When it comes to finding the most profitable methods for developing manufacturing processes, most corporations think about their mechanics and systems. While these are necessary components to consider, most corporations miss out on the more abstract aspects of manufacturing which actually help tip the profit margin from okay to fantastic. This is understandable due to the dozens of factors CEOs need to consider in the realm of manufacturing—not to mention their hundred other responsibilities on the table.
This article is designed to unravel some of the more ambitious portions of profitable manufacturing to help you understand just what you need to in order to have a productive manufacturing rejuvenation experience.
Table of Contents
Key #1: Go Lean
Lean manufacturing is a relatively new concept in the business world. Basically, lean manufacturing is a process that aims to eliminate all forms of waste. This can be waste related to physical emissions or waste in the sense of time. We are going to focus on the latter.
One of the key paths to going lean is to optimize your worker processes. This way, you keep your workers challenged and engaged while having lean manufacturing software like artificial intelligence do the heavy lifting on monotonous projects. For example, if your floor manager is continuously having to fill out a spreadsheet with data and statistics from the day, this takes away 20 minutes to an hour of his valuable work time. This is a process that can be optimized by AI. By investing in a lean manufacturing system, you enable your floor manager to have more time to work with employees which ultimately brings in more profits.
Key #2: Go Green
Environmental sustainability has been a big topic in the corporate world of late. Since the rise of the Industrial Revolution all the way into the Digital Age, corporations bear the brunt of the severe blame proliferated about the planet’s pollution.
The fact is, a great deal of this blame is rightfully placed. Corporations need to do more than go paperless to help the environment. No wonder going green is one of the modern keys to profitable manufacturing.
By employing energy efficient machinery, smokestack cleaners, and finding safe ways to dump—or even recycle—extraneous waste, corporations do their part to help the world become a greener place. The truth of the matter is this, a sustainable business model is a business model which includes environmental sustainability. When a corporation uses green machinery and sources for their materials, they do their part to save the planet. This improves brand image, which ultimately improves profits. So even though using green manufacturing means sometimes costs a bit more, ultimately these methods will improve the environment as well as give the business more long term profits.
Key #3: Go Team
Lastly, when you are looking to optimize your manufacturing processes, you need to think in terms of “We” over “I”. By keeping your people in mind, you make your business more human-centered. Humans are designed to be collaborative creatures. By getting to know your employees’ personalities, skills, interests, strengths, and weaknesses, you can figure out the best combinations of people to put on different projects. This process can work for everything from planning to the physical manufacturing of projects.
Overall, implementing these three keys into your manufacturing strategy will help your team to develop the ideal business plan for what your company is attempting to achieve. Keeping the environment, the business processes and your people in mind is the first step towards creating a truly profitable manufacturing system.
About Carson Derrow
