Master Industrial Process Optimization for Unrivaled Efficiency

Industry professionals must be constantly improving. There are always workflow adjustments or manufacturing processes that could be more economical, sustainable or productive. Facilities and supply chains have so many moving parts that discovering the best methodology for improving procedures can be a process in itself. Experts use these top frameworks to master industrial process optimization and create a version stakeholders will appreciate.

Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is all about waste reduction. This style of manufacturing aims to reduce tangible waste — including defective products and corrugate — and intangible waste, like downtime and labor optimizations. Facilities embracing this mindset anticipate these cutbacks will streamline operations and increase customer satisfaction. Lean manufacturing may also help business owners reduce inventory.

Automotive manufacturers can take a lot from this because of how many unique materials and parts comprise a vehicle. Although warehouses are 40% larger on average than 20 years ago, the necessity for batteries, tires and fluids creates diverse opportunities for waste to accumulate in a facility. Material can also compound in quantity and overcomplicate vehicle blueprints, placing unnecessary costs on consumers because the car has too many elements.

Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a versatile process optimization technique, which can meld with other strategies, including lean manufacturing. It quantifies defects in industrial systems. The method discovers them using five guiding principles and then follows a step-by-step process to implement changes based on discoveries. The principles are:

• Use data
• Involve people
• Be thorough
• Customer focus
• Improve continuously

Using these factors to shape business processes can lead to cost reductions and faster deliverables. This result would be ideal in sectors like health care, where professionals must prioritize swift patient care but sometimes get held back by the pace of triage. Using Six Sigma, experts can find the causes of delays based on customer feedback or outdated practices. Then, they can apply controls to enhance patient flow, shorten wait times and offer more efficient treatment.

Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese work philosophy that asserts that change should be continuous. This principle applies to industrial process optimization but also impacts team dynamics and career growth. Suppose a desire to improve at all times provides the foundation for companies. In that case, it solidifies a strong workplace culture dedicated to finding ways for machinery and processes to improve.

The restaurant sector could use this approach to encourage incremental dish preparation and precision development. It can also expedite meal delivery and waitstaff synergy to remove bottlenecks.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

VSM is a type of lean manufacturing technique that stakeholders may or may not include in Six Sigma. It is used by facilities needing to streamline a visual aspect of their business, such as warehouse shelving or floor layouts in mechanical workshops.

It also applies to digital spaces. Consider a cybersecurity firm or an organization where data management is critical, like software development. As information backups constantly occur, VSM identifies bottlenecks in distribution. It also points out redundancies where employees should incorporate data minimization.

Automation and Robotics

Sometimes, digital transformation and adopting Industry 4.0 and 5.0 tactics are the best ways to move forward. Automation and robotics are part of this digital new wave. They are particularly ideal for manufacturers and warehouses, as automation and robotics can reduce safety incidents and supplement a strained workforce.

Instead of manually logging shelf stock, robotic picking systems with automatic barcodes or RFID scanners can catalog and notify stakeholders of inventory conditions. Recyclers could also use robots with computer vision to identify recyclable items more accurately, increasing the number of processed items no matter their shape, color or condition.

Just-In-Time (JIT) Inventory

For companies finagling tons of products, JIT inventory management systems eliminate excess and improve visibility. This process optimization strategy is a direct response to traditional just-in-case practices. Adopters of this mindset keep large stocks to anticipate demand fluctuations. However, these backlogs often bog down workers and buildings, leading to downtime and inefficiencies.

JIT leverages modern technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI) or software, to gain deeper insight into the market. These insights inform the company what they should keep and stock to meet demand. JIT does not mean no spares are lying on shelves, but this inventory style will reduce unnecessary overhead costs and productivity losses by cutting back where possible.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

TQM focuses less on discovering the minutiae of process improvements, much like Kaizen, and instead focuses on quality enhancements. This can manifest in numerous ways.

The most well-known example is Toyota, which used kanban as their TQM technique. Kanban tries to cause a positive chain reaction based on an implementation. In Toyota’s case, it was JIT inventory. Assembly lines were overwhelmed, so they shifted to lean inventory and prioritized asset reduction to provide more to customers.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

RCA finds areas for improvement by questioning an industrial problem until the problem’s source is uncovered. Facilities relying on CNC machines, nuclear or welding often face mechanical failures, and diagnostics can be tricky.

A control valve may leak, or configurations in the distributed control system may cause problems. The point of RCA is to go beyond the obvious, dive deep until the underlying issue is solved and eliminate future efficiency problems by instituting a long-term solution.

Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

BPR is a substantial approach to industrial redesign. It seeks to completely rework an operation by questioning weaknesses, finding gaps and implementing streamlined solutions. Like Six Sigma, it has guiding principles, including organization, training and leadership.

Agencies like the U.S. Department of Defense offer templates for undergoing BPR within industries using defense business systems. Some sectors may have specific ways to use BPR ideas within their niche. This prevents security or compliance infringements that would otherwise continue to sacrifice optimizations.

Strategies for Industrial Process Automation

Optimizations look vastly different from industry to industry. A food and beverage outfit may need unique robots to analyze spoilage that a semiconductor factory would not need. No matter how distinct industrial processes are in each niche, a growth mindset is evergreen. Stakeholders in all industries must test any of these processes until they find the one that best fits their organization to stay agile and competitive.

Emily Newton is the Editor-in-Chief of Revolutionized Magazine, an online publication that explores innovations in science and technology.