Unplanned machine downtimes are a threat for manufacturing companies. It can cause a loss of thousands of millions of dollars to manufacturers. Moreover, frequent machine unplanned downtime in manufacturing industry can damage the overall industrial process and the company’s reputation. Therefore, manufacturing companies need equipment that can help them to eliminate risks associated with machine dysfunction and outage. Here a robust industrial IoT solution can lend a helping hand.
Here are some interesting stats about unplanned downtime in manufacturing:
- Factories lose at least 5% and a maximum of 20% productivity due to downtime.
- 72% of organizations say that zero unplanned downtime is one of their top-most priorities.
- A single hour of downtime costs many organizations $100,000 to $300,000.
To reduce losses, manufacturing units can take several steps. Here we will provide you with tips that you can do to reduce the losses that occur due to downtime.
Effective Ways to Reduce Machine Downtime
Unplanned downtime can become harmful due to multiple factors. Some of them include operational errors, minimal equipment maintenance, broken software and hardware, and various other aspects. But with a combined effort, correct equipment, and a good work environment, you can significantly reduce downtime in your manufacturing plants.
Here are some useful tips to reduce unnecessary machine downtime in your manufacturing plant –
1. Set Clear Goals
Manufacturers need to set daily and quarterly goals for their workers to reduce errors and increase motivation. And with vigilant staff, it becomes easier to reduce unplanned downtime in manufacturing. What’s more, employees who are clear about their roles can provide more valuable feedback and work with better efficiency.
Apart from this, manufacturers need to implement the suggestions of factory workers to increase accountability, decrease downtime and enhance productivity. Furthermore, you can entertain valid ideas on how to reduce downtime.
2. Improve Staff Communication
Communication between plant managers and workers can be very helpful in improving overall efficiency. But, on the other hand, a lack of communication in industrial manufacturing can lead to increased downtime and a decreased rate of output.
In such a scenario, an effective communication system is useful in connecting more quickly and efficiently across all departments, appropriate personnel can address issues faster, minimizing downtime. You can send real-time notifications to ensure the issues are attended to and the production line is moving as quickly as possible.
Also Read : How IIoT Technology is Beneficial for Energy Consumption Monitoring
3. Upgrade Manufacturing Equipment
Replacing old equipment with the new one is essential for unplanned downtime in manufacturing. Because outdated machines slow down the manufacturing process. They cause frequent machine breakdowns, stoppages, setup costs, reduced speed, start-up issues, etc. which ultimately lead to efficiency loss.
Installing new equipment should allow your plant floor to stay up-to-date on the latest technologies, and enable your managers to suggest updates to improve productivity.
By connecting Industrial IoT Solutions with your motors, you can also fetch actionable energy management data from connected drives, energy metres, and process controllers. It can also facilitate you to eliminate unnecessary wastage of energy.
4. Carefully Track Downtime
Knowing the reason for the occurrence of machine downtime is imperative to prevent it. Moreover, remote machine tracking systems can detect downtime immediately and feed this information out to the factory floor for real-time viewing.
Apart from this, remote machine solutions can provide the users with real-time notifications about any kind of machine downtime. This allows you to figure out the reason behind every instance that happened. When you know that users commit errors that may cause damage to the majority of your noted points, you know what changes to make and how to prioritize your efforts.
5. Properly Train Product Line Workers
User error is one of the top reasons for unplanned downtime in manufacturing on a production line. Furthermore, there are multiple ways that can create machine breakdown. Therefore, you need to give proper training to the production line workers.
Proper insight is necessary for machine operators to produce their most efficient results. They need to know about the effective ways to use different tools. Overall, spreading awareness across your production line about the proper usage of operating machines correctly will surely reduce downtime.
Concluding Lines
Manufacturers need to make their processes advanced, reduce waste, and maximize machine utilization. With the high cost of production and lack of accurate data, managers cannot make effective decisions to reduce unplanned downtime. Therefore, they need to maximize machine utilization by integrating IoT in manufacturing.
Apart from this, they need to consider that careful pre-planning can minimize the amount of downtime needed. And manufacturers can easily reduce unnecessary machine downtime and modernize their processes by following the tips that are mentioned here. As a result, you can easily save your money and increase profits by taking appropriate measures to reduce unplanned downtime.
Rejig Digital can facilitate you to reduce unplanned machine downtime more effectively. Our robust IoT solution can give you insight into your downtime issues to improve processes. Just drop us a line at info@rejigdigital.com to know more about how our solutions can help your enterprise.
