Now that your factory floor is tidy, let’s measure your productivity of your manufacturing process.
Metrics are a great place to start when looking at production and efficiency. Metrics in manufacturing can mean many things but simply put it is the measurement of a process. For example, measuring the speed or time it takes for manufacturing to produce a given product, from the time the order is released to production, to when it is finished good = manufacturing cycle time.
In the window and door manufacturing space, when setting metrics for the first time, it’s better practice to set small goals. Start with only a part of the complete manufacturing process. For example, how long does it take to complete the cutting process for a particular job: unpack aluminum, move it to the cutting area, cut and place it on a trolley to be delivered to machining.
With this metric you can also add the distance the metal travels. For example, if your metal rack or saw is the furthest point from your delivery dock, measure the distance from the dock to the rack.
Let’s look at another example of a simple metric.
In the example of a bi-fold door, say the original metric in the quoting software was 2 hours 40 min to machine the bi-fold door. With the introduction of a CNC into this process, the metric stays the same (time to machine a bi-fold) but the process time has decreased to 40 min. The total metric includes taking metal from the cut trolley, processing it and returning to a finished trolley for assembly.
This means you can go back to your quoting software to update the labor costs and schedule your staff on other jobs. Then you can either pass the savings on to the customer, or recognize the yield. Either way, knowing your metrics helps you to understand your business better.
Once you have defined your metric and have quantifiable results, then you can start the process of decreasing the units of the metric, and this is where you will improve productivity.
Look at how you can improve your productivity
Examine how your factory is laid out, can things be moved to make your manufacturing processes more streamlined, and what processes can you automate.
A great quote regarding this from Lord Kelvin “If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.” This also applies to the production of windows and doors. If you don’t know how long it takes to complete a process, how are you able to improve the process?
