not waiting to automate.
If you want to compete with bigger businesses.
You’re going to need to offer more.
Saving money by reducing waste and increasing productivity through automation is one way you can stand out from your competition.
Wrapping Things Up
Guess what?
A lot of smart factories that started implementing changes to their processes a few years ago didn’t know where to begin either.
You’re not expected to jump in head first.
Simply understanding where you can save money by reducing waste is step 1 in the right direction.
Remember: Waste materials are costing you more money than you think.
Industrial automation can provide you with precision cutting and monitoring to drastically reduce your waste.
Companies that have already taken the steps to automate are seeing increases to their net profit margin by as much as 22%.
Start small and scale from there.
Your competitors aren’t sitting around waiting for you to catch up.
Take your business one smart automation solution at a time and stay ahead of the curve.
