Downtime is when a piece of equipment or a machine is not working or is unable to work.
It could result from a technical breakdown, machine adjustment, maintenance, or a lack of materials, personnel, or power.
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| Tips To Reduce Downtime In Manufacturing: eAskme |
Average downtime is typically factored into the cost of items produced to recoup costs through sales revenue.
Unfortunately, downtime is a common occurrence in any industry since machines are bound to experience mechanical faults and stop working from time to time.
Here are tips to help you reduce downtime in your manufacturing facility.
Provide Maintenance Training
Short downtime incidents can be avoided if staff are trained in essential machine maintenance for their station.
Employees who are educated to repair or rectify minor faults with their machines and perform simple routine maintenance such as cleaning and lubrication can help reduce downtime.
This can save time because a professional won't have to come in as often to handle minor faults or stoppages.
Facilitate your employees to undertake Industrial Maintenance Training Programs to elevate their skill set and boost job performance.
Conduct Cross-Training
Train your employees on machines other than those at their typical stations in addition to machine maintenance.
This will allow them to work elsewhere if their machine is down.
Likewise, when downtime happens in one section of the facility, personnel from that area can make themselves valuable by raising productivity elsewhere if they are taught to work in additional locations than their typical station.
Although cross-training may not immediately contribute to downtime reduction initiatives, ensuring that paid staff can work in any situation might help to mitigate some negative consequences of downtime.
Establish Specific Production Objectives
Setting defined production objectives for each month is a simple method to cut down on downtime and boost motivation.
Employees are significantly more motivated by a precise, measurable purpose for production output than a nebulous instruction to produce "as much as feasible" in a month.
In addition, setting goals is a simple process that needs your corporation to assess previous output levels on which to build a new target.
It can result in increased motivation and less wasted time.
Maintain Manufacturing Equipment regularly
Regular maintenance is essential for keeping machines running at their best for the most extended periods.
To reduce industrial downtime, machinery faults must be avoided.
When you monitor, inspect, update, and repair your gear, you help to eliminate downtime by creating the proper environment for fulfilling goals.
For example, machines that clog or break down frequently have a significant negative impact on downtime outcomes.
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Carry Out Equipment Upgrades
To reduce industrial downtime, you must replace old equipment to improve performance.
Outdated machines slow the production process.
Installing new equipment should keep your plant floor up to speed on the latest technology, allowing managers to suggest improvements to boost productivity.
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Install sensors to detect probable equipment failures early
The signs of equipment failure might be seen in three different ways.
The device produces a higher level of vibration than typical.
The tool heats up more quickly than usual, or the motor makes a louder noise than usual.
These signs may be difficult to spot with the human eye, but the sensor can quickly identify them.
Fortunately, sensors like this are not very expensive and do not take up too much space.
Don't be hesitant to purchase sensors to avoid equipment damage that could result in more significant losses.
Conduct Risk Assessments
It is not a pleasurable task, but it must be completed.
Risk auditing is the quickest and most effective strategy to cut down on future downtime losses.
Identifying outmoded equipment is an example of a risk audit.
If the equipment fails, there are several potential repercussions, including worker safety, product quality, and significant downtime owing to the difficulty in locating substitute components.
With a risk audit, you'll be able to spot potential issues ahead of time, so you won't be caught off guard when downtime occurs.
Implement Automation and Robotics
Predictive technology in modern robotic solutions can alert your operators to potential faults or parts that need to be replaced.
Instead of nervously anticipating a breakdown, your business can now better prepare for maintenance and plan, putting you in control of your operations.
It is feasible to increase uptime and decrease downtime by effectively designing and implementing robotic systems.
A Machine Tending Robot can help you save cycle times and save money while dramatically enhancing the efficiency of your production line.
This robot is suitable for consistently responding to various machinery, including injection molding and stamping presses.
In addition, because high-quality robotic equipment has a cheap cost of ownership, you can realize a quick return on investment.
Conclusion
Downtime is unavoidable while managing a plant.
It costs money, whether it's due to a malfunction or routine maintenance.
Unplanned, unanticipated downtime, on the other hand, is more expensive.
For example, when your production line unexpectedly stops, you must take the time to identify the problem, fix it, and then double-check for any ancillary issues before restarting.
You can avoid downtime by following the above measures.
However, no prevention program, no matter how successful, will succeed unless disciplined and motivated human resources back it up.
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