Time Management Tips for Manufacturing Work

Posted on 07/14 by Erin Helms

Time management is crucial in manufacturing, where it is common to juggle multiple tasks effectively. Failure to manage time is a common problem for many employees and can be detrimental to a manufacturing business. Time management is a skill that every employee and business can benefit from, and here are a few ways of managing time for efficient manufacturing.

Standardize Operations

The time it takes to complete tasks on the floor should not depend on the task or which employee is working on a given day. To manage time and efficiency, you must set levels of time for task completion. Doing so will also indicate how not meeting these levels will affect production. Technology can be digitally programmed to sustain a specific output level or change based on the percentage of work completed. For human employees, visible timers or charts that show what different lead times mean for production levels can keep everyone aware.

Evaluate the Production Line

Finding a set way of operating is not enough. A periodic review of a production line benefits time management too. Analysis ensures that you are meeting your standards. It also helps you evaluate workers to ensure they are maintaining capability and professionalism on the job. When an evaluation is part of company culture, it encourages workers to perform their best. The analysis also ensures your business methods are as efficient as possible and helps you note any changes required.

Schedule Breaks

One lunch break at noon is not enough for production workers. Workers need time to refocus their attention and rest from their work routine. Differentiate idle time and break time. Break time is built-in to the schedule where idle time is workers actively waiting to continue their work on the plant floor. Although productivity is the central focus of operations, never ignore the well-being of your workers. Productivity increases when employees feel taken care of by the business with concrete rest periods built into their day.

Salary Incentives

A pay increase is an excellent way to encourage employees to work productively, minimize idle time, and manage time efficiently. Time management issues affect everyone on the floor, so employee training should focus not on the employee alone but on how groups of workers perform as a unit. Pay bonuses can reward groups for working cohesively and eliminating non-productive time in their particular area.

Make a Commitment to Continuous Improvement

No perfect level of time management is attainable. There are new technologies, new hires, and product modifications. If you search for a high level of perfection, you might come up short because standards are constantly changing, and processes receive constant tweaking. It is practical to focus on divisions of administration or management on the task of time management. Employees must be as present on the plant floor as they are in analyzing data on a computer screen. Time management ensures that set standards are implemented correctly and effectively in real-time. LaborMAX can help you augment your manufacturing teams with flexible staff to help you meet production demands.

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