Even during the height of the pandemic, factories churned out the goods society needed and kept people supplied with food and other essentials. As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues and life gets closer to normal, factories will need to make up for the losses suffered.
Here are a few tips manufacturers need to keep in mind to help their factories run with maximum efficiency.
Maintain the Machinery
Servicing and maintaining the machinery your factory depends on may involve some upfront costs, but they more than pay for themselves over time. Metrology equipment is found in factories across the continent, as automated CMM machines play a huge role in overseeing quality control along production lines.
The last thing you want is a machine breakdown here, as it could form a bottleneck that impacts manufacturing capacity. Look for an experienced CMM service provider to ensure all your metrology equipment works to specification — the best repairs and maintenance are often performed by dealerships who have sold the equipment for decades.
Look for an experienced dealership that can perform repairs, calibrations, relocation, and high-quality preventative maintenance.
Invest in Training and Safety
Headlines are full of stories about increased automation in factories, but even automated equipment like CMM machines often require human operators. Make sure that the workers in your factory have ample training to get the most value and best results from the equipment and any software.
Also, it’s essential for working conditions to be safe for multiple reasons. Safety is obviously its own reward! Preventing injuries keeps everyone healthy and happy.
But there are also financial reasons safety must be implemented. Younger workers aren’t as inclined towards factory work because of the perception that’s it’s dangerous — strong safety measures help attract and retain workers.
During a pandemic, any outbreak can devastate a region’s collective health. You’ll feel terrible if it occurs in your factory, but you could also face a public backlash that causes lasting reputational damage to your bottom line. No money is better spent than the funds you invest in safety.
Direct Communications
In changing times, people must get clear instructions to operate confidently and effectively. Whether it’s a factory’s partners in distribution, workers, or even the end consumer, people need to know about any new processes or adjustments taking place.
The nature of the factory’s products will determine what type of communications are required, but the critical thing is to ensure that all stakeholders have clear instructions whenever there are changes to processes. There are many moving pieces to running a factory: help them run smoothly by making all communications clear and easy to understand.
Factories were a crucial pillar keeping society fed and supplied during the height of the pandemic, and they’ll continue to play an enormous role moving forward. If you keep all of the above tips in mind, your factory will be running at full throttle in the days ahead.
