OPINIONS FROM ACROSS THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY Manufacturing efficiency goals

Achieving profit and growth through manufacturing efficiency is the goal of everyone. Vince Giovanniello, CEO at BlueRock reminds us to delight our customers.

Australia’s manufacturing sector was ranked the twelfth-fastest growing sector in the country in 2020, showcasing an immense demand for its services. The industry has been essential to Australia’s recovery and resilience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and this trend is not expected to slow down any time soon.

Following the pandemic, we have seen a rapid transformation of the manufacturing industry. Although some changes were positive, such as enhancing business models and utilising technology to scale businesses, there were also many challenges such as shortage in staff, quality issues, supply chain disruptions and increases in pricing. The impacts presented during the pandemic highlight that ultimately efficiency and quality are key to operating a successful manufacturing business.

As a manufacturer, you know how important it is to deliver a quality product on time, and in a cost-effective and sustainable way that fully delights your customers. By the same token, as a business owner, it’s likely that you prioritise the growth and relevance of your business, while keeping a close eye on whether or not your business is making money.”

How the macro effects challenges the manufacturing industry

Following the pandemic, there have been numerous supply shortages across industries that have led to challenges such as shortage of staff, materials and compromises on quality. Particularly in the manufacturing industry, this disruption has increased pricing, leading to a negative impact on the overall efficiency of manufacturing operations.

In order for manufacturers to overcome this, businesses need to ensure they are proactively addressing these challenges and have a strategy in place to secure their business.

So, how manufacturers can overcome this? To ensure the achievement of efficient manufacturing services, business owners need to prioritise their supply chain and ensure it is being managed thoroughly from end to end. Understanding the supply chain allows for a smooth and flawless process that ultimately leads to quality outcomes and business growth.

One strategy to consider is introducing technology and innovation to help transform innovation pilots into industry-shaping new business models. This requires the right set of skills, workforce engagement, culture and alignment across entire companies – and at times beyond. Leveraging a blend of centres of expertise to develop new digital skills and digital academies to upskill all employees is critical to deliver and sustain results. Key to understanding the right strategy is to have visibility of results and to identify and action the gaps.

Efficiency is the key

You can only be as efficient as your machinery, equipment, and resources allow you to be, but if your operational efficiency is superior to your competitors, then you have an upper hand. So it is imperative to continually remain up to date with emerging technologies. By leveraging quicker production rates along with higher quality results, you can be a step ahead of competitors. However, keep in mind productivity will need to remain level with your businesses efficiency.

What Is Gold-Star Manufacturing?

Gold-Star Manufacturing is achieved when your business generates less waste, delivers quality products to customers on time, keeps your employees safe because they are required to intervene less in unplanned events, and has a positive footprint on our planet. Once your business is at the stage where it maintains a stable efficiency with minimal unplanned events, you’re on track to obtaining a level of Gold-Star Manufacturing.

To get your company to a level of Gold-Star Manufacturing, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you know the efficiency of your company’s operations on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis?

• Do you know the percentage of your company’s planned and unplanned events on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?

If you answered ‘yes’ to the above questions, the next step is to create a strategic action plan on how you can improve the overall efficiency of your operations. If you answered ‘no’, you will need to create a plan to measure variables within your business to identify easy wins and provide clear business insights for better decision making. BlueRock has a team of manufacturing experts that work with clients to achieve Gold-Star level bluerock.com.au