Tips for Improving Manufacturing Quality
Three factors determine how good a manufacturing facility is: their efficiency, their quality, and the amount of recalls on products that leave their facility. However, it’s important to note that the recall number often comes from quality control––assuming the company designed the product safely. Continue reading for some tips for improving manufacturing quality.
Hire people who put quality first
Quality starts with the people in your manufacturing facility. If you consistently hire people with poor track records, chances are their quality isn’t going to be up to your facility’s standards. Furthermore, if you have a few workers that are consistently putting out low-quality products, it’s time to reevaluate. To be clear, we aren’t saying if someone makes a mistake you need to fire them––that’s poor practice. Instead, help them improve through training. If you’ve gone through all of your training with them, and allowed the worker to shadow others, then they may not be a good fit for your facility.
Train workers consistently
Once you have the right people in place, you should clearly communicate your company’s processes and standards immediately. From there, you can develop a regular training routine. Don’t make the mistake of allowing the duration of someone’s employment to override the need for training. Everybody, regardless of their experience, should be present at training. Sure, the more experienced workers will need less training, but that doesn’t mean they get out of training—everybody can improve somewhere.
Fix problems the first time around
If your facility regularly experiences problems in a particular area, whether that be assembly, packing, shipping, and so on, fix it right away. A problem that keeps coming up stops you from putting out the best quality your facility can, which ultimately tarnishes your reputation. Problems will come up eventually, however, your problem isn’t the problem itself—it’s how you handle said problem. If you fix the issue the first time around, you’ll produce better products for your customers, increase efficiency, and turn more profits.
Get the right equipment
Manufacturing facilities are full of different types of equipment; however, is your equipment working for you, or are you working for the equipment? There are several pieces of equipment that your facility can get that will significantly improve your quality control. For instance, most manufacturing facilities—regardless of if it’s pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, or plastics—will likely have a magnetic separator. Having metal particles, even if it’s a fine powder, is unacceptable in manufacturing quality. Plus, if you’re a pharmaceutical or food and beverage manufacturer, metal contamination can have serious effects on a person’s health. So, make sure your facility gets the right magnetic separator for your uses. It’s important to keep in mind all the most important considerations when choosing a magnetic separator.
Whether you’re a new facility or you merely need some upgrades, we hope you consider all the tips for improving manufacturing quality. You’ll thank yourself later for implementing high-quality standards earlier rather than later.
