Production is the life force of businesses, and when production lags, stalls, or fails, it’s an effective chokehold over the all-important bottom line. Improving productivity while keeping quality standards as high should be a business owner’s primary concern, and the good news is that there are a number of simple and effective ways you too can improve your business’ production.
Review Current Workflow & Procedures
Understanding how production process is being managed can be more challenging as your business grows. Even if you work for yourself from home, the more profitable it becomes, the more you'll be focused on the growth of your business. It means it will be harder to look after some of the macro-based jobs such as bookkeeping, social interactions, or even taking memos.
Especially as you start outsourcing or delegating some of the tasks to others, it will become important to;
- Understand the priorities
- Identify weaknesses and bottlenecks
- Figuring out the first-aid solution to emergency problems, etc.
Once you have identified places where improvements can be made, ensure that there is a real benefit before implementing any upgrades or changes to the current methodology. There is little point in implementing millions of dollars’ worth of upgrades to see production increases worth thousands.
Ensure You Are Well Supplied
Having the materials required to manufacture or process your stock is critical, so ensure;
- Your supply chain is strarightforward,
- Procurement procedures are comprehensive, and
- You have contingency plans in place when there are inevitable hiccups in your supply chain.
The best way to ensure your business is prepared would be to consider using the support of supply chain consulting professionals who can help you identify and implement improvements to maximize efficiency in your supply chains. Luckily, you have the option to have them work with your team or simply outline their findings and suggestions for you and your staff to consider and prioritize.
Weekly Training
No matter how skilled you are with your work, you know you'll always need to be updated with new methods, techniques, new tools to use, etc. And if you are employing someone, their skills need to be continuously improved, to safeguard them from any accidents and also to keep motivating them.
Ensuring your staff has all the skills necessary to effectively and efficiently complete the work expected of them also ensures that production stays at a maximum.
It's all about the knowledgeable of your tasks that makes less likely to make mistakes. And that in turn can be expected to produce a higher quality product or service. No matter how busy you are, you need to stop periodically to spend some time and money on training. A commitment by the business to train and develop workplace skills also helps retain workers, reducing the inconvenience and loss of production that many businesses experience from this churn and loss of experience.
Why don't you set at least one hour every week to review your work? You can ask professionals to teach new skills, or if you are low on budget, research to find good training websites or ebooks to learn productivity
An Organized Workspace: Tidy Up
Production largely depends on how organized you and your colleagues (if you have) are, and this extends to the tidiness around your office environment.
Think about minimizing movement related to the process. Analyze the area and map out the optimal layout for you and equipment before placing anything.
Remove any unnecessary tools and equipment from the area as clutter will only hamper production. In this day and age, recycling and being environmentally friendly matter. Whereas it's important to minimize storage requirements and clutter, getting rid of large equipment can be challenging. Then get a kanban out, advertise your unwanted stuff locally and get someone to come and collect it. This can minimize stock holding expenses.
Review your processes regularly and make sure you are keeping up with current standards. After all, increased productivity will mean an increase in revenue and the opportunity to take your business to the next level. If you or your team are prepared to put in the legwork to understand these evolving standards and stay up to date with maintenance practices, your production headaches can be a problem of the past.
