Monitoring production efficiency is vital to the success of any manufacturing company during this age of battling pandemics and labor shortages. Utilizing lean manufacturing principles has long been the trend as companies strive to produce quality products with little waste and greater efficiency. This doesn’t happen overnight, so in order for a company to make progress, there must be key performance indicators, or KPIs, to measure the progress and improve processes to minimize waste with consistent growth in productivity.
KPIs vary depending on the needs of the company, but they all fall within guidelines to ensure a company’s movement towards improved processes. KPI’s can involve evaluating the effectiveness of the equipment, measuring production time, product yield, frequency of stops in production, etc.
Software companies have created products to further assist manufacturing companies in their lean manufacturing endeavors and fulfilling KPIs. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is software that manages a company’s financials, supply chain, operations, commerce, reporting, manufacturing and human resource activities within one program. Having all of this information in one place provides intelligence to optimize operations. ERP software links all departments within a manufacturing company, from the front office to human resources, manufacturing, and the supply chain. By being able to access the information in one location, the company can work together to meet key performance indicators.
There are several types of ERP software specifically designed for the pallet sector. The Palmate Group has created PalMate®, process management software for the pallet and timber processing industries. Reports, typically run by a company’s admin, are directly loaded into the software and accessed by production managers or sales departments, so they have all of the information they need to be more efficient in their tasks. Production schedules can be viewed weeks in advance to better prepare for upcoming needs. All facets of the business are connected within one comprehensive program. Data is entered into the program once and utilized in a variety of ways within all departments of the company. More information can be found at https://thepalmategroup.com/palmateerp.
Another software system is Pallet-Track, by Innovative Data Systems, Inc. This program offers a variety of types of ERP software for pallet companies. From apps to online production data and kiosks for the manufacturing floor that track data for more efficient production processes, Pallet-Track can be tailored to the needs of the company for shipping, building, repairing, and much more. Connect with a representative from Pallet-Track at https://www.pallettrack.com.
Pallet Connect software was created for the pallet industry to assist with business management and serve customers efficiently by offering technological tools. Frustrated with juggling between different types of management software, Pallet Connect was created to connect the warehouse, office, and customers in an inexpensive, yet adaptable way through online tools, software, and apps. Visit https://palletconnect.com for more details.
In addition to using ERP software to utilize lean manufacturing principles, large manufacturing companies outside of the pallet sector have found a great benefit in using Andon boards. The Japanese word, “Andon” means guiding light or lantern and is used to define a system that uses a series of lights during a production process to indicate quality control. Different colors of lights alert the production floor of problems within the line. Just as a car’s dashboard alerts the driver of potential problems within the vehicle, the Andon board alerts the workforce of potential problems in the production line.
Andon boards can be operator-controlled or machine-controlled. In operator-controlled, manual operators trigger the lights by either using buttons, a cord, or a voice command. Machine-controlled Andon boards are triggered when certain criteria within the line are not met. Different colors of lights flash depending on the status of production and whether or not there is an issue. Green means that production is running correctly. Yellow indicates that there is a problem within the assembly that needs to be assessed. A red light stops production completely until the problem is resolved. Other lights, such as white or blue, can indicate that production is complete or there is a faulty product in the line.
Andon boards are used in lean manufacturing to alert everyone involved in production issues that are occurring in the line. Informing the workforce then allows them to work together to find solutions and minimize wasted materials and time, keeping in line with KPIs. The use of Andon boards can help companies save time and money, collect information, increase communication, and overall be more productive in serving the customer with quality products in an efficient manner. Andon boards can also be digitally linked to phones and computers so that more people can be involved in solving the problems if necessary.
Andon boards are not prevalent in the pallet sector and are used more in automobile manufacturing, but the information they provide could improve pallet manufacturing processes. Just as software companies have tailored programs to fit the needs of the pallet sector, Andon boards can also be modified to track production and provide workers more details of the manufacturing process in real-time as they work on the plant floor. Tracking actual production compared to goals and recent norms is an activity you are finding more common in pallet plants. These visual reminders help workers know if they are keeping pace or falling behind established goals.
There are a variety of ways to keep the workforce up-to-date on daily operations
and production to maintain the key production indicators needed for lean manufacturing. Whether using all-inclusive software and/or Andon boards, a well-informed workforce allows for everyone to have the information they need to help create great quality products with minimal waste in an efficient and timely manner.
Real-time Andon Board/KPI Plant Notification Exercise
This quick quiz helps you identify how well your workers know what they need to know.
• How do your employees know their daily production output?
• Is this data updated in real-time?
• Where does the data come from? Can you better use existing ERP software to tie into Andon boards (message boards) or send updates directly to worker smartphones?
• If your workers don’t know their daily production, what would it take to get them this information as well as any other key performance indicators (KPIs)
• How can line worker communicate problems to managers and ensure this information gets posted to the larger production floor?
• What type of communication system would work better for your workers? Straight line numbers, color codes, symbols, text or a combination?
• Beyond basic production figures, what other KPIs can you easily track, communicate to production employees? Which ones are most useful and should be added?
