Production management process

Production management is a complex process and is extremely important for any manufacturing company. This is the area where lean champions most often see potentials for savings and eliminating waste.

What tips have Opexity Experts prepared for production managers? Check them out!

6 good practices in production management

Production planning

Production planning is one of the basic functions of production management. Experts pay special attention to taking into account the availability of resources in the organization during planning. It is worth verifying the availability of machinery and people, but also production space, infrastructure, components and semi-finished products. But that’s not all, the second very important aspect is flexibility. The developed production schedule must be able to be modified, in case it is necessary. Dynamically changing market conditions mean that “production flexibility” is now becoming one of the decisive factors in winning or keeping a customer.

Inventory management

Another aspect of production management is inventory, or rather inventory management. This process requires frequent and irregular deliveries, as customer orders are becoming increasingly diverse. Experts warn that despite difficult conditions, the number of inventories should not dynamically increase. If your warehouse is prepared for different, non-standard combinations of orders from Customers it means that you should verify that the inventory level is not too high. Do you feel that this problem applies to you? Consider implementing a Kanban system and start working with your suppliers – work out common delivery standards.

Optimizing the layout of the production plant

Optimizing the layout of a production plant is one of the key steps to improving material flow processes and eliminating unnecessary movements. Many managers forget about it! When designing and optimizing production space layouts, pay attention not only to logistical aspects, but also to the location of workstations for the sake of process flow, which must be as logical and economical as possible. A tool that you can successfully use when planning changes in the production space is a spaghetti map.

Quality standards

Quality control is very important – thanks to it we can ensure that our products comply with the quality requirements of our customers. How can we improve this part of the process? By implementing high quality standards and monitoring production processes for compliance with these standards. For this purpose, we create and introduce control procedures, defect prevention audits (poka-yoke), or use Six Sigma methodology.

Maintenance of equipment and machinery

Keeping equipment and machinery in good technical condition is key to maintaining continuous production and high product quality. Maintenance and inspection of machinery should take place regularly. Managing periodical surveys ensures the smooth operation of the machine park and minimizes the risk of breakdowns and downtime. Experts also recommend implementing KPIs for machinery, such as OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), MTTR (Mean Time To Repair) and MTBR (Mean Time Between Rapair).

For good maintenance of equipment and machinery, it is worth implementing the Total Productive Maintenace (TPM) system, which in its methodology has many tools and solutions successfully used in production companies.

Continuous improvement

It is impossible to forget about continuous improvement in the context of production management. All company employees should be involved in the process of continuous improvement. Dynamically developing technology and the use of artificial intelligence algorithms in processes (including production) provide enormous opportunities to implement improvements.

Remember that the foundation of continuous improvement is employee awareness and proper training. An employee who can recognize waste and link it to individual activities on the production site will sooner find ways to improve productivity, ergonomics or production efficiency than an employee who does not see waste around him.

Industry specifics vs. production practices

Remember that every industry has specific requirements, needs and conditions in which it competes with others. Companies are outdoing themselves with more and more new solutions, often very technologically advanced, forgetting about the foundations of the company’s operation. Don’t get caught in this trap! Build a solid foundation in the production process, and then focus on improvement. Only by doing so may you achieve long-term success.