Manufacturing
Manufacturers and their supply chains face increasing pressure to improve margins and streamline operational efficiency to compete in today's global marketplace. Labor is the single most expensive and controllable resource for manufacturers, which makes improving the way people perform essential in maximizing efficiency and improving the bottom line.
Over the years, manufacturers have spent a considerable amount of time, money and effort to tighten up supply chains, increase thru-put, implement ERP systems and adopt a myriad of strategies from TQM all the way to Lean Thinking. Very little time and effort has been spent on optimizing the workforce. While companies have spent millions on synchronizing material and capacity to match demand, the time has come to apply the same principles to the workforce. Manufacturers, both process and discrete, can benefit greatly by adopting the same strategies that were utilized to eliminate excess cost from the supply chain, increase thru-put through the deployment of Advanced Planning and Scheduling engines and apply lean principles to the organization.
While automation certainly holds a large and important place in all processes, it's important to consider an alternative: Could a smaller investment in applying continuous improvement to the workforce yield enough of an improvement to meet market requirements? Companies that have embraced optimizing their workforce have identified 5-10% increases in utilization. For most companies that translates into a similar increase in capacity.
From ensuring that the right employee is at the right place at the right time to identifying the wide variety of waste commonly found in tracking, paying and managing employees, to improving and standardizing decision making, optimizing labor is the next frontier of competitive differentiation.
Large manufacturers have already made mild efficiency improvements through the basic implementation of timekeeping solutions that automate manual time and payroll processes. While improving payroll accuracy and efficiency is an important first step, manufacturers require more sophisticated and integrated workforce management solutions that are mapped to address their most critical labor and production challenges. The ability to accurately forecast demand, optimize labor scheduling, respond to union requirements, and ensure compliance with OSHA, FLSA, FMLA, SOX, etc., requires the strategic deployment of customized labor management solutions.
At Workforce Insight, we understand the business and operational challenges faced by manufacturers and how to optimize workforce productivity while balancing employee satisfaction, labor costs and product quality. Our workforce management consultants are highly seasoned in navigating the operational, political and strategic landscapes required to improve labor productivity. Our implementation methodology carefully identifies needs and constraints, prepares employees for change, ensures high user acceptance and post-deployment support to yield optimal success from workforce technology investments.
Contact us to learn how we can help you gain a competitive advantage through optimal use of timekeeping, labor scheduling, absence & leave management , activity tracking and improved visibility to workforce analytics.
Or call 303.309.4006 for more specific information about our manufacturing solutions, expertise and success.
