Performance is such a big factor of any business. Trying to define it is a bit like trying to catch a butterfly with a hula hoop most of the time, and while many office-based environments have analytics tools and functions like call-monitoring, it is a bit more difficult to measure performance in a factory or industrial setting. It’s a bit more that you give your staff the relevant training or you show them the process, and you tell them to get on with it as quick as possible. There are flaws in this process. Firstly, this old-school method of training is something that has been handed down the generations, a sort of old-guard method which encourages the “punch in, punch out” mentality. This does no favors for any of your workers. What can you do to improve, not just your working methods for your staff, but also your overall business practice?
Fine-Tune Your Equipment
In an industrial setting, one item of machinery goes down and the productivity for the whole line can be set back. It is a very simple thing to do, on a regular basis check the machinery, not just for the safety aspect which needs to be done, but also in catching something before it turns into a bigger problem will make life so much easier for everyone. The amount of companies that are on the smaller side and are trying to cut corners wherever they can means that they may go for machinery that is not with adequate technical support, or is too old to work effectively, which means that as soon as it breaks down you are on the lookout for new machinery and at a big cost which could have been sidestepped earlier. There are companies like Custom who work with businesses in industrial settings as a means of support for the equipment they supply. This is key to the development of any company in its infancy, as you are relying on support from all angles. And while there are many ways a business can, and should be, self-sufficient, you need to find the right contacts to fine-tune your equipment and your working relationships.
Fine-Tune Your Staff
An area which can always benefit from certain changes, having your staff feel valued in an industrial setting can be quite a challenge. In many factories across the world, they develop their own methods of motivation, which could be something as simple as a team de-brief, or even a whole session of calisthenics. Both have their positives, and both are two extremes of how you can work to motivate a team. De-briefing can help to communicate things in a way of constructive criticism or to re-evaluate something on a one on one basis, and calisthenics is a big way to wake up prior to the start of a shift. Industrial workers are prone to issues like exhaustion, purely because of the night work they do, which can be detrimental to your health. Look at your setting and see what can be fine-tuned in both respects and it will work to help your company get more productive.
