The Best Tools to Increase Your Manufacturing Capacity

Many manufacturing companies are currently experiencing capacity issues. Capacity management consists of finding the right balance between supply and demand, i.e. the human and material resources available and the number of projects to be carried out. This major issue can be addressed in another way: by working on planning and leveling, it is possible to increase a plant’s capacity. In this blog post, our experts provide you with the tools to work upstream to effectively increase your manufacturing capacity.

ALSO TO BE READ : How to Buy Equipment Without Making Mistakes ?

#1 – Operations Management

Every company, regardless of size, has limits to how much volume they can produce. Capacity affects all businesses, but capacity management allows you to use your resources as efficiently as possible. Redesigning a plant along the value chain, makes capacity management easier and more intuitive which in turn has an effect on overall operations. It’s time to get creative and find smart ways to make your operations as simple as possible.

#2 – Planning and Resource Leveling

A daily challenged faced by most business is anticipating and avoiding bottlenecks, which in turn affects your workflow not to mention the headaches it causes. This is where proper planning and resource leveling comes in, a well leveled plant is much easier to manage than a poorly leveled plant. Ensuring that the planning and resource leveling has been well executed will allow you to assess in advance your capacity needs and therefor work around bottleneck or eliminate them all together.

#3 – Standardization

Standardized work includes all validated and accepted procedures, it defines best practices, the steps of each process and the tasks of each resource. Standardization allows for the efficient use of human and material resources, while maintaining a production pace that is adapted to customer demands, simply put the more standardized you are the more efficient you are. By mapping out the different processes in the right order, you can achieve major gains. In addition, by equipping, coaching, and accompanying plant supervisors, you can significantly improve performance on the floor.

#4 – Workstation review

As explained in our post on plant layout, one of the first steps to achieving manufacturing efficiency is to choose a layout that is aligned with manufacturing operations and processes. Reviewing the overcapacity and under capacity of workstations will have a major effect on your manufacturing capacity. A redesign of work cells will allow you to relocate labor to tasks that will increase your capacity. Effective redesign eliminates waste (transportation, handling and WIP reduction) for optimal operational efficiency.

Conclusion

Don’t miss out on any sales opportunities because your company can’t keep up with demand. There are many options to increase your capacity and grow your business. Contact our experts at Merkur for customized support in managing your capacity and future growth.