How to Crush 5 Common Workflow Inefficiencies in Manufacturing

The manufacturing industry is all too familiar with the battle against workflow inefficiencies. Manual work, redundancies, siloed data, and lack of visibility can lead to unnecessary costs, delays, and wasted resources. Identifying these issues is crucial, but so is implementing effective solutions to mitigate them. It could be by streamlining current processes, or implementing software, like PrismHQ, to manage and automate repetitive tasks and provide more control over your production.  We’ll look at five common workflow inefficiencies, how and where they cost money, and consider potential solutions for each.

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1) Manual Data Entry Errors

Not surprisingly, manual data entry is the most common of the workflow inefficiencies.  Manual data entry is prone to human error, leading to inaccuracies in inventory records, production schedules, and quality control reports. These errors can then continue to propagate through the entire workflow, causing significant disruptions, and compounding the headache.

A manufacturing company that manually tracks inventory could find themselves ordering excess raw materials due to inaccurate stock levels. This leads to overstocking, increased storage costs, and potential waste if the materials expire or become obsolete. For instance, an error in recording the quantity of a high-cost component might result in purchasing double the necessary amount, tying up capital and increasing inventory holding costs.

Implementing an automated inventory management system can significantly reduce manual entry errors. Such systems use barcode scanning or RFID technology to track inventory levels in real-time, ensuring accuracy and minimizing the risk of overstocking or stockouts. Integrating this system with procurement and production planning software ensures that data flows seamlessly across departments.

2) Redundant Processes and Duplication of Efforts

As businesses grow, redundancies can occur when multiple teams or departments are performing the same tasks independently, often without knowledge of each other’s work. This duplication wastes time and resources.

In a manufacturing plant, separate departments might independently maintain their own production schedules and inventory records. This can lead to discrepancies between departments, causing delays in production as teams wait for clarification. For example, if both the production and procurement teams independently verify stock levels before placing orders, it could lead to delays and double-checking that wastes hours weekly. These workflow inefficiencies can result in missed deadlines, leading to late delivery penalties and strained customer relationships.

Streamlining workflows by integrating departments through a centralized software platform can eliminate redundancies. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems allow different teams to access and update a single set of data in real-time, ensuring that all departments are aligned and working with the same information. This reduces duplication of effort and accelerates decision-making processes.

Related: 5 Key Workforce Development Challenges for Small to Medium Manufacturers

3) Siloed Data and Poor Communication

Siloed data occurs when information is stored in disparate systems that are not integrated, leading to a lack of real-time visibility across the organization. This hampers decision-making and coordination. Often, this workflow inefficiency creeps in over time as a business expands and outgrows existing platforms and processes.  New systems are brought in as result of the growth, and don’t necessarily play nice with the legacy software.  This can put the business in a tough spot as they are both highly dependent on, and restricted by, the past.

Consider a scenario where the sales team has up-to-date demand forecasts, but this information isn’t shared with the production team in real-time. The production team might continue manufacturing at a lower rate, unaware of the increased demand, leading to stockouts and lost sales opportunities. The resulting delays and inability to fulfill orders on time can damage the company’s reputation and lead to loss of market share.

Adopting a unified data platform that integrates all business systems (like CRM, ERP, and MES) ensures that data is accessible and up-to-date across the organization. This platform can facilitate better communication between teams by providing real-time updates on sales forecasts, inventory levels, and production schedules, helping to prevent costly misalignments.

4) Lack of Workflow Visibility

Without visibility into the entire manufacturing workflow, it’s challenging to identify bottlenecks, monitor progress, and make informed decisions. This lack of insight often leads to workflow inefficiencies and delays.

If a manufacturing manager cannot track the real-time status of different production lines, they might overlook a bottleneck in one line that causes downstream delays. For instance, if a machine is consistently slower than others and this goes unnoticed, it can create a backlog that impacts the entire production schedule. The cost includes not only delayed products but also the increased labor required to work overtime to catch up.

Implementing a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) provides real-time visibility into the entire production process. An MES can track the status of each machine and work center, identify bottlenecks, and alert managers to potential issues before they cause significant delays. This enables proactive management and better resource allocation, improving overall workflow efficiency.

5) Inefficient Resource Allocation

Without real-time data and effective planning tools, resources such as labor, machinery, and raw materials may not be allocated optimally, leading to workflow inefficiencies.

A company might allocate too many workers to a task that requires fewer hands or run machines at half capacity due to poor scheduling. This misallocation increases labor costs and reduces machine utilization rates, lowering overall productivity. For example, if a high-speed machine is underused due to poor scheduling, the company loses the potential output it could have generated, leading to lower revenue.

Advanced planning and scheduling software can optimize resource allocation by considering real-time data and production constraints. This software helps to allocate labor, machinery, and materials more efficiently, ensuring that resources are used to their fullest potential. By optimizing schedules, companies can reduce idle time, improve machine utilization, and lower operational costs.

Conclusion

Workflow inefficiencies stemming from manual work, redundancies, siloed data, and lack of visibility can significantly impact a manufacturer’s profitability. Identifying these issues is the first step, but implementing targeted solutions that make sense for where your business is in its growth is critical .If you’re ready for a faster, easier, and more robust way to manage your business, PrismHQ provides a simple but powerful solution that combines inventory management and production tracking with standard business management software in one super-charged system. Click here to learn more and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or to request a demo.  Our mission is to provide you with the tools you need to get back to growing your business, and not just running it!