Precision Metals Manufacturing is a complex and multifaceted industry. Above all, it demands meticulous attention to detail, thorough planning, and systematic execution. The success of any shop hinges on a series of operational systems that ensure adherence to quality specifications, on-time delivery, and profitability. Because manufacturing order management is one of the keys to success in manufacturing, it creates an effective system job execution system from start to finish.
Master the core components of an effective Manufacturing Order Management system to improve business performance. Manufacturing Order Management reduces waste and cuts down machine idle time, improving throughput and profitability. Therefore, let’s delve into some of the critical aspects of successful Manufacturing Order Management that set up your success.
1. Pre-Production Planning with ERP
Don’t wait until the day you plan to run a job to start the job-planning process. Proper planning prevents piss-poor performance. Pre-production job planning is the cornerstone of any successful manufacturing work order.
Comprehensive preparation and organization engages key team members before the manufacturing process begins. Each department feels a role to play in the execution of the work order. Some core tenets of thorough pre-production planning include:
- Requirement Distillation Process: Review customer purchase orders, part drawings, BOM’s, and other documents to understand the full scope of the project. Discuss with sales the intended process to better understand how the job was quoted.
- Process Definition: Determine specific operation types—milling vs. turning, welding, assembly, etc. Define a list of routing steps for the full manufacturing process, including operation times and which specific work cell or machine will be utilized.
- Resource Allocation: Ensure all necessary resources (machine tools, raw materials, fixturing, tools, gages, staff members) are available to meet deadlines.
- Risk Mitigation and Verification: Identify potential issues before they arise. This prevents costly delays and quality control problems.
- Quality Requirements: Ensure that customer-defined quality requirements are met. An inspection plan may include special inspection equipment or gauges that aren’t currently on-hand. See point 2 below.
- Scheduling: Determine the production start date, including all manufacturing operations, inspections steps, outside processing, and shipping times. Create a proper work schedule so that each component is completed by the due date. Allow for some buffer throughout the project timeline for any unforeseen complications.
Up-front planning requires a detailed understanding of the production requirements, including specifications, timelines, and quality standards. Cross-functional teamwork provides diverse perspectives and expertise, ensuring every team’s requirements are properly reviewed.
2. Job-Related Procurement and Fulfillment Processes
Job-specific materials, tools, and gauges may have long lead times, meaning they take a significant amount of time to be sourced and delivered. Effective planning and procurement of these items is crucial for maintaining production schedules and avoiding costly delays and expediting fees. These delays can be mitigated by good job planning practices whereby long-lead procurement requirements are identified as early in the process as possible, and subsequently ordered well ahead of the production start date. Here’s a few things to keep in mind:
- Pre-Production Planning: Identify and queue up purchase requirements as jobs are planned. This goes a long way to ensure that ALL of the required tools and materials are available for the scheduled start date. Failure to do so threatens your ability to maintain on-time delivery.
- Supplier Relationships: Building strong and healthy relationships with suppliers improves communication between deliveries. Capturing supplier performance metrics helps define which suppliers are reliable, and which aren’t.
- Inventory Management: Optimal inventories of commonly used materials buffer against supply chain disruptions. Tie-ins between your inventory and work order management systems create better demand forecasting. This allows you to allocate inventory directly to a specific work order during the planning phase.
Poor procurement processes will prevent profitability. Identifying job-related purchase requirements early and ensuring they get promptly ordered is your best hedge against frustrating delays. Regularly reviewing purchasing dashboards, and updating inventory levels ensures that job-related materials, tools, and inspection instruments are available when needed, so that you can maintain customer satisfaction.
3. Planning Checklists and Management Processes
Planning checklists are invaluable tools for ensuring that all necessary steps and components are accounted for in the manufacturing process. As long as you have checklists, you have a comprehensive guide, ensuring consistency and completeness in the job-planning process. Some of the benefits include:
- Standardized Procedures: Checklists help standardize the planning processes across different jobs, job-types, and teams. Checklists may include responsibilities for different members of various departments who have a stake in the planning process.
- Error Reduction: Planning Checklists minimize the risk of overlooking critical requirements. This ensures that even the little details are accounted for and places accountability on the person who signed off on that step.
- Efficiency: Checklists offer a clear framework, streamlining the planning process and saving time. This often results in increased throughput and equipment up-time.
- Readiness: Checklists help to ensure that jobs are kitted for each operation in advance before they reach the next work center. This reduces machine idle time.
Checklists should be dynamic documents, regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in processes, technologies, and requirements. Involving team members in the creation and maintenance of checklists can enhance their relevance and effectiveness.
4. Proactive Scheduling and Effective Order Management
Effective scheduling is crucial for managing timelines, resources, and teams in manufacturing. Once you learn the secret to better shop-floor scheduling, you can ensure that all production activities are coordinated and executed in the proper sequence and in advance of deadlines. Some important features of an effective Work Order scheduling system include:
- Production Timeline: Developing a detailed list of routing steps with associated set-up and cycle times to outline all stages of the production process and keep Work Orders on track. This includes deadlines for each individual step so that individual teams are clear on their priorities.
- Resource Allocation: Scheduling ensures that materials, tools, and personnel are available when needed, preventing downtime. Effective scheduling also ensures that resource utilization is maximized for optimized throughput.
- Flexibility: Work schedules accommodate unexpected issues or priority changes without disrupting the entire production pipeline. Also, it includes reordering Work Orders as required.
- Prioritization: Jobs and individual operations must be listed in rank order so that production teams are clear on which are the correct tasks to be working on at a given moment.
Advanced scheduling tools integrated with your work order management system can provide real-time updates and facilitate adjustments, enhancing responsiveness and efficiency.
5. Detailed Paperless Work Instructions
Clear and precise visual work instructions are highly beneficial for guiding production staff through a job. When you level-up your work instructions, each step of the manufacturing process is performed correctly and consistently. Therefore, you contribute to overall quality and efficiency.
A paperless work order is also a useful project management tool. Use it to outline job progress by incorporating the following components:
- Detailed Documentation: Instructions should be detailed enough to cover all aspects of the routing step, including setup, tooling and fixturing requirements, operation instructions, and quality procedures.
- Data Input: Beyond reading information, production staff input important work order data from the shop floor. This includes part counts, time tracking data, and quality measurements. Shop floor staff can also record and implement process improvement suggestions.
- Visual Aids: Uploaded photos and videos can complement written instructions, making them easier to understand and follow. This may also include flow charts and checklists.
- Time Targets: Setting realistic time targets for manufacturing steps helps to provide accurate scheduling. Having staff members record their labor time against time targets helps to understand job costing, performance, and profitability.
- Work Order Documentation: Completed work orders verify all quality requirements, material certs and documentation. Since work order requirements are communicated between relevant team members, it streamlines internal operations. Also, it improves the customer experience.
Make work instructions easily accessible to all production staff. They’ll regularly review and update records to incorporate process improvements. Using paperless work instructions, you’ll keep shop floor staff equipped with the most relevant job information so that more jobs can be completed in less time (with fewer mistakes).
Conclusion
Effective manufacturing order management hinges on meticulous planning and execution. Pre-production planning, job-related procurement, planning checklists, effective scheduling, and visual work instructions are all critical components. They contribute to highly efficient work order management.
Adhering to these best practices enhances efficiency, reduces risks, increases on-time delivery, and ensures quality control. Also, you’ll improve operational performance and build a culture of continuous improvement and excellence.
Consider booking a call with ProShop’s sales team to discuss an all-in-one manufacturing order management software. We’ve helped 100’s of manufacturing businesses increase their profits by dialing in their Work Order Management system.