Ways To Boost Metal Fabrication Efficiency

You want your metal fabrication shop to maximize timeliness and minimize unproductive downtime. While these are excellent goals and expectations, they aren’t achievable until you set aside the time to make improvements to your workflow. Explore these helpful ways to boost metal fabrication efficiency.

Prioritize Preventive Maintenance

One of the biggest mistakes the plant managers make is ignoring preventive maintenance from the start. A task that feels burdensome and requires consistent downtime doesn’t feel like an efficient practice until something goes horribly wrong. That’s why it’s better to slow production for a week and fix the problem compared to halting it for several weeks while you wait for the new equipment to arrive.

Train Workers Consistently

While you may have an efficiency-oriented mindset, this may not be true for all your staff. Don’t take efficiency for granted. Not all people look for ways to improve efficiency at work. Curb your staff productivity issues with targeted training on equipment, tools, and procedures. With constant reminders of how to spend their time wisely, your workers will have a heightened awareness for efficiency-boosting best practices.

Audit, Analyze, and Reorganize

A time audit is one of the most beneficial things you can do as a plant manager. Your products move through a dozen stages, from raw materials to final construction. Take the time to physically walk through the process alongside an item and note any problems with time inefficiency or low machine capability.

Once you have your notes, analyze them and make adjustments to your metal fabrication floor. For example, you could have a nonintuitive workflow that requires your staff to transport heavy product pieces via forklift halfway across your facility to continue machining. Instead, you could consider reorganizing your space and shifting machines into a logical progression that reduces unproductive time and kinks in the system.

Learning about different ways to boost metal fabrication efficiency can drastically improve your floor productivity. If you ever encounter problems with your machinery and are looking for replacements that will increase procedural efficacy, then reach out to us at Mac-Tech today. Our experts can help you navigate the ins and outs of your metal fabrication plant needs, including finding better equipment. In fact, our electric press brake is one of the best available. Give us a call and see what we can do for your business.