Are you ready to improve operational efficiency in 2020? With the end of the year approaching, it’s a great time to re-evaluate business strategies and tactics. What did your organization do well in 2019? What are some areas for improvement? To get better, you’ll need to ask some tough questions. Don’t let “business as usual” thinking keep your company from growing at a time many economists are predicting a recession.
If your company uses seals, gaskets, and insulation, there are five things to consider. They’re common problems for manufacturers of all sizes, but all of these challenges have solutions.
#1 Excess Inventory
Are you buying rubber materials before you need them? Maybe you’re stockpiling rubber products instead. Either way, excess inventory is a form of waste. You might think you’re getting a bargain by buying higher volumes at lower unit prices, but you’re also tying up cash. The way to improve efficiency is to order what you need when you need it from a vendor who makes on-time deliveries.
#2 Waiting to Work
Do your employees have to wait for materials to arrive? Or do they have everything they need except enough time to do the work? Look at your asset utilization. It’s wasteful when employees are idle, or when processes stall because workers are busy. It’s also wasteful when a higher-paid employee like a welder performs a task (like gasket cutting) that a lower-paid worker could do instead.
#3 Inefficient Transportation
How does work flow through your facility? When a shipment arrives, do workers stock parts or send them straight to the assembly line? Do poor layouts, double handling, or multiple storage locations make it difficult to stack, retrieve, and use industrial rubber products and materials? Transportation isn’t just about trucking. It’s about the way you move goods in-house.
#4 Wasted Motion
Motion is similar to transportation, but it’s more about the worker than the product. Workers who walk warehouse aisles in search of seals, gaskets, or insulation aren’t engaged in productive activities. Inventory arrangements that force employees to bend, reach, or otherwise risk bodily injury are wasteful, too. If you want to improve operational efficiency, value your employees properly and treat their time like money.
#5 Manufacturing Defects
Do workers do the job the right way the first time? Do they have the tools, training, and expertise that they need? Seals, gaskets, and insulation that are mis-cut will result in material waste. You may never know how much rubber gets discarded either! Low-quality cuts may seem good enough, but a rubber gasket that’s poorly made may cause customers to question your entire product design. Rework and field repairs are expensive, too.
We’ll Help You Improve Efficiency in 2020
Elasto Proxy provides sealing solutions that can help you to improve operational efficiency. Instead of buying too much material or risking stock-outs, ask us for deliveries that align with your sales forecasts. We’re not just a distributor, however. Elasto Proxy is a custom fabricator than can supply you with finished gaskets. We also supply custom-packaged kits that contain all of the industrial rubber products that you need. It’s part of the added-value manufacturing that we provide.
How else can we help you? Instead of stocking parts separately and then picking them at a later date, ask us for a kit that moves from your receiving department right to your assembly line. The rubber products you’ll receive from us well-made, too. Our water jet cutting equipment is more efficient than manual gasket cutting, and Elasto Proxy is both ISO 9011:2015 and AS9100D certified. In addition to gasket cutting, we provide bonding, taping, and lamination services, too.
Are you read to maximize operational efficiency in 2020? Think big as you plan for the year ahead. For sealing solutions that add value, ask Elasto Proxy.
